October 30, 1875—Mary Baker Eddy (then Glover) publishes Science and Health. It is 456 pages long and printed at W. F. Brown and Co. in Boston, Massachusetts. She sends copies of her book to influential thinkers of the time in cities like New York, London, Paris, Heidelberg.

One of these books goes to Bronson Alcott, a transcendentalist. Here is his response:

Mrs. Glover,

Accept my thanks for your remarkable volume entitled "Science and Health" which I have read with profound interest, and, let me add, the perusal has awakened an earnest desire to know more of yourself personally.

The sacred truths which you announce sustained by facts of the Immortal Life, give to your work the seal of inspiration—reaffirm, in modern phrase, the Christian revelations.

In times like ours, so sunk in sensualism, I hail with joy any voice speaking an assured word for God and Immortality. And my joy is heightened the more when I find the blessed words are of woman's divinings.

But I need more space than this paper allows to speak discriminatingly of yourself and Science.

May I then enquire if you would deem a visit from me an impertinence? If not, and agreeable to you, will you name the day when I may expect the pleasure of fuller interchange of views on these absorbing themes.

Very truly yours,
Bronson Alcott
January 17, 1876

The late 1870s—Mrs. Eddy begins to promote Science and Health in the public marketplace, including The Old Corner Bookstore in downtown Boston.

One morning in 1876, a tall woman ... walked into The Old Corner Bookstore on School Street, in Boston, and in a dignified manner told the clerk that she wished the firm to sell some books for her. When she was asked what they were, she produced two small volumes from a package under her arm and handed them to the clerk.

"Mind cure?" he inquired, looking them over skeptically. The woman did not answer. "All right, madam," the clerk went on curtly, "You can leave me six of the books, provided you don't charge too much."

"I get $1.50 for them," the visitor said.

"Very well," the clerk told her. "We'll pay you $1.07½ for all we sell."

The woman accepted and, declining to give her address, said, "I'll call again," and left the store.

One of the books was placed in the store's "crank department," a shelf reserved for books the proprietor thought had little chance to be known, or had little merit. The other five were stored beneath the counter. In two or three days, the book on the shelf was bought, and when the woman called again at the end of the week, the clerk discovered with surprise that the others had been sold too. She brought in more books, and the demand for them increased steadily, until at last The Old Corner Bookstore became the regular supplier for the book.

[Printed in The Christian Science Journal, August 1998.]

1890—From the very start, Science and Health brings healing to its readers—as this letter to Mrs. Eddy explains. It's from a woman on the great American frontier:

We have been studying Science and Health for a year, and I cannot tell you how much it has done for us, giving us health instead of sickness, and giving us such an understanding of God as we never had before. Christian Science was our only help two weeks ago, when our baby was born. My husband and myself were alone. I dressed myself the next day. The third day I commenced doing my work, and am well and strong. I think it must be pleasing to you to know how much good your work is doing.

Kittie Beck
Cass Co., Nebraska

1891—In January, Mrs. Eddy launches a major revision of the book. She rearranges the chapters, adds marginal summaries, nearly doubles the size of the index, and adds some 40 pages of new material.

Early on, questions arise about Science and Health's link to the Bible. In 1894, a reader offers this comment:

At this point, some of our conscientious church brethren will be asking about that book of books, the Bible; so we will endeavor to explain its relationship to Science and Health. The tie is a very close one. As the true idea is one with its Principle, God, so are the Bible and Science and Health one in Principle and in idea. This true idea of God is spoken of throughout the inspired Scriptures, but its fullness has not been understood. And we will say in this connection that, as Christian Scientist, we do not dishonor God or the Bible when we say that Science and Health is the Key to the sacred Scriptures, and as such, we may at all times allow it to rest upon the Bible. The two go hand in hand, and are inseparable, but remember that you have to handle the key before you can manipulate the lock, and it is surely no discredit to the lock because you use a key that fits it.

C. W. Chadwick 

A Chicago woman sends Booker T. Washington a copy of Science and Health in 1886, and he writes a letter thanking her.

Miss I. C. Hodnet,
197 Oakwood Boulevard,
Chicago, Ill.

Dear Madam:—We have received the copy of Science and Health, and we are indeed grateful. We shall place it in our library after handing it to our resident physician and feel certain that thorough circulation will be given it.

Thanking you for the kindness which prompts your giving it, I am

Very truly yours,
Booker T. Washington
Principal

1897—Some Science and Health readers are healed in spite of themselves, as this woman was.

