Love and Fruitage

A man came into the Reading Room and asked to see "the key book to the Bible." He said that he had heard it advertised on the radio and felt that it was just what he needed and, in fact, what the whole world needed. When the librarian showed him the different editions of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, he opened one of them and read aloud the second paragraph of the first page of the Preface, and then stated: "This is just what I have been looking for. I have always felt in my heart that God is Principle, Love; now I am sure that this book will make the truth clear to me. What we all need is more love in our living." He expressed much gratitude for the Reading Room, where, he discovered, he could purchase authorized Christian Science books and literature.

We decided to have open house in our Reading Room on three consecutive Tuesday nights in order to acquaint our church members and friends with Reading Room privileges. We invited the Chairmen of the Literature Distribution and Circulation committees to contribute display tables and to be present to explain their work. A hostess was in charge of our loan library and another was on duty in the study room to explain the use of the bound volumes. Concordances, and Lesson-Sermon.

One Sunday School teacher brought her entire class. Many showed interest in the displays arranged to create a desire to study. Several subscriptions to the periodicals were sold, and a number of books lent from the loan library. A greater desire in the hearts of members to use the Reading Room has been in evidence since our inspiring open house.

After consultation with the Reading Room Division in the Publishers' Agent's office, in Boston, our executive board authorized plans for an open house in our Reading Room. We mailed invitations to all church members, to all merchants in our locality who advertise in The Christian Science Monitor, to the parents of children in our Sunday School who are not church members, and to those on the mailing lists of our Distribution and Circulation committees.

For three hours one Sunday afternoon we had a steady flow of visitors through our Reading Room. The regular librarians and reserve attendants served as hosts and hostesses, each one on duty for at least an hour. As guests entered the Reading Room they were introduced by an usher at the door to an attendant who saw that they were thoroughly familiarized with all that the Reading Room has to offer in the way of study in Christian Science.

We felt that most of the visitors left with a consecrated desire, if not a definite resolve, to launch out into the deep by making more frequent use of the advantages of study in our Reading Room.

A woman came to the librarian's desk in our Reading Room and said that she felt such pressure in her head she could hardly stand it. The only thought that kept coming to her was (John 15:25), "They hated me without a cause."

The librarian appreciated this woman's immediate need of assistance and said quietly, "Hatred has no cause, for God is the only cause, and God is Love." Then she showed the woman how to use the Concordance to Science and Health, and together they looked up a few references on cause and effect. The woman took the Concordance into the study room and continued her search. In a short time she left, completely healed and joyous. She now visits the Reading Room often and also comes to church.

A woman came to the Reading Room one Sunday afternoon and said that she had never heard of Christian Science until that morning, when she had read in a local newspaper a partial report of a lecture on Science which had been given in our city the week before. She was so impressed with the lecture excerpts, the advertisement for Science and Health on the side column, and the accompanying invitation to come to our Reading Room, that she had made a special trip there that afternoon. She talked at length with the librarian and later purchased a copy of the textbook, saying that she also wanted to own the other writings of our Leader. She expressed great gratitude for the advertisement which led her to the Reading Room.

One day a very earnest young man confided to the librarian that he had not yet had the courage to refuse to indulge in social drinking in his business contacts. He said that a recent Lesson-Sermon from the Christian Science Quarterly had proved helpful to him. As the librarian talked with him concerning some of the passages in that Lesson, he was aroused to see that he was always free to act in accordance with his highest concept of right. He came in a few days later to thank her for her helpfulness, and to tell her that he had been strengthened to refuse drink.

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