"Protests of Truth"

[Of Special Interest to Children]

KATHLEEN PERITON

Judy was six years old when she began to use protests. Her mother read her this sentence from "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy (p. 12): "It is neither Science nor Truth which acts through blind belief, nor is it the human understanding of the divine healing Principle as manifested in Jesus, whose humble prayers were deep and conscientious protests of Truth,—of man's likeness to God and of man's unity with Truth and Love."

"You see, dear," her mother explained, "when people need to heal themselves through Christian Science they must do more than simply believe in it or believe in Jesus; they must demonstrate its truths. Mrs. Eddy tells us that Jesus' prayers were 'protests of Truth.'"

"What are protests, Mummy?" Judy asked.

"The truth one says or thinks, or feels very strongly," Mother replied. "If someone came to you and said that you didn't love Mummy and Daddy, you would reply very strongly and quickly that you did love them; and you wouldn't believe for a moment what had been said, would you? You would think and feel and say the truth. That would be a protest. You know, Judy," her mother continued, "you have learned through Christian Science that God made everything perfect, just as it says in the first chapter of Genesis: 'And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.' This is the truth we protest, in spite of all the lies error seems to tell us about unhappiness and sickness and unkindness and pain and naughtiness being real."

Judy very soon understood this. One day when Mummy was away, Judy was out riding with Daddy. In jumping out of the motor car she hurt her ankle very badly. The pain made her cry, but she didn't want to talk to Daddy about her ankle because she knew it was wrong to voice error.

When she arrived home she limped into the house. Daddy left her alone, and she decided to use some protests the way Mummy had pointed out. She knew two sentences from Science and Health by heart, and so she fetched a pencil and two little pieces of paper. On one she wrote, spelling the words the best she could, "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need" (p. 494); on the other paper she wrote, "Whatever it is your duty to do, you can do without harm to yourself" (p. 385). Then she folded the papers up neatly and, remembering that Mummy had read that Jesus' prayers were "protests of Truth," she wrote on the outside of each little note, "Judy's prer."

When Daddy came into the room he found her very busy, but still he did not speak about the error. Judy handed him the little notes. That was the end of the unhappiness and pain. When Mummy came in neither Judy nor Daddy mentioned Judy's problem to her. She would not have known anything about it had she not found two little folded notes on the mantelpiece. How grateful she was to find her little daughter using her own protests and being healed!

Mummy explained to Judy how she could use protests from the Bible and from Science and Health, and how she could use what protests came to her in her own words. Judy has had many happy experiences proving for herself and her pets the truth she learns about God in Sunday School. Each day, and whenever she thinks about a problem, she declares the truth about it. She has proved for herself that she can make her prayers "protests of Truth" in the way Jesus taught so long ago.

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Triumphing over Heredity

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