Testimony of Healing March 9, 1918 Issue

I have received so much help and encouragement from...

Mortimer Carr

I have received so much help and encouragement from the testimonies in our periodicals that I feel that I should try to express my gratitude for all the help Christian Science has been to me, especially during the last seven months that I have been at the front. As a child and boy I was always intensely nervous, and I am sure that without the help received from the understanding of God and man as taught by our revered Leader, Mrs. Eddy, I should never have been able to stand the strain of trench life. This understanding has given me freedom from fear, coolness under fire, and has enabled me to do physical labor which would otherwise have been impossible.

On one occasion, last August, I had an attack of trench fever which prostrated me for several hours whilst in a dugout a few yards from the front line. The same night our gun crew were unexpectedly relieved and had an hour to get ready for a march of about six or seven miles, the first two of which were through tunnels that in places were knee-deep in water and nowhere were high enough so that we could stand upright. This under normal conditions would be a great strain, especially when carrying rifle and other equipment. When I first received orders to go, my head and limbs were aching violently, but by the time I had to start I was feeling much better and the journey was accomplished without undue difficulty, although I had to go down a hundred-foot vertical ladder to start with. I arrived at my billet in the early morning and almost collapsed on arrival, being unable to move all day. My friends urged me to report sick and the temptation to do so was strong, for the prospect of a good rest in comfort was pleasant. I, however, knew it would not be in accordance with Principle, so endeavored to cling to Truth, and the next day I was well. I felt most grateful for this demonstration.

On many occasions I have had beautiful proofs of the protecting power of Truth. At one time I lost my way at night in a ruined town partly occupied by British and partly by Germans, when the latter opened up a heavy artillery fire and I could also hear machine gun bullets overhead. I just sat down by the side of the road and waited for daylight, and although shells were falling round thickly for an hour and a half, I was able to rejoice all the time, for I felt certain of my protection. On another occasion I was walking at night through mud knee-deep, when a large caliber shell exploded in an old shell crater three or four yards from me, covering me with mud and water, but doing me no harm. I turned back to take shelter in a shellproof building about fifty yards away, and the next shell burst behind me a few seconds later just where I would have been if I had kept on. Later the same night I was with two companions, and finding shells falling very thickly just ahead, we hesitated whether to go on. Whilst the others were looking in the direction of the bursting shells, I heard what sounded like a "dud" shell (one which fails to explode) about ten yards to windward of us, and on turning saw a thick cloud of poison gas blowing straight at us. I shouted a warning and we had but a few seconds in which to put our respirators on.

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