Several years ago I was elected Second Reader in my branch Church of Christ, Scientist. The Second Reader reads aloud to the congregation the Bible passages in the weekly Lesson-Sermons (found in the Christian Science Quarterly) that are the basis of Christian Science Sunday services. I was happy to serve in this office, but also humbled. Being a Reader is a wonderful privilege and honor, and I wanted to make sure that I was ready for this role.

In preparation, I read the By-Law in the Manual of The Mother Church by Mary Baker Eddy regarding the moral obligations for Readers of The Mother Church and its branches. It says, “They must keep themselves unspotted from the world,—uncontaminated with evil,—that the mental atmosphere they exhale shall promote health and holiness, even that spiritual animus so universally needed” (p. 31). 

To be uncontaminated with evil, we need a pure thought that is gained through an understanding of God as Spirit and each of us as spiritual, the likeness of Spirit. This understanding helps us to perceive our true, spotless nature as God’s children.