On this program Leonard Alderson of Reading, England, told of his own experience. The program was as follows:

Speaker: Most of us want to improve ourselves, no matter what our calling in life may be, whether we're in school, working on a job, or running a home. But aren't we sometimes inclined to limit ourselves because we think we've done as much as we can? Today we're going to talk about the availability of unlimited intelligence, the intelligence that God imparts to each one of us. Our guest had an experience in college that showed him that true intelligence is always at hand, and I'm going to ask him to tell you about it. Here is Leonard Alderson of Reading, England. Where did this experience take place, Mr. Alderson?

Mr. Alderson: It was at Cambridge University in England. I had spent two years in the Royal Air Force, and I went up to the University on a scholarship. I must admit I had tremendous misgivings. I thought that two years in the services might make me mentally rather rusty. The first two or three weeks at University I felt very inadequate. I would read a history book, for example, and I wouldn't know what I'd read. Then after about three weeks there was a Christian Science lecture nearby which I attended. I had been a Christian Scientist as long as I could remember, and I had experienced many fine healings; but I seemed to be unable to see just how this problem could be worked out.

The lecturer pointed out very clearly that the power and intelligence of God, divine Mind, is infinite. It isn't something that can be at a high point at one time and at a low point at another. It's something that is infinite and eternal and constant. And what's more, it was my true intelligence, since I was actually the image and likeness of God, infinite Mind. I saw that I could claim the truth of this fact just as much today as I could have done two years ago when I was in high school or in twenty years" time. As these points became clear to me, the situation improved, and I got very much more out of my studies.

I also found Christian Science of great help in "exams." At Cambridge one has "exams" at the end of each of the three years, and you're out if you fail. Of course, there was a great deal of apprehension and anxiety at that time, and during the vacation before "exams" I again became extremely fearful. I was afraid I wouldn't have enough original ideas. Also, I was very much afraid that I would not have time to complete the course. But in working out this problem I knew one of the fundamental things is to turn to God, to put Him first; and if you do that, then you will find other things fall into place in good order.

I went ahead considerably strengthened, and I was particularly helped by a statement of Mary Baker Eddy's in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." Speaking of God, the divine Mind, as infinite Love, she says (p. 454), "Love inspires, illumines, designates, and leads the way." I saw that divine Mind inspires and gives us all the ideas that we need, as and when we need them. And all the time, God, divine Love, goes before us, leading the way—in the examination room and in the preparatory studies before the examinations. I realized that examinations weren't in essence a competitive thing, but that God's power was available to all people in the examinations, which I think is something quite important to realize. As a result I found I was free from fear during the "exams," and the ideas I needed to answer the questions came to me at the right time. Inevitably, the results of the examinations proved conclusively that God's help had been effective, and I was graduated with Second Class Honors.

Speaker: Many thanks for sharing that experience with us, Mr. Alderson. It was a good example of the opportunity we all have to learn more of the true source of intelligence, to increase our abilities. Friends, no matter what our religious background may be, I'm sure we'd all agree on one point— that there must be a supreme intelligence, or Mind, governing the universe. No doubt most of us have thought of this as we've admired the order and majesty of the heavens, the beauty and variety of flowers, and the symmetry and pattern of even such small things as snowflakes. Surely all these material things point to a divine, governing intelligence.

God is acknowledged as the source of all real intelligence throughout the inspired pages of the Bible. We read in Ecclesiastes, for example, "God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy." So fully did the Master, Christ Jesus, rely on God that he said, "I can of mine own self do nothing." And so, in accord with Bible teachings, Christian Science explains that God is divine Mind, the ever-present, unfailing source of all intelligence.

Now let's see what logically follows when we think of God in this way. We reason that because God is infinite, perfect Mind and is everywhere, divine intelligence must be everywhere. It follows that if man is the spiritual likeness or expression of God—and he is, as the Bible declares—hen man must really be inseparable from divine intelligence, at all times, under all circumstances.

Your great opportunity and mine is to learn to take advantage of the divine relationship of God and man. This is the key to improved abilities. You might think of it this way: A radio or television set has to be tuned in correctly in order to receive a program effectively. Likewise, you and I need to bring our thinking into harmony with God, divine Mind, in order to receive the right ideas, the unlimited good, which God continually imparts. But how may we prepare ourselves to accept this good?

Obviously, rushing off to work or school in a state of worry or confusion is not the best preparation for a successful day. Christian Scientists learn to start the day by turning thought to God, by endeavoring to gain an uplifted consciousness which is receptive to good. You might be interested to know that Christian Scientists find that a study of the Bible and Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy each morning brings inspiration for the day's work. They find that regular, consistent effort to be receptive to and guided by God removes fear, dissolves tension, and provides the basis for constructive progress in their affairs.

Friends, such complete reliance on God as the only source of intelligence doesn't rob you or me of true individuality. Nor does it excuse us from honest effort in our daily task. On the contrary, it awakens us to the limitless opportunities that rightly belong to each and every one of us as the sons of God. These include such right qualities as wisdom, intelligence, accuracy, and inspiration. Our guest found that in proportion as we claim these qualities as our own and utilize them, we prove the availability to us of divine Mind's infinite resources in every situation; we prove that divine intelligence is always right where we are.

What we have said is summed up by Mrs. Eddy in Science and Health in these words (p. 89): "We are all capable of more than we do." And on another page (p. 506) she says, "Spirit, God, gathers unformed thoughts into their proper channels, and unfolds these thoughts, even as He opens the petals of a holy purpose in order that the purpose may appear."

The musical selection on the program mas Hymn No. 81 from the Christian Science Hymnal (God is with me, gently o'er me).