^. 7.^9, LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY PRINCETON, N. J. PRESENTED BY y-S. c)-t-el IcTi K. /-\ l^x^r-lc^l^Y~- DzV Section :bp his \V7 By Ji. E. Stetson, C.S.D. Reminiscences, Sermons, and Correspondence Proving Adherence to Principle of Christian Science Vital Issues in Christian Science Poems %'r.n:/.urr/, r/ /^/..u/ . /r.-./uC i.r.%r/- A./^ Reminiscences, Sermons, and Gorrespondence Proving Adherence to the Principle of Christian Science as Taught by Mary Baker Eddy /^ MAY 9 1929 '^^ ^< By Augusta E. Stetson, cs.d. Sixth Thousand Illustrated G. P. Putnam's Sons New York and London Zbc fcnicJierbocfter press 1917 Copyright, 1913 BY AUGUSTA E. STETSOM Ubc "Imfclicrbocfter iprcM. Ikevo ffiotft And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. St Paul 1 Corinthiaas, ii., t, 4, 5. I am the way, the truth, and the life : no man cometh unto the Father but by me. Christ Jesus. John xiv*, 6. Millions of unprejudiced minds— simple seekers for Truth, weary wanderers, athirst in the desert— are waiting and watching for rest and drink. Give them a cup of cold water in Christ's name, and never fear the consequences. What if the old dragon should send forth a new flood to drown the Christ-idea ? He can neither drown your voice with its roar, nor again sink the world into the deep waters of chaos and old night. In this age the earth will help the woman ; the spiritual idea will be understood. Those ready for the blessing you impart will give thanks. The waters will be pacified, and Christ will command the wave. Mary Baker Eddy* Science and Health, p. 5 10, LEAD THOU ME Shepherd, hear my pleading prayer, Father, take my hand, Light the torch and lead the way Through time's desert land. I am longing for the day Promised by our Lord, Light the torch and lead the way, Father-Mother God. Guide me. Saviour, lest I stray, Firmly clasp my hand. Light the torch and lead the way, All my steps command. Dear Christ, thou my strength, and stay, Thou my joy, my song, Light the path and lead the way, Through time's phantom throng. Thus I fearless walk, and pray: Father, guard Thy child. Light the torch and lead the way Through the tempest wild. Father — Mother — Love divine, Life in Thee I find. Light the path and lead the way To my home in Mind. A. E. S. 1 PREFACE N compliance with the frequent and urgent requests of my students, members of my church, and others throughout the world who have known me as preacher, teacher, and practitioner of Christian Science Mind- healing since 1884, both in Boston, Massachusetts, and in First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, this book is sent forth on pinions of love to every earnest seeker for Truth. It is a record of the human footsteps which have led me from the letter to the spirit of absolute Christian Science, and my present demonstration of the spiritual facts of being, viz.: that "man is not material; he is spiritual" {Science and Health, p. 468). ''When the following platform is tmderstood and the letter and the spirit bear witness, the infallibility of divine meta- physics will be demonstrated" {Science and Health, p. 330). Spirit, the one God or Principle of all that really exists, is manifest in the spiritual universe, which is composed of individual spiritual identities or ideas constituting God and His Christ. This supreme Mind or creative intelligence is the only reality of being. So-called mortal man is a myth, dust to dust, nothing- ness. This understanding of man as a spiritual, mental emanation of the one Mind or God will finally be ac- cepted and demonstrated by all mankind, and the supremacy of the Mind of Christ will finally destroy viii Preface the fleshly so-called mind and its effects, sin, sickness, and death. The great Leader of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, states in her text-book of Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, ''All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all" {Science and Health, p. 468). Therefore it follows in divine metaphysics that all that is unlike God, good, eternal Life, Truth, and Love is produced by the so-called fleshly mind, the results of which false mentality, discord and disease, dissolve when met by the omnipotent power of Truth and Love, and they disappear as darkness before the light. This volume chronicles the experience of twenty- eight years of constant service in the Cause of Christian Science. Its purpose is to show adherence to the spiritual interpretation of the Holy Bible as demon- strated by Christ Jesus, and in this age revealed and taught by the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy. To stand each day during these years in the front of battle, crossing swords with materialists, and with those who interpret the text-book of Christian Science from a material view-point — to wield the "twoedged sword" of the Spirit, — the Word of God, and prove its mighty power to defend and to protect against the mortal mentalities which compose the so-called material world, — to continue this battle of Truth against error till invincible Truth triumphs, and Love leads out from material belief into the apprehension and understanding of the "wholly spiritual" concept, — all this effort to overcome the human is expressed by Mrs. Eddy in the following words, "If men understood their real spiritual source to be all blessedness, they would Preface ix struggle for recourse to the spiritual and be at peace" {Science and Health, p. 329) . May my footsteps up the hill of Christian Science and its rich reward of spiritual power, love, peace, and joy in the holy Spirit, quicken the earnest endeavor of all who have entered the path which Christ Jesus trod toward a demonstration of his manhood, his oneness with the Principle of being, Mind, Spirit, God. May the spiritual animus, — the vitality of the Word, within this volume, — enable all, who peruse its pages, to grasp more firmly God's right hand, until faith becomes under- standing and the letter and the spirit of Christian Science reveal the glory and grandeur of a life con- secrated to God and to the relief of sin-blind suffering humanity. Christian Scientists are exalting the Christ in individual consciousness and are gradually dissolving the illusions of corporeal sense. This book is not in advance of its time. The spirit- ually minded of the twentieth century, quickened by the impetus of the on-coming Christ are grasping and demonstrating their spiritual ** dominion . . . over all the earth" with which God endowed man. Amid the smoke of battle the pioneers of Christian Science have clung ''steadfastly to God and His idea" {Science and Health, p. 495), while striving to demon- strate the spiritual facts of being, — the absolute potency of Truth, and man's oneness with his creator. Divine Love will finally triumph. The picture of the woman in the Apocalypse will be understood and pceans of praise to God will ascend from the hearts of men for deliverance from all sin, suffering, sorrow, and death, "for the former things [mortal thoughts] are passed away" (Rev. xxi., 4). With armor on, continuing the march toward the X Preface demonstration of immortal womanhood, I shall watch, work, pray, and love more, and patiently await the spiritual ultimate, immortality. This volume will fulfil its mission. May every Christian Scientist throughout the worid be imbued with the spirit of Christ Jesus, and rise to the zenith of demonstration of the omnipotence and omnipresence of the Christ-mind over all that is unlike God and His idea. Then they may express their allegiance to Christ as did the Master when he applied to himself the following words of Isaiah: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor ; He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord (Luke iv., i8, 19). And the words of Mary Baker Eddy : God will heal the sick through man, whenever man is governed by God {Science and Health, p. 495). Augusta E. Stetson. INTRODUCTION HUMAN belief passes through many phases of illu- sion; struggling in the darkness of personal sense, striking against the walls of materiality which shut it in an atmosphere of error, striving with itself for free- dom— only to fall at last at the feet of Truth, and cry out: ''0 wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" In its beginning, the belief which held me was nour- ished by the human love of devoted parents trained to beHeve in a personal God. Taught to lisp the infant prayer, "Now I lay me down to sleep," and frequent repetition of its termination, "If I should die before I wake," becam.e, to sense, a dark shadow. There was developed a pronounced and restless fear, lest, before dawn, God might call me away from home and from my dear father and mother. As I grew older, I was given the Trinitarian faith to digest : three persons in one God, — cognizant of both good and evil, together with divine wrath, original sin, and Adam as the first and real man. Sin was esteemed a terrible and inevitable reality; sickness, a dispensation of Providence; death, the gateway of Life, through which all must pass to gain heaven ; while heaven was regarded as a locality where the departed are to find God. Taught by those older in beHef, moulded and biased entirely by others, at the age of fourteen I yielded to the force of education and joined the church which had thrown its influence over me xii Introduction during the years of my childhood, and I remained a member imtil I became a Christian Scientist. As time went on I began to reason for myself. I heard both pastor and members pray to a personal Deity, apparently regarded as afar off; while I read from the Bible that God was ever-present. I heard these worshipers petition Him to supply the necessities of this temporal existence, enumerating their various needs ; while I read that God was a loving Father, ever ready to bestow His bounty upon His children. I found earthly parents anticipating and providing for every need of their children, and naturally questioned why, if God was omnipotent, omniscient, and omni- present, it was necessary, either to advise or to importune Him. These spiritual guides affirmed that God was their refuge, a very present help in time of trouble; while I beheld them experiencing the same troubles as the worldly, — as helpless to avert sickness and sorrow, as those who made no claim to Christianity. I observed them taking much thought of the corporeal body, to sustain it with food, to protect it from atmospheric elements, and to deliver it from disease; disregarding the injunction of the Master, **Take no thought . . . for your body," I read in the sacred Word: ** Because thou hast made the Lord . . . thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling," and I naturally continued to question. Taught to ask God, who, I was told, would answer, I cried out for light to reveal the meaning of promises which never seemed fulfilled. Still continuing to ask, Christians received not ; ever seeking, they did not find ; and persistently knocking, the door was not opened. Introduction xiii Sin, sickness, and death prevailed. They had not found the Truth which Jesus and his disciples had proved to be effectual in healing the sick, casting out evils, and raising the dead. I questioned if creed and dogma could be the way to eternal Life. The words of the Master sounded frequently, "Whosoever liveth and belie veth in me shall never die." Either his professing disciples did not beHeve his words, or they could not demonstrate the truth of them. Some one had blun- dered. Some one had lost "the way," and had led us in a way that brought us into sickness and death. We all like sheep had gone astray. One desire was paramount: that God would, as He had promised, some time, and in some way, manifest Himself to me as Love and Life, which would free me from fear and bondage. Weary sense longed for rest, and could not be happy while every- where were apparent suffering and discord. Human sympathy availed nothing toward relieving the suffer- ing and sorrow-stricken; for, though human hands could wipe away the tears, they could not arrest their flow. Jesus and his disciples understood the power of the Word, and demonstrated it; while I, baffled and tossed in a fruitless search for God, helplessly listened to the piteous cry of professing believers, as waves of sickness and grief swept over them, and I finally gave up pleading with a personal God. Then, with others who could not prove the promises, I tried to believe that He was chastening humanity for a purpose; that He was compelling His children "to pass under the rod;" that some day, when all these salutary lessons were learned, I would win a home beyond this world of chance and change. I was bursting the shell of a fruitless faith and a doubtful theology. xiv Introduction Human love would not allow me to denounce the faith of my beloved parents, though unable to accept it. Heaven was their goal, and / must win it; but where was it? I remember, as a child, asking my Sunday School teacher if there were horses and pianos in heaven. She answered, ''Oh no!" but portrayed, with enthusiasm, a picture of harps and palm trees, of golden streets and pearly gates — all of which offered neither incentive to attain, nor equivalent for my highly prized horse and piano. Years unfolded nothing more than a vision and hope of rest, a realm peopled with spiritual beings, which finite sense conceived to be shadows rather than suh- stance. I loved the green earth, and pearly clouds floating in the azure blue; the beautiful sea, the hills and vales, the mountains towering to the skies; the cattle grazing on the hillside, or peacefully resting in the shade of the trees. BabbHng brooks and many- tinted flowers whispered: "God is Love," and "God is good." I ceased pursuing a phantom hope, and tried to reahze the words of another: "They also serve, who only stand and wait. " I stood waiting, hoping, watching, praying, listen- ing; talking to God in silent communion on land and sea; visiting occasionally other denominations, because they looked to a higher power as sincerely and longingly as I, and because their faith was as undemonstrable as mine; feeling ever the clasp of an invisible hand, until belief, material sense, gradually lost its tenacity, and offered little resistance to Truth. The long night was passing away; the faint rays of the morning dawn were appearing. At this hour the call came: "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. " It was a voice I had never before heard. Introduction xv I listened. Again it seemed to say, " Come and drink. '* Long time I hesitated to follow this voice, lest I should be drawn into a labyrinth of false teachings, or lose the httle hold I had upon faiths In the extremity of de- spair at my inability to relieve the continued suffering and helplessness of a dear one, I determined to drink from the fountain of Christian Science, whose waters could not be more bitter than those already drunk from the ancestral well. Again the voice called : " Come and drink. Thirsty one, stoop down and drink freely." Love was calling the wanderer home, and Love was the victor. I turned from husks of creed and dogma, looked up, and ''the way" appeared. The dear one that held the cup to my parched lips, bade me freely partake of this water of Life. I drank, and was re- freshed. As I Hstened to the subHme teachings of Christian Science by Mary Baker Eddy and yi'elded to the quick- ening Spirit; as I felt the touch of infinite Love as she revealed the Science of being, God's allness, and the nothingness of mortal sense and its embodiment, — matter, — joy and gladness filled my heart, and I left forever the old paths, to walk in the new, wherein was the solution of life's mystery. I had been in the Adam-dream of life, substance, and intelHgence in matter ; and now, I had awakened to the understanding of Life, substance, and intelligence in Mind, The joy of apprehending the possibiHties of my birthright, dominion over all error, was unspeakable; and I deter- mined to strive to solve the problem, and win the crown of immortality, through the destruction of my false sense of sin and self. The Christ discerned, I left my material net, and cast my lot with the disciples of Christ. Years have passed, xvi Introduction and the light grows brighter as I come into clearer understanding of the Science of being. Though able to reflect but a feeble light, yet even that has illumined many a home, opened the doors to many a sin-bound, suffering captive who, to-day, rejoices in immunity from sin, sickness, and suffering. The Bible and the "little book," Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, lead us to the secret place of the Most High, imveil the mysteries of heaven, and reveal the smile of our Father- Mother God. Unspeakable gratitude and love to her who bade us "Flee as a bird to your mountain," and un- veiled to us the blessed Truth; who reflected Love which casts out fear; who taught us to pray, under- standingly, "Thy kingdom come c c . in earth, as it is in heaveno ^* Ac E. S. CONTENTS Chapter Page I. Reminiscences ...... i II. Sermons and Public Addresses . . .41 III. Letters to Mrs. Eddy . . . .159 IV. Letters of Encouragement to Students . 233 V. Letters to Patients ..... 278 VI. Letters of Comfort ..... 297 VII. Letters of Thanks ..... 323 VIII. Letters on Building the Home . . . 368 IX. Letters to Children ..... 405 X. Letters as to Individuality versus Person- ality ....... 414 XI. Letters on Church Problems . . . 463 XII. The Findings and Orders of the Board of Directors of The Mother Church Ex- plained . . . . . . .531 XIII. Letters to Church Officials . . . 573 XIV. Letters to Friends, Fellow-workers, and Students ...... 607 XVo Letters of Instruction and Counsel to Students ...... 718 XVI. Letters to THE Press .... 832 XVII. Fruits of Experience „ , . . 969 Addendum: Fruits of Understanding . . . 1203 Index 1271 *** The quotations from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy, used in this book, are taken from the 1910 Library Edition of her works. The letters to students and others included in the volume have been copied from the originals. ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, Central Park West and Ninety-Sixth Street Frontispiece Mary Baker Eddy .... .2 This miniature of Mrs. Eddy, in a setting of forty diamonds, was presented by her to Mrs. Stetson in 1898. The "crown of diamonds" was left to Mrs. Stetson in Mrs. Eddy's will in the following words : " I give and bequeath . . **. to Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, of New York City, my 'crown of diamonds' breast-pin." Augusta E. Stetson 4 From a photograph by Marceau, taken in 1911. The Hall over Caswell & Massey's Drug Store, Fifth Avenue and Forty-Seventh Street, New York City, 1888 22 The First Services of First Church of Christ, Scientist, were held on the second floor of this building. Order of Ordination and Installation Service . 24 The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Mass 26 The Mother Church of Christian Science. XX Illustrations PAGE Rutgers Presbyterian Church, New York City . 30 Afterwards called Scottish Rite Hall, 1894- 1896 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, 143 West Forty-Eighth Street, 1896- 1903 32 Inscription on First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, Central Park West . . 34 Letter placed in the comer-stone of this Church. The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Mass 38 The Mother Church and its Extension. Mrs. Stetson's Home 368 Mrs. Eddy's Letter Recognizing Mrs. Stetson's Claim to First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City 1192 Reminiscences, Sermons, and Correspondence Reminiscences, Sermons and Correspondence CHAPTER I REMINISCENCES The grass withereth, the flower fadeth : but the word of our God shall stand for ever. — Isaiah xL, 8. Mere historic incidents and personal events are frivolous and of no moment, unless they illustrate the ethics of Truth. To this end, but only to this end, such narrations may be admissible and advisable; but if spiritual conclusions are separated from their premises, the nexus is lost, and the argument, with its rightful conclusions, becomes corre- spondingly obscure. The human history needs to be revised, and the material record expunged. — Mary Baker Eddy : Retrospection and In- trospection, pp. 21, 22. DURING the spring of 1884, I heard of several cases of Christian Science healing in Boston and was invited to attend a lecture which was to be given by Mrs. Eddy, in a handsome home on Monument Hill, Charlestown, Massachusetts. I went to the lecture weighted with care and nearly prostrated from the effects of watching for one year in the room of an in- valid husband. During this lecture I lost all sense of grief, physical weakness, and prostration. It was long, I 2 Reminiscences however, before I understandingly realized that this was due to Mrs. Eddy's spiritual influence. When Mrs. Eddy's lecture was concluded she arose and passed through the hall to go upstairs. Almost unconsciously I followed her to the foot of the stairway and as she reached about the fourth step she turned quickly and looked down into my eyes with a searching, penetrating gaze. She asked, "Will you come to see me? " and gave me her card. I replied, " I do not know when I can come, Mrs. Eddy; I am so occupied. "^ As I thought it was a matter of small consequence whether I saw her or not, I added, "Thank you, Mrs. Eddy, but I cannot tell whether or not I can come. ' ' Then she said, ' ' I want you to come and see me. You are going to do a great w^ork in Christian Science. '* After she had asked my name and address, which I gave her, I went away. Three or four m_onths after this meeting with Mrs. Eddy I received a note from her asking me to come to see her. I did so, and during the conversation asked her if she would come to my parents* home and give a lecture. I was beginning to feel an interest in what she taught. She came, accompanied by several of her students, among whom was Miss Julia Bartlett of Boston. Mrs. Eddy lectured to about one hundred peo- ple in the parlors of the home of my parents, with whom I resided. Shortly after this, one of the ladies who attended this lecture invited Mrs. Eddy to address an audience at her house. Mrs. Eddy replied that she would do so if the clergy were well represented. This was promised. On the afternoon of the lecture there was a large audience in the home of Mr. James Sanborn, of the firm of Chase & Sanborn, of Boston. Mrs. Eddy appeared Mary Baker Eddy This miniature of Mrs. Eddy, in a setting of forty diamonds, was presented by her to Mrs. Stetson in 1898. The "crown of diamonds" was left to Mrs. Stetson in Mrs. Eddy's will in the following words: " I give and bequeath ... to Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, of New York City, my ' crown of diamonds ' breast-pin." (z..^■^^^^ay^^Cc/^^^ Reminiscences 3. before the seated audience, looked about her, and asked Mrs. Sanborn where were the clergymen, as the only men present were those who came with Mrs. Eddy. Mrs. Sanborn told her that she had invited the clergy but none were able to come. Thereupon Mrs. Eddy quietly arose, said "Good afternoon" to Mrs. Sanborn, and left the house. I followed Mrs. Eddy with her friends, and then returned to Mrs. Sanborn and explained to the people that Mrs. Eddy could not speak to them because promises had not been fulfilled. I told them that Mrs. Eddy should not be expected to give a lecture under these conditions. About the first of November, 1884, I received a note from Mrs. Eddy, telling me that a class was to convene in the Massachusetts Metaphysical College and that she wished me to become a member of it. I went to see her, and told her that it would be impossible for me to enter a class; that I had spent much money and all my time during a year and a half in preparing myself to become a pubHc reader and lecturer; and that my engagements were many and immediate. One en- gagement in particular would come during the class term and, as I was to appear with Professor George Blish of the Boston BHsh School of Oratory, I felt that there was too much at issue for me to devote my time to the study of Christian Science, which, I confessed, had little interest for me. Mrs. Eddy then informed me that the class lessons would be from ten until one o^clock, and that the en- gagements I had mentioned would come later than the class hours, so she saw no reason why I could not fill all my engagements and also take class instruction at the College. >w hn The question of tuition, which was three hundred 4 Reminiscences dollars, then arose. I told Mrs. Eddy that I did not feel that I could pay three hundred dollars to study a subject which I might not care to accept. She replied that I need not pay the tuition; that she had many students whom she taught gratuitously; and she felt sure that after I had gone through a class I would see that Christian Science was the Science and Truth of being. Upon Mrs. Eddy's assurance that my engagement at Tremont Temple (which would come about the time of the seventh lesson of the class term) would not be interfered with, and that there was no tuition to be paid, I agreed to enter her class, and attended twelve lessons. Mrs. Eddy consented to come to my reading at Tremont Temple, on the day of the seventh lesson, and asked to bring some of her friends with her. I gave her tickets and she attended with members of her house- hold. She afterwards told me that she had work for me to do; that she had discovered in my reading mental qualities which would make a good Christian Scientist. She said, " I saw your versatility and adapta- bility and your power of personification," mentioning particularly the closet scene from Hamlet, and the garden scene from Mary Stuart. She seemed most interested in the reading and for some time afterward would refer to little things that pleased her, particularly the amusing characters which I impersonated. She often referred to my ''wonderful memory," as in a program of eight or nine selections I had spoken without notes. In conversation with me, she clapped her hands together and said, "It was so interesting. When you took the part of a naughty little girl, I closed my eyes and would have said I was listening to a child." Reminiscences 5 At the close of the class term I thought I should like to test the power of Christian Science Mind-healing but feared to do so among my own people lest I should fail to demonstrate it. Though confident that the Science was demonstrable, I doubted that one so young as I in the work would be able to prove it. Just at this time a friend who was becoming interested in Christian Science called to see me. She told me that her father and mother (seventy-five and seventy-six years of age) were both condemned by physicians to hopeless invalidism, her father requiring an attendant to prevent him from falling. The mother was declared by the best specialists to be a paranoiac, and much of the time was crying. These were my first patients. The daughter encouraged me to take them, saying that they were aged and the physicians had given them up as hopeless; that even if I had not the understanding to heal them, it would be different from taking the case of younger and more useful per- sons. At the end of four weeks the old gentleman, w4th his wife beside him, drove his horses in a snow storm to the Sunday morning service at his church. He was a prominent man in the city of Skow- hegan, Maine. The people of Skowhegan had known of the condition of this couple for a long time, and their sudden change from helplessness to health so startled the town that the lame, the halt, and the blind rushed to me for help, until I was overwhelmed with patients. Four years afterward this dear old couple drove from Skowhegan to Portland, Maine, during their summer vacation. Another case of healing was that of a young girl at home from college. One morning, as she attempted to arise, she fell, and afterwards was not able to stand. 6 Reminiscences This girl was helpless for two years and was lifted from bed to chair. The conditions were reported to me by her brother who came for me and asked me to go to her. The case seemed so serious that I feared to attempt it and refused to go. The next day the mother came and plead with me to come to her daughter. The mother's pleading so touched my heart that I granted her wish. I saw the daughter and gave her a treatment. The next day they came for me again, saying that the girl was greatly improved. This led to another treatment and in one week my patient was walking through the icy streets of Skowhegan. I heard from this girl five years afterwards and she had continued to be perfectly healthy, strong, and robust. Many cases of so-called serious diseases were healed by the application of Truth during the four wrecks I was in Maine. Finding that I was able to demon- strate the power and presence of God to heal, I returned to Boston. Later I went back to Skowhegan accom- panied by Mr. Stetson. We took my father's horse with us from Boston and together drove daily to my patients. One day Mr. Stetson, while waiting for me at the house of a patient, attempted to turn the sleigh. The horse ran away and threw him to the ground, breaking his shoulder. This necessitated my immedi- ate return to Boston. Mr. Stetson was a Free Mason and, when this accident occurred, representatives from the Masonic Lodge in Skowhegan came at orxe to him and remained with him for two days and two nights and made every arrangement for our return to Boston. One member of the Lodge accompanied us and took care of Mr. Stetson imtil the end of the journey. The trip from Skowhegan to Boston was accomplished in a freight car, because the stretcher on which Mr. Stetson Reminiscences 7 was carried could not be taken through the door of an ordinary coach. Much of the time en route I sat holding the stretcher to prevent its jolting, and treating the patient to prevent pain and inflammation. This broken shoulder was healed by Christian Science in six weeks without any material application. There was no fever nor pain and at the end of six weeks no evidence that Mr. Stetson had met with an accident. I mention this incident because it was the beginning of trials, the result of that false claim called malicious animal magnetism, which pursues all who strive to demonstrate Christ, Truth. Some time after my return to Boston, I was asked to go to Wolfboro Junction, New Hampshire, to a family which had heard of my work in Maine. At Wolfboro Junction I found a young girl who was in the last stages of consumption, also a spinal invahd con- fined to her bed and wearing a plaster cast which she had worn for a year. Just before I arrived at her bedside a new cast had been adjusted. It required two persons to hold the girl while the physicians put on the cast. This seemed a hopeless case, but I began the work. The response to treatment was immediate and in about four weeks my patient was up, the jacket was removed, and the girl went about the house feeling that she was healed. At this point her clergyman, learning that she was becoming a Christian Scientist in faith, remonstrated with her, denounced Christian Science and urged her to give it up. This seemed to put her back, and she returned to her bed but did not use the cast. I saw the effect of the clergyman's influence upon the patient and continued to treat her. In a tew days she revived and was restored to her previous normal condition. She continued to improve 8 Reminiscences steadily, and at the end of six weeks she was taken for a sleigh ride. Another case was one of drops}^ A Vv^oman had been wheeled about in her chair for thirteen months and had so increased in size that she was a mon- strosity. Her weight was so burdensome that she was a great sufferer. Her husband with much difficulty got her into a sleigh and brought her to me, at a farm house, w^here I was treating another case. I told the man that I could not treat his wife, as I was about to return to Boston, and that the case might require more time than I had to give. The woman begged me to give her just one treatment. I did and they went away. On the way home, driving through the woods, she asked her husband, "What makes it so light? " He replied, ''It is not light," but she exclaimed again, "What makes it so light?" He thought then that she was suffering from some hallucination and, as he told me afterwards, he tried to calm her, but once more she cried, "What makes it so light?" In relating this experience, he told m^e that he asked himself, "Why did I take her to that woman? I would rather have my wife in her old condition than in this state." He said that he reproached himself for having brought this awful condition upon her, but that he pacified her and hurried home. When she got out of the sleigh, about eleven o'clock at night, she exclaimed, "John, I am healed!" and added, "I can go into the house as fast as you!" She ran into the house and upon taking off her gloves found that her hands and her body were of normal size. The bloat had entirely disappeared. The husband and wife together fell on their knees and thanked God for His wonderful power to heal. I heard from the woman several years Reminiscences 9 afterward that she was perfectly healthy. At the time when Christian Science restored her to health, she dismissed her household help, did her own work, and ''took in" sewing, and I learned that she became a good Christian Scientist. Another patient in that town had been confined to her bed for seven months and was obliged to lie on her back with her knees elevated above her head. She could be comfortable in no other position. This woman was suffering from an organic trouble which during the previous thirteen months had required the frequent services of a surgeon. I was in the home with her for three days. In seven days she was re- stored to her normal condition of health and was doing her work in the farm house. Several years afterward I heard that she had remained well. I recall with pleasure meeting the son of this woman, who, as I left the train on a cold winter night, took me four miles in a sleigh to their farm house. It was snowing, and the wind blew so furiously that the robes had to be held dovv^n. When we arrived at the house I was thoroughly chilled. I was ushered into an old-fashioned sitting- room. A corn-cob fire was blazing in a large open fire-place. The floor was painted yellow and shone with neatness. The woman was lying on a bed in the same room. I cannot forget my sense of gratitude to God for the warmth and cheer that greeted me after that long cold ride. Leaving, as I had, a city home for this rural sim- plicity, 1 realized as never before that God is ever with us and that when we are doing His work, ministering to His children. He fills our hearts with joy. The discomfort of reaching this patient was trifling com- pared with the joy of realizing that I could restore 10 Reminiscences this wife and mother to her family in health and usefulness. In all these cases to which I have referred I taught my patients the Science of being, and put into their hands Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures and our Leader's, Mrs. Eddy's, other writings, giving them some explanation of how to apply the Principle of Christian Science. A woman whom I had healed, and who had grasped the meaning of Science as I taught it to her, met with a serious accident. She fell from a barn W'indow upon a pile of rocks and broke three of her ribs. She healed herself by reading Science and Health. Not being sure whether her ribs had really been broken, after she felt that she was healed, she called her form.er physician, who was driving past the house and asked him to examine her side, which he did. He said, **At some time 3^ou have broken three ribs but they are now perfectly knit together." This accident occurred about five weeks after her first healing. As in these early days we w^ere permitted to speak informally on Christian Science, about the year 1885 I began to talk to groups of people wherever they wished me to do so. I sent to Mrs. Eddy an account of all my cases of healing, as well as of my informal addresses. She wrote me to return to Boston and continue my work where there was a larger and more important field. I went to Mrs. Eddy immediately upon my arrival in Boston. She then requested me to prepare a statement of these cases of healing and to ask the patients to permit me to use their initials for publication in the Christian Science periodical. I did this. When the cases appeared in print {Christian Science Journal, vol. iii., p. 79), one of Mrs. Eddy's Reminiscences ^i students came to me and asked me why I had pubhshed instantaneous cures, saying that it would discourage every one who was not quickly healed, and that those who could not heal in one or two treatments would have few patients. I told this student that I had acted upon Mrs. Eddy's request. The published account of these cases follows. EXTRACT FROM "CHRISTIAN SCIENCE JOURNAL." (vol. iii., p. 79.) TO JOURNAL readers: I will mention some of my recent cases of healing. Any one can communicate with them by applying to me. Miss F. . . B. . . , of Cambridgeport, cured in two treat- ments, of painful menstruation from which she had suffered intensely for four years. Mrs. W. . . D. . . , of Portland, Me., cured of two cancers in one breast, and a tumor in the other; was treated one week. She rejoices at deHverance from the operation specialists had advised. Mrs. H. . . B . . . , in stepping from her carriage, turned her ankle, spraining it badly. M. D.'s applied a rubber stocking, and recom- mended her not to walk for six weeks, and possibly not for three months. A few moments before I called, her pain was intense. Immediately after treatment she remarked to her mother that she felt perfectly free from pain, and as if she could walk; then walked across the floor several times without experiencing any inconvenience. The next day she was all right, and has been ever since. Miss E. . . E. . . , of Camden, Maine, had diphtheritic throat, high fever, and pain in back and neck, throat filled with white patches, badly swollen. One treatment was given at night. In the morning she was perfectly well. Miss H. . . E. . . L. . . , of Skowhegan, Maine, was pronounced inciu-able, and had been unable to stand or w^alk for six months, from spinal trouble. After one treatment, she walked several times across the room, and after the third was perfectly jg Reminiscences well. Mr. E. . . A. . . B. . . , of Lewis! on, Maine, was cured in three treatments, of heart trouble, indigestion, and nervous prostration, from which he had suffered ten years. For six months he has been perfectly strong and well. Mr. J. . . W. . . , of Dedham, was induced to try Christian Science. He was seventy-two years of age, and was "avv'aiting the summons," having no strength and no ambition to live. The second treatment enabled him to walk three miles, and after the fourth he declared himself *' well as he wanted to be." These are a few of many cases of healing, and I report them only for the good of the Cause — following my Sav- iour's command, "Go into the world, preach the gospel, heal the sick, cast out devils." The promise is verified to me, "All these things shall ye do." Mrs. F. J. Stetson. (Augusta E. Stetson.) Winter Hill, Somervilic, Mass. To resume my reminiscences, Mrs. Eddy called me to her hom.e in Columbus Avenue, Boston, and asked me if I would take the pulpit and preach at Chickering Hall on Sunday. I was startled, and told her that I did not think I could do it, — that I had never preached a sermon. Mrs. Eddy said, "God will give you the words and enable you to speak." I asked, "What shall I take for a text?" She replied, "God will tell you— go to Him." I asked, "Will you look over my sermon after I have written It?" She said, "You can bring It to me." I w-ent home bur- dened with the responslbillt}^ that she had Imposed upon me. However, I went to work and selected my text, which was from 2 Timothy L, 7. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. " Reminiscences 13 I struggled over that sermon during the week. Finally, I wrote it and took it to Mrs. Eddy. She glanced over it and said, "This is all right; I will be with you in the pulpit to-morrow. " When I arrived at the Hall on Sunday morning, Mrs. Eddy met me in the dressing-room, went upon the platform^ with me, listened to the sermon, and w^hen it was over, took me in her carriage to the street car. She seemed greatly pleased with my work and highly commended it.' After that she appointed me, with four others, to preach in her pulpit — a position Vv^hich I held until she sent me to New York City. This reminds me of an incident which occurred soon after I was graduated fromi the Massachusetts Meta- physical College. Mrs. Eddy preached one Sunday morning in Hawthorne Hall on Park Street, Boston. I attended this service, and after leaving the hall, in company with others, a lady asked me if I believed all that Mrs. Eddy had said. I replied, ''I do, every word. '' She said, " Do you believe there is no death? '* I answered, ''Yes, there can be no death, as God is All and man is His image and likeness." She asked m.e, "Do you mean to tell me that you do not expect to die?" I was driven to defend my convictions of Truth, and I emphatically declared: "I am not trying to demonstrate death ; I am trying to make the demon- stration of eternal Life. What Mrs. Eddy says is true. I am immortal, and the mortal thought must gradually be destroyed." She exclaimed, "Well, you are insane!" I replied: "I am not. I shall continue to declare that I am immortal and that the belief of a mortal mind must yield to Truth. There is no death. God is All." » This sermon is found in Chapter II. 14 Reminiscences I called upon Mrs. Eddy one day and was told to go to her room. Half way up the stairs I met her coming down, and as we stood for a moment, talking, she said to me, *' I want you to go to New York City. " Thinking that she desired me to go to a patient, I asked, "When do you wish me to go?" She saw that I did not understand what she meant, and said, "Well, some time this autumn." Then I understood that it was not to a patient and I said, "But I do not know any one in New York. Do you want me to see a patient?" She replied, " No, I want you to go there to help establish the Christianity of Christian Science. There will be plenty of people who will attempt to work in Christian Science, but will only pervert it, and the result will be mental relief on a material basis, and faith cure. I want the Christianity of Christian Science established." I said, "Mrs. Eddy, I do not know any one there. " She asked, " Is not God there ? " I replied, "Oh, yes, God is there, — He is everywhere, " and added, "but I have my work to do here — my husband, my patients, my classes, and my home. I do not know about going to New York. I know nothing of it, although I am familiar with foreign cities. I do not know how I can take care of myself in that great expensive place, where I should be required to represent properly our Cause." Mrs. Eddy answered, " If the Astors or the Vanderbilts should send for you, would you be afraid that they would not supply your needs while you were doing their work? " I answered, " Oh no! " Then she asked, " Have you not as much faith in God as you have in man? " I hesitated, then re- plied, " I will go." I had then been practising Christian Science in Boston for two years, teaching classes and preaching (with others) in Mrs. Eddy's pulpit. Reminiscences 15 At that time I had many patients in Reading, Massachusetts, and had done some instantaneous healing there, of which Mrs. Eddy knew. One day when I was caUing upon her she asked me if I would secure a hall or church in Reading and get an audience for her, including as many of the clergymen as I could. She said she would come and address them. I immediately went to work and with the help of my patients engaged the Congregational Church. Four iTiinisters were invited, and when the evening came the assembled audience occupied every seat. The four clergymen sat at the foot of the platform, but Mrs. Eddy was not there. I had gone to three trains in the afternoon to meet her and at last in despair I entered the church. I was in a dilemma. I was embarrassed because Mrs. Eddy did not appear and I felt that I ought to apologize to the audience for her non-appearance. I had made no preparation to address this large assembly, including four clergymen, and, as I had never lectured on Christian Science, I was desperate. I called on God to give me wisdom to know whether to apologize and dismiss the con- gregation or to do the best I could to give them som.e idea of the Science of being. Finally I decided that I must speak the Word. I addressed them for an hour and a half, prefacing my remarks with the statement that Mrs. Eddy must have been detained, but if they desired to hear me I would do the best I could to impart to them the little that I had learned during my short experience in the demonstration of Christian Science. The next morning I went directly to Mrs. Eddy and told her that I thought it was most unkind for her to put me in that position. There was the audience i6 Reminiscences assembled, expecting to be addressed by a great woman, and there was I with very little knowledge and no preparation. I asked her, ''Why did you not come?" She answered, "I was there." I did not know at that time what she meant and thought that her personal presence was necessary. She smiled at my innocence, and ignorance of her methods of testing her students. She said, ''But you stood, Augusta. You stood, you did not run." She referred to this nearly every time I saw her after that event, and in these words, "You stood, did 3^ou not? You did not run," or "Do you remember the lecture at Reading, and how you stood? You did not run — did you?" I saw later that this v/as one of- the tests that she had given me on the journey from sense to SouL ' During December, 1908, just before I was called for "trial" by the Directors of The Mother Church, I was invited by Mrs. Eddy to visit her at her home in Brookline. She took me in her carriage and we drove for three quarters of an hour, during which she referred to the lecture in Reading and asked the same question which she had previously put to me at nearly every visit. At that timiC, I did not understand why she should refer to that particular event. But the experi- ences of the past two years have made it plain. Re- peatedly during these hours, days, and months of severe test of my faith and understanding of divine metaphysics, I have heard her words as she sat in her carriage that day: "You did not run, did you, Augusta!'" And for the first time she added most emphatically, "And you never will'' I love to recall that drive with my Leader around Chestnut Hill Reservoir and the many things which she said to me which have since strengthened me to Reminiscences 17 endure the trials which emergence from material organization necessitated. I recall with pleasure Mr. Adam H. Dickey's announcement to me that Mrs. Eddy was in the carriage awaiting me at the door. It was a cold day and they had carefully wrapped a white lamb's wool robe around her, tucking her snugly in, and over it placed a warm carriage rug. When I entered, Mrs. Eddy took both my hands and kissed me and expressed herself as greatly pleased to see me. One of the attendants, after I was seated, drew over me the dark carriage rug, when Mrs. Eddy said, "Rem.ove that and put Augusta under the white robe with me." Noticing that they had so carefully and lovingly protected her from the cold, and fearing that she might not be so protected by this change, I exclaimed, ''The carriage rug is sufficient for me; please let the lamb's wool remain." She again said, **No, I want you to share this with me," They acceded to her request, and we drove away. After a drive of about three quarters of an hour we returned to the house. Mrs. Eddy went to her room and I entered the drawing-room. After removing her wraps she sent for me to come to her, and as I approached her she remarked, "How healthy and strong you are!" and again repeated it and added, "You look years younger than when I saw you last," and then added some advice that she had forgotten to give me in the carriage. I bade her good-by, left the room and met Mr. Dickey, her secretary, who was awaiting me to show me Mrs. Eddy's private reception room, where she had placed some presents which my students and I had sent to her. I then went downstairs and was about to go out to my carriage when Mr. Dickey told me that Mrs. Eddy 2d Reminiscences Science, and I returned to Boston in May. During one of my visits to Mrs. Eddy I asked her if she wished me to return to New York. I did not want to go. I wanted to remain in my home with my family and resume my practice and teaching in Boston. Mrs. Eddy said, ''Yes, I wish you to return." The following autum.n the Christian Scientists in New York came together and had several meetings, at which we discussed church organization. Soon after- wards Dr. S. J. Sawyer, at Mrs. Eddy's request, came from Boston and assisted in securing a church charter. At the