Many years ago my father's family...

Dorothea Kahn Jaffe

Many years ago my father's family learned of Christian Science when one of my aunts was healed of a long-standing ailment. Although the family background was that of the orthodox Jewish religion, the healing was so convincing that the entire family of seven brothers and sisters almost immediately began the study of Christian Science. All were quickly convinced that it was the truth, became church members, and availed themselves of the privilege of class instruction. Even their elderly father was blessed with a healing and became interested in the new-found religion.

I am grateful to have been brought up by parents who were students of Christian Science. Because of their understanding of God's protecting power, I was not taught to fear as many children are, and I had a happy, healthy childhood. However, in spite of all the good that came to me through Science, I began during my high school days to question its teachings. I had to prove many statements of Truth for myself before I was ready to apply for church membership. But this proving period helped to ground me, and it has enabled me to speak with conviction when I am asked whether I believe that Christian Science heals.

For many years much good has come to me through the study of the Lesson-Sermons in the Christian Science Quarterly provided for in the Manual of The Mother Church by Mrs. Eddy. This daily help in uplifting thought to God, Mind, has enabled me to overcome timidity and fear of failure which at times seemed to hold me back. Again and again in my work as newspaper correspondent I have found myself able to fulfill assignments that seemed too hard for me. I can explain this only as being a result of the study of statements by Mrs. Eddy in her writings, such as the following in Science and Health (p. 89): "Mind is not necessarily dependent upon educational processes. It possesses of itself all beauty and poetry, and the power of expressing them."

While I have never had any major physical difficulty to be overcome, I have had healings of many minor ills through Christian Science. An eye which appeared badly infected became normal in a few hours after I realized that there was no place for fear in God's universe. Functional disorders yielded slowly but certainly as my understanding of God's government grew. I have never taken medicine, never felt the need for medical aid.

The understanding we gain in Christian Science that God holds all His children in perfect harmony sustained me during the year my husband served in the combat areas of Europe during World War II. The trials of that period compelled us to realize that our home is in the consciousness of God. This has been a great help to us in establishing our postwar home. We found a house that meets our needs and are grateful that it is also helping meet the needs of others.

Our hymn that tells us, "A glorious day is dawning," means more and more to me as I grow in the understanding of Christian Science. I am grateful indeed that Mrs. Eddy has given us the key to the Scriptures, making the teaching of Jesus vital and adequate to meet the problems of today's troubled world. I am thankful also for class instruction.—(Mrs.) Dorothea Kahn Jaffe, Chicago, Illinois.

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Testimony of Healing

The study and application of the...

October 29, 1949

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