After being treated by several physicians, and trying all kinds of patent medicine, gradually growing worse, my husband heard of Christian Science, and bought a copy of Science and Health, and brought it home, saying, "I want you to read this book, it may heal you." I said, "How much did you pay for it?"

"Three dollars and eighteen cents," was his reply.

"A fool and his money are soon parted," I answered. "What do you think this book could do for me?"

"Read it and see."

I laid it aside, thinking it was wrong to throw away so much money when we so needed it. The more I thought of it, the more I thought I must read it, as he had paid so much for it. If it had been only fifty cents or a dollar I would have left it unread.

I commenced reading it, and had not finished before I was healed, physically and morally, and am today a well woman, doing my own work, and my home, instead of being one of wretchedness, is one of peace and joy. And the "little book" has wrought transformation. I want to say that if I could not get another copy, a thousand dollars would not purchase this one.

D. E. Goding
Randolph, Vermont

1899—Susan B. Anthony notes Mary Baker Eddy's achievements. Replying to a statement that women "establish no faith and write no creeds," Miss Anthony writes:

What of Mrs. Eddy? No man ever obtained so large a following in so short a time. Her churches are among the largest and most elegant in Boston, Chicago, and other cities. But it is only during the last half century that woman has been permitted by man even to offer a prayer aloud in public. The great Apostle Paul enjoined her to keep silence in the churches. For nineteen hundred years since the dawn of Christianity, man has been much occupied in establishing faiths and formulating creeds for woman to follow. Since she found her voice and her tongue, fifty years ago, she has been too busy rising to her own level and adjusting her life to new conditions to do more than recognize the great need of humanity—fewer creeds and more of the Divine Spirit. When woman does write her creed, it will be one of right actions, not of theological theories.

1901—The new century brings new healings. Children as well as adults are able to heal—and be healed—by reading Science and Health, as this girl describes:

About two or three months ago I had ... scarlet fever, and mamma had to report to the Board of Health, and my two sisters couldn't go to school; the first time they had been absent or tardy. One had been going to school five years, and one three years. Everyone was afraid to come to our house for weeks, and our cook went away because she was afraid. Mamma treated me with Christian Science. I was in bed only two days, and when I was awful hot and my head ached very badly I asked mamma to read out loud from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and I felt much better then. ... Papa was scared awfully, and was afraid the girls would catch it too, but they didn't. Most always I can heal myself. I have treated Papa several times and healed him.

Mary Scranton Roe
Fort Worth, Texas

In 1908—American Red Cross founder Clara Barton reads Science and Health. In an article that year by Viola Rogers in the New York American, Miss Barton is quoted on the subject of Mary Baker Eddy and her book:

 She said that she looked upon Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy as the one person, regardless of sex, living today, who has done the greatest good for her fellow-creatures, and that Christian Science itself is the most remarkable as well as the most potent factor in religious life.

"While I have not studied deeply enough the great religion founded by Mrs. Eddy to consider myself a Christian Scientist," said Miss Barton, "I can say that I look upon Christian Science, as I understand it, as the most ideally beautiful yet the most practical and comforting of beliefs. It is doing more in the world today, and will continue to as more people become cognizant of the beauty of its teachings, than any other one influence for good."

Asked if she had read Science and Health, Miss Barton said that she had, and was much comforted by its teachings. "Love," she said, "permeates all the teachings of this great woman."

1912—Science and Health is published for the first time in another language—German.

1914 to 1918—Science and Health brings hope as the "war to end all wars" propels the Central Powers into prolonged trench warfare with the Allies. The book offers solace and healing to soldiers and their families, irrespective of nationality.

Shortly before the armistice in November, 1918, while in military service in France and after a period of almost continuous duty and exposure, I collapsed, and was carried into a hospital. I then remained a patient in military hospitals for over three months. During that period I came under the care of several Army physicians and nurses, who spoke of my condition as hopeless. Finally a doctor told me, "The slightest work would kill you."

When I had first entered the Army in 1917, the branch church I had been attending gave me a small Bible and a vest-pocket edition of Science and Health. I had kept these books with me and had read occasionally. Now, for the first time, I began to read with an open mind. I decided that since the doctors and nurses had been unable to help me, I would earnestly try to understand Christian Science and be obedient to its teachings. This marked the turning point. Shortly thereafter I was reexamined by two Army doctors and was medically classified as D, substantially meaning "totally unfit for any kind of duty." I was ordered transferred to a hospital in the United States, where I arrived after a few weeks.