meeting held at West 31st Street, where I w^as then residing, Mr. John Campbell and Mr. F. D. Snider came to me and said that I was appointed to preach for them. I asked if some of the others could not take the place; that I did not see hovr I could practise and write sermons — for in Boston I was obliged to use notes. I added, "Cannot we take turns in speaking? " meaning to preach with Dr. Brovv^n, Mrs. Lathrop, and Mr. Camipbell. Mr. Campbell had been the first to bring Christian Science to New York City. These two gentlemicn insisted that I should preach on the following Sunday, and at the opening of the church service I occupied the pulpit. The first service was held on December 4, 1887, at Columbia Institute, No. 729 Sixth Avenue, and in the absence of a pianist I stepped down from the platform and played the hymns. Mrs. Susanne S. Thomas and Mrs. Isabelle C. Dam, who were among my first patients in New York and whom I healed in Christian Science, were present. Later these ladies became my students, and continued with me for twenty-four 3^ears. They have been on the Board of Trustees of First Church Reminiscences 21 of Christ, Scientist, New York City, for twenty years. Mrs. Thomas is the only one of the nine Trustees who has not stood with me in my defense of Christian Science as taught by Mrs. Eddy. The Board of Trustees numbers nine, of which seven are men who are standing with me. These seven men, together with Mrs. Dam, making the eight Trustees, adhere with me to the spiritual interpretation of the Bible and Scte?ice a?id Health, the text-book of Christian Science. Mr. Edwin F. Hatfield was also among my earliest patients in this city, and was quickly healed of nervous prostration which physicians had failed to relieve. He shortly afterwards became my student. Mr. Hatfield has been with me in my church work for tv/enty-four 3^ears, and during these, until 1909, was Chairman of the Board of Trustees. There was but one service held at Columbia Institute. The following week the church was moved to a hall over Caswell & Massey's drug store, which then stood on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Forty-seventh Street. The services were held there during one winter and were discontinued in May, when I returned to mv home in Boston for my summer vacation. I thought I would not have to return to New York in the autumn, as Mrs. Eddy's students who hved in Nev7 York City — eight in number— could carry on the work, which seemed to have been established. I had, during the winter, met with frequent unpleasant experiences from the students, who seemed to feel that I belonged in Boston instead of in New York. I went to Mrs. Eddy to know whether she desired me to return, for I felt that I had done all that she had re- quested me to do in helping the students to organize 22 Reminiscences and start the church work. She said, "Wait until the fall and we will talk it over. " As we were to resume services in September, I went again to Mrs. Eddy the last of August to ascertain her wishes. She said, "Suppose you just go back and w^ork another season." I was tempted to urge her to let me remain in Boston, but something in her voice and face impressed me that she greatl}^ desired me to return to New York, and I consented to continue another season in that city; but before leaving her, I asked her if I could not share the preaching with Dr. Brown, Mrs. Lathrop, and Mr. Camipbell. She said "No, you must continue to occupy the pulpit." I returned to Nevvr York to find that the hall over Caswell & Massey's drug store, which we had occupied the previous winter, had been rented to others. We then began to search for another hall, and secured Crescent Hall, at 138 Fifth Avenue. W^e worshiped there for about four months. During that time the Sunday School was organized. W^e were then again obhged to change, as the congregation had grown to such proportions that Crescent Hall was too small. The move was made to Hardman Hall, Nineteenth Street and Fifth Avenue. This was decorated for us, and we had exclusive use of it on Sundays. Mrs, Eddy came to New York City in February, 1889, and lectured at Steinway Hall to a large and appreciative audience. This lecture gave a great impetus to the Christian Science movement. The following account is from the Christian Science Journal, of March, 1889, volume vi., page 633: Rev. Mary B. G. Eddy lectured in New York City at Steinway Hall the evenin.e of February 15, to an audience Reminiscences ^3 of over a thousand persons who came together on a notice of only twenty-four hours. When she came on the stage the audience greeted her by rising to their feet, and standing until she was seated. Mrs. Eddy was escorted on the stage and presented to the audience by Rev. J. C. Agcr, pastor of the New Jeru- salem Church of Brooklyn. Mr. Ager said that, while he could not pretend to be a student of Christian Science, he had been struck by its wide diffusion, and by the fact that it took hold of and brought to the acknowledgment of Christ so many individuals that other forms of religious thought had failed to interest ; that the stream that had its origin from Mrs. Eddy had, he believed, divided into many branches, some of which, he had been told, flowed through very muddy channels, but that in all its forms it commanded the serious attention of all thoughtful observers, as the most important modern religious movement. The lecturer [Airs. Eddy], at the conclusion of Air. Ager's remarks, discussed the questions; Is God the divine Principle or a person? Is man personal and individual? Is matter substance? Is materia medica a science? Does Christian Science tend to destroy the efficacy of the atonement? and in conclusion, Christian Science is the stranger within our gates. She was listened to with deepest attention, and in the most absolute silence to the end, when a round of hearty applause showed the appreciation of her listeners. Airs. Eddy then withdrew to the dressing-room, where the throng so pressed upon her that she was obliged to come out on the stage, and nearly an hour was passed in receiving the congratulations, thanks, and blessings of those who passed in succession to receive a grasp of the hand and a kindly word. About this time Airs. Lathrop went to Salt Lake 24 Reminiscences City. The National Christian Scientist Association was convened, for the second time in New York, at the Lenox Lyceum, Madison Avenue and Fifty-ninth Street, during May, 1890. The first convention, held before Mrs. Lathrop or I came to New York, was conducted by Mr. John Campbell and his wife. I was appointed by the committee from Boston and by our church to take charge of the fifth annual meet- ing of the National Christian Scientist Association for which arrangements were all made. Badges and invitations were furnished by the church to all the Scientists. My students and I did the work and furnished the mone}^ for all the expenses necessary to the convention. Two days before the convention convened Mrs. Lathrop returned from Salt Lake City. When we learned that she had arrived at her home, we sent a package of badges and invitations for her to dispose of among her friends. We also sent packages of badges and invitations to each of Mrs. Eddy's students, who all attended the meetings of the convention, which lasted three days. In 1890 (at Mrs. Eddy's request, made in a letter which I now have in my possession) I was ordained Pastor of First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, with the title of Reverend. This ordination took place at Hardman Hall on the corner of Nineteenth Street and Fifth Avenue. Mrs, Eddy sent Rev. L. P. Norcross, C.S.D., who was the Pastor of The Mother Church in Boston, to officiate at the ceremony. He w^as assisted by Mr. F. E. Mason, C.SD,, of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Brooklyn, Mrs. Eddy gave the title of Reverend to but three women, Mrs. Ruth Ewing of Chicago, Illinois; Mrs. Annie M. Knott of Detroit, Michigan, and to me. CHURCH OF CHRIST [SCIENTIST] NEW YORK CITY. ©rdination ar^d Insfallafion §Gf\)ice, At Hardman Hall, Tuesday Evening, October 21, 1890, at 8 o'clock, ORDAINING AND INSTALLING Mrs. AUGUSTA E. STETSON AS PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST [SCIENTIST]. ORDE^R OF EXERCISES. QUARTETTE—" The Lord is in His Holy Temple." . By the Choir. Mrs. C. H. Thomas. Mr. Geo, W. De Lano. Mrs. Geo. W. De Lano. Mr. W. S. Chapin. Mrs. Louisa Lawrence, Accompanist. READING BY THE CLERK OF THE MINUTES of the Church Meeting calling Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson to the Pastorate of the Church, and her Letter of Acceptance. QUARTETTE— Te Deum. READING OF SCRIPTURE AND "SCIENCE & HEALTH." By Rev. F. E. Mason, Pastor Church of Christ [Scientist], Brooklyn. SOLO— "Come unto Me." Mrs. C. H. Thomas, ADDRESS, AND PRAYER OF CONSECRATION. Rev. L. P. NoRCROss, Pastor Church of Christ [Scientist], Boston. SOLO—" But the Lord is mindful of His Own." Mrs. Geo. W. De Lano. ADDRESS OF WELCOME to the Pastor, and Right Hand of Fellowship. SOLO — " Les Rameaux." Mr. W. S. Chapin. HYMN By Congregation. BENEDICTION, By Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson. FACSIMILE OF PROGRAMME OF THE INSTALLATION OF MRS. STETSON. Reminiscences 25 For three years I preached from manuscript. At the end of that time Mrs, Eddy requested us to speak without notes. I quote the tollowing from Miscella- neous Writings, page 158: When I requested you to be ordained, I Httlc thought of the changes about to be made. When I insisted on your speaknig without notes, I Httle knew that so soon another change in your pulpit would be demanded. But now, after His messenger has obeyed the message of divine Love, comes the interpretation thereof. But you see we both had first to obey, and to do this through faith, not sight. The meaning of it all, as nov/ shown, is this: when you were bidden to be ordained, it was in reward for your faith- ful service, thus to honor it. The second command, to drop the use of notes , was to rebuke a lack of faith in divine help, and to test your humility and obedience in bearing this cross. A copy of the program used at the Ordination and Installation Service faces page twenty -four. 25 West 31ST Street, New York City, November i, 1887. To George W« Delano, Esq., Clerk of Church of Christ (Scientist), New York City, and to the Church: Your letter inviting me to become pastor cf Church of Christ (Scientist), New York City, is before me. I have carefully considered it. Knowing that it is a call directed by divine Mind, infinite Spirit, through our be- loved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, whose letter I have in my possession, I accept it in the spirit of love and con- secration. I am fully conscious of the grave responsi- bility which it im.poses upon me, and, while feeling my weakness more keenly than can another, I accept it in ^6 Reminiscences the consciousness of the guiding power which comes from God, the All-good. Relying on your cooperation to assist me, and realiz- ing that words are inadequate to express the love that is in my heart for the Cause of Christian Science, and my sincere desire to serve the church humbly and prayerfully, as we journey through the wilderness of sense to the heights of Soul, I am, Faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. SING THE SONG OF GLADNESS^ (" Our Prayer in Stone.") Children of the Blessed, Sing the song of gladness ! Ring the loud hosannas! Christ to earth again is come. Raise the voice to praise him! Bid the world adore him! While we follow listening to the voice that calls us home. Has the path been thorny? Roses, with their fragrance Cheered us, as we followed in " the way " our Saviour led. When we, Israel's children, Hungered in the desert, How the hand of Love supplied the ever-living bread ! When athirst and weary, Faint and heavy laden, PoUowing through the wilderness of sin and sense, our Guide, Then we heard the summons, Falter not, but come ye! Drink the ever-living waters, which in me abide ! Bread of Life to strengthen: Waters to refresh us, ' Written by the author at the completion of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Mass., 1894. %^'.%-rJm^n'r/^ ,•/ ///'///. A'/r.,^U. yl:)/ru.,. //rrM. Reminiscences 27 Flowing ever freely from the ever-living Fount. Mother love to counsel, Mother voice to cheer us, Mother smile to beckon, from the valley to the Mount. Could we fail or falter, While the loving Saviour Every want supplied, and every tear-drop v/iped away; Every murmur silenced, Every shadow lessened With the power of Love divine, revealing God's bright day? As we catch bright glimpses Of the eternal real. As we lose the echo of sorrow, sin, and care — Brighter gleams God's glory. Chant again the story ! Christ is come to human ken, his temple to prepare. Sing for joy ye ransomed ! "Prayer in stone " appearing Bids us trim our lamps, and wait the Bridegroom's raid- night call. Sing, for Christ is with us ! Israel's Shepherd leads us! Love is come to reign forever, crown Her Lord of all ! In December, 1894, ^ month before The Mother Church in Boston was dedicated, Mrs. Eddy wrote to me in regard to an anthem which the musical director of otir church had composed and sent to her, offering it as a dedicatory anthem for her Church. The title of the anthem was, "The Lord Is My Strength and Song." In Mrs. Eddy's letter to me she requested that I thank the composer of the music, saying she was very much pleased with it and that she desired me to see that the choir rehearse it thoroughly and sing it at the dedicatory services of her Church. She 28 Reminiscences said she would tell Dr. F. . . E. . . and Mr. W. . . B. . . J. . . that this was to be done and charge them that malicious animal magnetism should not prevent the New York church from presenting it. She alsa directed me to take it up and handle the effort that malicious animal magnetism would make to prevent the anthem from being rendered. I have Mrs. Eddy's letter to this effect. We complied with her request. The anthem was practised for eight weeks and on Saturday before the dedication we presented ourselves at The Mother Church, where we found the Directors and others clearing away rubbish and getting ready for the Dedi- cator}^ Service. I went to Mr. J. . . and told him that we had come at Mrs. Eddy's request to rehearse for the service. He hesitated, seemed embarrassed and said, "Well, the program is long now and we da not think you will be needed." I replied: "But we must sing, because our Leader sent for us. We have^ made all preparations, and she told me that we must let nothing prevent us from singing this anthem.'* Mr. J. . . replied, "Well, you cannot rehearse to- night; there is too much confusion. " Mr. E. . . P. . . B. . . came up at that moment and I repeated to him what I had said to Mr. J. . . He said, "Well, if you want to rehearse, you will have to come in the morn- ing, because you cannot sing in this dust." I asked him, "What time in the morning?" and he replied,. "Well, be here at four o'clock in the morning." "I do not understand this," I exclaimed. "I have come at Mrs. Eddy's request. I have her letter in which she tells me to do this, and it will be very difficult to get here at four o'clock." Mr. B. . . , Mr. K. . . ^ and Mr. J. . . then agreed that the best thing to do Reminiscences 29 was for the choir to sing a hymn on Sunday instead of the dedicatory anthem. We were forced to accede to this. When I noticed that our singing was being opposed I went back to the choir, which was waiting in a corner of the church, and told the members to be sure to handle the claim of malicious animal magnetism., which was working to make discord at the Dedicatory Service. I asked them to promise me that, no matter what indig- nities might be offered them, they would take no offense and that they would thereby receive a blessing at that service. Every member of the choir submitted without a murmur to the change in the program. They camie Sunday morning, took their seats in the choir gallery, and when the time arrived they arose and sang the hymn entitled *' Science" {Christiaji Science Hymnal, 121). This thwarted the effort of impersonal evil (malicious animal magnetism) to make discord at that Dedicatory Service of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Bostor, Massachusetts. About a week later I received a letter from Mrs. Edd}^ saying that she had supposed we had sung the anthem as she had directed, and had learned through Dr. F. . . E. . . three days after that we had not done so. She was greatly disturbed and again said that she had charged the Directors to let nothing interfere with the singing of that anthem. I told her that we had done all we could, and it seemed better to submit than to make any trouble. I have Mrs. Eddy's letter in confirmation of this. On the Saturday before Easter of the following year I received a special letter from Mrs. Eddy, asking me to get my choir together to sing that anthem the next 30 Reminiscences day in The Mother Church. The members of the choir were scattered, but I managed to get them to Boston, some going on the midnight, and others on the early morning train. The latter arrived in Boston just in time to present themselves at the church. They sang the anthem at that Easter service. It was rumored, a few days before Easter, that Mrs. Eddy would be at the church for the service, and messages were sent to different people to attend. Quite a number went from New York, thinking that Mrs. Eddy would be at the service. She was not present, however. At Mrs. Eddy's request, The Mother Church sent a check for two hundred dollars to cover the expenses of our New York First Church choir. In July, 1897, most of the members of First Church, New York, including the choir, went to the Communion Service in Boston. After the service was over and some of the singers had returned to New York, word came to me from Mrs. Eddy, asking me to bring them to Pleasant View the next day to sing for her. I had to gather them from all parts of Boston, and also those who had returned to New York. However, the full choir was there at the appointed time, ready to comply with our Leader's request. Many of the Scientists had gone to Pleasant View, and a large body of people were congregated in front of the house. Different ones in authority occupied so much of Mrs. Edd3^'s attention and time, by going in and out of the house, that I found it was alm.ost train hour and no mention had been made of the choir. But I kept the members close to the door and stood sentinel myself, to get in as soon as possible. I knew that I must obey Mrs. Eddy and get the singers in the house for her to hear them. At last I pushed Reminiscences 31 my way in, regardless of opposition, found Mrs. Eddy in the library talking with some people, approached her and said, "I am here with the choir awaiting your pleasure." She took my hand and said, "Come right in." She went into the parlor; the choir followed and took their places. Mrs. Eddy had two large armchairs brought in and placed side by side. She put me in one and seated herself in the other, and as my hand rested on the arm of my chair, she put her hand over mine and it remained in that position during the entire time. When the words sung especially pleased her^ she would take a long breath and press my hand. When the choir sang, "Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, " she almost arose from her chair and then dropped back. After the singing was over she thanked the choir and expressed great pleasure. V\^e then left with her blessing. At one Communion Service in The Mother Church word came from Mrs. Eddy that the people should omit their annual pilgrimage to Concord. I accepted this, of course, as her final word and I never thought of going to Concord. The next morning Miss M. . . E. . . of Boston, who was visiting at Pleasant View, called me on the telephone at the Touraine, where I was staying, and asked me if I were coming to Pleas- ant View with my students. I said, "Of course not, after Mrs. Eddy requested us to discontinue our pilgrimage." Miss E. . . urged me to consider it, and said she knew what she was talking about. I said, "I cannot do this unless I have it from higher authority than you." She telephoned me again the next day and again requested that I consider going to Pleasant View with my students. I thought this was strange, and that I had better go at once myself 32 Reminiscences that morning to Pleasant View. Upon my arrival I called for Mrs. Sargent and asked her what this request from Miss E. . . meant. I asked, "Does Mrs. Eddy want me to come?" She replied, "I do not know." n I asked again, "But who does want me to come?" and she replied, "I do not know." I asked: "Is it right for me to come ? What does this mean ? ' ' Again she replied, "Why, if you want to come, there is nothing to hinder you from doing so. " I said : ' ' Well, what about this request of our Leader's not to come? I cannot disobey that. I am going to ask Mr. Frye. " I called for Mr. Frye and he came to me. I put the question to him, and he answered in the same evasive way. By this time I was aroused and I said: "What does all this mean? I do not wish to come unless I know that Mrs. Eddy desires me to do so. Did she tell you, Mr. Frye, that she wanted me to come?" He said, "No." I asked, "But does she want me to come?" He replied, "I should do just as I wanted to do." I said a second time, "I cannot disobey that request of hers." He said: "If a mxother told her children she did not want to see them for a year or so and the children should all agree without a murmur to stay away, would you not think it looked as if those children felt glad that they did not have to go?" Then I suspected that this had been discussed and that Mrs. Eddy's knowledge of it was to be kept secret. I then asked, "Well, would you come?" He did not answer. I asked: " If I were to come to Concord where should I assemble with my students? Should I come to Pleasant View?" He replied: "No. I itti Reminiscences 33 should stand around the church. When you go back, stop at the church and talk with Mr. Tomlinson about it." I went and saw Mr. Tomlinson. He was very agreeable, and advised me to stand near the church. He seemed to know something about it. He said: "Mrs. Eddy drives by every day and you will have a chance to see her. Be here at two o'clock." Then it dawned upon me that I had better go back and collect my students who had not returned to New York. The next day we went to Concord and stationed ourselves in front of the church. In a little while Mrs. Eddy drove past. It had been raining slightly and we had put up our umbrellas. When she drove by, the rain ceased, the umbrellas went down, and we saw our Leader. She recognized us by bowing, waving and kissing her hand to us. She drove past us three times. We took our blessing and went home. For several years afterwards I suffered from the condemnation of the whole Field for this. They called it, ''An act of disobedience to our Leader." Mrs. Eddy never made reference to this act. In October, 1891, Mrs. Lathrop organized a church, which is Second Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. Five of Mrs. Eddy's students went with Mrs. Lathrop : Mrs. Caroline Frame, Mrs. Elizabeth Skinner, Mr. and Mrs. Gano, and Mrs. Lawrence Brown, M.D. Later Mrs. Carrie Harvey Snider started Third Church of Christ, Scientist; thus all Mrs. Eddy's New York students withdrew their membership from First Church, New York. The seating capacity of Hardman Hall was now 34 Reminiscences outgrown and in the spring of 1894 ^^ removed to Scottish Rite Hall, where we worshiped for about two years. While worshiping in Hardman Hall and Scottish Rite Hall, our Reading Rooms were at 96 Fifth Avenue, corner of Fifteenth Street. We occupied the Reading Rooms and Scottish Rite Hall until we purchased the church formerly occupied by Rev. R. Heber Newton, 143 West 48th Street, at a cost, to- gether with land and improvements of upwards of one hundred thousand dollars. This was the first church property owned by Christian Scientists in New York City. Our Reading Rooms w^ere now removed to our new church, the basement of which had been properly fitted for practitioners. Mrs. Lathrop engaged Scottish Rite Hall when we left it, and removed her congregation there. She also engaged our former Reading Rooms in Fifteenth Street and occupied them. While we were at Fortyr eighth Street, our audience became so large that we found we must secure ground and build a church edifice to accommodate our people. We found a plot of land on Ninety-sixth Street and Central Park West, secured it and erected there our present church edifice, which was dedicated free of debt in 1903. At the laying of the corner-stone of First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, on November 30, 1899, representatives of all the Christian Science churches in the city were present, as well as all of Mrs. Eddy's New York students, who by this time had their own churches — five of them — in the city. Mrs. Frame and Mrs. Skinner withdrew from Second Church and formed Fourth Church. Mrs. Snider withdrew from First Church and formed Third Church, and Mr. and Mrs. Roberts had, during the erection of Second FljsT CHU.RjCH i*.,Mii.i ij rim, ii.im.i ,iMiBi m <; »>.i ■■■ U mvtnlSCOVERER AND F0VND6R. .1CSF«» ^" 'f AND' AtTHOH ' "' 1 *::/ydF Ts TEKT ed:K ^(!^fecE|KbHEA *W'TH \^j; TO THE 'iffc<.',fn«imrfi» LTR Pleasant View, Concord, N. H. To Mrs. A. E. Stetson: Beneath this corner-stone, in this silent, sacred sanctuary of earth's sweet songs, paeans of praise and records of Omnipotence, I leave my name with thine in unity and love. Mary Baker G. Eddy. November 30th, 1899. Reminiscences 35 Church, withdrawn their membership and organized Fifth Church. When I learned that Mrs. Eddy was going to present an edifice to the Concord Church, I wrote to her and asked if I might have the privilege of contributing one thousand dollars. She answered thanking me and accepting it. Then I proposed to the Trustees of our church that this might be an opportunity for them to do something, and a church meeting was called. I presented the matter to the church, and it subscribed ten thousand dollars, which was sent to Mrs. Eddy with the following letter. This letter was published in the Christian Science Journal for August, 1904: First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, May 27, 1904. To The Reverend Mary Baker G. Eddy, Pleasant View, Concord, N. H. Beloved Leader and Teacher: — Through you, the win- dows of heaven have been opened to us, and blessings have been poured out so that there is not room enough to receive them. (Malachi, 3, 10.) We rejoice in the opportunity of expressing, in part, our gratitude, through the gift of the two stained-glass windows which this Church had the privilege of ordering in February last for First Church of Christ, Scientist, Concord, New Hampshire, and which are approaching completion. We now have the pleasure of handing you draft for their cost. They typify your pure spiritual perception, through which "the sunshine of Truth" {Science and Health, p. 299) reveals the real Church, the expression of eternal Life and power, ''the worship of God in spirit and in truth, " the manifesta- tion of the Christ idea. It is an honor to be represented in the edifice so near to you, and so dear to your heart, and to let our offering speak 36 Reminiscences of the love that unites us indissolubly to her who has filled our treasuries with priceless gems of immortal thought. Lovingly and loyally yours, E. F. Hatfield, Chairman of Trustees, First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. To this Mrs. Eddy replied as follows: Pleasant View, Concord, N. H., June I, 1904. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. Beloved Brethren: — I beg to thank the dear brethren of this church for the sum of $10,000 presented to me for First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Concord, N. H. Good- ness never fails to receive its reward, for it makes life a blessing. As an active portion of one stupendous whole, goodness identifies man with universal good. Thus may each member of this church rise above the oft-repeated inquiry, What am I? to the scientific response, — I am able to impart truth, health, and happiness, and this is my Rock of salvation and my reason for existing. Human reason gets tired and calls for rest, it has a relapse into the common hope. Goodness and benevolence never tire, they maintain themselves and others and never stop from pure exhaustion. He who is afraid of being too gener- ous has lost the power of being magnanimous. The best man or woman is the most unselfed. God grant that this church is rapidly nearing the maximum of might — the means that builds to the heavens, that has indeed found and felt the infinite Source wherein is all, and wherefrom to help its neighbor. Then efforts to be great will never end in anarchy but continue with divine approbation. It is insincerity and a half persuaded faith that fail to succeed, and fall to the earth. Religions may waste away, but the fittest survives ; and Reminiscences 37 so long as we have the right ideal, life is worth living and God takes care of it. Lovingly yours, Mary B. G. Eddy. HARVEST SONG^ Sing a psalm of victory, Children of the King! Let your harvest home-song Strengthen upward wing! Sing, till mount and valley Echo gladsome strain! Till earth's weary wanderers Sound the grand refrain! Sing a sweeter, stronger Hymn, of Love's great power! Ring out glad hosannas In this triumph hour! Tell in song the story, — Christ has come, to bring Life to sin-blind mortals, Health to wounded wing! Church of Christ uprising, Silent voice of Love, Steadfast, calm, majestic, Type of Church above! Sing ye true and faithful. Valiant, brave, and strong! Ring the chimes from tower, Hymns of praise prolong! » "Written by the author during the erection of First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, 1903. 38 Reminiscences Love's sweet harvest home-song Vintage bells resound ; Christ comes to his temple, And his own are crowned. The first call I made for the building fund of The Mother Church was at Scottish Rite Hall, where we collected, after the Sunday morning service, twenty- three thousand dollars. The baskets passed at this meeting were frequently emptied by the ushers to make room for the overflow of money and checks. I have always collected money by asking for it from the plat- form at church meetings, for The Mother Church and for The Mother Church Extension, for the Publishing House and to meet other demands of the Cause. A former member of The Mother Church, a disloyal student of Mrs. Eddy's, who was very bitter against me, many years ago sent broadcast the statement, and continued for years to circulate it, that, however loyal I might be to Mrs. Eddy at that time, when the final test of my loyalty and obedience to the teachings of Christian Science came I would not stand and remain faithful to Mrs. Eddy. This, of course, I denied, and have many times repeated the denial, until at last I have proved to the world my loyalty to my Leader and Teacher, Mary Baker Eddy, and to the Cause of Christian Science. I am now awaiting the final victory of Truth and Love over error and hate. I shall never be separated from my Teacher and Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, nor from my students who comprehend divine metaphysics. My church will stand as a "light set upon a hill," known and acknowledged by all men as a demonstration of my teaching of Christian Science, as taught me by Mary Baker Eddy, our beloved Leader, in her text-book. ^1 Reminiscences 3^ Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and her other writings, and also through twenty-five years of her personal instruction. The hour has struck. The night is past, the day dawns. Victory at last rests on the side of Christian Science, or demonstrable, immut- able Truth and Her demonstrators. LOVE WATCHES OVER ALL I gazed upon a sin-bound world, By fear and care oppressed, Asleep in error's thrall. I asked, "What meaneth this?" I heard, "God is omnipotent; This is a dream, — it is not real, Love watches over all. " The soft voice spake so tenderly, It seemed so near to me. And like an angel's call, — I listened, till I heard again, "God is omnipotent, — this is a dream, Love watches over all." And then I heard the brooklet sing. And birds in matin song Chant, "Ne'er did sparrow fall Without its Father's notice, for Love watches over all. Love watches over all. " I saw the lily droop her head. Beneath the sultry heat Of noonday Sol ; A raindrop fell with cooling kiss, And whispered, "Love hath sent you this. Love watches over all. " 4P Reminiscences I saw strong manhood yield to fears, And age o'ercome with many years, And heard them cry, "I fall. " And then I heard the voice again, Like angels, in one grand amen, — " Love watches over all. " Thus bird and lily, youth and age, Once blind in error's thrall , Awake to Truth, and losing self, See Christ, and sing the joyous song — "Love watches over all! Love watches over all!" A. E. S. CHAPTER II SERMONS AND PUBLIC ADDRESSES Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glorj- of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching ever>' man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Colossians i, 25, 21, 28. Let the Word have free course and be glorified. The people clamor to leave cradle and swaddling-clothes. The spiritual status is urging its highest demands on mortals, and material history is drawing to a close. Truth cannot be stereotyped; it unfoldeth forever. "One on God's side is a majority;" and "Lo, I am with you alway,*' is the pledge of the Master. — No and Yes, p. 45. ^ The following sermons, with the exception of the first, which was given in Boston, are a few of the many which were delivered from the pulpit of First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, during 1887-88-89, in which it was permissible for pastors to use manuscript. After this period, at Mrs. Eddy's request, all preaching was extem- poraneous. LOVE THE FULFILLING OF THE LAW^ For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. — 2 Timothy i., 7. ' This, my first Christian Science sermon, was preached at Chickering Hall in Boston, at the request of Mrs. Eddy. Our Leader sat beside me on the platform and afterwards took me to the car in her carriage. 41 42 Sermons and Public Addresses When man is governed by God, the ever-present Mind who under- stands all things, man knows that with God all things are possible. Science and Health, p. i8o. THE sacred word is fraught with precious promises, and among the many rich legacies which have descended to us, and which we as Christian Scientists have demonstrated beyond cavil, are these words of Paul, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.'* Mortals, governed by belief and trusting to the evidence of material sense, are filled with fear from the hour they enter upon the stage of mortal existence to the moment w^hen they yield to the **king of terrors" and friends say of them, "They are dead." To mortal man the way is uncertain. Ghosts of doubt and disappointment confront him as he pursues his way. Malice, env^^ jealousy, self-love, personal aggrandizement, all unite to embitter existence, and promised joy proves a poisoned cup when raised to his lips. As he quaffs it to its dregs, he cries out in anguish, "All is vanity and vexation of spirit" (Eccl. i., 14). Weary with the struggle, and faint with weak- ness and fear, he turns from the unreal and illusive to the real and eternal and finds a refuge from the storms of error in the calm haven of eternal Truth. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. " The Father, infinite Life, Love, and Truth, the God whom we worship "in spirit and in truth" (John iv., 23), and beside whom there is no other, is Love. The understanding of this bursts the prison doors of sin, sickness, and death, and sets us free from their bondage. Mortals to-day are turning from the false Sermons and Public Addresses 43 to the true, and are faintly comprehending that there is but one poiver, God, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent Spirit, Mind, Soul: Oh ! Thou Eternal One ! whose presence bright All space doth occupy — all motion guide; Unchanged through time's devastating flight, Thou, only, God! There is no God beside. Being above all beings ! Mighty One. Being whom we call God . . .^ The light of Truth is dawning upon a darkened world and is fast dispelling the mists of error. As we have with delight beheld the sundering of the black and angry clouds and the glorious bursting forth of the sun, filling the world with light and cheer where gloom and shadow had been, so to-day, with our minds ever thinking upward to that firmament of infinite Love and Life, we are witnessing the dis- solving of the clouds of mortal fear. The thunders of finite sense grow fainter and fainter and we shall yet lose their last echo in the psean of victory. Christian Science is filling the earth with brightness where dwelt despair and gloom. Mortal mind with its illusions of sin and sickness is receding before the march of Science, and the kingdom of heaven is at hand. As our Master prayed, "Thy kingdom come. . . in earth, as it is in heaven," so let us pray without ceasing, that we may establish His kingdom on earth — • the kingdom of Spirit — the power of divine Mind to overcome a false claim of life and intelligence in matter. The Light shining in darkness, and which the darkness comprehendeth not, is now visible to ^ Gavnil Romanovitch Dershaven. 44 Sermons and Public Addresses man ; and they who having eyes saw not, are no longef bhnd, but are awakened to a new realization. And yet to human belief there are blind eyes, deaf ears, and dull understanding. Thank God the tocsin has sounded, and in the glorious future, towards which we are all hastening, every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess Him the only power. God has given us the spirit of love. Glorious word! what a wealth of joy it conveys! Love — God is Love, and God is All, and All is Love. We are in an ocean of limitless Love. No shore bounds it. No rocks of fear or hate arise to wreck us, as we sail on its quiet waters. In the understanding that all is God there is no place for fear, for Love casts it out. God is All and God is Love. Ring it out strong and clear to a world hungering and thirsting for a touch of Truth to awaken it to its inheritance. Cry aloud to the prodigal, come home to your Father's house, where there is bread enough and to spare; feed no longer on the husks of materiality, but arise and possess the goodly land. Speak it from a life con- secrated to Truth and its establishment, from a heart throbbing in unison with the great spirit of love, that shall touch with healing your brother and sister, who tremble under the thraldom of mortal error, till the law of Spirit shall set them free from the bondage of sin and death. God is the only power, the only source of being — ■ Life, Love, and Truth. God is Spirit and God is good. Good is the real, evil is the unreal. Good is Truth, evil is a lie from the beginning. Good overcomes evil. Good is all power, therefore let us abide in it. Realizing this, can we fear? Does the infant fear while resting on its mother's breast with its mother's Sermons and Public Addresses 45 loving arms tenderly encircling it? Does the child of God serving God in spirit and in truth, abiding in Him who is perfect Love — realizing that he lives and moves and has his being in a loving Father who is good — does such a child of God tremble at the shadows that sometimes cloud his sky ? Ah ! no, he says : I know not where His islands lift Their fronded palms in air; I only know I cannot drift Beyond His love and care.' The shadow, or belief of life in matter, is no longer feared, and "the valley of the shadow of death" is now known to be a shadow — the shadow — fear. Christ- ian Scientists, knowing this, are going into the world preaching the gospel that heals the sick, that casts out evils and raises a dead faith to a living understand- ing. Through the power of Truth, the harp of a thousand strings is being attuned to the melody of heaven and we are learning the import of the Master's words, "the kingdom of God is within you." Putting off the old mind, man is putting on the new — the Mind that was in Christ Jesus — and is gradually rising to his true estate as a son of God and an heir of His power. The sting of the serpent is no longer dreaded, for the serpent is a myth and his sting a delusion. Man is slowly comprehending his relation to the Father, v/ho made him in His own image and likeness, and gave him ' ' dominion ' ' over all things. ' ' For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. " Hear the word: "But as many as received him, to them gave he power" (John i., 12); "He giveth »Whittier. 46 Sermons and Public Addresses power to the faint ; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength" (Isa. xl., 29); ''For what- soever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith" (l John v., 4). To your faith add understanding. *' Through God we shall do valiantly" (Psa. Ix., 12). "Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the Lord helped me" (Psa. cxviii., 13). Eighteen centuries ago Jesus and his disciples proved to the world the power of Truth over error, of Mind over the evidence of material sense, of Life over death, by destroying the illusions of sin and sickness, and by overcoming the "last enemy" — the behef of life in matter. The world then rejected Truth. To-day it refuses to accept it, and wraps about it more closely the cloak of materialism. Rightly has it been expressed : Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne. Yet that scaffold sways the future, and, behind the dim unknown, Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above His own. ' Hear the word of God to Joshua: Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest (Josh, i., 9). Be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him : With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles (2 Chron. xxxii., 7, 8). , Through the mists of material sense we discern Truth. ' Lowell. Sermons and Public Addresses 47 Lo, before us gleam her camp-fires; we ourselves must Pilgrims be, Launch our Mayflower, and steer boldly through the desperate winter sea, Nor attempt the Future's portal with the Past's blood- rusted key.^ We are but touching the hem of the garment of Truth, but that touch opens our darkened minds to Truth's glorious possibilities and our dominion over sin and sickness, through the understanding that all is Life, Love, and Truth. May we, as Christian Scientists, endeavor to cast^ from us the mantle of error which hides the glory that surrounds us! May we become better trans- parencies through which God can radiate His light, flashing realization of health and joy upon the sufferer, and awakening all who are ready to catch this reflection of Principle. Oh! if we could but grasp the meaning of it all. If we could but read aright what we now. can scarcely spell, what a heaven would we find within us. Truth leads us on, unfolding more and more of Her treasures. ''From glory unto glory!" Thank God, that even here The starry words are shining out, our heavenward way to cheer ! That e'en among the shadows the conquering brightness glows. As ever from the nearing Light intenser radiance flows. ** From glory unto glory," with no limit and no veil, With wings that cannot weary and hearts that cannot fail; * Lowell. 48 Sermons and Public Addresses Within, without, no hindrance, no barrier as we soar: And never interruption to the endless "more and more!"^ What an exceeding weight of glory is ours if w^e but come forth from the grave of materiaHty and awaken to our real — our true relation to the Father. But a little time ago we were oppressed with many a conflict, many a doubt. The angry waves of false sense tossed us with fears and uncertainty, till the trumpet voice of Truth, sounding above time's surging sense was heard, and obeying its call, we found the port of peace, and anchored in the calm haven of Love. Storm-tossed mortals on the sea of materiality to-day are looking for a beacon light. They see breakers ahead. Waves of fear and uncertainty lash them on every side. The helmsman, bewildered and deafened by their roaring, is rushing on to destruc- tion. Is there no light in the tower? Have the lamps gone out for w^ant of oil? Ah! no. High up in the tower the faithful watcher has trimmed her lamp, and the white flame of Love flashes across the darkness of the billows of materiality; the weary mariner, catching the gleam, is soon safely moored in the quiet harbor of Truth and finds in infinite Love a refuge from the storm. Christian Scientists, standing at the post of duty to-day, rally around your faithful Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, whose weary watch know^s no sleeping, whose light is never dimmed, but sheds its bright beams into the night of mortal darkness, and casts its radiance upon a world of dreamers. For years her voice has been heard, rising above the clamor of error, "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead '* (Eph. v., 14). "Awake, awake; put » Frances Ridley Havergal. Sermons and Public Addresses 49r on thy strength " (Isa. Hi., i) Those who have heard the call are gaining, day by day, the understanding of the omnipotence of good, or God, and their dominion over all things, and they are comprehending the words of the Master to his disciples: ''And these signs shall follow them that believe " (Mark xvi., 17); and "the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do " (John xiv., 12). Christian Scientists, inscribe on your banners in luminous letters, that he who runs may read: "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power,, and of love, and of a sound mind. " ADDRESS OF WELCOME TO THE NATIONAL CHRISTIAN SCIENTIST ASSOCIATION. JUNE 27, 1890.^ I would I could utter the thoughts that come surging up for expression this morning as I look into the faces of the disciples of Christ of the nineteenth century, who have come from the East, the West, the North and the South, to unite with us in estabHshing His kingdom "in earth, as it is in heaven. " Language is weak to convey our message, but the power of thought, laden with realization of Life, Truth, and Love, must sweep through each consciousness as I voice the welcome the Christian Scientists of New York City extend to you, our brothers and sisters in Christ. V/e put out both hands, and clasp them over hands that with us, through sunshine and tem- pest have held aloft the banner of Christian Science, upon which is inscribed, in letters luminous with Truth, "All is Mind; there is no matter." "Spirit « This was the original address delivered at the National Christian Scientist Convention. When published in The Christian Science Journal it appeared in a cut and changed form. 4 50 Sermons and Public Addresses is God, and man is His image and likeness" (Scie?ice and Health, p. 468). Since we last met, many a worn pilgrim has been led to the fountain of Life. Many a wanderer has turned from the husks of creed (the Adam-thought in which all die) to the understanding of the power of the Christ-mind, in which all are made alive. The understanding of Christian Science lifts the veil of sense, which hides from mortals the real and eternal, and Love discloses the Principle of being, the spiritual law of Life. Thus the sense of life as physical dis- appears, and that of harmony with the one Mind takes its place. In this spiritual atmosphere divine Love envelops and infinite light illumines us, till material sense fades and we are conscious of the spiritual and real and of our "oneness with the Father." In this state of mental unfoldment, the human reaches out for the divine. Our yearnings for the spiritual and eternal must be met and answered. The age of passive acquiescence in time-honored creed and dogmas has passed. The thinker of to-day denies theological assumptions and ecclesiastical pretensions. The false theories of scholastic theology and materia medica are revealed through the light of Christian Science, and to-day we see traditional religion reeling. Its material strongholds are being shaken as by an internal volcano, and the demand of the people is for a demonstrable Christianity, a verification of the promises of Jesus the Christ. We are ambassadors and disciples of Christ. We have accepted the commission to go into all the world, preach the gospel, heal the sick, cast out evils, and raise the dead. The Word which Jesus proved effectual Sermons and Public Addresses 51 in healing the sick has not lost its power. