Testimony of Healing March 13, 1915 Issue

My attention was first called to Christian Science through...

Charles L. Bostwick

My attention was first called to Christian Science through the healing of my brother, who had long been a sufferer from a complication of chronic diseases. The healing was so remarkable and so complete as to leave no doubt about the effectiveness of this treatment as a means of relief from physical suffering, but further than to feel grateful for my brother's recovery I had little or no interest in the subject.

From boyhood I had been a church-member, and had occupied many official positions in the church; also had taught in the Sunday school and had been Sunday school superintendent. I was not, however, entirely satisfied with my religion, and many times, while studying the lesson in preparation for teaching it to a class of boys, I would find it impossible to teach along the lines laid down in the authorized "lesson helps." In such cases I would spend the lesson period in telling stories from which some helpful thought could be drawn, and thus would avoid the troublesome doctrinal teaching.

After his healing, my brother talked to me regarding Christian Science, frequently calling my attention to some particularly interesting or helpful article in the Sentinel or Journal; and it did not take me long to notice how different these articles were from those in the church papers to which I had been accustomed. Gradually, in my Sunday school teaching I found myself using some of the truths which I found in these Christian Science articles, and one evening, at the mid-week prayer-meeting, I read an extract from an article in the Sentinel, but without saying that what I read was from a Christian Science publication. Finally I became sufficiently interested to begin the reading of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy, but I had no thought or intention of becoming a Christian Scientist.