The Lectures
Introductions to Lectures
Middletown, Connecticut (First Church).
Lecturer: The Rev. Andrew J. Graham; introduced by Frank Rich, who said:—
We read in the Bible that Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen." Jesus was speaking of himself and of the Christians of his day. To-day Christian Scientists speak of that they have seen, and testify of that they do know. They have seen the results of Christian Science in the lives of their families and friends, and have proved in their own lives that Christian Science heals sickness and disease, however strong the belief in them may have been. I can testify to the healing power of Christian Science; and for the past twelve years it has met every need of physical healing for my family and for me.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana (First Church).
Lecturer: John Randall Dunn; introduced by Jared Young Sanders, Jr., who said:—
Several years ago I was healed of a severe attack of lumbago by Christian Science. The year previous I had had medical attention for this same disease, but without relief. On this occasion I turned to Christian Science because there was nothing else to turn to; and I found it, as have so many others who have welcomed its teachings, to be humanity's friend. At the time I knew little of Christian Science, except what I had heard its detractors state. I had only read portions of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy; and that had been read only in a spirit of criticism. But as I lay in the dark in a hotel bedroom, in a city many miles from my home, the pain grew more and more intolerable; and in my extremity I turned to God for help, and prayed that I might get relief. As though in answer to my prayer, as indeed it was, I recalled Christian Science, and that Mrs. Eddy had written, in substance, that anyone could prove the truth she taught by applying the rules laid down in Science and Health. I turned to the teachings of Christian Science, as I remembered them; and as I began applying those teachings to the circumstances, I lost all sense of time and of my surroundings. I was suddenly conscious that the sun had risen, its golden rays having filled my room with warmth and radiance; and the pain that had seemed intolerable had vanished as the shadows of the night. The disease thus healed by Christian Science on that occasion has never returned.
New York, New York (Fourteenth Church).
Lecturer: Paul Stark Seeley; introduced by Mrs. Elmes Tashjian, who said:—
As I was reared in a religious home and surroundings, naturally the Bible teachings were near and dear to me, though little understood. It remained for Christian Science to make practical the teachings of Christ Jesus, the apostles, and the earlier prophets. Through the study of its textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, I have found the Science of sciences, and am satisfied; whereas once, school knowledge failed to feed me. I found health when apparently dying, and was restored to a useful life of service after many medical practitioners throughout the United States had failed to help me. I have found the precious "Key to the Scriptures;" and the Bible promises are being fulfilled. It matters not how peculiar the trouble may seem, the fact is, and we need only accept it, that there is nothing incurable. In the words of one of our hymns, "Earth has no sorrow that Love cannot cure." A Christian Science lecture is a message from God; therefore it never leaves us where it finds us. The message, if accepted in its simplicity and purity, enlightens, corrects, and heals. Mrs. Eddy provided many activities for our growth, through which we may learn more of God and His Christ, and thereby become conscious of Life eternal here and now.
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (First Church).
Lecturer: Peter V. Ross; introduced by John A. C. Fraser, who said:—
Christian Science brings to men God's sunshine of spiritual understanding. Christian Science not only offers the initial blessings of health and happiness, but it also affords an education in spiritually scientific thinking and practice, whereby one can work out in the detail of his everyday life a true understanding of the Christ-ideal which the inspired Scriptures reveal. Through Christian Science this divine ideal has come to human understanding, more clearly than since those marvelous first days of the Christian era, when Jesus of Nazareth taught and exemplified the pure and perfect understanding of God and ideal manhood. In ministering to human needs, Christian Science operates to correct erring thought, heal the sick, destroy sin and disease, and regenerate and uplift human lives. Those who embrace its message are themselves embraced within its heavenly comfort, its Christly healing, and its sinless joy.
I well remember my first reading of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy. Its clear and helpful explanation of prayer at once impressed me favorably. As I studied, I began to see the real and practical import of Bible teaching. In Christian Science healing I found what I was greatly in need of, for several members of my family had gone down before disease which family physicians had frankly declared incurable in medical practice. Christian Science showed me the way of escape from disease and from all evil, and I made the most of my opportunities to understand its simple teaching, and to live accordingly. These endeavors have brought me rich blessings in renewed health and strength, spiritual understanding of God, and in the way of spiritual progress.
