On this program Mrs. Kathleen V. Slaughter of Dallas, Texas, told of her own experience, as follows:

I had suffered since early childhood with severe attacks of asthma. Many physicians told me that it was inherited and there was no permanent cure. As a result, I felt completely helpless. About the time that I had almost given up hope of ever being well and happy, a friend presented Christian Science to me. At first it was beyond my comprehension that this healing religion could help me. But as my understanding increased, hope replaced discouragement and despair.

For years I'd been afraid of certain foods and sudden changes in the weather because of the suffering I experienced as a result of them. Soon after I began to pray and study, I was seized with an attack of asthma. I called a Christian Science practitioner and asked for help through prayer. I was assured of God's ever-present love and help. Shortly after my call I felt relief and the breathing became normal.

However, the healing was not complete at that time. My thinking needed much purifying. Many unpleasant traits of character had to be corrected. I saw I needed more patience, consideration, and love for my fellow man and a greater love for God. As I continued to study and apply the truth which I was learning, the seizures of asthma came farther and farther apart. Finally there came a testing time.

I awakened with a severe attack. A practitioner was called, treatment was given, but I could see no improvement. This continued for several days with complications arising which aggravated the condition. When the situation appeared very dark, I said, "If God cannot heal me, then nothing can, and I want nothing but Christian Science help." A statement made by Mary Baker Eddy in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" came to me (p. 167): "Only through radical reliance on Truth can scientific healing power be realized."

I saw that God, good, was All, the only power, the only presence, and I knew I could safely rely on the divine healing power. So my fear began to vanish. When I realized this, the healing came very quickly; and I knew real freedom for the first time. Once or twice shortly thereafter there was a slight recurrence. But the fear was gone and the healing was established.

This healing took place long ago, and I have been completely free ever since.

The commentary was as follows:

That must have been a very gratifying experience, Mrs. Slaughter. You've made it clear that your healing came as you gained a better understanding of God's all-power, His ever-present goodness. And, friends, this understanding can free anyone from suffering. It enables us to prove that suffering is not necessary.

The power of God brings healing and happiness to all who recognize and understand it. This power is available today as it was in the time of Christ Jesus. And Christian Science shows us how to use it with unfailing, scientific certainty.

To understand just how this power operates, let's begin by reading a Bible passage written by the Apostel Paul: "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God." Paul knew what he was talking about. He healed the sick through his understanding of God's power as did Jesus. These healings illustrate that there is no power apart from God—just as Paul indicated in the statement I read. Christ Jesus showed his disciples how they too could utilize this all-power to heal the sick. The healing work of Christian Science comes through reliance on this same divine power.

Now someone may say, "It may be true that all power belongs to God, but doesn't God send suffering as well as health?" Certainly not. God is good alone. He creates no evil or discord which He could send to His children. When you stop to think about it, it's not logical to believe that an entirely good God would send sickness to harm or destroy His own creation.

Then someone may ask, "But where does sickness come from?" The answer is indicated in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." On page 377, Mary Baker Eddy writes: "The cause of all so-called disease is mental, a mortal fear, a mistaken belief or conviction of the necessity and power of ill-health; also a fear that Mind is helpless to defend the life of man and incompetent to control it. Without this ignorant human belief, any circumstance is of itself powerless to produce suffering."

Let's take a minute to analyze this statement as it applied to Mrs. Slaughter's situation, and as it applies to situations which you may be facing. The cause of our guest's suffering was her fear. She was afraid that certain foods or sudden changes of weather had the power to harm her. She was also convinced that her suffering was necessary because it was inherited. When we believe that our food, our environment, or any other outside influence can harm us in any way, we become victims of this false belief.

When we understand that God has all power, we find that such things as weather changes, pollen, germs, certain foods, or heredity have no power to make us suffer. Christian Science shows us how to prove that this is true. When we find that there is nothing to fear, we are healed.

How could a flower, a vegetable, a field of hay, a bit of pollen have any power to harm God, or man made in His likeness? As we realize that God is all-powerful, we prove that such things need not be feared. They have no power to harm. To attribute power to such things is to ignore the First Commandment, which says, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

Have you ever walked into a darkened room and become frightened by an object which looked sinister because you couldn't see it clearly? You probably switched on the light and found amusement replacing your fear when you discovered the object was really quite harmless. In much the same manner, the study of Christian Science turns on the light of truth to dissolve our fears.

Since God is good and all-powerful, it necessarily follows that man can be subject only to goodness. Man, the child of God, continuously lives, moves, and breathes in the atmosphere of God's goodness and harmony. The realization of this brings freedom from the bondage of allergies, disease, fear.

The Bible tells us that God is all-powerful; therefore He is the only cause. His power operates to produce only good effects, such as health, happiness, harmony. Without a cause there can be no effect, and if something is not caused by God, it actually has no reality. Thus Christian Science proves to us that suffering need not be accepted—that suffering is not necessary, because God is the only cause and good is the only effect.

The musical selection on this program was Hymn No. 144 from the Christian Science Hymnal, "In atmosphere of Love divine."