Although I had received no further medical attention of any kind, when I was examined upon arrival at that hospital I was told, "You haven't a trace of anything that is on this chart." Further examinations at that hospital and by a hospital in my home state also gave me a clean bill of health, and I was soon discharged from the Army and reported to my previous employer on March 31, 1919. I had been completely and permanently healed by Christian Science.

Glenn D. Babcock
Bloomington, Indiana

While I was serving in France [during World War I] as a lieutenant in the 118th Engineers, an arterial tumor developed, medically known as an aneurysm of the aorta, supposedly due to the exertion and exposure of the service.

The best medical authorities of the Army, both in Europe and America, declared that the case was incurable and that they could not do anything to relieve it. I had long been friendly to Christian Science. ...

I then began reading in earnest the vest-pocket edition of Science and Health, which had been given me by the War Relief Committee, and was helped by Scientists in my company. ... My recovery has been a marvel to the Army specialists. ...

Robert James Weston
San Antonio, Texas

1920s and 30s—Prosperity, the Depression, and the prelude to another war. This is a time of rebuilding, of founding the League of Nations; of fighting crime, alcoholism, and poverty; of dancing the Charleston; of swinging to jazz; and of building up to World War II. Through it all, Science and Health's powerful message continues to reach new hearts.

I was judged an unsalvageable juvenile delinquent by a superior court judge in a county courthouse in the spring of 1920. I was fifteen years of age. I was sentenced to five years in the state reformatory. I was returned there twice more before going to Sing Sing Prison for fifteen years. For a period of years I was in different state and federal prisons. I was revengeful towards man's law.

When Christian Science came to me, I was in an isolation cell in Sing Sing, having been returned because I had escaped. Someone tossed a newspaper clipping into my cell. It turned out to be the metaphysical article from The Home Forum pages of The Christian Science Monitor. I read it over and over many times. It was meant for me.

I did not change immediately, but a light came on for me. The intelligence and good sense in the article got to me. I was a schemer and wanted something that would work for me. Christian Science began its work, and it is still working. I started a Mary Baker Eddy library. I played clarinet for the Christian Science services in prison. I became an inmate worker for God through Christian Science.

I learned true freedom in prison through this study. It taught me that except we ourselves build the prison for ourselves there is no prison.

Now I'm free—not just out of prison, but free. I was off federal and state parole years ago.

Prison was adversity; it was like a toad, ugly and venomous; but the precious jewel—the pearl of great price—to me was the understanding of God I received through this wonderful study of Christian Science.

Thomas Henry Smith
Danbury, Connecticut

Christian Science has shown us the way out of our financial troubles. In 1928, we experienced loss from a bank failure that left us in a very bad financial condition, but thanks to the faithful work of practitioners, the way has been revealed to us and we have proved in a small measure that "Spirit, the synonym of Mind, Soul, or God, is the only real substance" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 468).

Ernest F. Cook
St. Joseph, Missouri

When I first heard of Christian Science I had been deaf for four years. This condition became worse, and the time came when I could not hear the noise of street traffic. ... I then resolved to comply with the teachings of Mrs. Eddy and to free myself of this infirmity, and devoted my time to the reading of the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures."

I pondered this book; I endeavored to understand it, to study the Scriptures with care, and to pray without ceasing. In my daily tasks ... I tried to draw ever nearer to God. I clung steadfastly to Truth, striving to realize God's presence and the nothingness of all inharmonious conditions. After I had worked in this way for four months, reading, lifting up my thought, and undergoing a spiritual reformation, at a Wednesday evening [church] meeting I heard the strong voice of the Reader, which I had never been able to hear before. Through God's good grace I was healed and could hear very well. This occurred fifteen years ago and I still hear very well.

Basile Alexandrovitch
Geneva, Switzerland

Two beautiful instances of God's omnipotent supply came to us during the economic depression of the 1930s. On one occasion I was called upon to feed a group of people when it seemed I had very little in the house. I stood before the door of the refrigerator and prayed, "Dear God, let the angel of Thy presence guide me, for I know not what to do." And the angel of God's presence did guide me, for I was able through inspiration to put together a meal and to do things so there was ample food for all and enough left over for some meals for our family of four afterward.

A note was falling due and there was no money available to pay for it. After casting out fear through prayer and resolving to rely upon God to guide us, my husband departed for the city. Upon stepping off the train he was greeted by a client, who said, "I believe I owe you some money." The debt was long overdue. The statute of limitations had run out. The client had been missing for years. Neither he nor my husband remembered the amount due. When he looked it up in his records, my husband found the amount the client owed and now readily paid was the amount due on our note. Our need was met.

