Article April 24, 1902 Issue

A Thought on the Church

BY G. M.

WHAT is the church that I should love it and be faithful and loyal to it? It certainly is not the structure of wood, brick, or stone to which we commonly apply the name. Is it the bands of people who organize themselves together in the name of Good—God—for the destruction of evil and the upbuilding of good? Yes, in one sense; but why is such an organization necessary?

The church is the expression of the unity of Mind. It is the visible symbol and token of the acknowledgment of this fact. Because the unity of Mind is not universally acknowledged, those who have recognized it naturally find themselves with one accord in one place; and these bands are like oases in the great desert of mortal mind. But the time will come when the desert itself shall blossom as the rose, when all shall acknowledge God, from the least even unto the greatest.

Will it not be then that the prophecy of our dear Mother in Israel shall be fulfilled: "But the time cometh when the religious element, or Church of Christ, shall exist alone in the affections, and need no organization to express it" (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 145). But for the present hour we must heed well the next sentence in the paragraph: "Till then, this form of godliness seems as requisite to manifest its spirit, as individuality to express Soul and Substance."

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