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ' ' (John i. , i ) . The Word, eternal Life, Love, and Truth, Mind, is becoming to us sacred and divine. Through Christian Science we have found the key that unlocks the hidden mystery of God. Science and Health opens the door of understanding to all who are groping in sense, striving to find what the hieroglyphics mean, of the unseen in the seen. We have found the garment hem of cause, the power of the Mind of God, the potency of the Word. We are beginning to realize the Mind that was in Christ Jesus. God's command was, is, and ever will be, "Let there be light." Christian Science, the power of God, is working the destruction of doubt, material creeds, and ritual. It meets with the same resistance that opposed itself to Jesus and his early disciples. But it speaks the "Peace, be still" to the seeming tumult of error and declares: "Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ. '* Materia medica must investigate this method of healing established by Jesus the Christ and which he proved effectual in opening the eyes of the blind, the ears of the deaf, and in raising the dead. Christian Science, or demonstrable Truth, dissolves clouds of doubt, material creed, and ritual. It is meeting with the same opposition it encountered when Jesus and his disciples preached God's omnipotence. The gospel is again preached in this century, speaking its "Peace, be stiir* to suffering humanity. It is now calling to mankind in thunder tones of Sinai, "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ [Truth] shall o:ive thee lio^ht. " 52 Sermons and Public Addresses God is sounding forth His eternal truth, "I am the first, and I am the last ; and beside Me there is no God. " The battle between Truth and error — the Christ-mind and carnal sense — or belief of life, substance, and intelli- gence in matter has begun ; and it will not cease until Mind is acknowledged supreme and matter is revealed as illusion, "that which seemeth to be and is not."' Jesus the Christ worked out the problem of belief in a power opposed to God, and left the way for all who would follow him. In this age a woman, Mary Baker Eddy, our beloved Leader and Teacher, has discerned the truth of being. She has seen her risen Lord — ^has heard the voice of the Christ, " Go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." She, as God's interpreter, has heralded the power of omnipotent Mind. She has hstened to the voice of Spirit that leads into all Truth — that introduces into the sanctuary of Soul. She is catching gleams of temple spires, Hearing notes of angel choirs, Where, as yet, unseen of them, Comes the new Jerusalem. * The God-anointed Leader of Christian Science is groping for the keys of the heavenly harmonies; she is attuning the harp of a thousand strings to the anthem of immortaHty, but not yet does she hear the sound of the great Amen. The discordant strings of our harps hold her in toil, as she endeavors the gulf to span In the dual heart of man. And between the soul and sense. Reconcile all difference.^ « Science and Health, p. 472. ^ Whittier. » Ihid, Sermons and Public Addresses 53 As she struggles to change the dream of me and mine, to the truth of Thee and Thine, let us, her faith- ful students, follow her teachings and example. Let us dare to face the beasts of carnal sense, which she has uncovered as the serpent, Satan, the He, which has deceived the whole world with its testimony of life, substance and intelligence as existent in matter, and, icnowing its illusion, let us destroy its seeming. Life, Love, and Truth — God — is the real and eternal verity of being. Sin, sickness, and death are the unreal, the opposite of Truth, "a lie from the beginning." ' A lie seems real while it is believed. Evil has deceived the whole world. Let us wrestle with this false sense. Let us dissolve, with the solvent of Truth and Love, this clod of clay till it vanishes away. And the solid [seeming] shores of sense Melt into the vague immense.^ Love is the fulfilHng of the law. Divine love will conquer the world, the flesh, and evil. It is the invisible link that binds us to the infinite. Love is God, and He will manifest His mighty power when man reflects His love and truth. Love will dispel fear and evil, and will leave us in His Hkeness, spiritual and eternal ideas of infinite Principle, the Father — Life, Love, and Truth. H. Bernard Carpenter anticipated this hour when he wrote : Oh, tarry a moment till I take from thee A prophesying symbol of the day, Whose dawn already whitens through yon East! The Hour is coming — hear ye not her feet Falling in sweet sphere-thunder down the stairs ■ Science and Health, p. 567. » Whittier. 53- Sermons and Public Addresses Of Love's warm sky? — when this our holy Church Shall melt away in ever- widening walls, And be for all mankind, and in its place A mightier church shall come, whose covenant word Shall be the deeds of love. Not Credo then, — Amo shall be the password through the gates. Man shall not ask his brother any more, "Believest thou?" but, "Lovest thou?" till all Shall answer at God's altar, "Lord, I love." For Hope may anchor, Faith m.ay steer, but Love^ Great Love alone, is captain of the soul. COMMUNION' *T was Sabbath mom. The city lay In the embrace of dawn, which, As it blended with approaching day, Revealed cathedral dome, and lofty spire Of many a church, where people congregate To worship God. At length, Its radiance rested on a temple made Of stone, symmetrical and white, • ' Which towered in silent speech and Voiceless prayer, piercing the sky ; as if To point beyond the finite view, And lead the worn and weary unto Christ. The joyous birds joined in the silent anthem, "God is good;" And whispering leaves were hushed As if in prayer. And as the dewdrop Glistened on the lily's breast And flashed its varied hues, it voiced the message "God is good." « Communion service at The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Mass., June 17th, 1895. Sermons and Public Addresses 55 The crystal waters, Touched by hand unseen, sparkled From lake and fount, and Pure and smiling, turned their faces fair For Love's impress, and murmured, ''GodisLove.'' Eternity's great organ seemed to wake The world to prayer and praise. Anon, upon the breath of mom, were borne Sweet silvery chimes, floating on Pulseless air, like voice from Mother heart, calling to children dear, And, tremulous with love and blessings, Prayed the Shepherd-Christ to show Her how to go across the hillside's Steep and rugged way, And safely lead his sheep. Well the disciples knew the Voice, calling to feast of Love, and thronged the temple door, Eager for Word of God, and Christ, — the bread. The thirsty pressed for drink From "Little Book," the Key to Heavenly wealth, — God's Holy Word, Revealing Truth and Love, — hid since The world began, but now illumed Through Science and Health. As deep within the heart was heard The promise, "Whoso eateth of this Bread, shall hunger not, nor shall They thirst again who drink My blood," a peace descended, and the Singers rose and gave to listening worshipers The chant, — "The righteous shall go in." A holy hush bade human sense §6 Sermons and Public Addresses "Be still," and Christ was felt, Sweeping with touch divine across the Harp of thousand strings, attuning To Life and Love. Then rose the Readers, calm and strong In Christ, and prayerful, trusting God to feed His people in green Pastures, and to lead beside still Waters, through the Comforter and Word. To hearts attuned to Love, this Holy hour seemed like the gate of Heaven, which, ajar, disclosed The smile of Christ, calHng in Tender accents, "Come to me." Bowed in humble prayer, prostrate Before the Christ, and listening For his voice, a heavenly benediction Fell upon the heart, and tearful Gratitude went up to God for Her who gave to all the Guide To Life divine, — who clasps again The sinner's hand — who turns The straying footsteps to the Light, and leads once more the Way to God, as did the Christ of yore. Communing thus, a sacred Presence filled the place, and Heavenly messengers brought Peace and hope to strugghng pilgrims, KneeHng there for bread. And waters pure, from Spirit-fount. Love rose to temple dome, And filled each humble heart With incense from God's altar. And the song was heard again, "Peace on earth, good will to men," Sung by unseen choirs there. Sermons and Public Addresses 57 As they knelt in silent prayer. 'T was as if the chord of love, Swept by Master-hand above, Thrilled the meek and lowly heart. Bidding care and fear depart. Then was caught the low refrain, " I am with you once again, I have given the bread and wine, I am Christ, and ye are mine. Hush! within this holy place. Love false concepts will efface; Turn ye all from gold and dross, Gaze upon the radiant cross ! Holy Spirit, break the bread, Till each hungry heart be fed ! Drink the wine, so freely poured By the * Comforter,' adored! Then, with power of love, reveal, How the Christ the sick doth heal ! ** Hear the Saviour bid you go Out into a world of woe, Loving all, as I love you, Each the healing work will do; And, forgetting harsh offense, Yield to Love in penitence. Then will love for God and man, Light the earth w4th rainbow span. The faithful rose to follow Christ's Command, to heal the sick and sinful, and To overcome the sense of self and sin. A. E. S. DIVINE WISDOM BRINGS TRUE RICHES AND POWER In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon. . . and God said, Ask what 1 shall give thee. And Solomon said. . . Thou hast made Thy 8er\-Ent king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: SS Sermons and Public Addresses I know not how to go out or come in. . . Give therefore Thy servant an understanding heart to judge Thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this Thy so great a people? . . . And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; . , Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an under- standing heart; . . . And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked both riches, and honor: so that there shall not be any . . . like unto thee. — i Kings iii., 5-13. God is not separate from the wisdom He bestows. Science and Health, p. 6. The history of Solomon and his wonderful achieve- ments, his wealth and power, his marvelous temple, and his unparalleled wisdom and understanding — all his glory — has been for ages accepted by humanity as a veritable historic fact. In all epochs mortals have commented upon Solomon's limitless power and resources in bringing together from all the earth her stores of gold, silver and precious stones, horses and chariots, and thousands of men to do his bidding. Solomon's temple has been the wonder of the world. Mortals have vainly aspired to Solomon's wealth, only to fall far short of its realization. Sacred history has given to the world the secret with which Solomon unlocked the hidden treasures of the universe and brought out from her inexhaustible store- house the beauty, wealth, and power which he utilized. Yet generations have passed through this human exist- ence, working, toiling, sacrificing liberty and human life in the acquisition of wealth or fame, utterly refusing to use the wisdom which Solomon exercised, and which he left as a legacy to humanity. He attributed all his power, peace, and plenty to God, and bequeathed to us these words, the key to his knowledge, "O Sermons and Public Addresses 59 Lord. .. I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. . . Give therefore Thy servant an understanding heart. " Solomon reaHzed the demand that would be made to maintain the regal splendor of the king— the retinue of servants, the horses and chariots that should herald him as a mighty ruler. His first thought was for the good of the people, and he asked for wisdom, justice, and equity with which to govern them. The weakness of his own knowledge appeared to him, hence his call upon God to direct him and to give him an under- standing heart. Personal self was set aside. Solomon took his human knowledge and opinions out of God's way, and the Hght of divine wisdom illuminated his consciousness and revealed all things to his understand- ing. He loved God, and in Gibeon— the hill or ele- vation of holy aspirations, the desire for the good and pure— the Principle of being appeared to him. The voice of God was heard, saying: ''Ask what I shall give thee," and Solomon said, "Give therefore Thy servant an understanding heart to judge Thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this Thy so great a people?" Solomon was conscious of his weak human knowl- edge and fallible judgment, which was apparent in his childlike humility. But a boy, of perhaps fourteen years, he had not learned the ways of the material world, nor filled his thought with self-knowledge, personal ambition, personal pride and arrogance, and he turned to God, as the sunflower turns to the sun to alow into bloom and beauty beneath its warmth and radiance. Solomon's first step was a lesson to humanity, but humanity has not heeded it. Our Saviour taught the 6o Sermons and Public Addresses same lesson. He said: ''Except ye . . . become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." A little child does not argue. He has no foresight, no calculating prudence, no malice. He knows no disguise. A child expresses love without restraint or pretense and is not conscious of self. Innocence, peace, and trusting confidence in the parents who love and protect them are the portion of happy children, and they leave all care to those who love them. Even so in spiritual childhood ; no one truly enters into the things of God — into His intelligence. His wisdom, His love, joy, and peace — save through a childlike spirit — a feeling of God's great all-presence, all-power, all-might, and all-love. Realizing the weakness of mortal conception, Solom^on said, "I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in." The Christian Scientist voices the same plea, I cannot go alone. "Keep Thou my feet! I do not ask to see The distant scene, — one step enough for me.*' Ceasing to depend upon personal self, and depending entirely upon the divine Mind, God's wisdom and intelligence stills the activity of human thought — that ceaseless whirl of false reasoning and false arguing with which mortals become confounded and bewildered • — and God fills the thought with the one Mind — Himself, Life, Love and Truth. Solomon leaned upon God. Let us learn whence came his marvelous dominion over man and the treas- ures of the earth. His fabulous wealth and seeming material prosperity would hardly appear consistent with Jesus' injunction, "Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet Sermons and Public Addresses 6i for your body, what ye shall put on." Yet God pro- vided all these seeming material things; and as He clothes the Hlies of the field, who neither toil nor spin, so He clothed Solomon, who in all his glory was not arrayed like them. Did Solomon take thought for his body or his resources in order to provide for regal splendor — purple and fine linen, a retinue of attaches, servants, horses and chariots — which should herald him as a king? Where was the wealth which must be produced to build the house of the Lord, which David, his father, had conceived but could not erect, and left for his son to bring forth? Solomon did not hesitate when God said to him, ''Ask what I shall give thee" but answered, ''Give me an understanding heart," and God granted it and added riches and honor and long life. Was there any material wisdom and under- standing out of which he could build the house of God? Was understanding equivalent to capital, to bonds and stocks, to bills of exchange, to gold and silver, which he would require to build the temple or house of the Lord? Was it understanding which Peter used as a power to raise the helpless paralytic, when he said, "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee"? He gave the paralytic strength to run and leap for joy, and this was accomplished through understanding, spiritual thought. Solomon and Peter both had learned the hidden mystery of God, and both used their "dominion" (spiritual thought — understand- ing) over the world and its resources. What is understanding? Are the treasures of the universe therein? How can we gain it, and is it available at all times and in all places and equal to all emergencies? Since Solomon proved the power of 62 Sermons and Public Addresses wisdom and understanding, why have not the people followed his example, and instead of unremitting toil and ceaseless anxiety for what they shall eat, and what they shall drink, and wherewithal they shall be clothed, why have they not, like Solomon, asked for understanding and wisdom? God is no respecter of persons, and will give to all fully of His riches. Solomon and Jesus have left to the worid this legacy — the riches of understanding — by which they accom- plished their mighty works. Jesus the Christ illumined the world with the transcendent power of Mind, and utilized it to prove the utter nothingness of disease and death. Paul declared that death was " the wages of sin;" that it was the effect of erroneous thought, the lie, or false mentality, the illusion of material sense, a dream, that which seemeth to be, but is not real. The world has refused to accept the directions our Master gave to humanity, which he declared showed "the way" to eternal Life and the power of God. Mortals have turned their faces toward darkness. They have walked in the valley and shadow of sin, sickness, and death. They have been sailing on the ever-agitated sea of mortal thought, without chart or compass, drifting on its hidden reefs and tossed by its tempests of fear and disease. They have been haunted by the mirages of "hope deferred." They are weary of its illusive pleasures, which they chase as a child chases a butterfly, only to see it far beyond, or, if haply he seizes it, in his joy of capture he opens his hand to find the beautiful wings crushed, the life fluttering, and the creature which was a thing of beauty becomes a Hfeless mockery of his pursuit. Over this tempestuous sea of mortal thought, birds Sermons and Public Addresses 63 of false hope are ever singing of a haven of rest which is never reached, and the song misleads till mortals drift into the quicksands of disease. Wrecked and helpless they are swept away, lost in the maelstrom of belief. We have dreamed in the darkness of material sense, and only now are awaking to our reality, and are apprehending that this matter-dream is but an illusion which avails nothing. We have bowed to a strange god. Mortal thought, or belief, with its testimony of Hfe, substance, and intelligence in matter, has been beHeved, and mortals have not exercised the dominion of Mind, the Christ-mind power over the carnal senses, truth over error, good over evil, life over death and love over fear. The Quaker poet says : ^" The riddle of the world is understood Only by him who feels that God is good, As only he can feel who makes his love The ladder of his faith, and climbs From sense to soul, and draws no line Between mere human goodness and divine, And judging God by what in man is best. With a child's trust, leans on a father's breast." Solomon, with childlike trust, asked God for wisdom and understanding. The divine Mind is understanding, intelligence, wisdom, the creator. Principle, in which are all conceptions of beauty and utiHty. In the beginning was the "Word, " the divine Mind, supreme intelligence, or creative force, God, good, who created the heavens and the earth. He spoke all things into existence. He said, ''Let there be light; and there was light." He com.manded, Let there be beasts, birds, fish, and fowl, and they ap- 64 Sermons and Public Addresses peared. He said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, . . . whose seed is in itself," and it was expressed. The seed is the creative power of Mind. ' ' The tree and herb do not yield fruit because of an}^ propagating power of their own," says Mrs. Eddy, in Science and Health, pageboy, *' but because they reflect the Mind which includes all." Infinite Mind expresses and controls all ideas composing the universe. From the limitless, inexhaustible resources of Mind or understanding, all phenomena of earth and heaven pro- ceed and are manifest. Mind's ideas see, feel, hear, taste, and smell. The Psalmist says, ''O taste and see that the Lord [Mind, God] is good." Trust in Mind, not in matter. Be led by God, Mind, and lean not to belief in a mortal mind. Solomon said to his son: In all thy ways acknowledge Him, [God] and He shall direct thy paths. So shall thy bams be filled with plenty and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. . . . Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding, . . . She is more precious than rubies : and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand, and in her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her. . . . keep sound wisdom and discretion. . . . Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. *'Thy foot shall not stumble." What a promise! It is equivalent to saying, All that thou dost under- take thou shalt accomplish. In the understanding of the power of the Christ-mind, governed by Life, Sermons and Public Addresses 65 Love, and Truth, our ways are pleasant and our paths are peace. There is length of days in the Life thought and longevity is increased by the reflection of Truth and Love. From the real, the divine Principle, Life, Love, and Truth, the Christ-mind, Solomon brought forth the treasures of wisdom and understanding. The expression of harmonious, creative intelligence and its creations were variously manifested in silver and gold, wood and stone, brass and iron. His barns were indeed filled with plenty and "his presses . . . burst out with new wine." He proved that no good thing does God withhold from them that walk uprightly, love Him. David, his father, had prepared much of the v/ay for his son, but it required peace and not conflict to build for God. During the war of the material senses, David had conquered many enemies, doubts and fears, self-love, self-will, and self -righteousness. He had not realized his pride of human knowledge and limited human resources till God's wisdom and power shone into his consciousness and he perceived the inexhaustible v/ealth of divine Mind. Visions of the universe and its treasures, which in the tumult of victory over the material senses he had not been able to utilize, dawned upon him and he left the work to Solomon upon condi- tion that he should walk in the statutes of God. While Solomon obeyed the spiritual divine leadings, he continued to increase in wisdom and riches, peace, plenty, honor, and power. Infinite Mind governs all ideas which compose the spiritual universe. Jesus said, " The kingdom of God is within you." Mind evolves mental pictures, from the landscape of living green to the mountains towering against the sky of purest blue, over which 5 66 Sermons and Public Addresses float pearly clouds. Thought evolves the tint of pink, purple, silver, pearl, etc., together with the setting of the sun in red and amber. Thought is expressed in flowers — in their multitudinous form, color, and perfume. All that we have called nature is but Mind manifest in objects, from the infinitesimal to the in- finite. *' The seed is in itself, only as the divine Mind is All" {Science and Health, p. 508), and produces all phenomena. Human belief reverses all things. Mrs. Eddy declares, " Mind is the multiplier, and Mind's infinite idea, man and the universe, is the product. The only intelligence or substance of a thought, a seed, or a flower is God, the creator of it " {Science and Health, p. 508). Mind had brought to Solomon all his eye witnessed. At times he had risen to the pinnacle of his human receptivity of Truth. Another step had to be taken which required more humility. Personal sense, pride of acquisition, and vanity of his marvelous possessions had dazzled him, and he turned from his reliance upon God to material sense, which prevented the greater illumina- tion of Mind and its possibilities. Divine Love came to his consciousness with riches and power beyond all that Solomion had conceived. But, weighed in the balance, Solomon was found wanting and She vanished from his presence. He had chosen the mate- rial world, and divine wisdom fled, leaving him with his material sense to create its false illusive phenom- ena which should turn to dust and ashes at his touch. The carnal mind is composed of fears, a spectral band, — of doubts, anxiety, sickness, and sor- row. All its conceptions are phantoms, unreal and fleeting. Humanity must turn from the mortal sense of life in matter, to the understanding of life in Sermons and Public Addresses 67 Mind and there abide, if it would continue to receive God's blessings. If cause is right the right effect will follow. Mortals must discontinue false thinking which evolves discord and death. These are dreams, which, as mortals awake to Truth, wisdom and under- standing destroy. At first Solomon asked for wisdom to judge between good and bad, and God governed his thought. A harmonious cause produces a harmonious effect. Thought is force. Mind is the creative Principle, the supreme, divine intelligence. There is but one Mind, or cause, God. This is the fountain of eternal Life. Wisdom and understanding proceed from the Christ- mind, and spiritual man is a reflection of God, made in His own image and likeness, with dominion over all things. Jesus the Christ realized his oneness with the Father, and said of his disciples that "they may be one [with the Father], as we are.'* He exercised his God thought and knew that there was no intelli- gence, life, or power in matter. He took dominion over the lie, and destroyed the works of error — sin, sickness, and death. As wisdom or spiritual thought, appeared to Solo- mon with her riches of infinite beauty, power, and glory, diviner conceptions than had yet been revealed to him, so she appeared to Jesus, and he testified, "The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it" (Matt, xii., 42). Paul wrote: "For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent . . . hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" Divine wisdom. Christian Science, has revealed to the nine- teenth century her riches of Life, Love, and Truth — • 68 Sermons and Public Addresses her treasures of beauty, joy, and peace — and is con- demning material knowledge, mortal conceptions, and the material universe as the creations of false sense, altogether unreliable and fallacious. They are without life, substance or intelligence, and are such substance only as dreams create. Science reverses the testimony of the material senses and declares that man is spiritual, not material. In spiritual thought all is harmony. " Chaos and old night," discord and disease, sorrow and death, are produced by the carnal mind, belief of life in matter. Let us refuse longer to believe the suggestions of mortal mind. God reigns and there is none beside Him. All is Life. All is Love and Truth. Adam is a myth. In the Adam -thought all die. In the Christ-mind all are made alive. Knowing the true from the false, shall we continue creating hallucinations? Wisdom condemns mortal sense and declares of matter, "It is illusion, loss but seems, pleasure and pain are only dreams." Wisdom cries in the streets to-day, "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise frorn the dead. " She comes to us with her train of camels, strong, enduring thoughts of life in the infinite Life. They carry us through the desert of personal sense, where mirages of fear and disease — ghosts of old beliefs — arise to terrify us, as we journey from sense to Soul, from the unreal and temporal, to the real and eternal. The ancients worshiped gods of wood and stone. Modems worship matter. Scholastic theology has taught for centuries that Adam is the real man, with life and intelligence. Materia medica has vainly striven to preserve that belief of life in matter, and to treat non -intelligent matter, only to yield to inevitable defeat and death. Sermons and Public Addresses 69 Since time began, mortals have been experimenting with Adam, and the world has lavished its resources upon material theology and materia medica, to aid them in solving the problem of life in matter. Adam has been studied under the keenest microscope of mental and physical analysis and the verdict is the same as in the days of prophets and apostles. "In Adam all die." Illusions are not permianent. They come and go like the wind which ''bloweth where it listeth, and thou . . . canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth. " So are the creations of the Adam-dream. There is no life in the shadow which vanishes in the light. It is now that we are listening to the voice of wisdom. ''A crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. . . . Take fast hold of instruction . . . for she is thy life " (Prov. iv., 9, 13). We are now learning the power of Mind and that thoughts are things and things are thoughts. Now we are learning the cause of sickness, discord, and death. The Christ-mind is wisdom and understanding — it is health and harmony. The carnal mind is the lie, and from it proceeds env^'-, jealousy, pride, ambition, lust, hatred, deception, and fear, which cause disease and death, all of which are beliefs — nothingness. These forces, if believed and yielded to, evolve a discordant body and a discordant universe. At first Solomon asked to be controlled by the Christ-mind, and the result was harmony^ in all his undertakings. When building his house upon Mount Zion, and the house of the Lord upon Mount Moriah, the way was covered through which he walked in going from one to the other. Under the protection of wisdom or leaning upon the strong arm of the 70 Sermons and Public Addresses infinite, divine Love covers us with Her feathers. Spiritual sense is a repelHng force to the fleshly mind. Enveloped in a halo of light and love, evil cannot reach us. As the light of the sun dispels the darkness, so does the God thought, life, love, and truth destroy sin, sickness, and death, the illusions of corporeal sense. Through the understanding that Mind is the creative power, and that God is our life, we are uncovering the false belief of life in matter which has so long deceived us. It is now that we pray to be governed by divine Mind or wisdom, and we are demonstrating the power of spiritual thought -force over the belief of evil. We now understand the cause of disease in the body, discord in the home, chaos in business, tidal waves and fires in the universe, and all the phenomena which are caused by the mortal belief in two powers, good and evil. Evil thoughts are destructive forces. They have been hidden till wisdom threw the light of Truth upon the lie. We now know that spiritual love nullifies their claim to power — "Hear, 0 Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord" — good. Edison, in a recent article upon the danger of electricity, says: ** Insulated wires are not safe if put underground, they are more dangerous on account of the gases which will force themselves into houses through any opening, and they are only safe when ex- posed. Then they lose their death-dealing power." How true of evil ! Christian Science, the understanding of the supremacy of the Christ-mind, has exposed the cause of sickness and death, and found it to be carnal mind, the lie which has deceived the whole world. Truth uncovers error in this age and the lie exposed Sermons and Public Addresses 71 has lost its destructive power. "There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed." When man learns his mental spiritual dominion, how buoyant will become his step! When he realizes that he has been holding in his thought vipers which have stung him and has borne the burden of disease and discord in his body, in his business, in the universe, working out the problems of fear and uncertainty, only to terminate in death — when, I say, he awakes from his Adam-dream and learns that the cause of all his suffering was a false sense, he will turn to his Christ-mind, and redeem his health, joy, and peace, a harmonious body and a harmonious universe. We have been taught to submit to all things good or bad as sent from God, as reward or discipline. To-day the fettered mind is freeing itself and the Te Deum ascends from the emancipated. We shall no longer live as slaves. We were free-born. Let us stand guard at the portal of thought. To the approaching messenger let us demand, "Who comes there?" If it is Christ, Truth, we will open the door to the angel visitant. Life and Love. If it be the belief of sensation in matter, with its various illusions of pain or pleasure, its falsities and evil thoughts, fears, malice, and the carnal forces that create discord and disease, we will bid them depart. Beloved, assert your freedom, your Christ-mind power, and prove the supremacy of your God-thought. Why should we yield to sickness more than to sin? Why should death be the "king of terrors" when it is admitted to be "the wages of sin"? If one does not take poison one does not suffer from its effects. If one does not commit a crime one need not fear the prison. If one ceases to sin, one does not meet sin's 72 Sermons and Public Addresses penalty. When will humanity cease sinning, or believing that there is life in matter? When will humanity imderstand that life is in the Christ-mind? Finally, God will be understood as governing man, and from wisdom we shall evolve health, harmony, riches, honor, for ''the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof.** We must realize that noiv vre are spiritual, that now we are in eternity and that now God will reveal His life. His love. His truth. His wisdom, His marvelous riches, His ever-presence and power. Like light illuminating a room filled with costly treasures, which, in the darkness, we had not seen, so the light of understanding, God's intelligence, will work through human consciousness revealing the treasures of earth, air, and sea. Mind creates. Wisdom and imderstanding brought forth Solomon's riches, honor, and glory. Turning from Mind, or God, to mat- ter, or sin, he brought forth sorrow, discord, disease, and death — the effects of mortal belief of life in matter. Wisdom puts forth her voice to-day: "Unto you, 0 men, I call; . . . O ye simple, understand wisdom. '* 1 am Truth, I am Mind. "For wisdom is better than rubies; . . . By me kings reign, . . . Riches and honor are with me ; yea, durable riches and righteousness .... That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures" (Prov. viii.). The understanding of the supremacy of Mind and the allness of God is wisdom. It is understanding to know and realize that matter has no life, substance, nor intelligence and that a false sense which is expressed in seeming sin, is illusion, sickness, and death. Let us choose Mind, and permit God to govern our thought. Let us accept the riches of His universe as a sequence, thanking Him for His loving protection and manifold Sermons and Public Addresses 73 blessings. Let us praise Him as the lilies of the field praise Him, and as the heavens and the earth declare His goodness. Let us guard the portal of our thought as we guard our material treasures. Bolts, bars, and watchmen protect the bank and the warehouse. Gold and silver, stocks and bonds find a receptacle behind the massive iron door of the safe, whose intricate combination lock resists the midnight robber. The mansion in which are man's dearest treasures is made impervious to thieves and supplied with electric burglar alarms. The greater the riches, the more uneasy lies the head. Ah ! mankind has sought out many inventions to protect the mortal body and material possessions, but has left the portal of thought wide open for error to enter and govern his house. A man's "foes shall be they of his own household." Fear, doubt, envy, jealousy, pride, licentiousness, self-love, and personal ambition are the false forces that are included in the belief of life in matter. They pursue him till they bind the strong man and cast him into prison, or the helplessness of disease, until he has paid the uttermost farthing. Evil thoughts are held in consciousness which are as fatal as the dagger, the midnight assassin, or the poison of the serpent. Wisdom uncovers error. Christian Scientists are expelling mental enemies from human thought, and are barring their mental doors against the subtle claims of evil. Wisdom is condemning this generation and is revealing the hidden mysteries of God. Truth is uncovering error and showing its illusion. Scholastic theology and materia medica are condemned by the demonstration of the supremacy of Mind over matter. "Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is 74 Sermons and Public Addresses the disputer of this world? hath not God [divine Mind] made fooHsh the wisdom of this world?" Human wisdom has labored for naught, and must yield to the divine. To-day Christian Science is operating in human thought as leaven operates in meal. Mortals, by the force of Truth are to-day unconsciously shaping their creed at the forge of thought. " Truth's mighty arguments shall roll down From inland mountain to seaboard town.'* The altar is only awaiting the hour when all men shall know God, be one royal brotherhood, and one Church made free by love, which is the law of God. Material thought is being destroyed by Christian Science, that the temple of God — spiritual consciousness — may be revealed. Each in his or her consciousness is gradually overcoming false sense. It is said by some that Christian Scientists are doing nothing. When the hour strikes, and the shout of vic- tory goes up, the walls of Jericho will fall. Truth is a silent, disintegrating force. It is eating into old theories and traditional dogmas, and is casting error to the sur- face that it may be destroyed. Error resists Truth, as Truth's potent presence threatens to overthrow error's strongholds. The cry of the unbeliever attracts the ear. Hate and malice and self-love mar The notes of triumph with painful jar, And the helping angels turn aside Their sorrowing faces the shame to hide. Never on custom's oiled grooves The world to a higher level moves. But grates and grinds with friction hard On granite boulder and flinty shard.' «Whittier. Sermons and Public Addresses 75 To-day Christian Scientists behold the bow of fruition. They are realizing "the peace of God for the world's annoy." "Beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness " (Isa. Ixi., 3). All the foregleams of wisdom in santon and sage, : In prophet and priest, are our true heritage.' Then let us choose wisdom, and declare, "I know not how to go out or come in." Give me wisdom and understanding. CHRIST-MIND HEALING And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. — Matthew viiL, 7. Jesus illustrated the divine Principle and the power of immortal Mind by healing sickness and sin and destroying the foundations of death. — Science and Health, p. 171. Throughout the years of our Christian experience, we have read and have repeatedly heard of the Master's wonderful power in healing the sick. Without question- ing how he performed these so-called miracles, we accepted them as beyond the ken of erring finite vision, and drifted into the belief that Jesus was the Son of God endowed with power to cast out devils and raise the dead, and that this divine power was conferred only upon the disciples of that day. The religion of our early years gave us no imderstanding of our relation to God, or of our divine birthright, and while we were not satisfied with otu* limited and circumscribed possibilities, we knew no path out of the labyrinth of helplessness in which we were straying. ^ Whittier. 76 Sermons and Public Addresses We read that ''The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding." But the Word was not rightly interpreted, for we did not get the light to apprehend, even faintly, the mystery of life, or the experience of Jesus, who, beyond all finite appre- hension, gave testimony to the illumination of Truth. To-day, mortals are halting before Truth which reveals to them the great possibilities of man when governed by God, the infinite intelligence, whose rule is perfect harmony and unfailing love. Truth is working over and above all mortal thought, asserting its dominion, its supremacy, and omnipotence. Life is seen to be spiritual and eternal, not material and mortal. Three hundred years after the crucifixion of Jesus, none fulfilled the command of the Master, and for generations mortals have repeated "the old, old story, of Jesus and his love," but have failed to catch the inspiration of that love sufficiently to cast out fear, heal the sick, or raise the dead. Jesus, the human man, has been the theme of theo- logy; while Christ, the ideal man, has been but faintly apprehended, and mortals have lived in the belief of life in matter, instead of living in the understanding of life in Spirit, Mind. In this century, the voice of Truth is arousing the material world from its deep sleep, and is calHng loudly to mankind, ''Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust" (Isa. xxvi., 19). When in their blindness and weakness they question, " Where is our strength? " the reply quickly reaches them, Your strength "cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth, " and, " My grace is sufficient for thee. " In this hour when the world is sitting in judgment on healing the sick by any but a material method, it Sermons and Public Addresses ']^ is well for us to go back and recall the means by which mortals in different epochs of the world's history have endeavored to free themselves from the suffering to which all are more or less in bondage. Since Hippo- crates, man has striven to find an antidote for disease. Moses introduced mental healing. The people were asked to look upon the brazen serpent and they believed that they were healed of the stings of poisonous vipers. Later, the prayer of faith healed the sick until their faith failed and ceased to relieve suffering humanity. Then followed material modes of relief through allo- pathy, homeopathy, and other methods, until at last Truth appeared and divine Mind was proved to be more effectual and potent in the healing of disease than so-called mortal mind with its drugging system. Christendom accepts the Bible for its guide. There are recorded in it many instances of wonderful restora- tion to health by prophets and apostles. The world has immortalized these prophets, seers, and apostles whose faith laid hold on the promises of God, through His Son Jesus the Christ. It is not necessary to enumerate the number of mental cures effected before Jesus' day. The instance of the raising of the widow's son by Elisha is sufficient to estabHsh the power of Mind to raise to life the seeming dead. Let us ponder these records of omnipotent Mind and ascertain who was the best exponent of divine Mind- healing the world has ever known. What was his life? What was his reception and experience while practising and demonstrating mental healing on the scientific basis of the allness of God, good, the supre- macy of Mind over matter, or Spirit over the flesh .> Let us ascertain if it were Christian. A few Stmdays ago in one of the fashionable churches 78 Sermons and Public Addresses in this city, the words rang out from the pulpit strong and clear, "Christian Science is a misnomer, for it is neither Christian nor Science." First, let us learn what Christian Science is, and then determine if it be Christian. Christian Science is the understanding of Truth. It teaches that God is All, and that there is none beside Him. It is the understanding that God is Mind, Spirit, Soul, Life, Love, Truth — the creator or Principle of being, — omni- potent, omniscient, omnipresent Mind. Christian Science teaches that man was made in the image and likeness of Spirit, therefore he is spiritual, and lives, moves, and has his being in God, having no other life but that which he derives from the source of his existence, eternal Life. It is the imderstanding that man has God-given dominion over all things. All that God is, man reflects. It is the comprehension that Mind is the only cause, and matter but the phenomenon of false thinking. The Scriptures teach that in the beginning was Mind — that Mind was with God and that Mind was God. Christian Science is the apprehension that God is Life, Love, and Truth, therefore, all that is unlike God is illusion, falsity, the Adam-dream. Humanity to-day is choosing between the false and the true mentality. Many are weary of serving two masters, Love and fear, Life and death, and are begin- ning to acknowledge but one power, good, divine Mind. The Christian Scientist strives to walk after the Spirit, and, with the Word of God, spiritual thought- force, endeavors to overcome the material world, the flesh, and evil. Christian Scientists cast out evil and heal the sick through the understanding that man is an emanation of Mind, and that matter is sensation- Sermons and Public Addresses 79 less, non-intelligent error, or belief. Sin, sickness, and death are the illusions of mortal belief — the result of false thinking, or effect of fear, doubt, anxiety, and self-love, which hold humanity in bondage until it awakes to the nothingness of materiality, and rejects the claims of belief of life in matter. ' The mythological Adam-dream has deceived the whole world. But thanks be to God, Christ's voice is heard above the noise of many waters: "All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all " {Science and Health, p. 468). Divine Mind makes its own heaven; mortal, so-called, mind evolves its own hell. Thus we learn that heaven and hell are mental conditions. The kingdom of heaven is love, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. As long as mortals con- tinue to believe in death, and yield to the illusion of life in matter — sin, whose wages is death — they must indeed be far removed from the kingdom of heaven. Christ Jesus came to the world preaching the allness of God. With his great spiritual discernment he dispelled the hallucinations of mortal thought. His first sermon was in his native village of Nazareth, v\^here he entered the synagogue and read from Isaiah : The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me ; because ... He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound ; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord (Isa . Ixi , , i , 2) . The people were astonished as he proceeded to proclaim the truth. Then, becoming furious, they 8o Sermons and Public Addresses pursued him and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, purposing to hurl him on the rocks beneath; but, with his understanding of the power of divine Mind, he passed through the midst of them unseen and unscathed. For three years this God-man, Jesus the Christ, demonstrated the power of Mind by words and acts; by healing the sick and giving sight to the blind, by raising the dead and dispelling sorrow, and by a life so pure and Christly, so far beyond all reproach, that not even his enemies could prove a charge against him. Never did he aught but good, yet he was compelled repeatedly to cry out, "For which of those [my good] works do ye stone me?'