Testimony of Healing September 15, 1917 Issue

During a period of nearly sixteen years I have applied...

Emma Goodman

During a period of nearly sixteen years I have applied the truth as taught in Christian Science and it has never failed me. Science and Health has been my practitioner. Some time ago I awakened one Saturday morning to find myself bound hand and foot with rheumatism, accompanied by high fever. There had been no previous symptoms of the illness, but the pain became intensified to such a degree that a member of my family asked me to apply for help. The request startled me, for it was such a new experience ; it seemed to suggest failure and a lack of understanding, and I felt quite crestfallen. Just at this point a passage from Science and Health came to mind with great force, "If students do not readily heal themselves, they should early call an experienced Christian Scientist to aid them" (p. 420).

I then asked myself, Who are the students? Can any one say he is as yet a graduate of Christian Science? Thus my decision was made, and the next step was the choice of a practitioner. I wanted to be led, with no thought of personality, and again I asked myself, What mental quality do you consider the best transmitter of truth? The answer came instantly, "Honesty is spiritual power" (Science and Health, p. 453). I pondered these words, earnestly striving to comprehend their import, for I felt the word was used in a sense higher than a monetary one.

I called for the dictionary, and found honesty there defined as freedom from dissimulation; fairness; justice. Then I remembered that Mrs. Eddy says, "In the Science of Mind-healing, it is imperative to be honest, for victory rests on the side of immutable right" (Science and Health, p. 446). Thus my thought was led to one who exemplified these qualities to a marked degree. The following day I attended both church services and was perfectly free; every vestige of the frightful dream had vanished. I can but feebly express my gratitude for this experience, for the clearer realization of "the word of God" as a two-edged sword.

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