CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS have before them a glorious opportunity to prove to a world which believes it is depressed and discouraged that "thoughts are things."

At this hour mortals, in ever increasing numbers, are recognizing that the unillumined human thought possesses no real remedy for its own blunders; and they are reaching out as never before for divine aid.

To the working Christian Scientist this situation is but a phase of the Adam-dream, seemingly true only because of wrong thinking. At this hour students of Christian Science have the priceless privilege of "carrying on" in line with divine Principle. Said an orthodox clergyman to a Christian Scientist lately, "We are looking to Christian Science to break this mesmerism." Christian Scientists have the privilege and joy of proving to a discordant world the truth of the Psalmist's declaration, "Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling."

At this hour all of the activities of the Christian Science church should be carried on with accustomed alertness. All true students of Christian Science realize the importance of maintaining its high ideals, and they are convinced that, regardless of the arguments of material sense, the activities of our church, the outward expression of "the structure of Truth and Love" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, p. 583), must not be limited or curtailed by the carnal mind's hue and cry of depression and lack of employment. How often have Christian Scientists proved that, as they have been mindful that their first duty is to express gratitude to God by fulfilling their pledges of financial support to the church, they have experienced the blessings outlined by Christ Jesus when he said: "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."

A sure way to the realization of peace and plenty is through individual fulfillment of our obligations to God and our fellow men. The expression of gratitude manifested by a loyal support of the church activities provided by our Leader results in the blessings so graphically described by Malachi, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

In speaking of religious organizations lessening their activities in this hour, a well-known writer who was attending an evangelical convention said that such action would be comparable to hospitals going on half time whenever an epidemic occurred. This indicates with self-evident logic that the discords seemingly rampant today call not for fewer but for increased activities of the right kind. In this connection our Leader has pointed out that in times of stress we must work the harder.

A church, doubtless influenced by the mesmeric suggestion of mortal mind, formed a committee which was instructed to make a survey of the church's expenses with a view to greater economy. This committee brought in a report which declared in substance: We find the salaries and other expenses justifiable, and we have but one recommendation, namely, that the salary of one of the officers be increased. We are convinced that nothing would flatter seeming mortal mind more than for us to adopt a policy of retrenchment.

After all, Christian Science metaphysicians know that all discord is but a figment of the Adam-dream, and they will not be deterred or stampeded simply because material sense seems to be screaming more loudly. It is not through mere retrenching that the condition of individuals or groups is improved; it is by gaining an understanding of spiritual facts as they exist in the divine economy, facts which dispel the hypnotic arguments of the so-called mortal mind. This understanding will ultimate in the ability to declare with the Shunammite woman, "It is well," and to reap the fruition of the understanding of God's omnipotence. How heartening to hear the student of Christian Science declare, "It is well," for thus he proclaims that he is proving to himself and others the truth of our Leader's reassuring statement, that while "on one side there will be discord and dismay; on the other side there will be Science and peace" (Science and Health, p. 96).

Copyright, 1932, by The Christian Science Publishing Society, Falmouth and St. Paul Streets, Boston, Massachusetts. Entered at Boston post office as second-class matter. Acceptance for mailing at a special rate of postage provided for in section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized on July 11, 1918.