Editorial August 15, 1914 Issue

Testimony Meetings

Archibald McLellan

The great value of the Wednesday evening meetings is largely recognized by Christian Scientists to be the assurance they convey to inquirers that Christian Science is indeed what it professes to be, namely, a religion which heals the sick, destroys sin, and comforts them that mourn; therefore it is important that the testimonies given should be such as can be easily understood and appreciated by even the casual visitor. To give this assurance in the best way, it is necessary that some care be given to both the substance and the phraseology of these testimonies. We therefore venture the following counsel, based upon experience.

It should be borne in mind by those who speak at these meeting, that persons who attend a Christian Science service for the first time are not familiar with the technical habits of speech into which so many Christian Scientists unfortunately have drifted, and that these inquirers cannot be expected to understand the rather mystifying way in which such words as "belief," "claim," "error," etc., are so frequently used. Another thing to be remembered is that a lengthy recital of details invariably becomes wearisome to the listeners, and in the majority of cases thus described, the point which was intended to be emphasized is entirely obscured by trivial circumstances and conversations which are not essential to the narrative and can have no better effect than to set the stranger to wondering what it is all about. The total time available for testimonies at these meeting is never more than thirty-five or forty minutes, and to use this short time to the best advantage should be the aim of every one who speaks.

Vital questions are pressing themselves upon the attention of the inquirer who has come to this meeting in search of the help which he has failed to find in other systems, and these questions invariably are: Can I be healed of the sickness from which I am suffering? Can I be relieved from the bondage of sinful habits and desires? Can I obtain surcease from sorrow and affliction? It is to the affirmative answer of these questions that the person who gives a testimony to the efficacy of Christian Science should address himself, and it is only through a simple and concise narration of personal experience that this can be successfully done.

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