Clara Solberg
Oak Park, Illinois

1939–45—During World War II, there are many opportunities for prayer. People worldwide turn to Science and Health in war's desperate circumstances.

During my seventeen months overseas, the vest-pocket edition of Science and Health and the Bible were always with me. On lonely night outposts my repeating of the Lord's Prayer, "the scientific statement of being," [the] Daily Prayer, and the twenty-third Psalm was a source of comfort and protection for the coming day's activities. Many instances of protection were experienced. Fifteen minutes after we left a house weakened by enemy artillery fire, the structure completely collapsed, leaving not even the doorway discernible. I always prayed for the spiritual guidance of our leaders and kept this in mind before and during attacks.

One night we were lying on the ground on the edge of a woods, resting before taking up the attack again, and our leader spotted some dug-in positions off to the right, and for safety's sake we were moved to these positions. A few minutes later; an enemy barrage came in swiftly and unexpectedly, directly to the place we had just vacated.

Leonard Morgan Briggs, Jr.
Hyattsville, Maryland

I was in the submarine service on war patrol in the relatively shallow waters of the Java Sea, and we were being depth-charged. To human sense there appeared little hope of escape, as our submarine was leaking badly and the attacking ship had little difficulty keeping us located with its sonar equipment.

I sat quietly and turned to God prayerfully to know that God, as our Father-Mother, was ever present; that He loved all His children; that He was omnipotent and that He could and would protect us. I particularly remember reciting slowly and carefully "the scientific statement of being" from Science and Health, which I had memorized in Sunday School. The closing lines are (p. 468): "Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness. Therefore man is not material; he is spiritual." I prayed and pondered these thoughts at some length. After a time I felt at peace, and the fear which had been mounting completely left me.

Although to all appearances nothing had changed, shortly afterward the attacks stopped. The warship left abruptly, even though it was still early afternoon and we were deep in enemy territory. We were able to make the necessary repairs, and in a few days we arrived safely in port in Australia. ...

This experience awakened me to the fact that Christian Science was not just an abstract affair with the healing work to be done by others. Its practical ever-present help was there for me, if I would apply God's law as I had learned to do.

Vincent W. Brown
Kabul, Afghanistan

Shortly after the end of the Second World War, I became acquainted with Christian Science through a member of the Soviet occupational forces. She had been a German teacher in Lithuania and had been forced by the Soviet Army to move to my hometown. She had taken notice of me for some time and had brought me little gifts; and eventually she told me that she felt she could trust me. She asked me to get her a book, Science and Health, out of the ruined cathedral where meetings were held for a religion called Christian Science.

She came to pick up the book, and I never heard from her again. So it was that I learned of this book from a woman who was considered by us Germans to be an enemy. Since that time, Science and Health has been my constant companion, counselor, and helper. It has taught me about love for God and His sons and daughters, and it has made a successful, healthy person of me. Every day, the book gives me new inspiration and vitality.

Waltraud Heidecke
Magdeburg, Germany

1950s and 1960s—From postwar euphoria to rebellion and idealism. The words of Jack Kerouac mingle with backyard barbecues and Chuck Berry. And then comes the decade of civil rights marches, social unrest, Vietnam, and flower children. But the stirrings often bring spiritual awakening.

For eight years I was a semi-invalid, suffering from diabetes and heart trouble. I had become so weak that I could not stand for more than five minutes at a time. I was attended by some reputable medical men, but they were all of the opinion that nothing more could be done for me. ... One day I sent my son to a neighbor to borrow a book, as I had read all those we had in the house. He brought back a copy of Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy.

I read it eagerly, for I had been searching for a satisfying religion, and here was my answer. When I finished the book, I was instantaneously healed of both complaints. Although I still had only a little knowledge of Christian Science, I knew I was through taking medicines and threw them out. That was over twenty-five years ago, and the healings have been permanent.

Mary J. Morse
Melbourne, Victoria
Australia

"Human hate has no legitimate mandate and no kingdom. Love is enthroned." The practical Christianity underlying this statement of truth from page 454 of Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy was clearly revealed to me during an experience I had in a southern town.

Several days after the signing of the Civil Rights Bill in 1964, my husband and I attended a newly integrated cinema. Earlier that day, while studying the textbook, the foregoing quotation stood out in bold relief.

Despite several pickets, we were able to enter the theater peacefully. Upon leaving the theater, however, we were confronted by a hostile mob. The town police force had stationed themselves between the crowd and the theatergoers in a sincere attempt to keep order and to protect all the citizens. ...