* (John x., 32.) It is true that men called upon Jesus to heal their maladies, and it is equally true that he healed them. He was called the great physician because he healed ** all manner of disease." He gave sight to the physi- cally and morally blind, hearing to the physically and morally deaf, strength to the weak, joy and peace to the sorrowing, and the hand of compassionate forgiveness to the penitent sinner. Jesus was filled with a wonder-working power and energy that scattered to the winds all theories of material therapeutics, and made all the methods of materia medica futile and illogical. His was a life of love and blessing to all that land of Galilee. What was the power which Jesus used in his healing of the sick? We read, ''When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick. " Let us learn what the Word was and is. It is written: " In the beginning was the Word, and Sermons and Public Addresses 8i the Word was with God, and the Word was God'* Qohn i., i). Also: " I read in the beginning was the Word, And, — if by the Spirit I am truly taught, Then thus in the beginning was the thought. Is it the thought that works, creates indeed? Then in the beginning. Mind was the power I read." The learned teachers and preachers of that day spent their fury on this godly man, Christ Jesus, whose teachings if they had obeyed, and whose life and example if they had emulated, would have delivered them from their bondage to sin and death. Instead, the truth he preached antagonized them and they nailed him to the cross. His yearnings for their salvation were expressed on the Mount of Olivet when he cried out in the agony of unreciprocated love: 0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, . . . how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! (Matt. xxiii.,37.) In the garden of Gethsemane, his anguish was for the world. The cross on Golgotha terminated his earthly service to humanity and gave him his victory over "the last enemy" — death. Their ignorance, or belief of life in matter, nailed him to the cross, sealed the belief of a mortal body in the tomb, ard the people who held these beliefs con- gratulated t':3mselves that they had forever silenced his voice, ^'len, as to-day, the world did not recognize the Christ-rr'nd, expressed in the ideal man. Mortal sense took c^ -nizance only of the material phenomenon, the body of 'le fleshly mind. In all Jesus' teachings 82 Sermons and Public Addresses he endeavored to impress humanity with the allness of God, and the real man's oneness with the Father. He attributed reahty to none but God and His spiritual man and spiritual universe, which can be seen only through spiritual sense. He asked, ''Whom do men say that I . . . am?" and Peter 07^/3' had spiritual dis- cernment to reply, ''Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Christ Jesus' divine selfhood finally triumphed over his human sense, and, with his body unchanged, he returned to his disciples, with whom he remained until he rose to a wholly spiritual con- sciousness which hid him from their material view. Was Jesus Christian? Let Christians answer. Was Jesus a Christian Mind-healer? Again we call for a reply. Is there any difference between the modem method of Mind-healing, and that of Jesus' day? Then, as to-day, there were mesmerists, hypnotists, mortal mind-healers — those who use human will- power which is directly opposed to the divine will as exercised by Jesus. The accusation of the materialists was that Jesus "cast out devils ... by Beelzebub." He replied: It is not I (the material personal Jesus) who doeth the works, but the Father which worketh in me (that is, worketh in and through my spiritual individuality), He doeth the works. Jesus the Christ was the best exponent of Christian Mind-healing the world has ever known. It was demonstrable Truth, the operation of the immutable law of Spirit, when man is governed by God. His disciples were not infallible in their demonstrations of the law of Truth and Love, for, while Paul and Peter raised the dead, Paul failed at another time to heal Trophimus and was obliged to leave him at Sermons and Public Addresses 83 Miletus. Jesus rebuked his disciples for their lack of faith on several occasions because they failed to heal, and said, '' This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." Again he said: He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do (John xiv., 12). And these signs shall follow them that believe ; . . . they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover (Mark xvi., 17, 18). The voice of the impersonal Christ is again heard in this nineteenth century, proclaiming the gospel of Truth which heals the sick, casts out devils (evil thoughts which cause disease and death), and will, when man is governed by God, raise the dead. That which has been done may be done again. Jesus is our Way-shower to the Christ -mind healing and to eternal Life. History shall not continue to repeat itself. Rehgious intolerance shall not compel us to abandon a spiritual Christianity with its spiritual healing. They who have really touched the hem of the garment of Christ can never return to a m^aterial reHgion, to drugs and physical surgery. We have only to be faithful if we would win. We will not be ordered to the rear, nor tortured upon the rack while we demand for ourselves and for humanity our God-given dominion. The full significance of man's great destiny is just dawning upon him and mankind will awake, arise, and "go to my Father." Material theories regarding God, man, and the universe have enslaved humanity. Christendom is worshiping the Adam-man as God's creation. The so-called carnal mind, with its material phenomenon 84 Sermons and Public Addresses or embodiment, is being mistaken for spiritual man. Jesus declared, to those who called upon God in their temples and synagogues: "Ye are of your father the devil," or, you are governed by the belief of life, substance, and intelligence in matter. He rebuked them with the Word of God : ' ' Thou shalt have no other gods before Me" — (Spirit) — no other life but the spiritual, no other mind but Love and Truth. Life, Love, Truth is the reality of being; sin, sickness, and death are the illusions of the material senses. Do not think that you can believe in and serve these senses and not suffer. There is no reality in sin, but, if you yield to its false claims, you must pay the penalty. There is no power in a falsehood when you know it to be a falsity, but the falsehood which you believe may cause you as much suffering as if it were a fact. Said a patient to me recently: "I dreamed last night that I was running from an animal that had escaped from a menagerie, and when I awoke, my heart throbbed so violently I was terrified. I was as weary and out of breath as if I had actually had that experience." Such is the power of so-called mortal mind to deceive. We have been in the dream of life in matter so long that matter seems tangible substance to us until we resist and overcome its claim to power. A lie is "more subtil than any beast of the field." Satan, or mortal mind, is a lie from the beginning and truth abides not in him. Let us worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Let us realize that we possess the power of God through our Christ-consciousness, which is the reflection of God. Who is not weary of the struggle between the flesh and Spirit, of the irresistible conflict between the divine and the human concepts which were and aie Sermons and Public Addresses 85 *' contrary the one to the other"? "In Adam all die, . . . in Christ shall all be made alive." Shakespeare thus speaks of mankind: But man, proud man, [mortal man] Drest in a little brief authority, Most ignorant of what he 's most assured, His glassy essence, like an angry ape. Plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven As makes the angels weep. Let us recall the text: "And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him." Christian Scientists have for their Leader, Christ, who assures them, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end." Is it Christian to accept him as our guide and follow his example? Is it Science (understanding) that enables us to dem- onstrate over disease, by the "Word"? Paul asked, "Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?" Is it possible, in this hour of spiritual development, to do the works which Jesus promised us we should do? Is it blas- phemy for us to affirm: "I and my Father are one"? Hear the Master's prayer for his disciples which has rung down the ages: — "As Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us" (John xvii.. 21). Oh, blind, and in love with darkness, awake, and b)ehold the Hght which shineth about you! Christ is come to the understanding of those who are looking for his reappearing. He is piercing the black clouds of mortal sense, dispelling the darkness with the efful- gence of his coming. He is approaching with healing in his wings, to show us the mansions that he has prepared for us, the heavenly consciousness of Life, 86 Sermons and Public Addresses Love, and Truth. We are listening to heavenly harmonies, instead of the discordant refrain of sin, sickness, and death, which we have so long heard. Again, an objection has been raised by the material- ists that a umnan has given Christian Science to this generation, and is teaching Jesus' method of healing by the power of the Mind of Christ. Mrs. Eddy has taught thousands to turn from the behef of life and intelligence in matter to the eternal verities of divine Life, Love, and Truth. Through her books and her students, she is attuning the human heart to sing the hymn of salvation from sin and death, and to rejoice in the demonstration of health, love, peace, and joy. Her experience runs parallel with the experience of her Master. Alone, reviled, and denounced by mortals, understood in a small degree only by the few who perceive and accept Truth, she stands on the mount of spiritual illumination, up whose rugged sides no feet but those of the blessed Master have so directly toiled; first in agony, and then in triumphant demon- stration of divine power and glory. With Truth and Love to inspire her — transfigured with spiritual love and wisdom — she comes with the meekness and gentleness of a child and lisps to a world of dreamers the old-new story of God's love, and Jesus' mission. Her utterances of divine power, "All is Mind," "There is no matter," have become Hke the thunders from Mount Sinai, heard from East to West, from North to South. Dare the world reject her word because she is a woman? How does the Christ speak in his divine code of Science? It was a woman who put the leaven into the meal which leavened the whole lump. It was a woman who poured the precious ointment, an offering to the divine Sermons and Public Addresses 87 inspiration. A woman knelt at the foot of the cross when all the terrified men, save one, forsook Jesus in self-protection. To a woman Jesus first revealed himself after the resurrection. It was the woman in Revelation who was to be clothed with light to interpret the Word of God. Woman's spirituality first dis- cerned Truth, and she will finally lead to spiritual heights all who have heretofore failed to discern the imm.utable things of Spirit. Truth is calling to humanity, "Halt!" Science says that man governed by Truth and Love is master over every condition and circumstance. Vv^ith gentle teach- ings, man is being led, step by step, up the heights of wisdom to that understanding, which, with all his getting, he has never dreamed of possessing — the understanding of himself, and his relation to, and oneness with, God. The prophecy will be fulfilled; the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head (Gen. iii., 14, 15) and restore man to his primal estate — health, holiness, and immortality. Man will learn through divine Science the "new tongue," the unfathomable speech which leads him to the verge of the infinite, and permits him to commune with the Father in spirit and in truth. The prophets of old became entranced as this spiritual joy and power filled their being. This understanding of God is both Christian and Science. It is said to be "unto the Jews a stumbling- block, and unto the Greeks fooHshness;" but to us that are saved (understand) it is " the power of God." ** The Christian Scientist has enhsted to lessen evil, disease, and death." ^ The arguments of supposi- tional evil which we have challenged are powerless ' Science and Health, p. 450- 88 Sermons and Public Addresses to compel us to beat a retreat. Christ has given us his promise, and will support us with his power. The hosts of mortal mind (false belief) cannot intimidate us. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" If we are beset by foes within and without, if contumely and ostracism await us, we shall imite our voices with the invisible choir in the anthem, "Nearer, my God, to Thee, " and go on with rejoicing. If our warfare with the world, the flesh, and evil brings the fate of Daniel, or the fiery furnace of the Hebrew children, or the boiling oil to which John was subjected, we will pursue our wilderness journey and trust the words of our ever-present Christ. Then let us continue to attune our thoughts to the grand symphonies of Truth and Love, and remember that: The path of duty was [is] the way to glory: He that walks it, only thirsting For the right, and learns to deaden Love of self, before his journey closes, He shall find the stubborn thistle bursting Into glossy purples, which outredden All voluptuous garden-roses. Shall find the toppling crags of Duty scaled Are close upon the shining table-lands To which our God Himself is moon and sun. ' Christian Scientists, as you listen for the voice of Christ, Truth, you will hear above the roar of the breakers of mortal thought, "Be of good cheer,"— " The works that I do shall he do also." Love that is divine, strength that is infinite, are ours. We are con- tinually rested and refreshed as we live in spiritual ^ Tennyson. Sermons and Public Addresses 89 consciousness and Christ's promise is fulfilled in us: ''Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Dwelling in the consciousness of ever-present Love, we ascend in the scale of being to higher demonstrations of the power of the Word, and draw others into the Life that is God. When storm-tossed and tempest-torn we pause to listen for the Shepherd's voice up the mountain height, we catch the refrain, " Lo, I am with 3^ou alway," " It is I; be not afraid." The poet says: "Therefore, great heart, bear up, thou art but type of what all lofty spirits suffer that fain would win men back to strength, and peace, and health, through Love." Let us follow the Master into his Gethsemane; let us toil up the rugged hill of Calvary; let the pierced hands and wounded side inspire us to press onward till we rise with him in Spirit, and conquer the illusion of sin and death with the understanding of eternal Life and Love. THE DAWN OF SPIRITUAL ILLUMINATION The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast oflf the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Romans xiii., 12. The night of materiality is far spent, and with the dawn Truth will waken men spiritually to hear and to speak the new tongue. Science and Health, p. 354. In this hour the demand of the world is for a more spiritual religion; and, while scholastic theology has not changed its creed or ritual, many people have so far advanced in spirituality that the old garment of materiality is outgrown. They have put off the old mind, and are putting on the new, — the Mind of Christ. They are no longer dominated by false 90 Sermons and Public Addresses teaching, or led by those who cannot in some degree demonstrate their theories. It is apparent to the advanced thinker who endeavors to keep ''abreast with Truth" that "the night is far spent, the day is at hand." Many are still demanding ''A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep. " But the bugle-call of Truth has aroused the slumberers. They have been disturbed, and cannot again sink into dreaming as of yore, but, fretful and impatient because they have been aroused and must awake, they hug the old creed and dogma more closely, and bid Truth "Go thy way for this time. " The night is indeed far spent; the dark gloomy night of error, when man knew nothing of his possi- bilities, but was at the mercy of sin and sickness, when he was subject to all the claims of belief of life in matter and yielded ready obedience to the tyrannous rule of so-called mortal mind. The night of Stygian darkness which has shrouded the world in gloom, bathed it in tears, and hung the pall of darkness over all; the night of error — when man was ignorant of his divine power, or his oneness with his Alaker, when he dreamed and believed his dream a reality; when he suffered from disease, with no knowledge of his own dominion over the flesh and evil; when he vainly imagined that matter was substance, with sensation and intelligence; when he trembled before evil, as it suggested disease and death, unconscious of the fact that ever\^ man had within himself a power which would destroy the illusion of mortal mind with its sin and sickness — that night is passing away. That dark, gloomy, terrible night is far spent, with its ghosts and mirages, its optical illusions and mental hallucinations, its false teachers, its false preachers, and its "blind leaders of the blind." Sermons and Public Addresses 91 Already the dawn foretells the coming of the day. Mankind is awaking from the deep sleep of the Adam- dream, to the light of a glorious emancipation from the darkness of mortal sense. Looking back through the ages we see human energy directed to the study of matter. We learn from material history that through all time mortal man has been led by material sense into the behef of life, substance, and intelHgence in matter. He has spent years of toil and sacrifice to find the "life-germ," and an antidote for the dis- eases to which humanity is believed to be heir; but alas! he has sought in vain. During generations man has been wandering in darkness while seeking for light, contemplating death in the search for Life, investigating error in groping after Truth. He must now reverse the old mental processes, retrace his steps, and erase from his memory the falsely-stated hypotheses to which he can never gain a correct solution. It was formulated from the premise of error, but error in premise invariably results in error in conclusion. Leaving his erroneous premise mankind must begin to solve Life's problems with Truth as a basis. He must begin at the foot of the ladder of divine meta- physics, or Christian Science, and climb, step by step — nor expect to leap to the summit at a bound. The belief in the reality of sin, sickness, and death is the night which is far spent. Those who have come into the understanding of the allness of God, of good, are daily proving the nothingness of error, and that error is not the reality of being, but is the illusion which is destroyed by Truth. Ever-present Truth is an infallible antidote for a lie. Ever-present Love casts out fear, and instead of the ''ojrim monster," death, that has held 92 Sermons and Public Addresses mortals in bondage for ages, we find ever-present Life sufficient to destro}^ its seeming power. Humanity in this nineteenth century is blessed by the revelation of the omnipotence of good. God is good, and is all power. He has no co-partnership with evil. As God is All and there is none beside Him, all is good, and that w^hich seems to human sense to be evil, sin and sicloiess, is that which " seems to be, but is not " ' real. It is like a dream which was real while we dreamed, but which, upon waking, we knew to be nothing. Had men never learned that a dream is not a real experience, they might have continued to believe in its delusions and suffered from its influence — as they do in the illusion of material existence. To-day mankind is sufficiently awakened to apprehend that good is the reality of being, that evil is not true, that Life, Love, Truth is God, and that God is omnipotent. Divine Mind creates only good. Man is made in God's image and likeness and is spiritual. Heretofore we have believed that God made mortal man. We have submitted to the material interpretation of the Bible, because we had no spiritual understanding by which to reconcile seeming inconsistencies. When we awoke to a partial discernment of Truth,, it was a revelation to us. We then saw that God is good, and that all He made is good ; that man, reflecting God, w^as made in the image and likeness of his Maker, spiritual and not material. We gladly recognized and declared that God is unchangeable, "the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever ; " that His law is the law of Life, Love, and Truth; and that sin, sickness or death never could result from God's law. We learned that mortal man is mortal error, with his man-made * Science and Health, p. 123. Sermons and Public Addresses 93 law, sin, and its results, sickness and death, and that this so-called mortal man has no power to break a law of God. Understandingly we now "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's" (Matt, xxii., 21). In the past we submitted to sickness, believing it to have been sent by God. We never yielded however to this supposed discipline until we had earnestly prayed, hoping to convince God that we had received sufficient chastisement for any sins of omission or commission. Whether one admits it or not, the Christian who believes that God sends suffering for discipline, and who then employs a physician to heal him, is certainly limiting God's power to restore health, and questioning God's justice and wisdom. Oh, the night of darkness through which humanity has passed! How blindly we groped, and how often we despaired, when we could not reconcile God and man as a loving Father and His child, though the divine within us assured us that God was wisdom, and Love, and all-powerful. Yet to our finite sense our loving Father seemed unwilling, or unable, to relieve us. We were taught that we were made in His own image and likeness, and yet we were suffering and helpless in a world of chance and chaos, where nothing was unchangeable, nothing perfect, and nothing represented a perfect God. Christian Science ushers in a glorious day. We look no longer "through a glass, darkly," but can faintly discern the things of Spirit, and shall finally find a solution of all human problems. God's law is perfect wisdom, and is Truth. Mortal man or mortal mind is the error, the false sense, the illusion, the dream from which we must awake to 94 Sermons and Public Addresses realize the nothingness of all belief of life and substance in matter. We have lived in a false sense, but the night of darkness is drawing to a close. Let us awake, for the day of Truth is at hand. Do not linger to take a last look at old theories, for, though there was in them a grain of Truth, this grain was hidden under mountains of error. We want the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth. We want God, good, and nothing but God. Scholastic methods must give place to Christ's Christianity, which demands demonstration of Immanuel, "God with us." Those who claim to preach the gospel must also heal the sick. We demand for the watchman on the hills of Zion, a reHance upon God as " a very present help in trouble." The destruction of sin (belief of life as existent in mortal mind and its matter body) is the healing of disease. Jesus said, " Thy sins be forgiven thee," and "Sin no more." When sin was destroyed, sickness disappeared, and so it is in this day. Christian Science is so far advanced that few now deny the healing power of Mind. Physicians are becoming convinced of the healing of the sick by the disciples of Christ of the nineteenth century, and are generous in their admis- sions of the Christ-mind healing. The followers of materia medica have made small progress during the hundreds of years since they began. They are still busy experimenting and m.any have come to the con- clusion that medicine is needless. I kindly quote from Dr. Benjamin Rush, the famous Philadelphia teacher of medical practice. He declared that "it is impossible to calculate the mischief which Hippocrates has done, by first marking Nature with his name, and afterward letting her loose upon sick people." Sermons and Public Addresses 95 Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse, Professor in Harvard Uni- versit}^ declared himself "sick of learned quackery." Dr. James Johnson, Surgeon to William IV, King of England, said : "I declare my conscientious opinion, founded on long observation and reflection, that if there were not a single physician, surgeon, apothecary, man-midwife, chemist, druggist, or drug on the face of the earth, there would be less sickness and less mortality." Dr. Mason Good, a learned Professor in London, said: "The effects of medicine on the human system are in the highest degree uncertain; except, indeed, that it has already destroyed more lives than war, pestilence, and famine, all combined."^ Mrs. Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, says, in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, that when Christianity replaces faith in drugs with faith in God, sickness will disappear. In the face of this testimony of learned physicians against the use of material methods of healing the sick, and the recent failures of those who stand highest in the profession, through their evident misunder- standing of their own therapeutic methods, is it any wonder that mankind seeks some other way to relieve suffering? Is it not wise to question if there be a path which will lead to health and holiness? Now that the disciples of Esculapius are themselves condemning their own methods, acknowledging that for ages they have been experimenting only to prove their theories futile, would it not be well for them to turn to the disciples of Christ, and investigate the methods by which they healed the sick and raised the dead? When Jesus the Christ established and proved a ^Science and Health, pp. 162, 163. 96 Sermons and Public Addresses mental method for relieving human suffering that extended to the raising of the dead, and gave to his disciples this understanding, is it not strange that no one has followed him into the realm of Mind? Jesus' history has been recorded with that of his disciples, and the records show good lives and wonderful healing power. Did the power cease with these exponents of Truth? Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that beHeve" — not you who believe, or we might con- clude that spiritual healing was delegated only to the twelve. We have first to understand what the healing power was, whence it came, and how it produced its results. The power which Jesus the Christ gave to his disciples (for "as many as received him, to them gave he power") was the understanding of the Word or Mind. Christ Jesus healed the sick, and cast out evil with the Word. That Word was in the beginning, and was with God, and was God. God is Mind, Spirit, Soul, Life, Love, and Truth; and spiritual man reflects his creator. God is the only power — the only creator. All He made was good, and man. His last work, was like Him — good. When God gave life He gave man power to reflect all that He, God, had created. God gave man dominion over all things. Mind, through spiritual man, evolves and projects the spiritual universe, every sense of beauty, form and outline, sky and landscape,, for Mind evolves all objects. Our divine birthright is Mind. It is Life, continuous and eternal, without beginning or end, and is the reality of spiritual being. Life cannot produce its opposite, so-called death. Love is God, unchangeable, "The same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever." Love cannot produce fear, but casts it out. Truth is immutable, for it is Christ — • Sermons and Public Addresses 97 God — and can never shadow forth a He. God is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent Life. God's infinite Hfe renders void the behef of death. Where are the dreamers who preach another power than God? How many to-day., ignorant of the truth of being, are beheving in a mortal man, or Adam, as the real man, whereas the mortal, or Adam-body is the phenome- non of mortal mind. It is error, illusion. Not until mankind awakes from the dream of life, substance, and intelligence in matter, will it gain the power over its delusions. Evil is erring false sense — the lie. Its body is sickness and death. A healthy thought manifests a healthy body. Life, Love, and Truth objectify the harmonious and perfect Christ-man. When shall we awake in God's likeness? Where are those who claim to be disciples of Christ? Are they following the Master, and doing the work he commanded his disciples to do? Eighteen hundred years have passed; the night has been long. Are his professing disciples now ready to awake and welcome the day that ushers in the Christ, the Truth, to their understanding? Have their yearnings been for some- thing higher than "faith without works"? Have they longed to be free from their belief in the ''body of this death"? When will they arise and assert their freedom from the bondage of sin and sickness, by understanding the law of Spirit? Have they been able to heal the sick or raise the dead? Have they realized that the promise, '' Ask, and ye shall receive,'* means what it says? Have they lived in God, and whatsoever they ask is it given unto them? Have the gospels of Truth lost their power? These gospels have been in the hands of the people eighteen centuries, and it is time that men were made to answer for the 98 Sermons and Public Addresses hope that is in them. Have we to continue at the mercy of mortal mind, evil, the lie, and bring out its resiilts — sin and death — during another eighteen hundred years, because mankind is too material to discern the things of Spirit? Have we no power to cast out fear? Has good ceased to overcome evil? No! "Let God be true, but ever}^ [material] man a liar."' Let us thank God that we, through Christian Science, have learned the mental method which Jesus the Christ taught to his disciples, and that we have demon- strated that it is the "Word," or divine Mind, which is potent in the destruction of sin, or the casting out of disease. To-day Christ's disciples, or genuine Christian Scientists, heal the sick by the reflection of Spirit — the power of divine Mind. They dispel the illusions of mortal sense with Truth, and to these disciples the night of error is far spent. Yfould it not be wise for those who have failed to verify the command, " Heal the sick," to stop and investigate the old-new gospel which is doing so much towards relieving the sufferer and reforming the erring? Hundreds in this and other cities have proved the potency of its beneficent influence, and are strong adherents of apostolic healing — spiritual thought- force. If there are those who are satisfied with the poison, whose name is legion, hiding under the label of medicine, and who desire their narcotics and anaes- thetics, their drugs and death-dealing potions, let them continue to depend upon these false reliances. The drug-bound will find ample supply for their demand. Everywhere may be found chemists who will supply all sorts of remedies and drugs which it is * Science and Health, p. 471. "Sermons and Public Addresses 99 claimed will take their course direct to the particular disease. Unfortunately for materia medica, the power behind the material throne, the drug, is losing its potency, since mortal mind has lost faith in its efficacy, and, with many, Truth is found a sufficient antidote for disease, both mental and physical. It is now too iate to interfere in the rights of Mind. Man has learned his God-given power of good over evil, and is gaining his spiritual dominion over the material world, the flesh, and error. Medical practitioners have given us much idle guessing, and scholastic theologians have fed us on husks. Both have been deceived and have mistaken shadow for substance. Materia medica has worked with the effect or phenomenon, leaving the cause undisturbed, while scholastic theologians have supposed the body of death, or mortal mind, to be the temple of the living God. Good and evil. Life and death, Truth and error, Light and darkness, Love and fear, each antithesis of the other, have been so blended by human thought that we must struggle to free ourselves from m^aterial theorizing. The effort often necessitates a hard- fought battle. Now that we have returned to our Father's house. Spirit, Mind, we dimly apprehend the allness of God, and the nothingness of evil. While we believed the lie, the serpent, it was to us a power. Now that we understand our relation to God, we are freeing ourselves from bondage to material sense. As we realize more and more our oneness with the Father, we shall gain the victory over evil. In the name of deluded, suffering humanity bending beneath the weight of sin and suffering, let us protest against any teachings that give power to the claim of evil. We have put off our swaddling clothes. We have cast loo Sermons and Public Addresses off the belief of life in matter, and have gained the understanding of life in God, good, or Mind. Therefore, let us put on the spiritual armor and bid mankind come forth from darkness into the light. This seeming chaos and evil, in which mortals dream, cannot be the reality of being. God is the law of His universe, including spiritual man, and there is no other man. His kingdom is harmony. The material world is discord, the illusion of false, erring mortal sense, — mortal sense itself being an illusion, the product of belief of life in matter, and from this falsity, Truth is awakening all who hear Her voice. The night of mortal error is far spent. The day is at hand which is ushering in the power of God, and freeing us from the bondage of physical sense, sin, and sickness. To-day, the God-inspired demand of the preacher of the gospel a spiritual interpretation of the Bible. Many are painfully conscious that the church is a long spiritual distance from the teachings of Christ Jesus, which it advocates, but which it fails to demonstrate. Christian Science is the key that unlocks the kingdom of love, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit. It is the mightiest Christian power since the days of Christ and his disciples. Its expo- nents prove their faith by daily demonstrations of spiritual power over sin and sickness. Christian Science is spiritually potent, scientifically certain, and philosophically true. It is the understanding of the Truth or Mind of God which is Life eternal. Christian Science demonstrates that only in the right concept of man's relation to God, and conformity to God's law is health to be found. He alone is the "health among all nations." Christian Science prac- tice lifts humanity to higher aspirations and possibil- Sermons and Public Addresses loi ities, brings out the divine love which casts out fear, and develops all that is deep and rich in character, raising mankind to the supremacy of good over evil, of love over fear, of life over death, by showing the all- ness of God and the nothingness of evil when met by Truth. It is the supremacy of Mind, a victorious transforming power, which overcomes mortal sense with its illusions of discord, vanquishes disease, and leads the dreamer from the darkness of death into the simlight of Life. It is the divine illumination of Spirit, that breaks gloriously forth in triumphant power, until we rise to sublime heights where we hear the voice of the Father: "Fear not, for I am with thee." Do you desire this "glorious liberty of the children of God"? Are you weary of the night of helpless materialism? Are you hungering for the bread of Life? None but Jesus the Christ has said, "I am the bread of life : he that cometh to me shall never hunger. " Will you heed his words? Will you come to Christ, Truth, Spirit, and leave behind you error, evil, belief of life in matter? Will you press forward for the prize of immortal manhood and womanhood? Will you strive day by day to overcome error until you destroy, as did yotu: Master, "the last enemy" — death? Oh! the joy and peace, the heaven w^hich is yours, if you will awake to your reality. Christian Scientists, be faithful to your obligations. Little band of faithful workers, God-directed and God-inspired, you have power to bring the wanderer into the fold of Christ. Go into the desert to find his sheep, if need be. Have no fears fhat your words will not be heard if you voice Truth. Christ Jesus said: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" (John X., 27). Let us abide in Him who is Life, Love, and I02 Sermons and Public Addresses Truth. May the sunhght of Truth dawn upon our understanding; may the dense darkness of the night of error be dispelled, and the realities of immortality appear, and unfold to humanity the effulgence of eternal Life — the joy and peace of divine Love. THE SON HATH LIFE IN HIMSELF' Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in Himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in himself. — John v., 25, 26. God will heal the sick through man, whenever man is governed by God. — Science and Health, p. 495. Nearly nineteen hundred years ago there lived a man who to human sense appeared like other men; who walked among mortals lilce others, but who de- clared that he was the Son of God. This man's life was beyond the reproach of the strictest moralist. His constant efforts were directed to the relief of suffering humanity, and to teaching the people that God was the only source of life and power. He healed disease, opened the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf, gave the hand of compassionate forgiveness to the penitent sinner, and raised the dead. He was constantly preaching and teaching others to proclaim God's power to heal the sick and to cast out evils, and so well did some of his disciples come to understand his method of healing, that they too performed many ' Sermon preached in 1887. During the three years when I used MSS. most of the sermons were written between one and four o'clock in the morning, the entire day being filled with the work of healing the sick and teaching Christian Science. The physical rest from eight in the evening to twelve proved sufficient. Sermons and Public Addresses 103 cures. This man declared, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the broken- hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, . . . to set at liberty them that are bruised" (Luke iv., 18). In an age when the people were imprisoned by the material senses, when they were captives to disease — when they were broken-hearted with grief occasioned by seeming death — when the halt and the blind, the paralytic and the deaf were abandoned as incurable — when the preacher with his prayers, and the physician with his potion w^ere unable to relieve human suffering, one would say, what a blessing sl man endowed with such healing power must have been! How the people must have rejoiced and loved this public benefactor! How the home must have been gladdened as he entered the sick room and said: "Damsel, I say unto thee, arise" (Mark v., 41). How great must have been his renown as the paralytic who had been helpless thirty-eight years immediately v/alked! Surely one would say the clerg}^ would endeavor to learn the secret of his prayer, the physician would investigate the power of his healing and both would imitate such a man and follow him. Jesus had no vices to deter his followers from walking with him. He was loving, sincere, and true. Never in the history of his earth-life was there aught found against him. His was a life of blessing in all that land of Galilee; and yet, incredible as it may appear to this age, he was persecuted and reviled for opening the eyes of the blind, for healing the sick and raising the dead. Not only was he denounced, but the people sought to kill him because his methods and teachings were contrary to theirs. They declared that he was I04 Sermons and Public Addresses one who stirred up seditions; that he blasphemed by calHng God his Father, and by heaHng on the Sabbath day. Why did they condemn Jesus for calhng upon God whom they taught was "a very present help in trouble," but which assertion they could not prove? When some acknowledged the mighty works which Jesus performed, and the world saw the action of Mind over matter, or the power of the Word with which he performed the healing of sickness and sin, why did not the doctors of divinity and the medical practitioners unite in efforts to establish the Christ-mind healing? Instead, they said: "We will not have this man to reign over us" (Luke xix., 14). It is strange that so good a man as Jesus the Christ could have been so misunderstood. Humanit}^ in this enlightened age recounts the story of his life and crucifixion, and wonders at the resistance and cruelty of that age. The clergy to-day rehearse to listening ears this woefiil lack of spiritual discernment, and believe that if they had been there they would have appreciated his good works, and would have followed himx. Let us learn what Jesus the Christ was endeavoring to teach the world, what power he exercised to heal the sick and raise the dead, what was the ''Word," for we read that many were brought to him and he cast out devils and healed them all with the Word. Let us learn further if the Word still exists, and if Christ has any disciples in this generation who understand and practice the Christ-mind healing. John tells us in sacred history: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (Johni., i). Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker G. Eddy, Discoverer and Founder of Sermons and Public Addresses 105 Christian Science, teaches us that All is Mind, there is no matter, and that God is Supreme Being, Principle, the only life, substance, and intelligence of man and the universe. Has Christ any disciples to-day who follow his command to go into all the world, preach the gospel, heal the sick, and raise the dead? Jesus said: ''Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold" (John x., 16). There are those, to-day, who, through the teachings of Christian Science, are demonstrating (according to their understanding) the power of the Word. Let us see what reception their methods meet in this century. Let us learn if the gospel, which is preached from the pulpits of the many denominations, is followed by the demonstration of Spirit and of powxr, in the healing of sin and sick- ness, as it was in the days of the early disciples. Do they proclaim, with the understanding of the early disciples this injunction: ''Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord"? (Deut. vi., 4.) Do they preach the gospel of eternal Life, Love, and Truth, the allness of God? Do they not teach Life ajid death, good and evil. Love and fear, Truth arid error, and that one is as real as the other? Do these disciples obey the command, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me"? This is no longer an age of passive acquiescence in time-honored and undemonstrable theories. The nineteenth century thinker will not be satisfied longer to accept traditional forms of worship which never prove the promise, "If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it" (John xiv., 14), or Paul's words, " The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death (Rom. viii., 2). Pastors and people repeat, year after io6 Sermons and Public Addresses year, promises and prayers, while humanity cries in vain for deUverance from the bondage of sin and death. These cries reach the depths of human sympathy with their pathetic appeal, "Have mercy on me, Q Lord, thou son of David" (Matt, xv., 22), and with thous?tnds of prayers ascending from those who pro- fess to be his disciples, humanity surges on past the church doors, never entering or demanding the physical help which is offered by the promise, " Ask, and ye shall receive," nor the Christianity to be expected from those who profess to obey the command, ''Love thy neighbor as thyself." They carry their burden of sin and sickness, doubts and fears, ever seeking for the Christ who said, ''Lo, I am vvith you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Matt, xxviii., 20). The desire, or prayer for Truth has at last reached the ear of infinite Love, and through the spiritual discernment of one who has long been on the watch- towers of Zion, the Science of being has been given to the world. Through the teachings of Science and Health thousands are learning the power of Christian Mind-healing. They are healing the sick, casting out evils and raising a dead faith to a living understanding. Nearly nineteen centuries ago, Jesus the Christ said, ''I go. . . [but] I will come again" (John xiv., 3). To-day the voice of the impersonal Christ, or spirit of Truth, the Comforter, the ideal Christ, is appearing to human consciousness, awaking mankind from the long dream of life, substance, and intelligence as existent in matter, to the Truth of being, life, substance, and intelligence in Mind, or in spiritual consciousness. Man is gaining a glimpse of his reality, his God- given birthright, "dominion. . . over all the earth." He is entering into the heritage of his Christ-mind, re- Sermons and Public Addresses 107 fleeting the power and possibilities of his "Father- Mother God," and is beginning to verify the promises. He is standing face to face with himself in Truth, and is under the guidance of the spiritual teacher — Christ, the impersonal idea. Through overcoming the false claims of personal sense — the carnal mind, he is being led away from self and sin into all Truth. The experiences of Christ Jesus are being repeated in this, his second manifestation, and though the opposition to him is less material in its phenomena,* it is none the less powerftd in its character. In its attitude and resistance to the Truth of being (the suprem.acy of good which Christ Jesus demonstrated for all who should follow him) scholastic theology to-day is but little more imbued with the true sense of the power of Mind and man's relation to God, which the Master recom^mended, than was the church at Jerusalem when he said to the multitude, " Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matt, v., 20). Is the voice of Truth hushed, silenced by the deafening clamor of materiality? Is the ever-present Christ heard to- day, speaking to the world as when he spake to the multitudes on that Sabbath day at Jerusalem, by the pool of Bethesda, within whose five porches lay a great number of impotent folk, blind, halt, and withered? As he stands an invisible presence and bids the helpless arise, is he to-day heard? The voice of Christ is continually sounding above human sense, pleading for recognition, until the individual spiritual idea, the "Son of God" is heard, as he was on that Sab- bath mom when, moved to the intensity of spiritual realization, he exclaimed : io8 Sermons and Public Addresses Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God : and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in Himself ; so hath He given to the Son to have life in himself (John v., 25, 26). These words express Christ Jesus' sublime realization of the allness of God and the supremacy of the divine Mind. The Galilean prophet imderstood God, good, as eternal Life, Love, and Truth — the only power. He knew man as spiritual consciousness, made in the image and likeness of God — His idea or child express- ing Him who made man like Himself. Therefore His command, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me** (Spirit). Jesus saw that mortals were dead to spiritual life, that they were asleep in the dream of personal sense, the belief of life, substance, and intelligence in matter. He said, *' The words that 1 speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." He also said, ''I am the way, the truth, and the life *' (John xiv., 6). With the law of Spirit he dispelled material sense and destroyed sin, disease, and death, the ef- fects of the carnal mind — the lie which deceives the whole world with its claim of matter as sentient substance. There is but one Life, one Love, one Truth, and this is our God, who is omnipotent, omnis- cient, and omnipresent good; our Father-Mother in heaven, whom we are striving to worship in spiri^t and in truth. There is but one sun of our solar system, but many rays which proceed from it. So man is the expression of God, and reflects eternal Life. He is one with the Father. The ''Father is greater than I," said Jesus. Again he prayed for his follov/ers, *'that they may be one, as we are/* Jesus knew that Sermons and Public Addresses 109 as the Father is eternal Life, so man, the Son or idea of God, has life in himself. As this truth in Christian Science arouses mortals to the verity of being, they awake from the material senses, and the inspiration of Life and Love, spiritual sense, pours itself forth in the glad exuberance of healing power, its elevating, satisfying peace and strength which is the operation of spiritual thought— the truth of being. Love will melt the cold, cruel belief of mahce, hate, and fear, as the sun dispels the earl}'- dew. Sin, sickness, and death are the illusions w^hich have been revealed by Christian Science to be like Satan, *'a liar from the beginning."' Through Truth they are becoming less real, and will finally disappear. The Mind which was in Christ Jesus was the Science of immortality. The first desire of the Christian Scientist is to receive the Christ into his consciousness. This begins to break the fetters of finite sense, the chains of time-honored authority which have boimd him in darkness, and buried him under the debris of error — false thinking or belief. In the apprehension of his oneness with the Father he hath "life in himself." He commimes with God in silent adoration, and a touch of love, joy, and peace assures him that he has found *'the secret place of the most High." Like a flash of lightning that for an instant illuminates the darkness, revealing oiu: siuroimdings and assuring us of our position, so Truth Hghts the pathway as we journey from sin to holiness, from matter to Mind, from earth to heaven. This ascending power of Life and Love will impel us onward, till it leads us into all Truth. If while we follow the Master we ivatcK » Miscellaneous Writings, p. io8. no Sermons and Public Addresses work and pray and obey the divine law of Spirit ; if we strive to be like him — walking in humility and love, in meelvness and self-abnegation, denying personal sense and self, and declaring for God's allness — we shall daily rise higher in spiritual realization and gradually approach the realm of Soul. The Master said, ''Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." While yet in the flesh, man has found himself on the mount of spiritual vision. There the atmosphere of divine intelligence surrounds him and he may faintly realize that his ''life is hid with Christ in God. " May we, as humble followers of the meek and Holy One, follow so closely our Christ that we may continu- ally imfold, and be gradually transformed by the renewing of the mind! May our strength be con- stantly supplied from the fountain of Life and Truth, whose streams of love course onward with vigor and power, sweeping away the mortal illusion of sin and death! Christian Scientists are calling all to come forth from the Adam-dream. Thousands are listening to the call, and are awaking to health and holiness. God's command was, is, and ever will be, "Let there be light.'