It is with much gratitude that I...

Lucyle A. Franklin

It is with much gratitude that I testify to the healing ministry of Christian Science in the hope that others will be encouraged to trust God "who healeth all thy diseases," as we read in Psalm 103.

Before school age, I suffered from what a physician called double pneumonia with measles. He predicted that it would be fatal. However, my mother exercised a strong belief in the power of prayer; and the crisis was passed.

I am sure that the placing of a copy of Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy in her hands some years later was the answer to her constant prayer to know God better. For this book is the key to the Bible and enables the reader to understand God and find peace.

Mrs. Eddy says (Science and Health, p. 196), "Man has 'sought out many inventions,' but he has not yet found it true that knowledge can save him from the dire effects of knowledge." The aftereffects of my illness would illustrate that. My devoted father had been schooled in pharmacy and was unwilling for me to depend entirely on spiritual means for healing. He believed that I was fragile and had inherited some parental weaknesses, and he cautioned frequently regarding contagion.

In my efforts to be obedient, I avoided people as much as possible. This attitude may have been responsible for the timidity, sensitiveness, and a great sense of insecurity which followed.

But I had been enrolled in a Christian Science Sunday School by my mother, and the instruction given there changed my concept of God and His universe. He was no longer a huge and revengeful mortal sitting on a throne in the clouds, but our Father-Mother, our Maker, to whom all mankind and I could turn instantly for any need.

What a joy to know that God does not send sickness and that there is no sickness in His kingdom, where man, His beloved child, dwells! Fear of sickness as a result of contact with others began to lessen. Dependence upon others gave place to communing with God. Recitation in classes became easier. Human relationships became less personal. Then I discovered that I was no longer afraid to stand for justice when in the minority.

Pleurisy and impaired hearing were healed at this time. And, as the seeds of Truth continued to grow and bear fruit, consecutive painful boils abated.

My occupation, which followed school, required examinations for a health card. After one of these, the physician expressed the opinion that only Christian Science treatment could make me entirely well, I began to attend church services and to read the periodicals from The Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

Several loving students became good friends and helped me along the way. The light of Love was turned upon the dark shades of worry, anxiety, resentment, sadness, and selfishness. And as these false traits were replaced with the qualities of trust, courage, forgiveness, joy, and self-immolation, health kept pace.

The more good I saw manifested, the more I loved the truth. I gained so much good from the services and felt so much love from the members that I wanted to have a part in sharing Christian Science with others. God answered my prayer by directing me to membership in the Mother Church and one of its branches, which gives me an opportunity for active gratitude. Later, the way unfolded for me to have class instruction.

During the years since, every need has been met. My family and I have had many healings, physical and moral. We have experienced protection, guidance, and safety. I am especially grateful for the universal and unchanging nature of God, which Christian Science is explaining to mankind.—(Mrs.) Lucyle A. Franklin, Vancouver. Washington.

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The Bible Speaks to You

RADIO PROGRAM No. 152 - The Reason for Morality

March 6, 1965

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