In the theater I turned my back on the situation and began [praying]. The Negroes too had joined hands and were praying together. Never have I been so grateful for the small edition of Science and Health which I carry with me and in which I found many sustaining truths ... to combat mounting fear, anguish, and false pity. ...

As the time wore on, I still could not seem to find my peace and felt directed to call a practitioner in a neighboring city. Her help was instantaneous.

She reminded me that "universal Love is the divine way in Christian Science," as stated on page 266 of Science and Health; and that I must work to perceive the true selfhood of everyone involved in the situation. She recommended that I work to see only the Christlike qualities manifested by all God's offspring. ...

As I hung up the receiver I felt a deep sense of calm and buoyant expectancy. Within five minutes of our conversation the ... tension, malice, and hate that had been manifested simply dissipated. The crowd began to disperse quietly. ... We were able to enter our car and drive away without incident.

Ann B. Jenkins
Charlottesville, Virginia

I belonged to a non-Christian religion when eight years ago my sister-in-law presented me with a copy of the Christian Science textbook Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. At that time I was suffering from cancer. The doctors were still treating me with radium radiation, and they told my husband and parents that I could hope to live only a few years longer.

At first the textbook did not interest me very much, but then I reached page 4, on which I found the following sentence: "The habitual struggle to be always good is unceasing prayer." This statement opened my eyes. This was what I had been searching for, and a deep sense of happiness came over me.

I had always been convinced that only God could help me; but I did not know how to pray to Him or to commune with Him, because at that time He was still an unknown God to me. Mrs. Eddy's statement made me feel I was entering a new world full of hope, and I thought, "This is the way of prayer with which I agree, which I understand, and which I will follow."

Full of joy and hope, I continued to read Science and Health, and I became so interested in the first chapter, entitled "Prayer," that I did not become tired of reading it repeatedly. ...

I had meanwhile discontinued medical treatment. One night the pain recurred and also the fear; but I reasoned that since the textbook had shown me the way to pray, it would also show the way to health. I read and studied throughout the night, and in the morning hours the pain was finally overcome, and I was never troubled by it again.

S. Sunarti
Jakarta, Indonesia

At a special Monday night meeting, the faculty of my college decided that ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) would remain on our campus. A spontaneous student meeting immediately followed. The majority voted to march on the local Army post to protest the killing of students at Kent State University by the National Guard, the President's decision to send troops into Cambodia, as well as the ROTC training. I saw masses of students pouring out of the union building to prepare for the march. ...

I excused myself and went to my room, where I had been preparing a reading on world peace for our Christian Science college organization meeting. I continued my study in the Bible and in Science and Health. I felt very convinced that God was working his purpose out. With one universal cause, God, Love, there could only [be] one effect even in human experience—the expression of love and harmony. I went to sleep thinking these thoughts.

In the morning I found out that before the marchers had left, another vote had been taken and the march put off until Friday. ...

For the remainder of the week, depression, tension, and anger hung in the air, where the usual springtime frolicking had been. Classes were canceled and so were most finals. I spent half the week at student meetings and the other half in my room engulfing myself in The Christian Science Monitor and my "books" and praying. ...

On Wednesday there was a student referendum to determine if students would go on strike. I wanted to vote the "right" way, but I could not decide how I felt. The more I thought and talked with others, the more confused I was. I had to become aware of my at-oneness with God in order to think straight, so I took my ballot and drove to an empty field and prayed for guidance, and for more of the "perfect love" that "casteth out fear." Then I confidently filled out my ballot and returned to school. ...

The next morning my course of action was definite and confident. I joined in a letter-writing campaign designed to get more people outside the college involved and aware of the issues underlying campus unrest. I felt that this was a loving human act.

As the march began at four-o'clock Friday afternoon..., I thought, "Father, it's all Yours". ...

The whole day ended without an incident. This may seem incredible to anyone who saw the extreme tension and near explosion of the campus during the week. The power of God, as revealed in Christian Science, is awesome.

Robert N. Cramer
Newark, Delaware

A few years after graduating from high school, I found life to be empty of promise. I was alone working on the road as a musician, and I had also been pursuing an unchristian path in life that presented no answers to all the questions that were tugging at my sleeves. I carried a copy of the textbook, Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, inside my suitcase as if it were a first-aid kit in a glass box with hammer attached; although the book was never read, it was ready to be used in an emergency.

