I was raised in Christian Science, but in my teenage years I stopped going to Sunday School. In college, I married my high school sweetheart, but by this time I wasn’t living my life in accord with what I’d learned in Christian Science. I was drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana. I had reached a point where I wanted to stop but wasn’t able to through willpower.

I began suffering from hemorrhoids that became so painful I consulted a doctor. He said the only thing he could do for me was surgery. That really scared me. It was difficult to walk, and I was unable to go to work. My wife said that I couldn’t just lie around, and that I should either do what the doctor suggested or use “this Christian Science” I had told her about.

I decided to call a Christian Science practitioner for treatment through prayer. Even though I feared that turning to Christian Science might mean I’d have to change my lifestyle—which I thought I enjoyed—I feared surgery even more. The practitioner sensed that I was on the fence about committing to Christian Science treatment. She told me to buy the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and all of the other writings by Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science, and begin reading them along with the Bible. My wife and I were poor college students, so I really gave some deep thought to this decision before ultimately following through with it.