Article February 22, 1930 Issue

The Church Manual, a Daily Guide

ARNOLD IRWIN RUMSEY

One seldom stops to ponder the fact that every thought and act is governed by law. The serious question follows, Is this control exercised by the counterfeit law of so-called mortal mind, or is individual thinking directed by the unerring law of Truth? This question reveals to Christian Scientists the need of the right guidance which the Manual of The Mother Church by Mary Baker Eddy so adequately provides. The Psalmist declared, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

That a true concept and exact evaluation of divine law will lead us to an apprehension of human duty and responsibility is generally accepted. The Rules and By-Laws of the Manual were written to meet specific demands; hence they are entirely practicable in application. When we realize that this priceless volume was the result of divine revelation to Mrs. Eddy, it becomes a statute book for true living, charting the path from sense to Soul. In Article XXX, Section 7, Mrs. Eddy says, "Christian Science heals the sick quickly and wholly, thus proving this Science to be all that we claim for it." Thus the basis of the solution of every problem is established and perpetuated through divine enactment.

Furthermore, we find in perusing the Manual that provisions for individual growth are numerous. Prayerful analysis of one's motives and alertness to one's responsibility as a Christian Scientist, together with a just acknowledgment of God's goodness, are indispensable to the progress of the student. In fact, strict adherence to the By-Laws forms an impervious armor against the thrusts of evil. An unkind remark, a suggestion of illness, an accident, will not be accepted as reality by the vigilant worker. In like manner, his home will express the orderliness, simplicity, and harmony which indicate obedience to spiritual law.

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