1970s and beyond—Here come "Star Wars," and the energy crisis, the "me decade," the computer revolution, and the crumbling of the Berlin Wall. And as the close of the century approaches, the phenomenon of globalization begins to knit the peoples of the world together as never before.

As a child I had been a regular student in the Christian Science Sunday School, but later, Saturday-night music jobs gave me an excuse not to get up Sunday morning. I had been convinced of the simple but profound truths of divine Science and was familiar with the healing and comforting thoughts in Science and Health. However, when I began to read the book anew, it was not comforting as before. Some of the passages I read were disturbing. I even threw the book across the room at one point! But a "still small voice" bade me to go pick it up, for what I had read was the truth of spiritual being, whether I liked it or not.

A year later I was studying daily the Bible Lessons found in the Christian Science Quarterly and attending a branch Church of Christ, Scientist. During that time I wondered if I should leave the music business. It seemed full of immorality and temptations. But by prayerfully listening for God's direction, I quickly saw the need to face evil beliefs and heal them, rather than to run from them. The Bible and Science and Health had become my best friends, giving me the courage to confront evil.

I read in the textbook (p. 99), "The calm, strong currents of true spirituality, the manifestations of which are health, purity, and self-immolation, must deepen human experience, until the beliefs of material existence are seen to be a bald imposition, and sin, disease, and death give everlasting place to the scientific demonstration of divine Spirit and to God's spiritual, perfect man." This statement was a guiding light for me. From it I knew what was going to deepen my earthly experience, and how to view sin—as a "bald imposition." Many things that had once been temptations were giving "everlasting place" to the reign of Spirit in my life.

Mark Thomas Word
Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico

In August 1984 a serious skin condition developed above my lip. I prayed about this and began a plan of studying the Bible together with Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy every available moment. Although I asked a Christian Science practitioner for prayerful help, the growth became ugly and protruding. It appeared to be cancerous, and people were advising me to have it removed surgically. By January I was inwardly shaken, my faith faltering. I had begun shielding my face with my hand whenever I was near a mirror or in conversation with anyone.

I filled my days by frantically reading the Bible and Science and Health, taking notes or repeating things I could remember about spiritual healing. Later I recognized that I had slipped into a pattern of studying this Science as though it were a college course. My thought had become busy with the details of my study instead of seeking Christly inspiration. I later saw that the study of Science should lead naturally to living the spiritual truths one is learning.

After several months I finally awoke to the fact that my two beloved books, the Bible and Science and Health, not only share the promise of healing but include spiritual truths which enable us to prove that evil and fear are not powerful. I could trust in God and His infinite power, and I vowed I would trust solely in Him. My thought was stilled; I put my hands in my lap, closed the books, and listened. I knew I would receive fresh guidance from our loved Father-Mother God. There was no fear or doubt.

With that I had taken my first step toward overcoming the fear of cancer. I reached out, prayerfully, acknowledging that I had the Mind "which was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:5). The thought came, "God is infinite good; in this infinite good there is no disease, specifically cancer, and therefore no fear of cancer. God's man eternally dwells in infinite good." Progress was evident right at that moment, for I felt I had begun my journey out of the darkness of a mortal belief in disease.

Soon the growth diminished. In three weeks it was completely gone, leaving no scar. My healing occurred in April 1985. I was, and still am, filled with joy, humility, and gratitude for this wonderful victory. It came through turning wholeheartedly and understandingly to God's omnipotent law, and through listening for and obeying His directions.

Patricia Wilhoit
Solana Beach, California

On a warm afternoon last May while coming into our house through the laundry room (which is part of the garage), I felt a sharp pain in my right foot. Looking down, I saw what appeared to be a rattlesnake, disappearing under the washing machine. (Later I described the snakebite to experts at a local nature museum. They confirmed it was that of a rattlesnake).

Now I came into the house and immediately began to pray. ... A great sense of love filled my consciousness—love for all that God creates. ... God's law has never included a creature that could inflict pain or suffering on another.

I studied Mrs. Eddy's statement on page 468 of the textbook, "Substance is that which is eternal and incapable of discord and decay." I knew that my substance was eternal because real substance is Truth. Truth wouldn't be Truth if it were discordant. Truth is harmonious substance.

During the day I could move my toe freely inside my shoe (it had been so swollen that it was immobile), and all numbness was gone. I knew the healing had taken place.

Merrily Allen Ozenghar
Yucca Valley, California

Note: unless otherwise indicated, all the above material was excerpted from the Christian Science Sentinel, The Christian Science Journal, and The Herald of Christian Science.