I applied to join a branch Church of Christ, Scientist, in 1951. On the application was the question, "Do you use tobacco in any form?" If the answer was "yes," the applicant was ineligible for membership. As I was still a very new student of Christian Science, this requirement puzzled me. Hadn't Christ Jesus said that it isn't that which goes into one's mouth that defiles him (see Matt. 15:11)? And, I wondered, if Christian Scientists regard the physical body as a material illusion of mortal mind, why the attitude against smoking, which to me seemed so pleasurable? How much I had yet to learn of the Science of being and the rules of divine metaphysics!

I asked a member of the executive board why the question was included on the application. He said that an individual who smokes was expected to be healed of the habit before joining the church, since Christian Science offers this freedom.

That answer did not satisfy me, so I visited a Christian Science Reading Room. The librarian and I looked up every reference on "tobacco" in the Concordance to Mrs. Eddy's writings. Still, nothing I read gave me a satisfactory explanation of the requirement. As I was about to leave, the librarian stopped me, saying, "I have it! Smoking violates the first commandment, 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me' (Ex. 20:3). Did you ever notice when someone under pressure must have a cigarette, or must be holding something to keep from fidgeting? A smoker depends on tobacco to relieve tension—not on God's redeeming law."

That made sense. It was the answer I'd been seeking, and it helped me understand better that there is no real pleasure or relief in material indulgences. That same week I attended a Christian Science lecture, and from the moment I left the auditorium, I had no desire to smoke. I'd been healed! Branch church membership followed, and a year later I became a member of The Mother Church.

Twenty-seven years have passed, and the study of Christian Science has increased my knowledge of God, and man as His outcome. There have been many modest healings of colds, headaches, and such, but I have come to an important realization: There is no such thing as a "minor" or a "major" demonstration. Error, or mortal belief, is error, whether it appears large or small; and in Christian Science the same prescription is used to overcome it. Scientific prayer is the answer, and if results aren't immediate, we deepen our understanding of divine Principle and its irreversible law.

Years ago I was on a business trip, traveling by car. For an hour I drove on the turnpike just under the speed limit, until I exited at a speed of twenty-five miles an hour. As I started to enter the city streets, my right front wheel flew off and went spinning across the street. It hit no one, nor did it cause damage. I was glad that it hadn't happened while I was moving at the faster speed, and I attributed my safety to God's loving, protective care. Before leaving home that morning, I had read the Bible Lesson in the Quarterly and acknowledged God's ever-present guidance and control. Not only was I protected, but the wheel rolled harmlessly to a stop.

Recently, I woke during the night with a toothache. Although the pain was sharp, I endeavored "to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord" (II Cor. 5:8). This statement of Mrs. Eddy's was especially timely (Science and Health, p. 392): "Exclude from mortal mind the offending errors; then the body cannot suffer from them." I woke in the morning with no evidence of the toothache. It had disappeared like the mortal dream of sensation in matter that it really was.

For many proofs of God's love and nurturing care, and the spiritual understanding I have gained through the study of this Science, I am eternally grateful.

LEE E. LAWDER
Jackson, New Jersey