Address by Herschel P. Nunn, Advertising Representative of The Christian Science Monitor, Portland, Oregon

Those who work willingly, gratefully, joyously, intelligently, trusting in the law of Mind's infinite abundance, are indeed supplied in more goodly measure, and on a more lasting basis, than the envious, selfish ones whose thought is on their reward more than on the service they render. The chosen ones for the next day's task in the vineyard are the enlightened, grateful ones. "Unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him."

We read in "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (p. 193), "The spiritual dominates the temporal." Spiritual riches come only in one way—by reflecting God. Against divine reflection the gates of the hell of lack cannot prevail. The infinitude of Spirit speaks with authority to poverty, and enriched humanity answers with supply. Continuous poverty is mental penury.

As advertising representatives of The Christian Science Monitor we are privileged emissaries of the abundance of good as expressed in our great daily newspaper. Each splendid achievement of our workers here in Boston, with their helpers around the world; each fine presentation of events of vital significance, such as our recent Coronation Issue, is evidence of what we are giving to the world when we present the value of representation in the Monitor's advertising columns. The unsolicited and eager praise of this issue from our advertisers indicates the abundance of its goodwill achievement.

That shibboleth of advertising men, "How large is your circulation?" is going down before statements like that of Walter E. Thwing: "These three—selection, attention, influence—are essential to quality in an advertising medium." "Most advertisers who have used the Monitor know that it is characterized especially by three qualities—first, reader confidence in the paper and in its advertisers; second, reader responsiveness to the advertisers; third, the high credit quality of the orders it produces." Circulation is important only in relation to these three.

We value this appraisement of our paper in the eyes of practical business. We should be unwilling to sell advertising that did not pay. One of our retail advertisers in Portland, who has received excellent results from his twelve years of continuous advertising in the Monitor, told me that he felt that his returns from our readers in the summer of 1931 had supplied just the increase of revenue which enabled him to weather the financial storm, and so remain in business.

However, we are conscious of a still greater abundance which is received by our advertisers. Many of them are to find our blessed Leader's gift to mankind, Christian Science, through their contact with the Monitor in which their advertisement appears.

It is the prayer of each one of us here assembled that our representation of The Christian Science Monitor may always carry healing in its wings, that we may be led daily into better and better practice of Christian Science. Some of you are visiting Boston for the first time in your capacity as Monitor Advertising Representatives. A happy memory of my first visit here in 1923, in such capacity, was the privilege of reading one of Mrs. Eddy's letters, since published, which has always helped me a lot. It said in part, "Pray daily, never miss praying, no matter how often: 'Lead me not into temptation,'—scientifically rendered,—Lead me not to lose sight of strict purity, clean pure thoughts; let all my thoughts and aims be high, unselfish, charitable, meek,—spiritually minded. With this altitude of thought your mind is losing materiality and gaining spirituality and this is the state of mind that heals the sick." (Published in the notes of Dr. Powell's "Mary Baker Eddy: A Life Size Portrait," p. 322.)

We shall indeed put the spirit of healing service first in our lives and in our work, the gain of materiality last, when this "altitude of thought" becomes our working ideal. Then shall spiritual riches and their reflection in material abundance be ours, through the only way they can come, by reflecting God.

Address by Norman S. Rose, Advertising Manager of The Christian Science Monitor

I should like to preface my brief remarks by reading from "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 339), under the title "Fidelity": "Experience is victor, never the vanquished; and out of defeat comes the secret of victory. That to-morrow starts from to-day and is one day beyond it, robes the future with hope's rainbow hues.

"In the battle of life, good is made more industrious and persistent because of the supposed activity of evil. The elbowing of the crowd plants our feet more firmly. In the mental collisions of mortals and the strain of intellectual wrestlings, moral tension is tested, and, if it yields not, grows stronger."

I think we may agree that if our Leader had written a few lines especially for the advertising representatives of her daily newspaper, they might have been those I have just read.

What an impressive thought that is—"the elbowing of the crowd plants our feet more firmly"! How completely Mrs. Eddy reverses, as she never fails to do, an erroneous belief of mortal mind! In this instance, the belief is that plenty of vigorous elbowing can throw us off our balance, upset our plans and our work, push us into a corner and deprive us of the legitimate fruits of our labors. But, says our Leader, that is not so.

Opposition may seem to be stubborn, and sometimes adamant. Prejudice may loom up like a mountain that we may find hard to climb. Indifference may present an intangible foe with which we cannot even seem to grapple. One or another of them so often intrudes upon a carefully planned interview, robs it of its intended effectiveness, and then walks down the street with us, softly whispering in our ear, "Well, I guess I fixed that."

And how does our Leader describe all this? She calls it the "supposed activity of evil," and she says that, because of it, "good is made more industrious and persistent." Why, of course—for all these things are, as Mrs. Eddy declares, "the mental collisions of mortals." And when we meet them mentally, consecratedly, before we begin our day's work and at opportune intervals through the day, they cannot do anything except fade away into their native nothingness, and "out of defeat comes the secret of victory."

We do not have to believe anything that is not good, or give it any power, for only the good is real, and only the real is true. Our confidence in the authority and dominion of scientific prayer truly "robes the future with hope's rainbow hues."

So, let's never be the least bit discouraged over elbowings, collisions, or failure to progress as rapidly as we should like to. On that point, I will close with a story about an actor in Hollywood. This actor was a little boy who had been appearing in pictures since he was an infant. One day he was in a group of children taking part in a scene, when the director noticed that he looked troubled, and did not enter into the spirit of the occasion as he should. At the first opportunity, the director asked, "What's the matter, Bobby?" You seem worried." "Well," replied Bobby, "I am worried. I have been playing in pictures all my life, and here I am still just an extra. I am five years old, and I haven't accomplished a thing." "Now, now," said the director kindly, "don't be discouraged, Bobby. Give yourself another six months."

Doubtless that was good advice for Bobby, and it may not be bad advice for anyone who is tempted to feel the way Bobby felt.