* Are theie any to-day who are conscious that they have life in themselves and are the sons of God, or who demonstrate the potency of the Word? Human con- sciousness is passing through one of the greatest revolutions the world has ever known. The power of the Christ is felt as the words of the Master resound through thought, "Verily, verily, I say unto you. The hour is coming, and now is. . . in the vv^hich all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth." In this condition of Stygian darkness the human hand seems reaching out for the Father. Sermons and Public Addresses 1 1 1 These spiritual longings must be met. The weary searcher for Truth cries : I cannot stand nor go alone, " 0 Father! take my hand, And from the night, Lead up to light Thy child!" Who, to-day, hears the voice of the Son of God ? Christian Scientists have heard the glad tidings; they have come forth from a dead faith to a living under- standing, and their feet are planted upon the rock of Truth, above the clamor of the crowd of disturbed mankind, whose voices again ring out "Crucify him.'* Adami, error, screams from the mountain of the mortal sense of pleasin-e and from the valley of the mortal sense of sin: ''We will not have this Mind to reign over us." But, unmoved, Christian Scientists march calmly on, as did the children of Israel, declaring that Life is real, Love is real, Truth is real. Mind is real, God is All, and there is none beside Him and His idea. ** Truth's mighty arguments shall roll down From inland mountain to seaboard town. " DHB ^noiarr "He. . . whose right it is" shall reign. "The cradle song of Christ was never sung in vain. " Life will vanquish the illusion of death. Love v/ill cast out fear. Truth will destroy the false claim of life in matter, and man will finally find himself perfect and immortal, with dominion over all things. Love will fulfil Her law. It was divine Love which moved the blessed Christ Jesus to urge humanity to awake from the dream that matter is real, and taught that man was, is, and ever will be the son of God, the 112 Sermons and Public Addresses expression of Mind. Divine Love impelled Christ Jesus to declare to a sin-boiind world the grand verities of being — eternal Life — in opposition to its belief that matter is real, and that sin and death are inevitable. It was divine Love which made him appear severe to those who were obeying their own carnal desires and following their own erroneous methods. It was divine Love that compelled the stem rebuke to the ''generation of vipers" and to the "whited sepulchres," and that said to the disciple Peter, ''Thou art an offence unto me." It was divine Love that brooded tireless over the disciples and urged upon them the necessity of watching and praying lest temptation enter unawares and turn them from the light. " It is the little rift within the lute, That by and by will make the music mute, And ever widening slov/ly silence all, " Divine Love sustained Christ Jesus when malice, hatred, envy, and revenge nailed him to the cross, because he testified against evil. It was divine Love which supported him as he labored to destroy the seeming power of evil and prove to the world that matter was but illusion, and not the real man, who was made in the image and likeness of God — spiritual consciousness, perfect and immortal. It was divine Love which enabled him to bear the indignities of the malicious throng with — "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." It was evil which Jesus pursued to uncover and destroy with Truth. Love is courageous and dares to meet the foe, for it " careth not for itself. " Human love fears to be dis- turbed and passes error by, believing in its power and fearing the consequences of imcovering it. It fails Sermons and Public Addresses 113 and grows wear}^; but divine Love abides with us forever, denies fear and evil, and will continue Her mighty action until it consumes the clouds that hide from us the real and eternal. Jesus fulfilled his earth mission. He left us "the way." Let us cling firmly to Truth, and Love will ever enfold us. The "test of discipleship is obedience and love,'' says our dear Leader, Mrs. Eddy. Jesus said, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. " Let us fulfil the law of Love. "Love one another. " Oh ! hark to His pleading, *' Follow, and bring in my lambs as they roam." Love goes before you, dispelling the shadows; List to the mountain horn calling you home. Christ bids you rise to your conscious dominion; Life calls to action, obey Truth's behest; Love's constant whisper is, "Man is immortal," Dear one, press on to the realms of the blest! Sweeter than lullabies, sung by the mother; Clearer than ocean's roar heard in the shell; Softer than zephyrs, the voice of the Father — "Child I am with thee, fear not, all is well. " A. E. S. HIS SHEEP HEAR HIS VOICE For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search My sheep, and seek them out. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be. — Ezekiel xxxiv., ii, 14. Truth regenerates this fleshly mind and feeds thought with the bread of Life. — Science and Health, p. 222. To the spiritually illumined, who, from the sunlit elevation of Christian Science, sweep the mental 114 Sermons and Public Addresses horizon, there arises "the Sun of righteousness. . . . with heaUng in his wings;" and the voice of God resounds Hke the echo of a lofty strain of heavenly harmony, ''So will I seek out My sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. " The Holy Bible testifies that in all ages God has walked and talked with men, and they who profess to be His followers, whether worshiping Him in spirit and in truth, as do Christian Scientists, or whether they worship in spirit and in fiesh, as in the old material creed, ritual, and dogma* — all repeat the words of prophet and seer of old, and accredit them with voicing God, accepting as a fact their statement, '' Thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel." The present age declares to Hstening mortals that centuries ago God's voice was audible to His chosen ones — that He directed them and comm.anded them to go forward, or to stand still and see His salvation. The above is repeated in the churches to listening audiences Sunday after Sunday, month after month, year after year, as proof that God at one time mani- fested Himself to His children, that the prophets of old were especially favored with the presence and protecting power of the great Shepherd, the Father and His Christ, but that no one to-day can hear the voice of Christ, "Lo, I am with you alway. " ''I am the first, and I am the last ; and beside Me there is no God [power]" (Isa. xliv., 6). The preacher of two powers, good and evil. Life and death, makes great demands upon the credulity of the people when he affirms that God is omnipotent, omnipresent Spirit, eternal Life, divine Love and Truth, and that there is none beside Him, while his next Sermons and Public Addresses 115 declaration may be that sickness and death originate in the Mind of God ; that God is the author of good and evil, Life and death, Truth and a He, Spirit and matter. Scholastic theology declares that God made all and that all is good; therefore we must infer (if we believe this statement) that sin is good, and that its consequence or penalty, its wages, death, must also be good. These theorists endeavor in every material way to avert sickness, and they never regard death as an "enemy" to be overcome. Every one condemns evil, but, not willing to forsake it, and feeling its stigma, they endeavor to conceal their sins, while sickness and death, which are the result of sin, are regarded as something to be recog- nized and discussed in all places and at all times. Many people regale their visitors with exaggerated recitals of aches and pains, imtil they become real to themselves and to their hearers. We anticipate the day when Christian Science in its purity will be understood, and the entire world will learn that God- thoughts evolve a harmonious body, and that carnal thoughts are expressed in discord and disease. Mor- tals in the future w^ill as soon entertain their friends with an account of their sins, their envies and jealousies, their pride and selfishness, as they now interest their listeners with a recital of nerves and liver, heart and head troubles. Materia medica declares that hatred cannot be indulged without serious consequences upon the heart. Should a Christian Scientist make this statement to-day, the world would reject it — yet it is true. The admission of a power opposed to divine Life, Love, and Truth is sin. Fear, envy, hatred, jealousy, revenge are qualities of the carnal mind and are sin. ii6 Sermons and Public Addresses God is divine intelligence, and there is no sin, hate nor fear in God's Mind. God is All, therefore there is no reality in the claim of sin. From whence comes the belief in carnal or mortal mind? God is immortal Mind, Spirit, and there is no other power, mind nor intelligence. What seeming power is it that mortals obey when they submit to sickness and sin? To material sense there seem to be two powers: Truth and a He; good and evil; Spirit or Mind, and matter or carnal thought, but in reality there is but one, the power of God. It remains for us to choose by which we will be gov- erned,— the Mind of eternal Life, Love, and Truth — the Spirit, or the seeming mind of sin, sickness, and death — the false and untrue. I will feed My flock, . . . saith the Lord God (Ezek. xxxiv., 15). I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be (Ezek. xxxiv., 14). Did God really say this, and to whom was His voice audible? The Scriptures declare the Word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel, the prophet. Ezekiel testifies that he had prostrated himself upon his face when the voice said to him, ''Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak imto thee" (Ezek. ii., i). And the spirit entered into me, . . . He said unto me, ... I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation. . . . For they are impudent children. ... I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them; Thus saith the Lord God. And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will Sermons and Public Addresses 117 forbear, ... yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them. And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, . . . And thou shalt speak My words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear; for they are most rebellious" (Ezek. ii., 2-7). The Christian world accepts the word of Ezekiel that God, or the Word came to him. We should understand the meaning of the "Word." We read in the Holy Bible, which is accepted by all scholastic theologians, that, *'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. " The Word is thought, or Mind expressed. The God- thought, the divinity of the real man, came to Ezekiel's consciousness, for he says: ''And the spirit entered into me, . . . that I heard Him that spake unto me. And he said unto me, ... I send thee" (Ezek. ii., 2, 3). God, Spirit, the divine Mind, the Ego, the Prin- ciple of being, moved Ezekiel to utter truth to the rebellious children of Israel. Mortal thought argued that briers, and thorns, and scorpions would resist him, but Truth urged him on, and said: "Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at My mouth, and give them warning from Me" (Ezek. iii., 17). Where to-day, is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God who walked with, and talked through them? Where shall we look for the God who spoke through Moses and Samuel, through Daniel and all the prophets? Where shall the seeker of Truth look to-day for the Father? Ages ii8 Sermons and Public Addresses have passed since the prophets, and nineteen hundred years since the Father talked with Jesus the Christ. Has God, Spirit, Truth, divine intelHgence, Mind, ceased to manifest Himself to m.an, or is He ever- present and omnipotent — expressed in His idea — the real man? Jesus the Christ manifested God as no other ever did. He declared that he was one with the Father, and for his disciples he prayed: ''That they may be one, even as we are one." He was one with God. He worshiped God in spirit, and in truth. We must follow Christ's example and not divide our worship between good and evil, spirit and fiesh. Mortals nailed Jesus to a cross and inflicted upon him the most cruel torture the carnal mind could devise, because he declared for the allness of God, for Spirit, and testified against matter and mortal mind. The carnal mind has ahvays been at enmity with God. Whenever the disciples of Christ Jesus voiced truth, error pursued them with relentless barbarity to hush their utterances. Had their understanding been equal to their faith, mortal mind, or animal magnetism, could not have destroyed them. One disciple only had sufficient realization of divine Love to overcome the seeming power of evil. Shall we accept the testi- mony of one in the nineteenth century^ Mary Balmier Eddy, who declares that God speaks and comm.ands her to convey His message to the people, or shall we reject God's Word through His messenger — a woman.? When Moses heard the voice of God commanding him, Moses argued that the people would not listen to him, but would ask who sent thee to rule over us? God said, " Say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." Moses obeyed, and a few be- lieved him, while the multitude followed Pharaoh. Sermons and Public Addresses 119 Was Pharaoh calHng upon God? No, Pharaoh called upon his god, and he commanded hosts who thought they were being led b}^ God and by a leader superior to Moses wdiom God sent to guide His people. Through the histor}^ of the ages, God has voiced Himself through one, and always through the m^ost spiritualized consciousness. In eYery instance, those divinely led have been opposed b}^ the materially minded. Good has always , been denounced by evil thinkers and doers, and yet, with this record of ages, there are those in the nineteenth century of enlightened thought and spiritual conception, denying Christ or Truth. God speaks through Science and Healthy to the world of material worshipers, ''Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him. only shalt thou serve" (Matt, iv., 10). God is omnipotent Life, Truth, and Love, and man is His image and likeness. Mrs. Eddy voices God when she says to the rebellious house of Israel, '"Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' This me is Spirit" {Science and Health, p. 467). Does humianity admit any other God or power than Spirit? God is Spirit, eternal Life, Truth, Love, and there is none beside Him. This spiritual sense reveals the Father and His spiritual idea — man. This spiritual fact of being Mrs. Eddy fearlessly rings out to a world of idolators : Spirit is immortal Truth; matter is mortal error. Spirit is the real and eternal; matter is the unreal and temporal. Spirit is God, and m.an is His image and likeness. There- fore man is not material ; he is spiritual {Science and Healthy p. 468). Does her statement correspond with the utterances 120 Sermons and Public Addresses of Jesus, as God spoke to mortals through him? His phraseology differed but little from hers. He declared, All is Mind, when he said, I (the Ego or the Christ- man), am the truth, the reflector of God and " I and my Father are one." Again, he said of Satan, " He was a murderer from the beginning" (John, viii., 44). He urged mortals to obey Truth when he said, " It is the spirit that quickeneth ; the flesh profiteth nothing" (John, vi., 63). When, through the scribes and Pharisees, error was uttered, Jesus' rebuke incensed them. When he declared they were of their father the devil, or, in other words, that they Vv^ere governed by the false mentality, they reviled him. They were in the illusion or dream of life in matter. He was in the understanding and demonstration of Life in Mind. The command, "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, " proves that, while we are in the sense of life in matter, we are dead. The voice of Christ speaks through our Leader to-day, as audibly as it spoke through Jesus. Awake, put on your strength. Your strength cometh from the Lord, from Mind, not from matter, from Life, not from a sense of the reality of matter, sin, and death. Jesus feared not to rebuke a wicked and perverse generation. Eighteen centuries ago mortals were calling upon God from the street comers and in gorgeous temples and synagogues. Apparently they were worshiping God. But Jesus discerned that they were believing that life existed in matter. He knew that they believed in good and evil, and that evil, or so-called mortal mind, was more real to them than Spirit. They talked of God as Life, and of evil as a power. They declared God was the creator, and believed that Sermons and Public Addresses 121 matter also had power, substance, and intelligence to create. They knew nothing of the creative power of Mind, and that there was but one inteUigence, one God. Had they not heard the testimony of seers and prophets of old, "Hear, 0 Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord " ? Did they not admit this God, or power, to be good? Did they not also acknowledge Him to be Spirit, Life eternal, the only creator? Then why did they not apprehend that Spirit, or the divine Mind, was the real and only power, and that all material objects were but the phenomena of a false concept, the illusion of physical sense, the lie which had deceived the whole v/orld, and which Truth must destroy? To the spiritually awakened, this became apparent, and they learned that the law of Spirit set them free from the bondage of sin and death. But Jesus did not convince the majority of the truth of scientific being, for in many places "he did not many mighty works . . . because of their imbeHef." He said to his listeners, ' ' Having eyes, see ye not ? and having ears, hear ye not ? ' ' and "Ye wdll not come to me, that ye might have life." Paul says that the things of Spirit must be discerned by spirit. Looking through the mental concept of sin, belief of life in matter, humanity sees sickness and death. When we realize that Life is Mind, and that Truth is Spirit, that good only is real, we shall reveal God's man and the spiritual universe. Mankind will finally discern that Mind is the Principle of being. When thought is recognized and admitted as powder, then will comxe the question, by which mind will you be governed, the immortal Mind, or the so-called mind of the flesh? Your decision wdll determine whether you will have a sick or a healthy body — the effect of a discordant or of a spiritual men- 122 Sermons and Public Addresses tality. The law of Spirit or Life operates to destroy the sense of sin and death, and the mighty force of Truth and Life expels the behefs of disease. Truth repels the lie, and gradually lessens its hold on human consciousness, till the way of Life is made known, and we realize joyfully our dominion over the flesh and evil. Does the operation of Truth on the human mind go on without conflict? It is the warfare between the flesh and the Spirit. It has been called the battle between Truth and error. Was there ever a material battle fought without more or less sacrifice or struggle attending it? Does the opposing army yield imtil compelled by superior force? Every prophet and seer has met and resisted error in all its formiS. In our day, history records the opposition of error to Truth, the resistance of the carnal, so-called mind to Christian Science Mind-healing. Of old there were false prophets. To-day there are false prophets who attempt to part the seamless garment of Truth, and cast lots for it; mind-curists, who treat by hypnotism and mesmerism; spiritualists, who teach the doctrine of free love and affinities, and the attraction of physical personalities; theosophists, and others who are trying to climb up some other way, and many who are masquerading under the name of Christian Science. "God is Spirit."' "The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth" (John iv., 23). If Spirit is all, what is matter? Does all include all there is, or is there something left beyond a//? The latter is blind reasoning. The spiritually-quickened discern » Science and Health, p. 117. Sermons and Public Addresses 123 the source of their being to be Life eternal in divine Mind, and their real source and supply to be Spirit, for God and man are one, Christ was one with the Father. He was governed by Spirit, and the con- sciousness of the reality of Life. Christ Jesus over- came mortal error, which expressed itself in matter in its various manifestations of sin, sickness, and death. This sacred sense of the one Mind, and of our union with the Father; the realization of the supremacy of Mind over the belief of corporeal sense, ushers us into the presence of God, and the power that Jesus exercised when he said, ''I speak not of myself [the material personality which you recognize] : but the Father that dwelleth in me, He doeth the works'* (the Spirit or Mind, the Principle of my spiritual selfhood, He doeth the works which I, as spiritual idea, manifest). Is it tmreasonable for us, as Christian Scientists, to claim God as oiur Father, and to endeavor to have in us the Mind that was in Christ Jesus whereby he healed the sick, cast out devils, or carnal thoughts, diseases, and raised the dead? Have we not the promise of our Way-shower, Christ Jesus: "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also ; and greater works than these shall he do " ? (Johnxiv., 12.) Again, he said: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men imtome" (John xii., 32). Jesus the Christ was lifted up out of all materiality into Spirit. He said: " I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God" (John xx., 17). He gave them another blessed assurance: *'I go . . . [but] I will come again, and receive 3^ou unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John xiv., 3). Christ Jesus entered into spiritual consciousness. He destroyed every false sense that brings forth 124 Sermons and Public Addresses sickness and death. He entered the bosom of the Father, and his voice is audible to the children of light, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end" (Matt, xxviii., 20). Christ is " the way. ' ' There is no other. Only by put- ting off the old mind, or belief of life, substance, and intel- ligence in matter, and walking after the Spirit, can we gain a sense of freedom from, bondage to fear. Only by putting on the new Mind, the understanding of the power of the divine Mind, or eternal Life as the reality of our being, and the realization of our relation to God as Principle and idea, as Father and son, God and His thought expressed, can we ever emerge from the darkness of mortality into the light of immortality^, and find our true being. So long as we cling to the reality of life in matter and indulge physical sense, we shall bring forth a sick and dying body and shall behold, through material lens, a chaotic universe. Here or hereafter, error, or this false sense of life, must be destroyed. Too long mortals have heard the wailing cry of the mother as her treasures have been ruthlessly torn from her embrace. "Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. " To-day the suffering and the sorrowing long to learn Jesus' method of healing the sick, that they may prevent these cruel separations. Have not chance and change, discord and decay alread}^ turned us from the things of time and sense to long for the verities of eternal Life — immortality? Christian Scientists are taught by our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, (as Jesus taught his disciples) to overcome evil with good, never to surrender to evil suggestions. By knowing ourselves to be spiritual and immortal, and by demonstrating the power of Sermons and Public Addresses 125 man when governed by God, we shall attain our spiritual dominion — immortal manhood and woman- hood, the sons and daughters of God. So will I seek out My sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. Like attracts like. Jesus the Christ declared that the power of spiritual attraction would draw all men unto him (unto his spiritual individuality). This mighty action of spiritual force is surging through human consciousness to-day, quickening htunanity to spiritual discernment, and delivering it out of all places or conditions of mortal mind ; out of the belief of another power than Spirit; out of the dark and cloudy day of bondage to the false claim of hate, fear, self-love, love of the material world, personal pride, jealousy, en\'y, and the lusts of the flesh; out of the behef of matter as sentient substance, and Spirit as shadow; out of the belief in evil into w^hich the material senses have wandered. It was indeed a dark day. How the clouds of sickness and death, of sin and sorrow lowered over the mental horizon and the homes of mankind. How the weary human heart plead for repose, but relentless untruths pursued it, and the wormwood and the gall were given as solace in these words, "There is rest in the grave.'* We were indeed children of darkness, and did not comprehend the ever-present light, the light which lights every man and dispels darkness. As its faint rays penetrated our thought and we began to apprehend our reality, it illuminated us until we were inspired with a sense of our relation to God and our divine birthright, eternal Life. How joyously we went out 126 Sermons and Public Addresses to tell the glad tidings and invite the world to the spiritual feast. Then came the question propounded of old to Abraham, Moses, Ezekiel, to all the prophets, and to Jesus the Christ: ''Who hath sent you?" We answer, Truth came to the consciousness of our Way- shower, Jesus the Christ, and to our Christly Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, and Christ sent his followers into the world to proclaim liberty to the captives. Truth is calling all to awake from the dream of life in matter to the realization that all is Spirit, infinite Mind. The Philistines, the hosts of Pharaoh of this generation still arise and declare, "We will not have this man [Mind] to reign over us. " Jesus suffered crucifixion. Who opposed him? Was it not the so-called carnal mind? Were not the scribes and Pharisees trying to climb up som^e other way? The time vvill com^e when mortals will be convinced that there is no other name known upon earth or in heaven by which they can be saved except through Christ. Through spiritual sense alone mortals are en- abled to hear the voice of Spirit. The coming of this spiritual understanding to human conscious- ness disturbs antiquated beliefs, overthrows time- honored theories, and destroys personal sense. It necessitates contention with religious sects which have always advocated the reality of sin and death as inevitable, and as the work of God. They declare the Lord gave the mortal body, with its sin, sickness, and death, and that the Lord taketh away the mortal body with its sin, sickness, and death. A learned divine recently said that "when Christ Jesus was here he healed the sick." He is here to-day, and has been throughout the ages. Christian Scientists Ije- Sermons and Public Addresses 127 lieve Christ to be ever-present — Immanuel or God with us. The members of the body of Christ are spiritual, individuahzed ideas and are here, ever-present repre- sentatives of God to be revealed by spiritual sense. Christian Science meets and opposes traditional dogmas, just as Truth, through Jesus, met and opposed material worship. Christian Scientists will not accept blind belief. They demand a living understanding. They call for the power of Christ, Truth, to overcome sickness and death. They claim that the power of good will finally destroy evil in all its manifestations. Truth to-day works as of old, and, as of old, the carnal mind resists it. To Ezekiel, God said: "I will feed them [My flock] in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be." Ever-present Spirit speaks to you. Christian Scientists, to you who have accepted Spirit as real. You are the children of God, the children of Israel after the Spirit — not the rebel- lious house of Israel after the flesh to whom matter is substance. Spirit is all, and all men are reflectors of God. Mortals do not reflect God, they are the illusion of material sense, dust to dust, nothingness. ''I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be." Has not our tender shepherd of Israel led us into pastures of living green, and beside the still, harmonious waters of Life? We have risen above the dense miasma and gloom of the valley and shadow of behef in the reality of the mind of the flesh, the Adam-dream, and are striving to live unto Christ in whom all are made alive. Let us press forward imtil hope, faith, and imderstanding merge into immortal consciousness, our oneness with infinite Life and Love. 1^ Sermons and Public Addresses CHRIST'S SECOND COMING And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the truo God, and eternal life. — I John v., 20. If Christ, Truth, has come to us in demonstration, no other com- memoration is requisite, for demonstration is Immanuel, or God with us. Science and Health, p. 34. The material world is to-day experiencing the greatest revolution in thought that has ever been wit- nessed by humanity. The traditional religion of our ancestors, with its time-honored creeds and rituals, before which all have bowed as being unquestionable in vital conception and strength, and able to lead man to the divine source of eternal Life, this traditional religion is in this age publicly questioned and privately denounced by many. The ancient creeds and doctrines are said to be wanting in the spiritual power necessary to meet and destroy the seeming force of evil which appears to control mortals, and from which they are struggling to free themselves. To-day the spiritually inspired have turned from a dead faith, and an undemon- strable creed, to a living Christ, and are asking : Are we awaking from sleep, and have we been so deep in the Adam^-dream that we are only now able to hear the whis- per of ever-present Truth — ' ' Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?" As the potency of the Christ-mind reaches human consciousness, illuminating the world with its radiance, men discern the spirit of Truth — "the Comforter" — ■ the impersonal Saviour, the "Sun of righteousness,*' who comes with healing in his wings, heralding the promised millennial day. As they awake from the mesmeric sleep of the Adam-dream, the belief of life. Sermons and Public Addresses 129 substance, and intelligence in matter in which "all die." to the consciousness of the allness of the Christ-mind in which all are " made alive," as they realize the allness of God, the supremacy of the divine Mind, the omni- potence of Love, Life, and Truth, they come forth from among the sleepers, and send to the dreamers who are deceived by the supposed pleasures and pains of matter, the divine message: ''Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ." The awakened have seen the ''star in the East" which ushers in the Christ-mind, and are coming from the East and from the West, from the North and from the South, chanting again the angelic salutation: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." "The government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" (Isa. ix., 6), The reign of terror, sin, sickness, and death, shall cease to govern mortals, for the govemmxcnt shall be the Lord's. The mighty God, the omnipotent creator, the infinite, supreme intelligence, eternal Life, Love, and Truth, shall be recognized as the great First Cause, the only power, the reality of being. Since mortals first acknowledged a Supreme Being, whom they called God, ever since the first chant of the creedsman and ritualist ascended in praise to the omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent Father, whom they admit is the source of all life and intelli- gence, they have proclaimed one theory, and practised another. Moses sang: "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord." The Hebrew bard swept his lyre to the same melody; and on through the ages the 130 Sermons and Public Addresses God-inspired have voiced this Truth, till Jesus the Christ appeared, demonstrating the words of Moses: ** The Lord He is God; there is none else beside Him." At Christ's first appearing in the flesh, he found the world worshiping other gods and bowing down to idols. It was calling upon God with the lip, while believing in another power, the power of evil, which testifies of life in matter. To-day, at his second coming, Christ, Truth, finds mankind bowing to an- other power, or god, as he foimd the woman at the well, who said: "Our fathers worshiped in this moun- tain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: . . . God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." Christ, Truth, meets many to-day at the material well, drinking of its material waters as their fathers have done before them. He speaks to them audibly as he spoke to the woman, "Ye worship ye know not what," for not in the mountain of mortal thought, nor in the belief of life in matter do ye find the Father, but in Spirit, or in the understanding of divine Mind, do ye find Him. For generations mortals have lived in the material senses; they have accepted the testimony of mortal error, believing all of error's illusions of sin, sickness, and death, which represent a mortal as a foam- crested wave that rises for a moment, and then is for- ever gone — lost in the immensity of the great unknown. While the war of the senses has raged on, humanity has suffered from constant care and incessant watch lest life be destroyed; has agonized with doubts and Sermons and Public Addresses 131 uncertainties that fill men with dismay from the moment they enter upon the stage of human existence to the hour they make their exit, with nothing to satisfy their immortal yearnings for something enduring and eternal. This has been the condition of mortality since the serpent, Satan, the lie, first deceived with the illusion that matter was sentient substance, possessing life and intelligence. This theory has been preached for ages by the professing disciples of Christ, who have themselves been deceived by the siren voice of the subtle lie, the carnal mind, until these blind disciples lulled all into the deep sleep of Adam. This error in premise has resulted in erroneous conclusions. Instead of recognizing the real, or the spiritual man who was made in God's own "image " and "likeness,'* Spirit, " the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever," mortals have been governed by the opposite of Truth — the carnal mind, which testifies that Adam is the real man. Mind is causation, the creative power. Thought is force. In the Adam-thought all die. In the spiritual thought is Life, in which all are made alive. The Mind that was in Christ Jesus was the power of Life, Love, and Truth, which destroyed the seeming power of the carnal thought which is expressed in sin, sickness, and death. To-day there are those who realize that Truth is working over and above the claim of evil, and that man is spiritual, with the power of the Christ-mind, which, if understood, can be demon- strated, and will give him his promised dominion over all things. The truth of being, the understanding of the supremacy of divine Mind, is working through the consciousness of this age, going forth on its pinions of mercy and light, fulfilling its mission of purifying and 132 Sermons and Public Addresses uplifting the great world of humanity, and is destroying the illusions which becloud the reality of being. This understanding is inspiring our world with higher ideals ; it is moving men to holier aspirations, and to the contemplation of the reality of being. Mind, Spirit, bursts the bonds of finite sense and reveals the glories of infinite Mind, the supreme intelligence — ''the secret place of the most High," in whom ''we live, and move, and have our being." To those whose life is "hid with Christ in God," verily "the Son of God is come," for he gives the understanding that this is Life eternal. To-day, the question is asked: By which influence are you governed, by Truth or by error — for as a man **thinketh in his heart, so is he"? The humble Nazarene, whom all Christians to-day profess to follow, testified of the false thought, and declared he came to destroy the works of the devil. He further pronounced this devil a lie from the beginning. Jesus' life mission was to arouse mortals from the influence of this lie, or Adam-dream, to the truth of being. Mind, Spirit, God. He healed the sick, cast out evils, and raised the dead with the Word, or Mind. To the woman who was helpless he said that Satan had bound her, "lo, these eighteen years." If theologians had followed Christ*s example, and had rendered "unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's," humanity would have resisted the fetters that have bound all to sin and sickness. How much we might have escaped of the sin of idolatry, of self-love, of selfishness and physical and mental suffering, had we understood our relation to God, and the falsity of the belief of life in blood, sensation in nerves, and intelligence in brain, Sermons and Public Addresses 133 to which in the past we have all yielded, until at times ''life seemed a blessing not worth possessing, and death a consummation greatly to be desired." In Jesus' age mortals had other gods as now they have; there were heathen then, as there are to-day. The words: "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me " mean the same now as they then meant. Chris- tian Scientists declare that "God is All," and, "There is none beside Him," and they labor imceasingly to destroy the belief in a power opposed to the one God. islortals will continue to sin, to suffer, and to die, while matter is regarded as possessing life, substance, and intelligence. Mortal thought is the generaHssimo, the supreme commander of suppositional evil — hatred, envy, jealousy, personal pride of place and power, lust, self-love, selfishness, love of gold, ambition, greed, personal aggrandizement and fear. Each so- called carnal thought exercises its control over mortals, producing discord and disease till Truth arouses them and declares that discords are illusions, creations of the carnal mind. Thus Truth bids man take possession of his birthright, dominion over all things through the reflection of Truth and Love, which dispels the mythical gods who preside over sin, sickness, and death. Jesus the Christ was the best exponent of Christian Mind-healing the world has ever known. He healed the sick, proclaimed forgiveness to the penitent sinner ; opened the eyes of the blind, turned sorrow into joy, and taught his disciples to do the same. Yet for all his loving ministrations and good works he received the crown of thorns, the gall and vinegar, and the cruel crucifixion. Why had he none to defend him but a few disciples, who later slumbered while he prayed, and who at last left him to tread the wine- 134 Sermons and Public Addresses press alone? Why did not crowds fill the temple and synagogue when he spoke, and rejoice his heart with loving appreciation? Why was he left to be delivered up to the cruel materialists and scourged? Because he testified against the carnal mind, and over- came its illusions of sin, sickness, and death with the divine power which he possessed. He knew that the scribes and Pharisees were worshipers of matter, and that they could not attain harmony, or their divine power, while they were governed by material sense. Are you pained as you recall the cruelty of the Jews toward your Saviour, whom, to-day, you acknowledge showed the world the way to Life eternal? As you recount his good works in healing the sick and raising the dead, do you understand why the world rose in arms against him? As you recall his sweat of agony in Gethsemane, as you follow him up the hill of Calvary where he endured the tortures of the inquisition, can you believe the carnal mind holds within itself such bitter hatred of Truth's exponent of God and His ideal man? Do you not feel that had you been there you would not have denied the Christ ? Jesus said, "I go away, and come again unto you" (John xiv., 2d)). In this nineteenth century, again the spirit of Truth — Christ, the divine idea — through the teachings of Christian Science appears to us. ''We- know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding. " This understanding is Christ's second coming to human apprehension. What recep- tion have you given him? Do not men, as of old, refuse to believe? Do they not say, we will not have this Christ -mind to rule over us? Again, do we not hear that he is "making himself equal with God," "Crucify him"? Is not the carnal mind in this hour Sermons and Public Addresses 135 rising against Truth, and declaring for life in matter and the reaHty of sin, sickness, and death? Truth and Love must and will finally prevail. Had the world accepted the teachings and atone- ment of Christ Jesus and followed the example of Jesus in his demonstrations of Mind over matter, of Truth over error, and of Life over death, it would realize to-day that the creator of man, the divine Mind, could not be the author of this seemingly chaotic and turbulent universe. This mental and physical chaos has no governor nor controller, but tosses mortals about with its own erratic, ungovernable claim to power, leaving them trembling with fear and suffering, sorrow and darkness, and mocking them when they resist its arrogant claim to dominion. In that surpassing life of Jesus of Nazareth, men have seen the supreme power of Love, a revelation of "Our Father v/hich art in heaven.'* The relation of man to his Maker, as taught by Christ Jesus, has exerted a deeper influence over mankind, and has done more to teach the power of divine Mind and its healing efficacy, than all the disquisitions of philosophers, or ^ exhortations of moralists the world has ever known. In this nineteenth century Christian Science has come to us to interpret the transcendent spiritual ideal, which was expressed in the life of Jesus, our Way-shower to eternal Life. Through his words and works, the understanding of the supremacy of the Christ-mind is being taught and demonstrated. To-day men and women who have been for years endeavoring to fathom the hidden mysteries of God; who have long hungered and thirsted for something that would give them their dominion over all things, which is their heritage; who have long spurned the 136 Sermons and Public Addresses empty forms and dead faith of time-honored creeds and dogmas; who have been vainly trying to fathom the depths "of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, " which Jesus and his disciples utilized to overcome sin, sickness, and death — these are to-day resisting theological assumptions and ecclesias- tical pretentions. They are emancipating themselves from the tyranny of drugs and the so-called law of physics — from the power of the lie, which has deceived the whole world — and in this glad hour they rejoice as the voice of eternal Truth speaks hope and peace to a sin-sick, sorrowing world. As mental illusions are gradually overcome, and as the power of Mind is understood, man will rise to one- ness with the Father and become master of himself and his environment. Man will respond to infinite Mind and be thrilled with spiritual power, the omni- potence of God, which will overcome all evil. He will cast out fear, will destroy the false creation, and will reveal the universe and man of God's creating. In this era of awakening consciousness, the Christian world believes that God at one time was heard through mortals, and it denounces all who oppose this belief. God spoke through Abraham, and directed him to lead the people ; but the majority in Abraham's day refused to follow. God spoke through Moses, but Pharaoh refused to obey the voice of God through Moses. Samuel, Joshua, Daniel, and all the prophets uttered Truth. God, as of yore, voices Himself through the consciousness of the men and women of the nineteenth century who understand their relation to Him as sons and daughters. As God is ever-present Truth and Light, the light shines through the darkness of human thought. Men and women of to-day who are sufficiently spiritual to Sermons and Public Addresses 137 discern Spirit are declaring Truth and Love, and are known by "signs following." ^' Ah! the light of the Mind shines as bright as of old, A type of the truly divine, And its Word is the same sacred Truth that was told To the seers of Israel's time. ^' And man to-day, must he aimlessly wander alone; In darkness without and within, Uncertain, an outcast bewildered to roam, Left hopelessly cumbered with sin? * ' Must he still look for wonders through dead sages* eyes, Distrusting the light of his own. Ere his Saviour can come, in true Fatherly guise, And take the lost prodigal home? ' ' Oh ! the power of Mind awakes us to-day, And we know the bright message is true, For it works as of old, in a marvelous way, Forever revealing the new." This is an age of unparalleled development of Mind and its possibilities. In the history of man there has never been such a universal awakening. The bright- ness of the light, which is now shining in darkness, dazzles humanity, whose eyes have so long gazed into ** chaos and old night." By degrees we are turning our faces to the " Sim of righteousness," and are reflecting the smile of God. The carnal mind is lurid with the dream of sin, sickness, and death. The Christ-mind is as the mountain wind which invigorates and makes alive; the carnal mind is as the scorching simoon to blast and wither. In this hour the wise will not use the word impossible, and we beg to remind the scribes and Pharisees of the nineteenth century, of Aristotle's words: "That it is 138 Sermons and Public Addresses a part of probabilities that many improbable things will happen." Every new discovery, every embryo conception, every advance in art or science, every attempt to utilize forces, has been rejected by the incredulous or by those too obtuse to discern progress. In this epoch of the world's history everything in art and science is being tested; and, thank God, religions and old theology are to be weighed in the balance. They have been found wanting in demonstration of Spirit and of power. The truth that Jesus taught sets mortals free from the bondage of sickness and death. We are like children learning to spell the word Spirit. We are only able to discern the A, B, C of our alphabet ; but this understanding enables us gradually to overcome sin and sickness. We shall go on, until, like our Master, we have overcome our last enemy. Not somewhere in the dim unknown, but here and noiv we can attain to a faint realization of our true existence. Day by day, we are lifted to a spiritual altitude, where we demonstrate the power of our Christ-mind, and however environed, we hear the constant assurance, **Fear not, for I am with thee." This power of Mind is the mighty wave of Truth, and is an ascending, endless force which will sweep on through human consciousness, till sin and death are destroyed and man finds himself perfect and immortal, with dominion over all things. Let us grow into the realization of the omnipotence of God and our oneness with Him, until we see only shadow in the objects of material sense called matter, and behold, through the spiritual concept, our reality in God's " image " and " likeness." Love is the golden chain that binds us to the infinite. The harp of Mind, touched by angel thoughts, wafts to us, in the hush Sermons and Public Addresses 139 and silence of spiritual communion, the great anthem of immortality, o'ersweeps all time, all tears, all fear, and resounds, like the eternal thunders of the deep, this truth, eternal Life and Love are God and man; therefore man is immortal. SPIRITUAL SENSES There 's an eye beyond the human, That beholdeth only good, That sees God's vast creation And man's real brotherhood; That looks on things supernal, Rejoicing in the light Which revealeth perfect wisdom, Omnipotence and might. There 's an ear beyond the finite, Which hears only words of peace, Which lists to sweetest harmonies That never, never cease; Which hears the constant melody Of soul -reviving Life, And nothing knows of finite sense, Of sin and human strife. There 's a sense that tastes the real. And sees that God is good. Whose delights are rare unfoldings Of the blessed Fatherhood ; Whose silent speech, the thought of God, Expressed in His idea. Has sweetest taste of Life and Love, And never taste of fear. There 's a Power, a mighty Presence, Which sustains immortal man, Which he feels is Life eternal, For he knows man ne'er began. I40 Sermons and Public Addresses Forever with the Father, He feeleth joy and rest, Unfoldeth, as the lily On the water's peaceful breast. There 's a sense beyond the finite, Which inhales God's atmosphere, And smells the sweet aroma Of Love's flowers ever near; Which wanders in His garden, Drinking in the perfumes rare, And nothing knows of planting, Of watering, or of care. Thus seeing, hearing, taste, and smell, And feeling, are divine; And prayers, like censers' perfumes rise, " O Father, we are Thine." Then, turning from the mortal, And gazing on the goal, We lose our finite sense of self, And find our sense in Soul. A. E. S. DEDICATORY ADDRESS' Thou in Thy mercy hast led forth the people which Thou hasl redeemed: Thou hast guided them in Thy strength unto Thy holy habitation. . . . Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of Thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which Thou hast made for Thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have established. Exodus XV., 13, 17. In the sacred sanctuary of Truth are voices of solemn import, but we heed them not. It is only when tlie so-called pleasures and pains of sense pass away in our lives, that we find unquestionable signs ot ' Address delivered at the dedication of First Church of Christ, Scien- tist, New York City, i West Ninety-sixth Street, November 29, 1903. Sermons and Public Addresses 141 the burial of error and the resurrection to spiritual life (Science and Health, p. 232). This is a glad hour for Christian Scientists, whose hearts are overflowing with love and gratitude to God for His gift of this house, wherein we may gather the sick, the sinful, and the sorrowing, to meet the ever- present Christ who comforts the broken in heart and heals all wounds. As the children of Israel journeyed through the wilderness, as they toiled on, descending into deep vrJleys, and ascending rugged heights — as they halted in dismay before the obstacles which obstructed their pathway, shrinking in terror before the wild beasts and venomous reptiles against whose deadly attack they were compelled to wrestle and prevail — as they saw before them the waters of the Red Sea through which they must pass to gain the Promised Land — so the faithful children of Israel of the twentieth century — Christian Scientists — have been led through the wilderness of human illusions, the belief of life in matter, with its material phenomena of sin, suffering, disease, sorrow, and death, to behold with the eye of faith and understanding the fulfilment of the promises made by the prophets, and by Jesus the Christ — that we should build goodly houses and dwell in them — that "My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places'* (Isa. xxxii., 18). "For your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him*' (Matt, vi., 8). These promises have been verified. God has led forth His people. He is redeeming us, who were once bound with fetters of personal sense, with doubts, fears, and limitations, and all the false 142 Sermons and Public Addresses thoughts which, since the material world began, have enslaved humanity. We are "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, . . . a peculiar people, " who have been taught in Christian Science to discern man in the image and likeness of God. We have been led to plant, in this city, the seed of Truth and Love in the hearts of its people ; to awaken a slumbering faith in God to an active demonstration of His ever-presence, and all-power; to quicken the people with a desire to redeem their God-given birth- right, dominion over all things, through spiritual understanding which is the reflection of Life, Truth, and Love — our Father-Mother God. This edifice has been built entirely by those who have been healed of many diseases to which flesh is heir, both physical and mental, through the teaching and practice of Christian Science, as taught by our beloved Leader and Teacher, Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, and author of its text- book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, God has been to this dear flock "a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night. "^ Divine Love has guided in this demonstration of a temple or church wherein the sick and the sorrowing, the weary and sin-laden, may find a refuge from the storm and tempest of human beliefs ; and wherein they may awake to the truth that God forgiveth all our iniquities, and healeth all our diseases. Science and Health also assures us that "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every himian need. "^ In proof of this, during the four years since the laying of the corner-stone of this church, November * Science and Health, p. 566. ""Ibid, p. 494. Sermons and Public Addresses 143 27, 1899, every demand for money, skilled workmen, and the best materials has been readily met, not- withstanding the fact that work on all pubHc and private buildings under process of erection during the past six months has been frequently stopped, owing to the disturbance between capital and labor. In spite of the financial stringency and great depression in business, at no time has work been suspended on this building. The sums of money contributed for the erection of this edifice have been voluntary and cheerful donations amounting to §1,250,000 all from members of this church, congregation, and students of the New York City Christian Science Institute. We have had not one outside contributor. The growth and development of this church have been exceedingly interesting. It was organized with a membership of fourteen. The first year of its existence services were held in a small hall at the corner of Forty-seventh Street and Fifth Avenue, over Caswell and Massey's drug store. In the year following, the congregation removed to 138 Fifth Avenue, and occupied a hall over Hardman and Peck*s piano rooms. Outgrowing the seating capacity of this small hall, which accommodated only about seventy- five persons, it removed to Hardman Hall, comer of Fifth Avenue and Nineteenth Street. Still continuing to demonstrate the power of the Christ-mind healing over all manner of diseases, we rapidly increased in numbers, until this hall which seated two hundred and fifty failed longer to accommodate us, and we moved to Scottish Rite Hall, formerly known as the Rutgers Presbyterian Church, on Madison Avenue and Twenty-ninth Street, where we worshiped during three years. 144 Sermons and Public Addresses In January of 1896, the Trustees advised the pur- chase of All Souls' Church on Forty-eighth Street, formerly occupied by Rev. R. Heber Newton. The church was bought and was put into the hands of competent architects and decorators. When it was finished, there was scarcely anything left of the original building except the four walls. Our congregation wor- shiped in this church for seven years, until increasing numbers crowded the auditorium, compelling us again to enlarge oiu* borders. Four years ago, this land was purchased and Messrs. Carrere and Hastings were chosen as the architects to construct a building with a seating capacity of two thousand two hundred. This work is at last com- pleted; and as we look back to the little hall where we preached our first sermon to an audience of twenty, and recall the pine table upon which was an improvised desk made of a dry goods box, and covered with red cambric, we gratefully acknowledge the guidance of divine Love which supplied us with strength and courage in hours of trial, necessity, persecution, fear, and discouragement; which led us outward, onward, upward — ever shielding us, and furnishing us " a table in the wilderness;" causing waste places to bud and blossom as the rose, until we have been brought into this "house . . . exceeding magnifical, " into this sanctuary which God's hands have established. The Scripture has been fulfilled in our midst. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now here- with, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it (Malachi iii., 10). Sermons and Public Addresses 145 You will remember our first inception of this temple, which we intended should be a substantial structure wherein we should congregate to worship God, and declare and demonstrate the gospel of the Christ- heahng to all seekers after Truth. We estimated that we could build a structure worthy of the Cause, and of this city, at a cost not exceeding $300,000, Thereupon, plans were made by our architects and submitted to the Trustees and the Building Com- mittee, who objected to brick and Indiana limestone. Concord granite was then suggested. Upon getting estimates, we learned that this material alone, when set and under roof, would cost $400,000. But Con- cord granite was the best we could offer ; and remem- bering that God was the source of all supply, the contract was signed. With a building fund at that time of only $40,000, and hoping to be able to sell our church on Forty-eighth Street, which cost us about $108,000, we entered upon the work. Thus we broke our first sense of limitation on this building, and put our whole trust in Truth. Every faithful church member and student reconsecrated himself and herself to God, and to the work of heahng the sick and the sinful. Then began the development of the plans by the architects, whose next estimate was that they could give us the building for $550,000 with a Reading Room, Sunday School Rooms, and of^ces for prac- titioners and church ofiiciais, in the basement. The Trustees and the Building Committee again found objection to this, preferring to have the Reading Room above the Auditorium, and our Sunday School children to be taught in light, sunny rooms. This change necessitated three elevators (a departure 146 Sermons and Public Addresses in church construction) and great additional expense, bringing the cost up to $750,000. As the work went on, this amount was raised. Later it was suggested that the tower be entirely changed. The Trustees and the Building Committee again decided that this demand should be met, for they now discerned that this church was being revealed by divine Love, "according to the pattern shewed to thee [us] in the mount." Accordingly estimates were again required. Realizing that of this temple divine Mind was the architect, and Christ the master Builder, and also remembering the words of Haggai ii., 7-9 — I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, saith the Lord of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts — the order was given to proceed with the revised tower, and each member resolved to return to the outstretched hands of God some of the silver and gold with which He had so graciously blessed him. From the initial development of this temple, concep- tion has constantly imfolded, revealing greater beauty in architecture, decoration, symmetry, and harmony; imtil the love which has been manifested as money, has reached the sum of $1,250,000. The one Ego, the one Mind or Spirit called God, is infin te individuality, which supplies all form and comeli- ness and which reflects reality and divinity in individual spiritual man and things {Science a7id Health, p. 281). Thought will finally be understood and seen in all foim. substance, and color, but without material accompani- ments {Science and Health, p. 310). Sermons and Public Addresses 147 Beloved Students and Members of this dear Church : — How often during our united efforts to aid in estab- lishing Truth in the hearts of the people, and to provide a place in which to shelter the weary searcher for health and peace, have we recalled the words of our Master: "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ' ' Our Leader says in Miscellaneous Writings, page 174: What is the kingdom of heaven? The abode of Spirit, the realm of the real. No matter is there, no night is there — nothing that maketh or worketh a lie. Is this kingdom afar off? No: it is ever-present here. . . . The kingdom of heaven is the reign of divine Science: it is a mental state. Jesus said it is within you, and taught us to pray, ''Thy kingdom come. " You have planted your feet on the eternal rock, Christ, and have held the banner of Christian Science above the aim of the archer. You have girded your armor more securely in hours of severe tests of your faith and understanding; and the hungry and thirsty wanderers in the desert of human belief, to whom you have given the bread and the water of life, now unite with you in gratitude to God for the precious gift of Christian Science, and for this temple, in which to continue to worship the Father in spirit and in truth, and to demonstrate the healing power of Truth and Love. Beloved brethren, continue your Christly mission, bring in the sick, the sinning, and the sorrowing, and prove to them that Christ heals to-da}^ as effectually as he did centuries ago. Our revered Leader says in Science and Health, page 54: "All must sooner or later plant themselves 148 Sermons and Public Addresses in Christ, the true idea of God. " And again, page 222: ''We must destroy the false belief that life and intelligence are in matter, and plant ourselves upon what is pure and perfect. " Thou in Thy mercy hast led forth the people which Thou hast redeemed: Thou hast guided them in Thy strength unto Thy holy habitation. Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of Thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which Thou hast made for Thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have established (Exodus xv., 13, 17). The promise is that God will "bring them in, and plant them in the mountain" of His inheritance. Let us plant our feet more firmly in Christ. Love is the victor over all sin, disease, and death. This church owes a great debt of gratitude to the wise and efficient Board of Trustees, some of whom have been fifteen and some twenty years in office. Since entering upon their sacred duties, they have consecrated their ability, their time, and their money to the service of God, to the Cause of Christian Science, and to the interests of this church. They are assured of the heartfelt appreciation of the members of this body; and they must have heard the voice of the invisible Christ, whispering, ''Well done, thou good and faithful servant." Our faithful treasurer, Mr. Joseph B. Whitney, through whose hands this large amount of money has passed, has served in this capacity for eleven years. During all these years he has given an account of every penny entrusted to his charge. The watchful care, sound judgment, and high integrity of the Building Committee, are evidenced in the success Sermons and Public Addresses 149 of their labors. The members of this church appreciate the faithful work that has been performed by our ushers, during the past years, in seating the large audiences which have attended our services. The position is an arduous one, requiring wisdom, patience, and prompt action. The church is gratefully mindful of the satisfactory services rendered by this competent corps, upon whom it depends for seating the people. The beauty of our interior decoration we owe to one of our young members, Mr. Charles H. Cottrell, who has worked most faithfully and intelligently with our able architects, Messrs. Carrere and Hastings. Led by divine Love, we have all labored toward the ful- filment of this work, as we held the sword in one hand and the trowel in the other. Our happy choir, the sweet singers of Israel, have oft inspired us with hope and courage, until we joined with them in the Hallelujah Chorus, and forgot all care, and knew that our burden was light. You all remember how often we have been refreshed by the dear little Sunday School children, whose sweet, innocent faces were illumined with the light of Love, as our Leader's words, " Shepherd, show me how to go " ' moved their hearts and voices into sweetest song. As their affections were inspired by the power of those love-filled words, many were healed, and have testified to this fact. These little ones are indeed our Leader's lambs. These are the words of one of their songs: ** Love doth bid us shine for our Leader dear. Who as God's reflector, makes our way so clear. She has taught us how to love, taught us how to shine. You in your small comer, and I in mine." * Miscellaneous Writings, p. 397. 150 Sermons and Public Addresses TRIBUTE We children of a larger growth unite with the little ones in chanting anthems , to God for her who has taught us how to love; how to find our relation to Him, whose omnipotence we may reflect, until the potency of Love casts out all sin and sickness, and reveals man as the perfect idea of a perfect God. During nineteen years, this beloved Leader and Teacher, the Reverend Mary Baker Eddy, has watched with unfailing love, tireless patience, sublime faith and hope that I, as her student, whom she appointed to this work, might rise from the human into the divine consciousness, and possess the Mind which was also in Christ Jesus, which heals the sick, reforms, transforms, and redeems sick, sinning, and suffering humanity. Her wisdom has guided this people, who have followed her teachings, and have striven to emulate her Christly selflessness, meekness, and tender love. Her firm hand-clasp with the infinite, inspired conception which revealed this temple, or church miHtant — type and symbol of the Church Triumphant. Her precious Mother-love has cheered and revived our faltering faith and courage, during seventeen years, since we came to this city (in 1886) to preach the gospel of Christian Science, and to heal the sick by her metaphysical method. It was the inspiration of her autograph letter to me which was sent to be placed in the corner-stone that has quickened my endeavor when beset by fearful odds, and assailed by foes and fears within and without. Hers were the inspiring words which enabled us to finish this church, which we now offer as a tribute of love and gratitude to our Leader and Teacher, the Reverend Mary Baker Eddy, Sermons and Public Addresses 151 Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, and author of its text-book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, In the concluding words of that letter, "I leave my name with thine in unity and love," ' we have the promise of her continued guidance, as we rise from height to height of health, happiness, and holiness. While we have come to what seems to be a final demonstration of a resting-place by the way, yet we must rise to higher realization of the limitless affluence of our Father-Mother God — and reveal the Church Triumphant. *'From glory unto glory, " with no limit and no veil, With wings that cannot weary and hearts that cannot fail ; Within, without, no hindrance, no barrier as we soar; And never interruption to the endless "more and more!"* AFTERGLOW^ Since the demonstration of the church militant, or temple which Mrs. Eddy describes as "a material superstructure, where mortals congregate for worship'* {Science and Health, p. 595), we have been called by our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, "to build higher" to "begin on a wholly spiritual foundation, than which there is no other" {Christian Science Sentinel, Jan. 16, 1909), which will reveal the Church Triumphant which is the temple of the living God, the house not made with hands, eternal in Mind, " the idea of Life, substance, and intelligence; the superstructure of Truth; the shrine of Love " {Science and Health, p. 595). In regard to emergence from material organization * See letter, pages 34, 529. 3 Written in 191 1. ' Frances Ridley Havergal. 152 Sermons and Public Addresses to a higher spiritual consciousness, Mrs. Eddy says. Retrospection and Introspection, page 45 : Despite the prosperity of my church, it was learned that material organization has its value and peril, and that organ- ization is requisite only in the earliest periods in Christian history. After this material form of cohesion and fellow- ship has accompHshed its end, continued organization retards spiritual growth, and shoidd be laid off, — even as the corporeal organization deemed requisite in the first stages of mortal existence is finally laid off, in order to gain spiritual freedom and supremacy. From careful observation and experience came my clue to the uses and abuses of organization. Upon the occasion of the dedication of the new edifice of First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, November 29, 1903, the following letter was received by the Church from Mrs. Eddy, and was read at each service. — Christian Science Journal, vol., xxi, p. 585. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. Beloved Brethren: — Carlyle writes, "Give a thing time; if it succeeds, it is a right thing." Here I aver that you have grasped time and labor — taking the first by the fore- lock, and the last by love. In this lofty temple, dedicated to God and humanity, may the prophecy of Isaiah be fulfilled: "Fear not, for I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine." Within its sacred walls may song and sermon generate only such as Christianity writes in broad facts over great continents — sermons that fell forests and remove mountains — songs of joy and gladness. The letter of your work dies, as do all things material, but the spirit thereof is immortal. Remember that a temple but foreshadows the idea of God — the "house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens," while a silent grand man or woman healing sickness and destroying sin Sermons and Public Addresses 153 builds a heaven-reach er. Only that group of men and women gain greatness who gain themselves, in a complete subordination of self. The tender memorial engraven on your grand edifice stands for human self lost in divine light — melted into the radiance of His likeness: it stands for meekness and might, for Truth as attested by the Founder of your denomination, and emblazoned on the fair escutcheon of your church. Lovingl}^ yours in Christ, Pleasant View, Concord, N. H., Mary Baker G. Eddy. November 28, 1903. Thanksgiving Testimony' If I were to attempt to express my thanks and gratitude to our Father-Mother God for the manifold blessings which have come to me during the year, language would fail to impart themi. If I should endeavor to convey my gratitude and love to miy beloved Leader and Teacher, Mrs. Eddy, for her loving watch- care, wise counsel, and holy example, words would again prove inadequate. For twenty- three years I have been journeying through the wilder- ness of sense towards the understanding of Soul, ever listening for the voice of my revered Leader as she bids me follow Christ, and leads me in the way which reveals eternal Life. This glad occasion on which we are called to unite in the one Mind, to give thanks for Christ's dear love, remiinds me of the Thanksgiving Days of yore, when f amxilies gathered in the old home from far and near to sit at a table spread by love. That table was bounti- ^ Extemporaneous testimony given in First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, on Thanksgiving Day, November, 1908, and taken down by a stenographer without the author's knowledge. 154 Sermons and Public Addresses fully supplied with that which ministered to the material appetite and satisfied the demands of the mortal man. To-day we are called to unite with one voice in the grand Thanksgiving Anthem, which all Christians will sing, in response to the request of the President of our United States. We, as Christian Scientists, convene to partake of the bread that cometh down from heaven, and to drink of the cup of our Lord, whom w^e meet in this bright morning hour. Love has prepared a table in the wilderness, whose arid wastes are (through the reflection of Truth and Love operating in human hearts) beginning to bud and blossom as Sharon's rose. When, with his disciples of yore, Christ asked: ''Children, have ye any meat?" To-day at his second appearing, he again asks: '' Children, have ye any meat?" Have ye here any meat? Do we understand that Mind is substance, and that there is but one Mind, one substance — God — whose children we are? Are we striving to gain the Mind of Christ, and demonstrating Truth and Love by healing the sick and aiding the sinner to reform? Are we endeavoring to behold God's image and likeness in our brother and sister? Does our reflection of Love unite us all in the unity of good and the bonds of love? Are we casting out error in ourselves and aiding to cast it out of others, thus rendering evil powerless to harm, or to separate us from Christ and from each other as members of his body? Are we partaking of the meat which our Master declared sustained him, when he said, ''I have meat to eat that ye know not of," and again, *'He that eateth of this bread shall live forever"? This is the substance of good, and are we realizing its satis- fying, supporting presence? Sermons and Public Addresses 155 As we are called to this feast of Soul, where our ''bread . . . cometh down from heaven," are we breaking it and giving it to each other? Does Love move our thought (spiritual power) to convey this bread to the hungry, and are we joyfully passing the cup of cold water to each other and to all who thirst for living water? Does Love find in each of us an avenue through which She can reflect Her presence, and satisfy the immortal cravings of those who hunger and thirst after righteousness? "We give thanks, and meekly bow before the dear Christ, whose second ap- pearing is to-day joyfully recognized by thousands who no longer sing the Lord's song in minor key, but who chant, with the invisible choir, the song of peace on earth, health, wholeness, and immortality. The definition of "Church" is found on page 583, of Science and Health: The Church is that institution, which affords proof of its utility and is found elevating the race, rousing the dormant understanding from material beliefs to the apprehension of spiritual ideas and the demonstration of divine Science, thereby casting out devils, or error, and healing the sick. This church represents a happy united family, each member of which is striving to fulfil the law of Love. As we sit together at the Thanksgiving table of our Lord, let us re-consecrate ourselves to aid our dear Leader, Mrs. Eddy, in establishing the kingdom of God in the hearts of men. This spiritual feast will not be followed by mesmeric stupor, nor indigestion, which results from feeding the material senses, but we shall rise to give thanks for increased strength and peace. Paul tells us that the Spirit quickens these mortal bodies. Surely we are learning that ''Man shall not 15^ Sermons and Public Addresses live by bread alone, but by every word that procecdeth out of the mouth of God. " Are we giving thanks for God's grace which has sustained us during the past year, and enabled us to realize that the severance of fleshly ties unites us more tenderly to the real? Are we grateful for the Truth that shattered our idols, and revealed the substance-idea — the living, loving child of God — ■ who never lived in m^atter, never suffered nor died? Are we grateful for Christian Science, which has taught us how God feeds us as He feeds the birds of the air — • how He clothes us as He clothes the lilies? Are we grateful for our homes — each a type of one of the many mansions which Jesus said he was going to prepare for his followers? Christ has come again, as he promised, and is leading us to the place which he has prepared for us — spiritual consciousness. We are grateful to the dear Mother Church — the Vine, of which we are a branch, and for all who have ministered to the support of this church — the Trustees, ushers, Sunday School teachers, organist, singers, practitioners who are healing the sick and awaking the sinner, and church members whose service of time and money has been a work of love. To Christian Scientists, this Thanksgiving day service is the spiritual meeting with Christ. Our revered Leader tells us in Scieyice and Health, page 35: "Our church is built on the divine Principle, Love." We partake of the bread and wine which cometh down from heaven, of which, if a man eat and drink, he shall never die. The cup must be filled with love, and the law of Love must be fulfilled. Let us kiss the cross, drink the contents of the cup filled with Sermons and Public Addresses 157 royal wine, the inspiration of Love, and eat of the bread, Truth, until our immortal cravings are satisfied, and we awake in the likeness of God. Thanksgiving, and glory, and honor to God who gave us being, and to Christ who demonstrated the way to eternal Life. Honor and praise to our revered Leader, Mrs. Eddy, for her priceless gift to the world — Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures — which points the way to the "Home, Sweet Home*' of Soul — Mother, home, and heaven. To Th^r table richly laden, Mother mine, I have heard the invitation, Come and dine! Feed Thou my immortal cravings, Father mine, Break for me the bread of heaven, Love divine. Let Thy substance full and deep O'er my famished heartstrings sweep, 'Til my hunger Thou dost feed With the living bread I need. From Thy table richly laden, Mother mine, With th' eternal bread of God And royal wine, Let me look to Thee alone, Give me bread, remove the stone. Thus by Thee, O Father, fed. Give me ever substance-bread. 158 Sermons and Public Addresses Living, pure, reviving waters, Mother mine, Flow from Thee, Thou source immortal. Mind divine. Can I thirst when Thou art near, Can I hunger, can I fear? No ! I find my all in Thee, And Thy love hath made me free. So I, joyous, daily journey, On •• the way,'* Watch, and work, and wait, and sing, And love and pray. By Thine affluence daily fed. By Thy love-light ever led, I shall safe in Thee abide. Rest in Thee — be satisfied. A. E. S. CHAPTER III LETTERS TO MRS. EDDY And th« captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot ; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so. — Joshua v., 15. Again, without a correct sense of its highest visible idea, we can never understand the divine Principle. — Science and Health, p. 560. THE CANARY'S GREETING TO MOTHER' If a little bird may say What is in his heart to-day, I would say, **A song of glee Motherhood of God for thee." If you ask, " Why come you here? " I will say, " Your home to cheer, Life, Love, Truth, the whole day long Is the burden of my song." At the early morning dawn I will sing, " Our Christ is born." And when dawn fades from our sight, I will sing, " Let there be light." « Verses sent with caged canary to Mrs. Eddy. 159 i6o Letters to Mrs. Eddy- As the light appears to men I will sing, '* Amen! Amen! " When the full-orbed sun appears I will sing, " Love cheers! Love cheers! And as Love appears to me I will sing, " Truth sets me free! " Loud I '11 sing, *' God is the power Moving me from hour to hour." If you ask, " Who told you so? " I will sing, " You know, you know Who has taught the world to see God's idea, in man and me, " Turned us from the finite sense To the infinite immense, From the human flesh- veiled view, To the spiritual and true." I will sing a tend'rer song And its glad refrain prolong, I will trill, Life, Truth, and Love, Echoing the choirs above. As the sun sinks in the West I will sing, '* Beloved, rest." When the twilight hour draws near I will softly sing, *' Good cheer." And when shadows chase the light I will sing, " There is no night," Then will darkness flee away As I sing, " Behold God's day.** If I listen, I shall hear, ** Birdie, you are God's idea, Letters to Mrs. Eddy i6i Sent to chant your merry lay Lovingly to cheer my way." Then how blithely I will sing Praises to our Saviour King, Join with you the matin song, Sing with you the whole day long — " God is Love, and God is good, Birdie, and God's motherhood." Hymn of gratitude repeat As I rest in Love's retreat. Augusta E. Stetson. THE REPLY I did send your birdie back. But your song stayed in my heart, To repeat its strain above, Wakened by your friendly art. I have loved and lost — Ah ! What — Many a joy, but once a bird Who did love me — and he died Of my sorrow sad, unheard. I have never told my grief. Yet can never love another. But your bird-prayer God may grant Who has given you bird and "Mother.** So sweet nestling sing to her Whom I love, and must not lose, Tell her I have kept her heart. Ask her if I may not choose? Mary Baker G. EddYc xz i62 Letters to Mrs. Eddy THE CAGED CANARY. A GIFT SENT TO MRS. EDDY July 10, 1888. Precious Mother: — The bird returned yesterday, with the beautiful booklet — your sweet poem, which to me, is a title to a mansion in my Father's house, a deed to my home in the City of our God, when "the blast of the terrible ones" is hushed — "my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort" (Ps. Ixxi., 3) — an eternal promise that my prayer, ''Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm" (Canticles viii., 6) is answered, in the promise "Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands" (Isa. xlix., 16). The canary seems to regret, for he does not sing, that his desire to make you happy opened and caused to bleed anew an old wound. He has told me that you have " kept my hearth It has been yours since I sat at the feet of Christ and heard, "Thou shaltlove the Lord thy God with all thine heart. " May its medita- tions and the words of my mouth be always accept- able in thy sight. "Let my heart be sound in Thy statutes" (Ps. cxix., 80). "Lest any hurt it. . . . keep it night and day" (Isa. xxvii., 3). Keep it, Holy One. I have your promise that you will, and peace descends upon me like showers that water the parched earth. I do not longer fear that the misrepresentations of the foe will separate me from you. The bird performed its dual mission. He carried the Te Deum of Love to you, and to-night brought back to me your message. He will be to me a most precious symbol, and your poem will "Hold up my goings in Thy paths, that my footsteps slip not" (Ps. xvii., 5), and "when my heart Letters to Mrs. Eddy .163 is overwhelmed" its blessed inspiration will ''lead me to the rock that is higher than I" (Ps. Ixi., 2). Ever in tender devotion and obedient love, I am, Your child, Augusta. THE DREAM Winter Hill, Mass., July lo, 1895. My precious Leader and Teacher: — I received these two letters some days ago, which I enclose to you. Deception and falsity have at last been uncovered in this student. My prayers, tears, and advice, my watchful care and forbearance during these attacks of mental aberration, idiosyncrasies, and weakness — which according to so-called material law were inherited from a mother who had been mentally unbalanced for seven years before this patient's birth, and eight years after — all my efforts seemed of no avail. The fear that his acts would injure the Cause — for he is quite irresponsible when these attacks are upon him — has caused me intense suffering. One night I felt that I could not endure another hour of such mental agony. At this point I laid my head upon my pillow and went to sleep with this prayer : ' ' Father- Mother God, I can do no more for this student. Thou knowest that I have tried to be faithful and true according to my understanding. I leave all with Thee. I turn from this dream forever. Do with me as Thou wilt, only let Spirit be manifest in rne as I kiss the rod and carry the cross. ' ' Then I dreamed this : That you had sent for me. I was shown into a large square room with one window, and one door which opened on a lawn. In the room was a very large bed. 1 64 Letters to Mrs. Eddy tYou approached me, and smiling, whispered, ''Rest, dear, rest. " You then gUded to the bed and lay down on the edge. I followed and laid myself on the other side. As I lay there I thought it was night and I said to myself, how quiet she is ! Oh, how sweet and peace- ful to be with her ; I wonder what she wants me to do ! I must not sleep; when she awakes she will tell me. Then it seemed to be morning. You quietly arose and went to a dressing-table and began to arrange your hair. I said, '' Oh ! Mother dear, may I dress it?" You immediately sat down and whispered, "Yes, dear." I carefully arranged it, feeling so happy that I was permitted to do it. I exclaimed, "Oh, your hair is so lovely, dear Mother!" Then you arose and went to the door. Turning to me you again whispered, "Come." I said, "I must dress my hair," and I quickly pinned it up and went after you. You were away beyond, tripping like a fairy over a beautiful green plateau which seemed to extend as far as I could see, with nothing to ob- struct the view. I said to myself, "Oh, I must hurry; she is so light and walks so fast, and I am so slow and heavy, I must run faster." And I increased my efforts, calling on God to help me to follow, when you turned and smiled and waited for me. As I reached you, you put your arm around my waist and I put mine around yours, and like two school girls we walked on together, so happy, but not a word was spoken. When you reached what seemed to be the edge of this plateau, there was a steep descent, and you continued right on down it till, when at its foot, I found we were on a wide, smooth, sandy beach. You w^alked right into the water and I said, "How delicious the water is to my feet!" You still went on, Letters to Mrs. Eddy 165 farther in where the water was quite deep, and I said, "Oh! it is cold, is it not, Mother?" You said nothing, but kept on walking into deeper water until I said, "It is cold, but I am not afraid when God and Mother are with me." Then I seemed to lose the sense of a lake bed, and the thought that I was not touching bottom with my feet gave me a little shudder, but I said: "I will follow where you lead." Instantly I felt a solid substance under my feet. I said, "This seems like a large rock. " I saw we were in the middle of an immense lake — quiet, and clear as crystal — and we slipped on the rock for a moment, still with our arms around each other. Then we turned towards the shore, walked on the water, and ascended the hill, over the same green plateau, and entered the same room we had left. You had not spoken a word. The room was filled with people waiting for you, and many were outside. Some one brought in a tray with food, but you turned away to talk to the people, and I also refused to eat. I then said, "I wonder what she wants me to do. I must not interrupt her, she is feed- ing the truth to so many people. I will go to God and He will tell me." Then I awoke. The sun had risen; it was early morning and all was quiet in my room. I said, "God will tell me what I am to do; " for strength and peace and joy assured me that I had been walking with an angel. I then arose, and took up my Bible. My eyes rested on the sixth verse of the sixth chapter of Isaiah, which I read to the close of the chapter. Since then I have been seeing wondrous things out of God's law. I have no fear which Love will not cast out. I have always, when recalling that dream, felt the impression of that rock under my feet as sensibly as when in my night vision. i66 Letters to Mrs. Eddy I shall return to my field of love's labor after a season of constant prayer and self-examination, study and work, to renew my efforts to destroy in self all that is unlike Christ, and with sufficient divine love and compassion to suffer all things, hope all things, endure all things. I shall not open my Hps but to express love and bless all. Error must destroy itself. I have done my work as far as it is a teacher's duty to do. God will do the work in this student's life when he yields his human will to the will of God. Your loving child, Augusta. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, October 28, 1899. To our beloved Leader and Mother, who first taught us to lisp the language of Spirit, and led us to apprehend the power of infinite Love. ' In this hour of the crucial conflict of Truth against all that opposes its Divine manifestation, we desire to express our continued, unfaltering, and devoted loyalty, and our deep appreciation of your wise, dauntless, and perfect leadership. Our gratitude is voiceless, as we recall your tender Mother-love, which has so patiently borne all the assaults of evil, that your faithful children may follow you "past the hill-crest, home unto the Plains of Peace!" We wish to assure you that all that has been said or written by revilers, whisperers, or false witnesses, the mouthpieces of anti-Christ, but strengthens our faith and confidence in the infallible Truth, and deepens our love for you. ' Christian Science Sentinel, vol. ii., p. 156. Letters to Mrs. Eddy 167 Day by day we sing, with greater realization, your own words, which now come to us with the force of an oath of allegiance: " I will follow and rejoice All the rugged way. '* Your loving children, First Reader, Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D. Second Reader, Edwin F. Hatfield, C.S. Trustees; Mrs. Susanne Schooley Thomas, George W. De Lano, Clerk, James E. Lees, Steuart C. Rowbotham, Isabel Colton Dam, Ethelinda Dietz, Adolph Rusch, Joseph B. Whitney, Treasurer, Representing First Church of Christ, Scientist, of New York City. Accompanying the above was the following poem: Oh! heart of the motherhood. Brooding above, Soft voicing Thy message Through Love's chosen love, Hear gratitude voiceless And prayers without speech. Which soar like the dove Heaven's portals to reach. Oh! fill us with meekness To sit at her feet, Who teaches the pathway To Love's blest retreat, i68 Letters to Mrs. Eddy Who leads Israel's army In paths Jesus trod, The highway of holiness, Leading to God. Augusta E. Stetson. THE REPLY ^ First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. My Beloved Brethren: — Your Soul-full words, and song, repeat my legacies in blossom. Such elements of friend- ship, faith, and hope, re-possess us of Heaven. I thank you out of a full heart. Even the crown of thorns that mocked the bleeding brow of our blessed Lord, was over- crowned with a diadem of duties done. So let us meekly meet, mercifully forgive, wisely ponder, and lovingly scan the convulsions of the distempered mortal mind— that its sudden sallies may even help us, not to a start, but to a tenure to unprecarious joy. Rich hope have I in him who saith in his heart: — >1 I will listen for Thy voice, Lest my footsteps stray; I will follow and rejoice All the rugged way. AIary Baker Eddy. Pleasant View, Concord, N. H., November 2, 1899. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, 143 West 4STH Street, September 20, 1900. My precious Mother: — This morning the New York Sun published the enclosed article. ^ I believe it is the worst attack that * Christian Science Sentinel, vol. ii., p. 156. ' The article referred to stated that I was endeavoring to secure Letters to Mrs. Eddy 169 M. A. M. through your disloyal student ever made upon me, and is her revenge for the efforts I made to prevent her name from going into the New York World in the same article with you, as you requested me to do. It is false, false, false from beginning to end. This church to my knowledge never entertained one thought of rivalry toward the Second Church. I am loving and kind to them all and so are my people. I wrote Mrs. L. . . from the depths of my heart, and all this commotion is the work of malicious animal magnetism. We are quiet and do our own work in our church, and whoever could have given such erroneous ideas, I cannot conceive. If I do not know myself, have no idea of my thoughts and motives and purposes — then God has forsaken me, and I am useless to the Cause. But I do believe that I am sincere and honest and loving and generous, or at least I strive every moment to be so. This is a wicked attack upon me. Not knowing anything of our purpose, our plans or work of selection — they place us in this position to the city. But God reigns. I shall meet this with love, as I have heretofore met all malicious attacks. This may have been necessary to drive me nearer to Christ. I have not heard from Mrs. L. . . in answer to my letter, nor has Mr. H. . . , but they perhaps felt that no recogni- tion was necessary. Shall I reply to this? I cannot hear from you in time, and will do the best I can, asking Love to guide me. Your loving child, Augusta. Mrs. Eddy's place and lead the Christian Science Field, including the churches in New York City. " ^ 170 Letters to Mrs. Eddy I West 96TH Street, New York City, November 17, 1903. My precious Leader and Teacher: — Laus Deo! We are ready at last to dedicate the church edifice which our love and gratitude have erected as a tribute to you. It is not necessary for me to tell you what this means to me — you know it all — the long and perilous passage, the fears and foes within and without, and the opposition of envy and all evil. Since the laying of the corner-stone four years ago, on Thanksgiving Day, I have seen the necessity of working alone with God and for Him, not seeking the approval of any man, not even the brethren, but the approval only of God. I have known all these years that my work must be justified or con- demned by God and my wise and ever-loving Teacher, and I knew the judgment would be just. We shall dedicate without any debt. Our money is all in. The church is attracting a great deal of attention on account of its unique and refined archi- tecture and decoration. The convention of architects now assembled in New York has requested permission to visit it next Friday afternoon. The request has been granted by our Trustees. The edifice is only a type, I know, but a better symbol than the old church, for the love that through us has laid in the outstretched hands of God one million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars proves that much of self-love and trust in money has been destroyed, and that heavy baggage has been left behind, as the members of this church have cHmbed the hill of Christian Science. We shall have a very quiet, very impersonal, dignified service, but consistent with the demands of our en- vironment, and the expressed wishes of the church Letters to Mrs. Eddy 171 members. The press has been clamoring for weeks to get matter for pubHcation concerning us, but our doors have been vigilantly guarded, and we shall give them only what is proper for them to know. We shall not announce the date until next Saturday. From now until the dedication is over, I pray for grace and strength to stand against the argument of the enemy of good in aggressive mental suggestion. I know in whom I trust. This could not have been made possible but for your watchful, loving, protecting, and wise guidance. Ever your loving child, Augusta E. Stetson. The church edifice was dedicated on Sunday, November 29, 1903. I West 96TH Street, New York City, October 19, 1904. My beloved Leader and Teacher: — I am moved to write you in regard to a case to which I was recently called, that, during two years, had been diagnosed by thirteen physicians, and treated as malignant cancer. At the time I took the case, the patient was under the care of a physician and two trained nurses, and had been confined to her bed ten weeks, the disease being in its last stages, and the lady had taken leave of her family. I informed them that I would take the case if the doctor would give it up and not interfere with my treatment, although I was willing he should watch my work. He was unwilling to do this, and was discharged. I then began treatment. I at once learned that the two trained nurses, who had been in charge for many weeks, would not remain unless a physician was in attendance and would protect them in their pro- fession. I saw the reasonableness of their request and 172 Letters to Mrs. Eddy the necessity of their personal attendance, and care of the effects of this dread disease, and I asked that a reputable physician be engaged, one who would be willing to watch the case, and allow me to treat the disease mentally according to Christian Science. I said that if I failed to relieve the pain, which only hypoder- mics of morphine had done, I would retire and leave the work to him. A prominent physician was engaged, who was willing to work under these conditions, and after diagnosing the case, he told me and the patient's family that the disease was malignant cancer, in its last stages, and that the patient was beyond medical aid, and could not survive, but that he would permit me to do what I could, and would take the case if I failed to relieve her. Under these conditions I resumed the work, knowing that with God all things are possible. I began regular treatment on Wednesday evening at eleven o'clock, and continued the mental work all night. At seven in the morning, my patient awoke refreshed, as from a quiet sleep, and exclaimed, "What has come to me? I feel such rest and peace: I am healed. God came to me ill the night, and I know that I am healed." This condition of mind and body continued for three days, during which time the terrible pain which necessitated the hypodermics had not returned. The lady was buoyant, and confident that she was healed, and the husband, physician, nurses, and brothers and sisters who had come from their respective homes to be with her, at the last, were convinced that God was in their midst, manifesting His mighty powder and tender love in casting out fear and destroying pain. Then came the first chemicalization — the conflict Letters to Mrs. Eddy 173 between the human and the divine mind. She had learned in those three days much of the letter of Christian Science from what had been told her, and what had been read to her from your book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Day and night she had had constant attendance during these hours of respite. When the pain returned, she met it with truth, and with her little understanding of Christian Science this brave, noble woman resisted and wrestled with the agony which attends this disease, and for sixteen hours held out against the demand for the drug, until the nurses' faith was tested beyond endur- ance, and they declared they could not witness such suffering. They urged her to accept the relief which the drug offered, and she yielded, but not without a keen sense of grief that she was unable to meet the test. I met this trial of her faith with compassion, and destroyed the effect with truth and love, and assured her that she would not have another return of pain, which was true. She never required another drug. This painful feature of the disease disappeared. The healing went on, and the cancer passed off gradually day by day as painlessly and as freely as if removed by a surgeon's knife, until in two weeks there was no evidence of the disease except the after effects, weakness and a clearing away of attending symptoms, and gradual building up of the body. In all the trial of her faith she never once doubted that she was healed of that claim. On the eighth day after her declaration that she was healed, another chemical occurred which seemed like a relapse, although there was no recurrence of old symptoms — only a collapse and sinking, which I knew was only another test or chemical. The family being 174 Letters to Mrs. Eddy alarmed, the doctor was called, who having seen such proofs of the power of Christian Science was willing to watch the result, although he declared she was in a dying condition. His kindly, honest Christian acknowledgment of the good results he had witnessed of Christian Science was most helpful to me in my efforts, and gave the family a sense of trust and security which helped the work, and for which we were all deeply grateful. Such noble men will aid Christian Scientists, and Christian Science will bless them and lead them to the true Physician, "Whohealeth all thy [our] diseases." From this seeming relapse, which lasted a few days, she recovered, and was again rejoicing in return of normal conditions, when, about the end of the second week, she had a third chemical, which came suddenly. I was called in the night to find her struggling for breath, and the family greatly agitated. The' doctor was sent for, and pronounced it pneumonia. I knew it was fear, and I also knew that the same power that had removed the effects of the so-called disease, cancer, and had brought this dear sufferer into a knowledge of God and her relation to Him, and had raised her from two attacks, would not fail in the third. I also knew that "this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting" (Matt, xvii., 21). The faith of the family, and the awakened interest of the physician, and nurse, for by this time she required but one, left the case in God's hands, and the struggle continued. The lungs filled, the breathing ceased, and the end came. All had been done that could be realized, and we had only to cling to the ever-present Christ, and know that there was no death, no power nor presence but God and His idea, and that Christ Letters to Mrs. Eddy 175 was manifest. For sixteen hours the patient was unconscious and pulseless, the nurse and family re- maining in waiting and the doctor coming in occa- sionally. Slowly she revived and returned as one rising from the dead. This final struggle for exist- ence, and victory over the last enemy, death, has con- vinced many, including the physician who has carefully watched this case, that God is coming to His people, and that Christian Science is the power of Christ, which needs only to be accepted and understood to save mankind from sin, sickness, and death. I am glad to have had this experience and test of my faith and understanding. After long hours of fasting and prayer, which have raised me to see God's allness and ever-presence, as never before, I leave this case with a perfect assurance that the patient is healed of a so-called cancer, which has entirely dis- appeared. She is fast gaining strength, is moving about the house, seeing her friends, and is acquiring a know- ledge of her oneness with God and her dominion over all things. This has been all effected in five weeks. I write this, my dear Teacher, because I am deeply grateful to you for teaching me how to find God, and to carry His message to the sufferer. Your holy example and life, if followed by us, your students, would convince the world of the truth of your teachings in Science and Health. I pray to be more worthy of your instructions. I have written this in detail, as the case was unique, the chemicalization so severe, and the cure so satis- factory and convincing to all who have witnessed the power of Christian Science Mind-healing in the cure of a disease which no human aid can destroy. Surely your words have been verified in this instance: "Divine 176 Letters to Mrs. Eddy Love always has met and always will meet every human need" {Science and Health, p. 494). I am ever, Lovingly and faithfully, Your student, Augusta. The foregoing is believed in fully, and subscribed to by the husband, two sisters, two brothers, two friends, the physician, and trained nurse, whose signatures are attached to this letter and can be seen at any time on application to me. New York, November 4, 1904. Reverend Mary Baker G. Eddy, Pleasant View, Concord, N. H. We, the members of the Students' Association of the New York City Christian Science Institute in annual meeting assembled, send to you, our beloved Leader and Teacher, our love and assurance of in- creasing appreciation of your wisdom and untiring guidance. We reconsecrate ourselves that we may demonstrate the spiritual cooperation which is the unity to which your wise leadership calls us. Our earnest aim is to reach your ex:alted ideals of purity and power. •/ Augusta E. Stetson, For the Members. Mrs. Eddy's cordial and cheering reply follows [Editor] :— Concord, N. H., November 7, 1904. Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C. S. D., and Students' Association, of the New York City Christian Science Institute. Accept my thanks and loving congratulation. Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice and I know them, and they follow me." Mary Baker Eddy. Christian Science Sentinel, November 12, 1904. Letters to Mrs. Eddy 177 I West 96th Street, New York City, September 8, 1905. My precious Leader: — Never so precious as now, when to thi7ik of you as a manifestation of Truth and Love, and to behold your wonderful demonstrations of the omnipotence of God, good, in the midst of the claim of lies and hatred, revenge and envy, lust and hypocrisy, which claims seem to deceive the very elect, give me courage and strength to press forward in the race for an in- destructible, endless life. But for your holy example, I could never endure such *' contradiction of sinners" (Heb. xii., 3), and the efforts of the accusers of our brethren. Evil-doers, evil thinkers, and evil speakers seem ripe for the harvest. Impersonal evil seems to find willing victims, and only by constant watching, working, and prayer can we hold fast to our faith. It may be that the coming together of the National Christian Scientist Association in this city is agitating the waters, for the arguments of malicious mental malpractitioners are almost overwhelming, but through the noise of the disturbing elements, and above the swelling of Jordan, I hear the voice of divine Love through yoti, my beloved — chosen of the Father — anointed and sent to lead us, speaking these words, ''Fear thou not; for I am with thee" (Isa. xH., 10). ''No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper" (Isa. liv., 17), and again, "I will deliver thee . . . and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid" (Jer. xxxix., 17). So, as I tread on serpents and scorpions, I sing praises to God for His goodness in giving me my Leader and Guide. Love is depriving the vipers of their sting ; they fail to overcome me ; they cannot forever disturb, and are even now powerless to 178 Letters to Mrs. Eddy rob me of my health and courage, or to prevent me from following you up the hill of Christian Science. I have never had such health and strength, such love and gratitude for you, dearest; never a stronger faith and determination to demonstrate the power and presence of divine Love. I never had stronger evidence of the all-protecting power of our Father, in the prosperity of our church, yet I grieve when I see that some of the dear ones have to turn back and walk a while longer with their idols. Paul said, *' The more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved" (2 Cor. xii., 15). Love is a mighty power to separate the true from the fak^e, the dross from the gold; but She will consume the dross, and reveal the gold. Some few are entering the crucible. The white heat of the furnace will reveal their Christ, and some day they will lose both the dross and the gold of human belief, and stand forth in Love's image and likeness. It is a marvel that among so many, so few are found who are able to run the race continuously. If you have anything you would like me to do at the meeting of the Association of Teachers, please tell me. We have no idea where they intend to meet in our city, but God is guiding, and He will put His children in the right place. It is not so much a matter of consequence what environment they will have, as whether we meet in love and unity and spiritual cooperation. May I be worthy to wash the feet of the disciples. With devoted love and gratitude, and loyal obedience, I am, Your loving child, Augusta. The meeting of the National Christian Scientist Association of Teachers was held in First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, Letters to Mrs. Eddy 179 TELEGRAMS New York, November 2, 1905. Rev. Mary Baker Eddy, Pleasant View, Concord, N. H. The Association of my students, in annual reunion, unite with me in expressing to you, our beloved Leader and Teacher, our obedience, our loyal love, and our grateful recognition of your continued guidance of mankind to the realization of eternal Love. Augusta E. Stetson. Mrs. Eddy's Reply Concord, N. H., November 4, 1905. Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C. S. D., I West 96th Street, New York City. Thanks to you and your association for telegram and your grand glorious work for humanity. This reply delayed by mistake. Lovingly yours, Mary Baker Eddy. Christian Science Sentinel, vol. viii., p. 169. I West 96TH Street, New York City, December 6, 1905. My precious Leader: — I am writing just to tell you of my ever-increasing love for you, and of my constant efforts to follow and obey you and your teachings. I am trying to demon- strate Christian Science and praying for grace and love to endure to the end. Our church is most prosperous in Truth. The healing is being demonstrated, and many are rejoicing in the health and peace which they find in the study of Science and Health. Grateful and loving disciples call you blessed, and thank God. On Thanksgiving Day we contributed twenty-two i8o Letters to Mrs. Eddy thousand dollars to The Mother Church Extension. It has all been paid in, I believe, and will be sent to Mr. Chase. This makes eighty-four thousand dollars which our church has contributed, and we want to make it one hundred thousand.' We have not more than four men in our large membership who can be called rich. All give all that they can, and rejoice in the privilege and the sacrifice which test their faith and trust in infinite Love. It is joy to give to the Cause, and particularly to the dear Mother Vine. I long to do more for you and to be more worthy of your dear love. Ever your faithful, obedient child, Augusta E. Stetson, ji Christian Science Sentinel, vol. viii., p. 266. A HELPFUL LETTER :>Y [We are glad to publish the following letter to Mrs. Eddy from one of her students whose work in Christian Science has done much for the advancement of our Cause. This letter expresses such appreciation of our Leader's work, such gratitude for it, and such a desire to be of service to her, that it will be read with pleasure by Christian Scientists. — Editor.] I West 96TH Street, New York City, N. Y., July 20, 1906. My precious Leader and Teacher: — My heart is overflowing with grateful love for your dear letter and its sweet contents. Had ever any people so wise, unselfed and vigilant a Leader as we, your students; and who is so great a God as He who has given you to us to lead us to His Christ? I am ever searching my inmost consciousness and praying earnestly and continually for God to open my spiritual eyes that I may behold wondrous things, » $11 8,000 were finally contributed to The Mother Church Extension. Letters to Mrs. Eddy i8i as you, His chosen messenger, reveal His law of unfailing Love. When I realize what loving obedience has brought to me and to all your obedient students, I could shed tears of pity for those students who tarried by the way in the past, and listened to the voice of personal sense, until they ceased to hear your loving tones, and lost the pathway. I thank God for His tender care, which has en- abled me and your faithful and loyal students to watch and pray, work, and wait, through the cloud and tempest, till this harvest hour. Love's labor is never lost. The tireless watcher does not sleep on his sword. As I behold this First Church of Christ, Scientist, of New York City, a tribute of love and gratitude to you, beloved, our prayer in Concord granite, which my students and members of this church have reared to you, I praise God for this evidence of His love. Every day I see proofs of your unselfed watch-care and love for your students, including me and mine. How often during the church services I wish you could see the great congregation, and hear the testimonies of the people, of wonderful deliverance from sin, sickness, sorrow, and death, and their appreciation of your great work, and of your book, Science and Health; and could hear your words in your hymns ring out from hundreds of voices, which fill the lofty dome, until the music seems to blend with the unseen angel choir and the great organ of eternity swells its diapason in Te Deums of praise to God for your ministry to mankind. Had I been more spiritually minded and quicker to catch your messages from God, you would have moved me to greater demonstrations of His mighty 1 82 Letters to Mrs. Eddy power. I love the church solo, "Hear ye, Israeli O, hadst thou heeded my commandments!" I always hear your gentle rebuke in these words, and my heart responds, 0, had we heeded, how much holier would be our peace and greater our power. Then I watch more vigilantly and gird on my armor more securely and go forward more dauntlessly to wield the sword of Truth and Love. You thank me for getting you wearing apparel and feel indebted to me for the favor. If you think you are indebted to me, suppose, my beloved Leader, you and I compare accounts. I am indebted to you for perfect physical health and almost unlimited strength, for a large body of loving, loyal students and church members, for a large church edifice which shel- ters multitudes who come to learn through Christian Science the way to eternal Life. I am indebted to you for the understanding of God's power to heal through man, which recently enabled me to destroy a cancer in the mouth and throat in one treatment — all evidence having dis- appeared after the second treatment. This was nine weeks ago. This gentleman, Mr. E. . . C. . . S. . . ,' is a very reliable man, who has occupied a responsible position in one of our largest dry goods stores for thirty-one consecutive years. I have found brothers and sisters, houses and lands, according to the promises in the Scriptures. No good thing has been withholden from me. Ever your loving student, Augusta E. Stetson. Christian Science Sentinel, vol. viii., p. 812. * A letter from Mr. E. . . C. . . S. . . which I have in my possession confirms the above and can be seen at any time upon application. Letters to Mrs. Eddy 183 I West 96TH Street, New York City, N. Y., November i, 1906. To the Rev. Mary Baker G. Eddy, Pleasant View, Concord, N. H. Beloved and Revered Leader: — My students, assembled to-day at the annual meeting of their Association, unite with me in conveying to you our loyal love. We re-affirm our instant, constant allegiance. We are individually watching and working with you, realizing that we also rise with you in proportion to our understanding and demon- stration of your teaching, by precept and example, of the eternal law which governs and controls all created things. Because, in this sacred hour, from your cloistered communion in the secret place of the Most High, yoii are demonstrating the immortality of Life manifest in individual man, we look for the appearing of the ideal man, made in God's image and likeness, never to disappear, — reflecting forever the presence, power, and peace of the eternal Mind. Augusta E. Stetson. President of the Students' Association of the New York City Christian Science Institute. First published incorrectly in the Christian Science Sentinel, Nov. 10, 1906, vol. ix., p. 180, and corrected in vol. ix., p. 197, Nov. 17, 1906. I West 96TH Street, New York City, December 22, 1906. My precious Leader, Teacher, Guide and Mother in Israel: — My gratitude fails to find expression in language. I am overwhelmed with conflicting emotions. I wonder if it is really true that this magnificent jeweled heart, i84 Letters to Mrs. Eddy right from God's holy messenger, Love's chosen love, is mine, or if I am dreaming. I find myself question- ing if I am worthy of this symbol of your priceless love, or if it were sent to encourage me to press on, and to remind me that Mother would continue to manifest her presence and watch-care during my trials and temptations in the wilderness. If I am faithful I shall hear your "Well done, thou good and faithful." This exquisite heart, with its precious stones, sym- bolizes the gold of human character. The purity of the diamond is the type of spiritual light and the rubies suggest that "wisdom is better than rubies." This heart will be a constant inspiration to me to listen for your voice, to emulate your Christly example, to honor God and His anointed by demonstrating the power of divine Love over sin, disease, and death, and by following and obeying Christ all the way to the realm of Spirit. The treasure is most exquisite, but the dearest of all the world to me, far above and outweighing any- thing the world can give, is the picture of the dear Mother and Leader within the heart. The face is so pure and Christly that I stand mute before it. I know that you stand on the Horeb height of love, but as I gaze on your face I cry out, " Mother, reach down, hold my hand," and "through the night, lead to the light, thy child." I shall always wear this treasure as a reminder of the long years of your tireless care, your patient forbearance and love, your prayers and tears and toils for humanity, and for me as I have striven to follow Christ. I will some day be found worthy, for He is faithful that has promised, and I am persuaded that nothing shall separate me from my beloved Leader. Letters to Mrs. Eddy 185 So with God's help you will prove that love's labor is 7iot lost. I would thank you again and again for your lovely gift, but works not words must attest my genuine appreciation of all you are, and have been, and ever will continue to be, as Leader, Teacher, Guide, Mother — God manifest to me and mine, and to all mankind. Ever your loving child, Augusta. I West 96TH Street, New York City, N. Y., February 7, 1907. Mrs. Mary Baker G. Eddy, Concord, N. H. My Precious Leader and Teacher: — It is evident in your last edition of Science and Health that you have been impelled by divine Love to sweep your hand across "the harp of a thousand strings, " once again attuning it to the Science of being. The effect of your last edition of our text-book has been to quicken our spiritual sense and to increase our faith. The pages of this edition radiate more brightly than ever the light and might of intelligence, revealing Christ, the quickening Spirit, as ever-present, compelling mankind to repeat the query of prophet and seer, ''Will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth?" Through your discovery of the power, presence, and allness of Truth, which Jesus understood and demon- strated, all who are ready to receive Christ at his second appearing are being emancipated from bondage to time-honored erroneous theories of life and intelli- gence in matter. You have continually communed with God, or you could never have established the rule and demonstration of scientific Mind-healing, as i86 Letters to Mrs. Eddy you have done. You have gone before us, and marked the way which Jesus trod, and have patiently, meekly borne with the slow progress of a doubting world and dull disciples. I rejoice to be found worthy to be called a Christian Scientist. While you, immortal scribe and Revelator, were busy transcribing the deep things of God, as you worked on page after page of your book, Science and Health, ^ your inspired thought stirred human conscious- ness, dead in trespasses and sins, drowned in the belief of pain and pleasure in matter. This carnal mind resisted resuscitation, and struck the hand which was reviving it to grasp the realities of life in God. You have demonstrated the power of divine Mind over all evil, and have proclaimed "liberty to the captive, and recovery of sight to the blind. " With ever-increasing love and gratitude, I am, Your student, Augusta E. Stetson. Christian Science Sentinel, vol. ix., p. 458. I West 96TH Street, New York City, April 7, 1907. My precious Leader, Teacher, and Guide: — I long every day to tell you of my love and gratitude, and of how much I appreciate your wisdom and your Christly example, but I cannot intrude upon your valuable time and must be content to strive to imi- tate your unselfed love, and prove the truth of your teachings. I send you to-day the documents which explain the Peace Congress, to be held in this city next week, » Great chemicalization in universal and individual consciousness followed the revision of Science and Health. Letters to Mrs. Eddy 187 beginning Monday, April 15th. The Executive Com- mittee has asked this church, and all other churches of New York City, to hold a service on Sunday, April 14th, to familiarize their people with the aim and purpose of the Congress. The same letter re- quests that each church be represented in the Con- gress by one or more of its members. If it is right for us to have our church members informed of the purpose of the Congress by holding a service in the afternoon of the 14th, which would not interfere with our services morning and evening, would it not be well to invite Baron D'Estournelles to be present, and to explain the purpose of the Association for Inter- national Conciliation? I have seen the letter which Mr. . . is sending you, explaining his, D'Estournelles', action, in pre- venting adverse legislation against Christian Science by the French ParHament last year. If it is proper for our congregation to be represented in the body of the Congress, one or more of our members could be selected to be present at the sessions of the Congress. This morning Mr. . . read to me your beautiful letter. As this Peace Congress is one fruit of your efforts, it seems to me, that having this service in our church is the proper way of letting the wise understand this fact, and that the reading of your letter would be your introduction of Baron D'Estournelles to your people, and would prove your capacity to take part in the important events of the day. I am grateful to God in this hour, when the world's eyes are fixed upon this city in the effort to estabHsh peace, that we have everything necessary in the way of representative church edifices, homes, and represent- ative people for taking such part in these events as i88 Letters to Mrs. Eddy you may deem wise and proper. We are awaiting your word, and are "minute men" at your service. With deepest gratitude, I am ever your loving child, Augusta. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, April 10, 1907. My precious Leader: — I have just received an advance copy of the Broad- way Magazine which has pubHshed our history of Christian Science in New York City,' which they requested our PubHcation Committee, Mr. S. . . , to furnish them. Mr. S. . . , at first declined to do this without authority from Mr. F. . . . The Broadway Magazine then wrote to Mr. F. . . , who in turn requested Mr. S. . . to aid them, in giving them, data to publish the history of Christian Science in New York City. Each church was asked to answer questions which the Committee prepared in the form of a circular letter. They all responded, and the history now appears, commencing on page 107. It is practically a verbatim statement of the in- formation furnished by them. In addition to this, the Broadway has written about Christian Science in New York, for which their material was gathered by their own representative who visited the churches and had interviews, first with Dr. P. . . , our opponent, who has written a book against Christian Science, then with Mr. C. . . K. . . , Mrs. L. . . , myself, and many others. We are not pleased with this story, because it says too much in praise of oiir church and of me, and for this reason we do not think it wise to I Mrs. Eddy afterwards had this history of Christian Science in New York City, which appeared in the Broadway Magazine, published in the Christian Science Sentinel of May 4, 1907. Letters to Mrs. Eddy 189 circulate it. I am sending you to-night under separate cover, a copy of the Broadway Magazine. I now feel that I should tell you of something which has come to me to-day. One of the most distinguished editors in New York City sent a representative to Boston to get the names of prominent Christian Scien- tists to contribute an article for one of the maga- zines with which he is connected. He mentioned my name as one whom he was going to ask to write an article. He was told that I had no standing in the Field as a Christian Scientist; that if I wrote for this magazine no Christian Scientist would buy or read it; that an article was about to appear in the Broadway Magazine which had been prepared by our First Church Committee on PubHcation, but that they were not going to circulate it, as the statements in it were untrue. When this man returned to his associate and reported these things, the editor was furious, and said that although he had been half inclined to believe that Christian Science was true, that he now saw that it was no better than the old religion, and that he was going to publish the whole story. Your loving child, Augusta. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I West 96TH Street, May 6, 1907. My precious Leader: — I enclose clippings and telegrams ^ just received. Am m.aking no reply to anything, and am refusing to be interviewed by reporters. If you have any suggestions to guide me, I shall act upon them immediately. God governs, and will vindicate me through His '^ The attack made in these extracts was similar to those referred to previously. I90 Letters to Mrs. Eddy anointed and appointed, who knows my heart and my deep unswerving love and loyal gratitude to God and to the Cause of Christian Science. I thank God for you, dearest. Lovingly your child, Augusta. I West 96TH Street, New York City, May 12, 1907. My precious Leader: — I enclose some clippings from the New York Sun and Brooklyn Eagle. The other papers give some of my students' letters, but not all. Mrs M. . . B. . . W. . . is one of my dear students and a practitioner in our Reading Room. She and Mrs. A. . . B. . . H. . . D. . . are among my prominent and intellectual students, and both have come out in print on this question. To-day the American consul and his wife, from Bombay, India, were at church, and after service visited me in my home. (Once I was the guest of an American consul at Bombay, for several months.) To-day at both services the auditorium and the overflow were filled to their utmost seating capacity, except a few seats out of sight behind the large columns. Never was there such appreciation of you, dearest ; never such recognition of your wonderful message to the world, and never, oh, never, such love and loyalty as we feel for you, our beloved, our precious Guide to eternal Life, as to-day. If I can do anything for you, dearest, will you let me know? I am working and watching and praying, and de- monstrating the healing power of Christian Science. Last Sunday a boy nine years of age was attended by a consulting physician, who declared that but one thine: more could be done, and that was an operation Letters to Mrs. Eddy 191 which was most serious. I was called to calm the mother, who was neariy beside herself. I went into the room in the absence of the nurse, and spoke audibly to the child. Then I realized for myself just a few moments, that Love filled the room, and I went out and to church. In an hour the surgeons came with the doctors, when they were amazed to find the boy in a nearly normal condition. This was the end of the disease. The boy quickly improved and is the wonder of all interested. To have normal temper- ature restored in two hours has puzzled the physicians, who will learn later that Truth sets free, and that Christian Science teaches the way to health, harmony, and peace. I send you more love than tongue or pen can convey. Forever and ever. Your loving child, Augusta E. Stetson. Christian Science Sentinel, vol. ix., p. 763. Hotel Touraine, Boston, Mass., June 9, 1907. My precious Leader: — I am glad I know that I am in the hands of God, not of men. These reports are only the revival of a lie which I have not heard for a long time. It is a renewed attack upon me and my loyal students, to turn me from following in the footsteps of Christ, by making another attempt to dishearten me, and make me weary of the struggle to demonstrate my trust in God to deliver me from the ''accuser of our brethren." It is a diabolical attempt to separate me from you, as my Leader and Teacher, and thus deprive you of your faithful student and her faithful students, who are living, as far as they can demonstrate, according to 192 Letters to Mrs. Eddy your teachings in Science and Health. We are striv- ing to emulate your holy life, and to trust in God, as you do, in every hour of sorrow or joy. ^ My disloyal students and others are determined to destroy me and my work. Their efforts to prevent me from loving and obeying you, as Leader and Teacher, are futile to terrify me. I shall follow your example of trust in God, so far as I can, and God will never forsake me, nor any who puts his trust in Him. Oh, dearest, it is such a He! No one who knows us can believe this. It is vicarious atonement. Has the enemy no more argument to use, that it has to go back to this? It is exhausting its resources and I hope the end is near. You know my love for you, beloved; and my students love you as their Leader and Teacher; they follow your teachings and lean on the ''sustaining infinite." They put their trust in God, and recognize you as the messenger who brings to them the message of salvation from sin, sickness, and death, through making their atonement with the creator, the one God, who is the source and supply of every need. They who refuse to accept you as God's messenger, or ignore the message which you bring, will not get up by some other way, but wdll come short of salvation. I see the subtle suggestion of the enemy and am not afraid. My trust is in God. I know, and my students know that we must work out our own problems as you work out 3^ours — but we shall follow your teachings and strive to emulate your example, and love you as our Leader. Your Father is our Father. He will protect us as He has and ever will protect you. We have much to do to stand in this hour, but we trust in God. Dearly beloved, we are not ascending out of sense Letters to Mrs. Eddy 193 as fast as we desire, but we are trusting in God and are putting off false mentality and putting on the Mind of Christ. This lie cannot disturb you nor me. I love you, my students love you, and we never send out such thoughts as are mentioned. Your loving child, Augusta. Christian Science Sentinel, vol. ix., p. 811. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. Central Park West and 96TH Street, July 15, 1907. My precious Leader and Teacher: — - ^ = Your loving letter reached me just as I was going to Communion service. As I read your wonderful words, symbols seemed to disappear. Even the material edifice, type of the Church Triumphant, appeared to dissolve, and I saw that divine Love was lifting me to behold, as never before, the living Christ, Immanuel, or God with us. I rose into newness of life with the baptism which came from your loving words and watch- care. I have taken another step towards the goal of spiritual vision. I thank God every day, and my gratitude for your teachings constantly increases and enables me to see the allness of Mind and the nothing- ness of matter. Love is omnipotent and ever-present. Evil is a false claim and is fast consuming itself. The breath of divine Love will blow its ashes to nothingness. The warring in human hearts will cease. Love reflected in love will reveal a universe in which is no sorrow, sin, nor death. I shall continue my earnest endeavor to follow and obey the ''Star of Concord," whom I have loved and followed so long; and I shall pray that the nations which have accepted the symbol will rise 13 194 Letters to Mrs. Eddy to grasp the Truth which will end wars. I find your prophetic words apply to this hour: "Even thus the crude forms of human thought take on higher symbols and significations, when scientifically Christian views of the universe appear, illuminating time with the glory of eternity" {Science and Health, p. 502). I find that I need more and more the Mind of Christ to enable me to demonstrate over the higher and subtler claims of error expressed in the mental and physical diseases of patients. The law of Love must be fulfilled in me if I am to continue to be a worthy disciple of my Leader and Teacher. Love alone will deliver from malice, hatred, and envy, which seem to-day to be aroused to destroy the Christian Science soldier. If all the faithful will keep their eyes fixed on Christ, the strong deliverer, and will trust Truth, there will be no witness for a claim called evil; there will be no one to see, hear, voice or feel error, and its pretense to power and presence will be heard no more forever. I am strong in faith that I shall endure unto the end of the belief of a power opposed to good. Already I can say, "Father, forgive them," and my hands are always extended to lift the fallen and to help the wandering to find the path that leads to heavenly harmony. I sometimes feel that I am the least of all the flock, but I know in whom I believe,, and I stand firmly clasping my Father's hand, trust- ingly awaiting divine guidance in hours which seem darkest. A rift in the cloud always reveals my faithful Leader and Teacher beckoning me to come up higher, and I follow her loving call. I shall not faint in the race, dearest. I am singing as I go, and I am rejoicing in this hour of sure victory Letters to Mrs. Eddy 195 over the false claim calling itself mortal mind and its matter body. With unfaltering faith in Love and Her chosen messenger, I am, as ever. Your grateful, loving child, Augusta. P.S. — When I had finished my letter to you, I asked God to speak to me. I opened my Bible to 2d Thessalonians, 3d Chapter, and my eye rested on the 3d verse. I read to the end of the 5th verse, and was comforted. I then opened Science and Health, and repeated the same request. The page was 404, line 9, and I read to line 14. Dearest, I am following on to know more of Christ. A. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I West 96TH Street, July 18, 1907. My precious Leader: — I cannot understand why I should have worded my letter as I did. When I received your loving warning and rebuke to error I was aroused, and had the nations been a unit in demanding a peace flag' to be presented by me, or take the consequences of universal war, I should have said, " Go and destroy yourselves." I was awakened. No more peace flag presentations for me. I want no symbols. Why should I longer give symbols? Let the dead bury their dead. I shall follow my faithful Leader as she follows Christ. "Christian Science reveals a necessity for overcoming the world, the flesh, and evil, and thus * Mrs. Eddy pointed out that I had presented a sufficient number of peace flags, or symbols, and that it was time to discontinue giving symbols, and reflect the spiritual substance which gives true peace to the world. .:^^.i,^-^x 196 Letters to Mrs. Eddy destroying all error" {Science and Health, p. 10). Thank you, beloved, for referring me to this. I am not going to justify myself for consenting to present these last flags, nor argue the confusion and the seeming pressure of the hour. Love comes nearer to us in the hour of trial, and so I should have been fortified and have escaped the snare. However, I am awake, and will profit by the reproof and rise above type and symbolism. God will keep me and reveal to me substance-Mind. "Fed by Thy love divine we live. For Love alone is Life,** are your inspiring words. Material symbols must be changed for the true consciousness and its effects ; the substance which cometh down from heaven. This is my work to-day, to follow Christ, eat of his bread and live. Again I thank you, dearest. Ever your loving child, Augusta. telegram ' I West 96TH Street, New York, N. Y., August 22, 1907. Mrs. Mary Baker G. Eddy, Pleasant View, Concord, N. H. Love is enthroned. Love has fulfilled Her law. My heart's deepest love to you, my beloved Leader and Teacher. Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, August 25, 1907. My precious Leader and Teacher: — I have just opened another new edition of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. I cannot » Telegram sent to Mrs. Eddy at conclusion of "Next Friends" suit. Letters to Mrs. Eddy 197 express my exceeding great joy as I beheld within its covers your dear face, radiant with reflected Hght, spiritual strength, and the might and meekness of divine Love. I was touched with a sense of your immediate presence and impersonal guidance as never before, and I realized that I was meeting you in the dawn of a higher and more spiritual sense. It seemed to me that you had passed the supreme test of your faith and understanding; had demonstrated, alone with God, the pov^^er of divine, unselfed love — had fulfilled the law of God, ''Thou shalt have no other gods before Me," "Love thy neighbor as thyself," and had come forth from the chaos and gloom of persecu- tion, ingratitude, and personal indignities, crowned with immortal dominion, which God gives to mian, who is found in His likeness. Your example and demonstration is our rich inheritance, if we, like you, fulfil the commandments. While contemplating the meaning of this edition of our text-book, this further proof of your faithful guidance of your flock, ''over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you" overseer, going before and leading us to the impersonal Christ, I seemed to hear you speak, in tones tremulous with tenderness, ''Children, have ye any meat?" Like a mxOving picture, the many years of your patient, long- suffering watch-care of your people passed before me. I recalled the wilderness journey through which we have travelled, always striving to obey yotn- teach- ings and to pattern your Christly life, as far as our faith and limited understanding enabled us — at times almost fainting under the effort to overcome material sense, that we might gain the spiritual sense. How longingly we, your children, have listened for your loving voice far beyond us, on the rugged height! 198 Letters to Mrs. Eddy As you sounded the mountain horn, you have tarried on the steep ascent, until the sweet pressure of prayer for your dull disciples drew us higher, and you caught our feeble responses — then you pressed on, until divine Love planted your bleeding feet on the Horeb heights. Your dear hands have been often pierced for humanity, as you removed from human conscious- ness the thorns of malice, envy, and fear. Gratitude is so deep it is voiceless, but it is heard by the Father. Prayers without speech reach the ear of the infinite, and must be manifested in deeds. Your fidelity to God, to man, and to your followers is seen and ac- knowledged by the world. As I wrote some time ago these lines, let me repeat them to-day: Oh! fill us with meekness, to sit at her feet, Who teaches the pathway to Love's blest retreat, Who leads Israel's army in paths Jesus trod, The highway of holiness, leading to God. History truly resembles itself. The life of Christ Jesus has been repeated. Again let me quote my lines : Alone with God Our Master trod Gethsemane; Nor turned a while. To gain the smile Of Pharisee. Shall we forsooth Forsake our Truth, When foes appear? God mighty is, A-nd we are His; Love has no fear. Letters to Mrs. Eddy 199 Love, like the light, Puts hate to flight, And envy's darts; She ^^ings Her own, Doth joy enthrone In humble hearts. The Xazarene Of humble mien Won victor}^'s croT^Ti; Love's labors blest, He found sweet rest, Beyond hate's frown. All praise to God For her who trod The T\inepress, lone; Whose cup of woe Did overflow, Sin to atone. Let anthems tell, Let chimes of bell Proclaim the Bride! Love, robed in light, Is radiant, white. And "satisfied." I thank the dear Christ for leading me to your side, and more than all, for his great mercy in giving you wisdom and divine love to watch with me, in every hour of temptation, until now, as your thought goes forth to teach all nations the w^ay to eternal Life, through the Bible and Science and Health, I may bring my sheaves and lay them at your feet, asking that I may continue to have your prayers and counsel as I go into the world, preaching the Gospel and 200 Letters to Mrs. Eddy healing the sick — ever trusting Truth to enable me to fulfil the law of Love. Ever your loving child, Augusta. 1 West 96TH Street, New York, N. Y.> April 8, 1908. My Precious Leader and Teacher: — Since you have moved into your new home, I have greatly desired to send you an expression of my love, but I have been unable to find anything which I thought would be pure and perfect enough to offer to my precious Leader. Nothing I ever could get would express my deep love and loyalty, and my ever- increasing gratitude to you, so I ceased my search, and settled upon this flower holder, which I send to you, dearest, as a reminder of my affection for you, and of nearly twenty-four years of your patient, unselfed watch-care of me. I trust it will speak to you of my constant appreciation of your Christly love for me, and mine, and all mankind, and of my earnest endeavor to continue to follow and obey your con- secrated life and sublime teachings. My heart is overflowing with gratitude to God for such a Leader, and Teacher, and Guide to eternal Life. Ever your loving child, Augusta E. Stetson. Mrs. Eddy's Reply My Beloved Student: — Your gift to me — a ' * flower holder ' ' — is a dream of beauty. I thank you. God give you and your students the beauty of love in the highest, peace and good will to men. Lovingly, Mary B. G. Eddy. Christian Science Sentinel, vol. x., p. 651. Letters to Mrs. Eddy 201 Hotel Touraine, Boston, Mass., June 13, 1908. My precious Leader: — I have just read your message, "A Word to the Wise." Its glorious import sweeps over my waiting heart like the diapason of the great organ of eternity pealing forth its paeans of praise to our Father-Mother Love, whose everlasting arms encircle you, my beloved Leader and Guide to eternal Life. I indeed rejoice and am unspeakably grateful that the impersonal idea, through your teachings, has brought us to this hour. Your assurance that already, through the sweet pressure of prayer, faith, and understanding, we have advanced from the material to a more spiritual communion, inspires us to rise to loftier heights of spiritual sense, and to diviner views of God, man, and the universe. In following your example of leaving "drugs for the power of God" {Science and Healthy p. 146), we have proved the power of divine Love to redeem our bodies from disease. Abiding in divine Mind, the activities of Spirit will cast out material sense and reveal our lives as "hid with Christ in God." Looking back for a moment to the long years of your untiring watch-care of your disciples, myself, perhaps, the dullest of all, I recall your sublime patience during my slow progress Spirit-ward, your tender admonitions, your loving rebukes in the past to my ignorance of mental attacks of impersonal error, through personalities, your timely warnings of hidden danger-chasms before me, and of how to handle malicious animal magnetism with the word of Truth and Love — in fact, your constant efforts to help those whom God has given you, that they might be one with the Father, even as you are. All these evidences of fidelity to Truth and Love prove that you came forth 202 Letters to Mrs. Eddy from God to lead humanity in this age back to oiir Father- Mother Love, home and heaven. As I ponder this boundless, omnipotent, eternal love in reflection, I bow in speechless adoration before the impersonal idea, and pray that I may continue to follow and obey the law of divine Love. Beloved, the "purpose of your requests" has always been "sacred." You have ever striven to turn us from the contemplation of finite personality to the worship of one God and the spiritual personality or divine individuality. We sing with the spirit and with the understanding also, "Lead, kindly light." Once blind in material sense, we have been led by the Way-shower, Christ Jesus, who has revealed man as co-existent and co- etemal with God, good. You, dearest, following him and directing us to the Way-shower, have lighted the paths of peace which we knew not. Henceforth we may walk in the light. You discerned these paths of health, holiness, and immortality, and called us from darkness into Hght. All must sooner or later walk in this light which dispels belief of life and sub- stance in matter, and sets free from the false claim of sin, disease, and death. Love, through divine Science, is revealing the smile of God in the face of our brother man. Himian concepts are dissolving under the fervent heat of divine Love. Oh! beloved Leader, may there be no undestroyed belief of a power, a quality, or a presence unlike Truth and Love, to prevent me from beholding your real self, God's ideal, His image and Hkeness. For my fidelity to Principle, for my love to God and to all mankind, and for my efforts to aid in establishing the kingdom of God on earth and in the hearts of man, I am responsible. Letters to Mrs. Eddy 203 I will listen for Th}^ voice, Lest my footsteps stray. {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 398.) I will trust the promise, ''These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them." Your loving child, Augusta E. Stetson. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, Central Park West and 96TH Street. December 14, 1908. My precious Leader: — Lest you may have seen the reports of the New York press in regard to the contemplated new branch of your Church — The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Massachusetts — which was to have been formed from an overflow of First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I am writing you a true statement of facts as they occurred. In our church for two years we have discussed the overflow, and continued to accommodate the people in our Reading Room; but when the By-Law appeared (Art. xvi'., Sect. 4): "A Church of Christ, Scientist, shall not hold two or more Sunday services at the same hour," the question of an edifice was taken up. As is natural among a body of Christian Scientists united in the bonds of Truth and Love, and therefore loyal to you, our beloved and revered Leader, we spoke freely among ourselves and were happy in the anticipation of contributing another loyal branch to the Mother Vine in Boston. No definite action as yet had been taken to separate and form this new branch, although Trustees or Committees, and the place of holding service, had been discussed. While 204 Letters to Mrs. Eddy in this early stage of conception, one of the most desirable building sites for a church in this city was brought to my notice. I reported it at once to the Trustees. Immediate action had to be taken, as other parties were going to examine the property the next day with a view to purchase. Through the kindness of individual Christian Scientists, money was provided to obtain an option on this property, in order to have sufficient time to put the question legally before the people. Authority was granted by the church to purchase and hold this site for the new church. In due time all would have been arranged, according to law and order, which have always characterized our church. The press, however, took up the transaction, and, evidently through faith in the possibiHties of Chris- tian Scientists, drew on its imagination, and pictured and published a church edifice which should outrival all church architecture now extant, although we had not even considered what the structure would be, our attention having been directed entirely to securing the plot. Still, we knew the edifice would have been worthy of our Cause and its Leader. I do not doubt the press meant to be kind, and we are glad it is beginning to apprehend the power and possibilities of man when governed by the Christ-mind, but the misunderstandings and misrepresentations which this occasioned decided our people not to consummate the purchase. It was not deemed wise to proceed further in this hour. The contract or option was disposed of without loss, and the money which poured in freely, has been returned to the contributors. We shall wait on God. Christ will command the waves. The "Peace, be still" will be heard and understood: Letters to Mrs. Eddy 205 then the children of Israel, with diviner conceptions gained through this experience, will hear the voice of Love, will go forward to reveal the ' ' Church Tri- umphant," in the beauty, outline, form, color and substance of divine Mind.' I recall your w^ords in Miscellaneous Writings, page 145 — "the time cometh when the religious element, or Church of Christ, shall exist alone in the affections, and need no organization to express it. Till then, this form of godliness seems as requisite to manifest its spirit, as individuality to express Soul and substance." The words of the poet come to my mind right here : Build thee more stately mansions, O my Soul, As the swift seasons roll ! Leave thy low- vaulted past ! Let each new temple, nobler than the last Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast, Till thou at length art free, Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea ! * Following your teachings in Christian Science, our spiritual sense is revealing phenomena, which are based on Principle. When Christian Science is not understood, phenomena are misinterpreted, and false beliefs and finite personal sense behold their own conceptions. Physical eye hath not seen, nor hath physical ear heard, the phenomena of Soul. You, dearest, are opening our spiritual eyes to behold man and the universe — one God from whom all phenomena ^ Later it was revealed to us, that we had made a final demonstration of a material edifice or church militant, and that we must, in response to Mrs. Eddy's request, begin to build on " a wholly spiritual founda- tion" which reveals the Church Triumphant. ' Oliver Wendell Holmes. 2o6 Letters to Mrs. Eddy proceed, and who is expressed in spiritual man and the spiritual universe. Spiritual sense is revealing the divine possibilities of man and heaven here on earth. The false forms of personal sense or material phenomena are fast fading under the searchlight of Truth and the radium of divine Love. Your patient waiting on God, until humanity awakes from the dream of mortal mind, is an example for all your true followers. Truth can afford to wait : "The eternal years of God are hers." The changing phenomena which progress unfolds reveal Christian Science moving on the face of the waters, forming divine concepts, radiating spiritual phenomena. Love reveals Her presence to all who obey Her laws. You, beloved of the Father, have demonstrated Love's power, Love's affluence. Love's wisdom, and Her eternal justice and mercy. When I recall the experiences of twenty-five years of listening for your voice, *'Lest my footsteps stray" {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 398), and contemplate your loving watch-care of me and mine, and of all mankind, — when I realize that you are still continuing your tireless vigil over Israel's army — I cry aloud my gratitude to God for His great gift to humanity, our precious Leader; then I press on in this line of light and love which you have opened for the world, having yourself traveled every step of its rugged way, until you stand on the summit of holiness, and call from the heights of eternal Love. May we and all your faithful followers press onward to demonstrate the capacities of immortal Mind, which is "God with us," manifesting omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent Love. Your loving child, Augusta. Letters to Mrs. Eddy 207 I West 96TH Street, New York City. March 12, 1909. My precious Leader: — I think it is needless to tell you that during the twenty-three years of my work in this city, I have never attended places of amusement nor participated in social functions. During this time I have heard one opera, witnessed two theatrical performances, tw^enty years ago, and have attended several oratorios and symphony concerts. While I never attend the theatre, I am much interested and pleased to note the efforts of the playwrights to elevate the stage and to attain to higher ideals. To the many invitations which I receive, I reply that I have not sufficient time in which to do the work demanded by our Cause. I feel that I have realized the meaning of the words of our Master: '*If any man love the [material] world [with its dream- shadows or false concepts, its false images and falser claims to life, substance, and intelligence in them], the love of the Father is not in him." I was recently invited by a dear student — a composer of music, to attend a private rehearsal of his orchestra, which consisted of eighty fine musicians. Christian Science found this student demonstrating harmony in music, and to-day he is working faithfully to attain higher standards, and to be a consistent Christian Scientist in his field of labor. I accepted his invitation to the rehearsal and spent a most profitable hour. I was greatly impressed with the object lesson and its application to Christian Scientists ; and may I tell you, dearest, how I read it? If I am trespassing on your time, just forgive me and put this letter out of mind. As I entered the hall, the musicians were engaged in tuning their instruments. Eighty men were intent 2o8 Letters to Mrs. Eddy upon securing the pitch A. The scraping of the bows over vioHns, violas, violoncellos, bass viols, and all stringed instruments; the tooting and twanging of flutes, harps, clarinets, comets, French and English horns, kettledrums, bassoons, etc., were confusion worse confounded. Each man seemed unconscious of the other, and intent only upon getting his own instrument up to the standard pitch A. The din of it all gave rise to wonder as to how they could get the key in such a bedlam of noises. Then the pitch was given by the oboe, and all united in working for the true tone and key. I noticed that there was one musician in authority over the violinists, who was called concert master; also, over each class of instruments there was one who seemed responsible for the musicians in his care. Each attended to his own department, and no one appeared to be aware of the presence of any but his own men. I noticed the discipline and obedience of each body of men, and their recognition of authority and accep- tance of correction. Above them all stood the leader or conductor of the orchestra. He gave the word. Each instrument in perfect tune, each player intent only upon his own work and closely watching every movement of the leader, furnished a lesson which confirmed my conviction of the necessity of obedience to law, and the observance of order and discipline, which I have always felt were indispensable to the success of Christian Science, as in every other under- taking. As the music proceeded, the leader, with a keen sense of harmony, quickly detected discord. Then all w^ork was suspended while harmony was being restored in some particular instrument. This was Letters to Mrs. Eddy 209 frequently repeated when a discordant note or error was discovered, until all became one harmonious whole. I observed that while all were guided by the leader of the orchestra, the head of each class of musicians took care that his own men were obedient to the leader. The tuning-fork is always correct pitch, and is the only instrument which is perfectly independent of climatic influences. Neither heat nor cold ever af- fects the true tone of the tuning-fork. I saw in this the principle of music, as we see in Christian Science the Principle of being, which is never affected by the opinions or traditions of men. Always Life, Truth, and Love, it cannot be influenced by the illusion called mortal mind, and its embodiment, mortal man — so- called. Governed by Principle, and recognizing and obeying its highest manifestation, we are held in spirit- ual law and order. This brings us into harmony with God, who is law, the creator and governor of all that is real and eternal. The manifestatio7i of God, Christ, His idea, voices and expresses the beauty of creative Mind, the immutable and perfect man and universe. All this ran through my mind as I listened. After patient drilling, corrections, instructions, and reproofs, unity was attained, the grand melody burst forth, and the orchestra seemed like one individual, with every quality of harmony pouring forth the sweet symphony of Soul — type and symbol of the great organ and universal orchestra or universe, the expression of God, and each idea a member of the body of Christ. I recognized the value of the leader, whose superior knowledge of music was guiding and training the members of his orchestra. I noted the obedience of the men, and their readiness and willingness to 14 2IO Letters to Mrs. Eddy admit and correct a mistake. Then your words came to my mind {Science and Health, p. 213): ''Mental melodies and strains of sweetest music supersede conscious sound:" and from Miscella7ieous Writings ^ page 106: "Music is the harmony of being; but the music of Soul affords the only strains that thrill the chords of feeling and awaken the heart's harpstrings ; " and also on page 116: Are we filling the measures of life's music aright, emphasiz- ing its grand strains, swelling the hannony of being with tones whence come glad echoes? As crescendo and di- minuendo accent music, so the varied strains of human chords express life's loss or gain, — loss of the pleasures and pains and pride of life : gain of its sweet concord, the courage of honest convictions, and final obedience to spiritual law. As I continued to interpret the lesson, I saw you, beloved, in your early days in Christian Science. As your hand swept over the human heartstrings, the tuning must have produced for a time great discord. You have graphically described this in Science a?td Health, page 559 : "The inaudible voice of Truth is, to the human mind, ' as when a lion roareth.'" As your divine hand sweeps over the many instruments, or human thoughts, each must catch the chord of Christ, the true pitch — love, and attune himself to the harmony of divine Mind. Each must respond to the law of Spirit until perfect melody and harmony are attained. This work is going on under your divine direction, through your true students, each of whom, looking faithfully to you, obeys your counsel as expressed in the Manual of The Mother Church, ipop (Art. xxvi., Sect. 2, in regard to teachers): Letters to Mrs. Eddy 211 A teacher shall not assume personal control of, or at- tempt to dominate his pupils, but he shall hold himself morally obligated to promote their progress in the under- standing of divine Principle, not only during the class term but after it, and to watch well that they prove sound in sentiment and practical in Christian Science. He shall persistently and patiently counsel his pupils in con- formity with the unerring laws of God, and shall enjoin them habitually to study the Scriptures and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures as a help thereto. Thus listening to the voice of wisdom, through you, their hearts are attuned to the unity of good and spiritual love. Thus Love, through Her chosen One, is touching and compelling into action each individual with whom error seems to have place or power. May we, your true students, recognize you as God's messen- ger, and respond to your application of the law of Love, and may each student who has taken upon himself or herself the solemn responsibility of teacher, follow your unselfed example of "patient obedience to a patient God" {Science and Health, p. 242), by line upon line and precept upon precept, that we may aid our students to escape the evil that is in the material world, and that we may bring them at last to the Great Shepherd. Let me continue to follow, and obey and adore the white Christ, fall at the feet of Love, and leave behind me all that is false and unreal. So may I stand in these latter days, invulnerable to the arrows of the adversary. The triumphal song of victory over all evil will be sung by all who "came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white." These are thee and thine, beloved. The kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ is come, and 212 Letters to Mrs. Eddy throughout the universe shall be heard the never ending and harmonious song of Life, Truth, and Love, sung in the presence of the King by the Prince of Peace and righteousness. Your loving child, Augusta. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City^ I West 96TH Street, May 23, 1909. Reverend Mary Baker Eddy, Chestnut Hill, Brookline, Mass. My precious Leader: — I have read with deep appreciation your amended By-Law, Article xxiii, Section 10, and am moved to write you my understanding of democratic government as applied to the Chiu-ch of Christ, Scientist. Christ being the Head of the Church, "the govern- ment shall be upon his shoulder." "But the body is of Christ" and "the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God" (Col. ii., 19), "for Christ, God's idea, will eventually rule all nations and peoples — imperatively, absolutely, finally — with divine Science" {Science and Healthy page 565). The definition of the word " People," as given by the Standard Dictionary, is "All the human beings under the same government, speaking the same language, or being of the same blood." Webster defines democracy as " A form of government in which the supreme power is in the hands of the people and directly exercised by them." Christ being the "su- preme power" works through every member of his body, " For it is God which worketh in you " (PhiL Letters to Mrs. Eddy 213 ii., 13). The highest visible manifestation of Christ governs in the temporal realm. Again quoting Webster's definition: "A form of government in which the supreme power [Christ] is in the hands of the people." For ''Know ye not that ye are the temple of God?" (i Cor. iii., 16.) Thus every member of the body moves in accord with the power which resides in the whole, for Christ and his church is one. In Acts xvii., 26, we read that he "hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth." Created by the one Mind, every member of the body is one blood — life. They speak the same "language" and manifest the unity of the Spirit, the glory of God. The follow- ing Scriptural passages confirm this : For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body : so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit (i Cor. xii., 12, 13). Also from Sciefice and Health, page 125: "Reflecting God's government, man is self -governed. " Under the true democratic government which your teachings have established, the Church of Christ, Scientist, must continually increase in spiritual power and " never-ending success " {Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 390). The adversary cannot prevail against it, "And there shall in no wise enter into it [this wholly spiritual consciousness or Church Triumphant] anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life " (Rev. xxi., 27). 214 Letters to Mrs. Eddy In the light of this, your latest amendment, the path becomes brighter and brighter unto the perfect day. The same divine right by which you have ex- ercised the spiritual autocracy, the wisdom and power of God, enables us, as your followers, to exemplify the divine democracy, wherein all men are equal in the sight of God. In this particular branch of The Mother Church, we have had many special proofs of your wise leader- ship and protecting care, and we may say with Paul that "if the root be holy, so are the branches" (Ro- m.ans xi., i6). For twenty consecutive years we have never had a divided vote nor a dissenting voice at any of our annual or church meetings. Certainly this unity is a fulfilment of the ideal democracy, in which the understanding or "power resides ultimately in the whole [healed] people. " Recognizing you, our beloved Leader, as the head of the Church, may we further quote the words of Paul. Now we "are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues" (i Cor. xii., 2'], 28). Thus we discern the "Adorable One" whose name is forever hallowed, and whose kingdom is come. Let me, dearest, close with your inspiring words: Fed by Thy love divine we live. For Love alone is Life. ^ Ever and forever, Your grateful, loving child, Augusta. « Miscellaneous Writings, p. 388. Letters to Mrs. Eddy 215 I West 96TH Street, New York City, July 10, 1909. My precious Leader: — I have just this morning received these letters and the box from twenty-five practitioners in our church Reading Room. They were a great surprise to me, and were written hurriedly at the suggestion of one student. No one knew what the others had written. I have had Mr. H. . . copy these letters and the students have signed them. Thus you may read them more readily. They make a letter which you will appreciate as demonstration of the one Mind; all of *'one accord in one place." They were sent to me as expressions of loving gratitude the day before our Communion service. I feel they belong to you, dearest, and are your fruit ; for without your divine instruction and Christly guidance I should not have had them, so I send this copy of the dear letters to you, with the type of the gold of human character which is fast melting into spiritual understanding in each of these students. You asked me years ago this question, "Augusta, lovest thou me?" I answered, ''Yes, beloved Leader, I love you." Again you repeated the query, "Lovest thou me?" and again I replied, "Yes, I love you, my Leader, Teacher, and Guide to eternal Life." Then you said, "Feed my sheep." I have earnestly and prayerfully endeavored to do this. These are thine. Holy One; I trust they are all strong in Christ, and are armored with spiritual understanding and love to meet the tests that are before them in this crucial hour. They are daily going forth to battle with the beast and the false prophet, confident that Christ goes before them to destroy the claim of lust and hypocrisy, and to reveal God and His body — the spiritual universe. 2i6 Letters to Mrs. Eddy May none fall away! They desire to honor you, our great forever Leader; they have come up out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes. I feel that my prayers and my alms are come up before God. We are observing your advice in the Manual, Article xxx., Section 7, and are rejoicing that *'the devils are subject unto us through thy name." These are evidences of the preparation made in the "large upper room," where .the last supper may be eaten, when we are ready to receive the ascended One coming to his-her own never to depart. During our Communion service to-morrow we shall look for the "reappearing" of our Lord, and shall silently "commune with the divine Principle, Love" {Science and Health, p. 35). Precious Leader, my love for you is inexpressible. God grant my constant prayer that I may be worthy to be called Your faithful, obedient, loving child, Augusta. THE COMPOSITE LETTER AND ITS SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. — 2 Corinthians v., 16. Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick. — Science and Health, pp. 476, 477. The following letters were written by the students from their spiritual concept of me and of all mankind, in response to Mrs. Eddy's request to begin "to build . . . on a wholly spiritual foundation " {Christian Science Letters to Mrs. Eddy 217 Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 390) which is that man was, is, and eternally will be immortal, — that the so-called mortal or fleshly man is not the man of God's creating, therefore is to be regarded as a myth, dust to dust, nothingness. To read these letters through the lens of so-called mortal mind, sinning mortal man appears. Read through the lens of divine Science, man is revealed as God's own likeness. Christian Scientists to-day rejoice in the light which unveils the perfect man where once, to the unillumined sense, sinning mortal man appeared. When Christian Scientists arrive at this point of spiritual development and their divinity appears real, they will perceive the spiritual facts of being, and will understandingly argue from the basis of absolute Christian Science, viz. : "that man is, not shall be, perfect and immortal" (Science and Health, p. 428). They will not contend for their mortal concept of man, but will follow Christ Jesus who "beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals." Then they will begin "to build ... on a wholly spiritual founda- tion," and will be ready to meet the antagonism of the materially minded who always oppose the appearing of the spiritual idea. They will rejoice in the destruction of the false senses, and will gain spiritual illumination which reveals man as immortal here and now, never in nor of materiality. The Directors exhibited a letter at this time from Mrs. Eddy in which she said: "Act, and act quickly. Handle these letters according to Science and Health, and The Mother Church Manual." When Jesus's hour of exaltation or further development of spiritual power came, he used about the same language: "That thou doest, do quickly." ._i i- ^__j. 2i8 Letters to Mrs. Eddy The ** handling" of these letters, written from the standpoint of absolute Christian Science, tested the spiritual understanding of the Directors of The Mother Church. They agreed that my interpretation of Science and Health and The Mother Church Manual was incor- rect; and published it as "pretended" Christian Science and not in accord with Mrs. Eddy's teachings. My "license or authority " ' to teach and practise Chris- tian Science was revoked, my name was dropped by them from The Mother Church, and my emergence from material organization was scientifically accomplished. The excerpts marked "A" are the portions of the letters which appeared in the Editorial in the Christian Science Sentinel, volume xi., page 950. I publish only ten letters from which the extracts were taken. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I West 96TH Street, July 10, 1909. Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C. S. D., I West 96th Street, New York City. Beloved Teacher: — In grateful acknowledgment of your example and teach- ing, we, as members of your body [student-body], desire to offer this evidence of our intelligent loyalty. For many years you have been fitting us to fill our respective places in our Leader's (Christ's) body, and during the past six months you have daily fed us with the bread of heaven and the wine of inspiration which you have inherited from your Teacher, Mrs. Eddy. We bring you our first-fruits in this joyous harvest hour, knowing that, as we bring our tithes into the storehouse, God will pour out His unlimited blessing. As the children of Israel stood, staff in hand, ready for their journey out of Egypt, on the paschal night, so we have been prepared * See page 508. Letters to Mrs. Eddy 219 and equipped through your discipline and instruction for the final journey out of the house of bondage of material sense into the promised Land of spiritual freedom. A. In grateful acknowledgment of your example and teaching, we, as members of your body, desire to offer this evidence of our intelligent loyalty. You have led us to heights of spiritual understanding where, as our beloved Leader tells us, "the mortal concept ... is obliterated" (Message, 1902). May a purified life attest the endless gratitude I feel for the manifestation of the Christ you have given us, while, with Mary of old I cry, Rabboni — Teacher. A. May a purified life attest the endless gratitude I feel for the mianifestation of the Christ you have given us, while, with Mary of old I cry, Rabboni — Teacher. Your unselfish life, fast approaching the perfect idea of Love, is to my hungry sense for Truth, "the bread of heaven and the water of Life." Eating this bread and drinking this water is to me eating the body of Christ, and drinking his blood. Loving obedience to your guiding thought as my teacher has given me our precious Leader, the forever presence of the living God. In this I have found my life "with Christ in God," as a whole member of His body. My gratitude to you is the burning lamp I lovingly and joyfully tend. A. Your unselfish life, fast approaching the perfect idea of Love, is to my hungry sense for Truth, "the bread of heaven and the water of Life." Eating this bread and drinking this water is to me eating the body of Christ, and drinking his blood. 220 Letters to Mrs. Eddy In this hour of revelation, the life of Truth and Love, which you have reflected to us, has so illumined cur con- sciousness that "the real heaven and the real earth" are appearing. We behold our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, revealed to our waking thought as eternal life, and you, our blessed teacher, as the manifestation of Truth. We behold each other "bom, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God, " even the "'male and female* of God's creating" (5. & H., p. 249), and the whole universe as the compound idea of Spirit, each individual member partaking of the whole nature of God, "in which passion has no part" (5. &f //., p. 64). "Old things are passed away: behold, all things are become new." Our hearts are filled with gratitude and awe as we see, in you. Christian Science demonstrated. " This is the new understanding of spiritual Love. It gives all for Christ, or Truth. It blesses its enemies, heals the sick, casts out error, raises the dead from trespasses and sins, and preaches the gospel to the poor, the meek in heart" (5. &f H., p. 33). A. And you, our blessed teacher, as the manifestation of Truth. . . . Our hearts are filled with gratitude and awe as we see, in you, Christianity demonstrated. Here, "with the upper chambers of thought prepared for the reception of Truth" (Mary Baker Eddy), the voice of the Father-Mother God is ever speaking through you. Every one that is of the Truth hoareth and answereth with increasing joy and gratitude. Thus the light of Life, Truth, and Love illumines not only us but the entire universe, unto the perfect day of Christ, " of the increase of his [whose] government and peace there shall be no end. " Thus is fulfilled the prophecy and promise of our beloved Leader — "never-ending success" in demonstration of Emmanuel. Letters to Mrs. Eddy 221 A. The voice of the Father- Mother God is ever speaking through you. Ever on upward wing, your flight in supernal order has been so far above all touch of the finite, that I hear the echo of response through the invisible choir singing, "Well done, good and faithful " teacher; "enter thou into the joy" prepared by our Leader for you, — a patient, steadfast watcher, "watching out. " A. Ever on upward wing, your flight in supernal order has been so far above all touch of the finite, etc., etc. Your teaching, demonstrated by us, your body [student- body], constitutes the true furnishing of the "upper room," at this paschal meal, in "the dawn of a new light " (5. &* H. p. 35) — the appearing of the masculine and feminine of God's creating, — the spiritual idea, the perfect man. A. Your teaching, demonstrated by us, your body, constitutes the true furnishing of the "upper room," at this paschal meal, in " the dawn of a new Hght " (S. & H., p. 35), — the appearing of the masculine and feminine of God's creating, — the spiritual idea, the perfect man. You are known to us, our beloved teacher, by words which make * ' our hearts burn within us, " and we, your body [student-body], quicldy and gratefully respond. In the words of our beloved Leader, "Glory be to God, and peace to the struggling hearts ! Christ hath rolled away the stone from the door of human hope and faith, and through the revelation and demonstration of life in God, hath elevated them to possible at-one-ment with the spiritual idea of man and his divine Principle, Love" (5. & H., p. 45). A. You are known to us, our beloved teacher, by words which make "our hearts bum within us," and we, your body, quickly and gratefully respond. , , 222 Letters to Mrs. Eddy Dear teacher, your teaching has revealed to me that, to be a true Christian Scientist, is to so purify my own thought that I can be subject to the head of the body of God, as reflected by you. Gratitude is expressed only as we become instantaneous in our response to your mental touch. *' God spake, and it was done.'* A. Dear teacher, your teaching has revealed to me that, to be a true Christian Scientist, is to so purify my own thought that I can be subject to the head of the body of God, as reflected by you. Gratitude is expressed only as we become instantaneous in our response to your mental touch. " God spake, and it was done." In the unity of Love, as children of the one Father, members of the one spiritual body, we recognize the wealth of inspiration that you have imparted to us from the highest plane of consecration and discernment of Truth, the radia- tion of the " Sun of righteousness." Nothing can measure the sublime importance of the real, the contact with " the deep things of God," the understanding of man's relation with the divine Principle. You bear always the standard of Christian Science aloft, and urging our advance into more light and greater attainment, so following our Leader ** as she follows Christ."^ Our sincere appreciation of your grand work of self-sacrifice and devotion, steadfast courage and power is slightly expressed in the accompanying offering which we ask you to accept with our warmest love and loyalty. Edwin F. Hatfield. Chairman of Board of Trustees, First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, and Mrs. Stetson's student for twenty-one years. A. We recognize the wealth of inspiration that you have imparted to us from the highest plane of consecration * Message for igoi, page 70. Letters to Mrs. Eddy 223 and discernment of Truth, the radiation of the " Sun of righteousness." All except six of these students whose letters were sent to Mrs. Eddy adhered to absolute Christian Science, and were ready to begin to build on a "wholly spiritual foundation," — to suffer persecution, ostracism, and contumely that the}^ might follow^ Christ, emerge from material organization, and win the crown of immor- tality. Nineteen stoutly defended absolute Christian Science in response to Mrs. Eddy's invitation to begin to build on a "wholly spiritual foundation," and at this hour stand immovable on the rock, Christ. Box G, Brookline, Mass.^ July 12, 1909. Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson,* New York City. Beloved Student: — I have just finished reading your inter- esting letter. I thank you for acknowledging me as your Leader, and I know that every true follower of Christian Science abides by the definite rules which demonstrate the true following of their Leader ; therefore, if you are sincere in your protestations and are doing as you say you are, you will be blessed in your obedience. The Scriptures say, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into tempation." You are aware that animal magnetism is the opposite of divine Science, and that this opponent is the means whereby the conflict against Truth is engen- dered and developed. Beloved! you need to watch and pray that the enemy of good cannot separate you from your Leader and best earthly friend. You have been duly informed by me that, however much I desire to read all that you send to me, I have not the time to do so. The Christian Science Publishing Society will settle the question whether or not they shall * Christian Science Journal, vol. xxvii., p. 313. 224 Letters to Mrs. Eddy publish your poems. It is part of their duties to relieve me of so much labor. I thank you for the money you send me which was given you by your students. I shall devote it to a worthy and charitable purpose. Mr. Adam Dickey is my secretary, through whom all my business is transacted. Give my best wishes and love to your dear students and church. Lovingly your teacher and Leader, Mary Baker Eddy. Brookline, Mass., July 23, 1909. My dear Student: — ^ Awake and arise from this temptation produced by animal magnetism upon yourself, allowing your students to deify you and me. Treat yourself for it and get your students to help you rise out of it. It will be your de- struction if you do not do this. Answer this letter immediately. As ever, lovingly your teacher, Mary Baker Eddy. I replied immediately in the following letter: 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, July 24, 1909. Reverend Mary Baker Eddy, Chestnut Hill, Brookline, Mass. My precious Leader: — Your dear letter of to-day is before me. I thank »you for your continued watch-care during this perilous passage (through material sense to Soul) from the will of the flesh, or human energy, which embodies itself in physical personality, to the will of God, or divine » Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xii., p, 130. Letters to Mrs. Eddy 225 energy, which dissolves finite personahty togethei- with all the phenomena of the carnal mind, and reveals Spirit, God, as the only creator, and man as His image and likeness, the compound idea or divine personality, the reflection of the infinite Person. In your Message to The Mother Church for igoi, page 41, 1 read: Do Christian Scientists believe in personality? They do, but their personality is defined spiritually, not materially — by Mind, not by matter. We do not blot out the material race of Adam, but leave all sin to God's fiat — self-extinc- tion, and to the final manifestation of the real spiritual man and universe. We believe, according to the Scriptures, that God is infinite Spirit or Person, and man is His image and likeness: therefore man reflects Spirit, not matter. I have always tried to teach my students to differen- tiate between finite and infinite personality, between the physical personality, which is the image of the beast or so-called mortal mind, specifically named animal m.agnetism, and the divine personality, which is the image of God — the spiritual idea or Christ. By failing to discern this difference some of my stu- dents in the past have lost "the way." "Jesus de- monstrated Christ" {Science and Health, p. 332). He showed the way by which humanity could escape from the bondage of fleshly personality; he designated the Christ as " the way " when he said, "No man cometh unto the Father, but by me," and "He that hath seen me [the spiritual idea or my individuality] hath seen the Father." The sensuous world refused, and continues to refuse, to follow and obey the impersonal Christ which Jesus and yc^u, my beloved Leader, have declared. They 226 Letters to Mrs. liddy held him in the bonds of personal sense. The wise see you to-day as the Messiah, or the Anointed of God to this age, fulfilling the law of Love. They do not deify your human personality, but will not lose sight of your spiritual individuality, or God with us. Although all of my students have been taught this, doubtless some have not assimilated it. In your letter to me, which was published in the Senti- nel of July i7th, you thanked me for acknowledging you as my Leader. I have always delighted to revere, fol- low, and obey you as m}^ Leader, to whom I pay loving, loyal allegiance. I am abiding by the divine rules laid down in your writings, and am following your Christly example so far as Love reflected in love illumines the way. This sincere endeavor to possess the Mind of Christ must bring its blessing. Your comforting assur- ance that I am " aware that animal magnetism is the opposite of divine Science " {Christian Science Journal, vol. xxvii., p. 313) gives me renewed courage to wield the two-edged sword of Truth and Love with intent to de- capitate this opponent, the beast and false prophet ; for the lie, lust, and hypocrisy, which contend against inno- cence and truth — the Lamb of Love, shall not continue to engender and develop, for God worketh w4th us. : Precious Leader, I am watching and praying that "the enemy of good" cannot "separate"' me from you, my Leader and Teacher. "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us [me] from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" — and Mary Baker Eddy, my beloved Leader, "and best earthly friend. " * * See Mrs. Eddy's letter, page 22.^. Letters to Mrs. Eddy 227 I have always taught my students to love and reverence you as the one whom God has appointed to voice His Word to this age. IMy students know that I am endeavoring to obey your teaching and demonstrate Christ, and for this reason they, in turn, have confidence in me as a teacher and demonstrator of Christian Science. For twenty- five years, "the enemy of good" has been using every subtle suggestion to separate me from the Christ which you represent, and are demonstrating, but it has signally and utterly failed. If my students have shown more zeal than wisdom in expressing their love for their Leader, and for their teacher, I will try still further to warn them of the danger of deifying physical personality. I believe, however, that they are clear on the fact that "none is good, save one, that is, God," and His idea, and that "I can of mine own self [material self] do nothing," "But the Father that dwellethinme [in my spiritual individuality]. He doeth the works." As you continue to demonstrate the "infinite calculus defining the line, plane, space, and fourth dimension of Spirit" {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 22), may wisdom enable me to maintain, through you, God's idea, the consciousness of my unity with Him. This I believe I have always done in the letter, and in an ever increasing degree in the spirit. I have taught my students to look straight at and through the brazen serpent of false personality, and to behold the im- mortal idea, man, where the mortal seems to be. Ma- licious animal magnetism still persists in its efforts, by its indiscriminate denunciation of personality in general, to slay the spiritual idea, Christian Science, to which you have given birth. I understand your teachings 228 Letters to Mrs. Eddy- to mean that we must judge righteous judgment, and discern between the false and the true, so that, when bidden by the Lord of the harvest, we may bind the tares into bundles to be burned, while we gather the wheat into the garner. No man can serve two mas- ters, but every man must serve one master, Christ. The Scriptures show us that in every age God has spoken through a person. Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David, Jesus, and Mary Baker Eddy, are some of the human names by which God's chosen representatives have been known in history. You refer to this fact in Miscellaneous Writings, page 308, "personal re vela- tors will take their proper place in history, but will not be deified." Beloved Leader, you are ever speaking to my heart, "Awake!" and I reply, I will listen for Thy voice. Lest my footsteps stray; I will follow and rejoice All the rugged way. ^ Your loving child, Augusta, telegram 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, September 26, 1909. My precious Leader: — "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us [me] from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" — andMary Baker Eddy, my "best earthly friend. "^ « Miscellaneous Writings, p. 398. ^ Christian Science Journal, vol. xxvii., p. 313. Letters to Mrs. Eddy 229 With ever increasing love, and unspeakable gratitude for your precious gift of Christian Science, I am, Your child, Augusta. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, October 2, 1909. My precious Leader: — ' The words of your sweet poem are a comfort to me in this hour: 0 make me glad for every scalding tear. For hope deferred, ingratitude, disdain! Wait, and love more for every hate, and fear No ill, — since God is good, and loss is gain. Beneath the shadow of His mighty wing; In that sweet secret of the narrow way, Seeking and finding, with the angels sing: "Lo, I am with you alway," — watch and pray. Love will fulfil Her perfect work in me and mine, and nothing can separate me from my Leader and "best earthly friend." I love you beyond the power of pen or tongue to express, and "I know whom I have believed. " Precious Leader, I am strong, and a peace that passeth understanding convinces me that I am under the shadow of Love's mighty wing, safe in the arms of my Father-Mother God. Earth's shadows cannot hide me from you, beloved, nor will I lose sight of my guide to eternal Life — my Leader and Teacher. With forever love, Your child, Augusta. - This letter was written and sent to Mrs. Eddy during the test incidental to my radical stand for absolute Christian Science. 230 Letters to Mrs. Eddy 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, October 16, 1909. My precious Leader ^ Teacher, and Guide: — I have heard your dear voice in your letter which appeared in the Sentinel of October i6th. I shall withdraw from personal participation in my church management, for the present. In carrying out this decision, I am to-day send- ing in my resignation as a member of the Board of Trustees of First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. ^ I am also notifying the Secretary of my Students' Association that I shall not attend the approaching Annual Meeting. I am requesting the Secretary to notify my students that I desire them to assemble as usual, in accordance with the By-Law, Article xxvi., Section 6, as published in the Sentinel of October i6th, and to be governed thereby. I shall strictly not oppose the orders of the Board of Directors of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass., as officially communicated to me by the Secretary of that Board on September 25th, 1909. I am apprehending more and more the meaning of ** wholly spiritual " building, which you enjoined upon me and my church in your letter in the Sentinel of January i6th. Thus I shall be able to draw nearer to you spiritually, and rise with you to the demonstration of immortal consciousness — my oneness with infinite Love, "And I, if I be lifted up . . . will draw all" whom the Father giveth me. It is your wisdom and love expressed in your words following : » See page 592. Letters to Mrs. Eddy 231 Love looseth thee, and lifteth me, Ayont hate's thrall: There Life is light, and wisdom might. And God is All. My gratitude and love for my precious Leader are beyond all that human language can express. Your faithful child, Augusta. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City» Saturday, Midnight, October 16, 1909. My precious Leader: — Since writing you my letter of this morning, and before mailing the letter addressed to the Secretary of my Students' Association, I received a communication from the Board of Directors of The Mother Church. In view of this, I will not mail the letter originally written to the Secretary, but I will simply notify her that I will not convene nor attend the approaching Annual Meeting of my Students' Association. Lovingly, faithfully your child, Augusta. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, November 13, 1909. My precious Leader: — ^ Just a few lines of devoted love to you, beloved. I opened my Bible just now, and my eyes rested upon the tenth verse of the sixth chapter of Ephesians: Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against * This letter was written two days before my " trial " in Boston ia November, 1909. 232 Letters to Mrs. Eddy principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the dark- ness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the w^hole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having 3^our loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, w^hich is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints ; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel. I read to the twentieth verse, and from Science and Health, page 426: "The struggle for Truth makes one strong instead of weak, resting instead of wearying one." And on page 540 : In Isaiah we read: "I make peace, and create evil. I the Lord do all these things;" but the prophet referred to divine law as stirring up the belief in evil to its utmost, when bringing it to the surface and reducing it to its common denominator, nothingness . . . but w^e ought to know that God's law uncovers so-called sin and its efiEects, only that Truth may annihilate all sense of evil and all power to sin. I send my forever and forever love to my "Leader and best earthly friend.'* Your child, Augusta. CHAPTER IV LETTERS OF ENCOURAGEMENT TO STUDENTS Have not I commanded thee ? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. — ^Joshua i., 9. Divine Love is our hope, strength, and shield. We have nothing to fear when Love is at the helm of thought, but everything to enjoy on earth and in heaven. — Miscellaneous Writings, p. 113. 40 Dartmouth Street, Winter Hill, Mass., August 14, 1892. My dear B. . . : — • Does the sun shine brightly for you to-day? Are you saying, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him"? Have you perceived the silver lining to the cloud? Do you know that you ^'cannot drift beyond His love and care" ? All these experiences, while at the time they seem not joyous but grievous, bring forth the peaceful harmony which comes from absolute reliance upon divine Mind, our Father and Mother, God. If we will only trust, dearest, not human help, nor sympathy, but the unseen spiritual power of all- creative Mind, much will vanish that now seems real. Remember that our God is Love, and that Love sustains Her ideas. 233 234 Letters of Encouragement to Students " He who clothes the lilies And notes the sparrow's fall Will tenderly care for His little one, For He loves and leads us all. And so when weary and burdened And I know not which way to go I know that He lovingly leads me And 't is all that I need to know." This should be our song every hour through this tempestuous dream. Be no trembler, for error has no power. The true light will dav/n, and the dove of peace will sing in my heart when my dear B. . . can see the smile of our Father again. S. . . will be your strong help, dear. She is gold with Httle dross. My tender love to you and all your family. Faithfully yoirrs, Augusta E. Stetson. 96 Fifth Avenue, New York City, June 6, 1895. Dear and faithful F. . . ; — I am getting away from close office work, and am trying to brush off the mental dust which has accumu- lated during the weeks when patients did their best to impress me with the reality of disease. We have risen above all the argimients of the adversary, so far, and error will have to work to devise new wiles and methods to entrap us. We are in our house, spiritual thought, with locked doors, and evil cannot enter. False suggestions clamor outside and sometimes make us tremble with undestroyed fear, lest the door of our thought is not sufficiently barricaded to resist them. When we find that God is our sure defense, this imder- standing destroys the fear — illusion — and we see that Letters of Encouragement to Students 235 it was only our belief of a power opposed to God that gave us apprehension. Give my love to A. . . and G. . . and the little one, and with love untold and eternal, Ever yours, Augusta E. Stetson. Hotel Touraine, Boston, Mass., June 12, 1901. My beloved Students: — I see you standing firm at your post of duty. Then with the eye of faith I look further and see you all at rest in the home of the redeemed, no longer in battle array, but wearing the royal robes of victory, clad and resting from turmoil and strife. We must, shall see this hour, and all fears and beliefs will have forever passed from our consciousness. I rest in this hope. Never did I see so clearly that only those "who have washed their robes white in obedience and suffering" {Science and Health, p. 572) will free themselves from false material sense, and gain the spiritual sense, in which is no discord or disease. The end cannot be far off: the night is far spent. Prophecy is fast being fulfilled, "God shall help her [us], and that right early. " Error is wild and must soon consimie itself in its own malice and revenge. Be strong and of good cheer. We shall win our crown of immortal consciousness. My gratitude to you and to dear Mrs. B. . . is inexpressible. Please give her my tender love. I have had much to meet here, and you and every one in the Rooms have helped me to carry the cross. I shall soon be at home with you. With faithful love. Your teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. 236 Letters of Encouragement to Students 143 West 48 th Street, New York City» June 8, 1902. My dear D. . . : — I have been to your apartment and told them to send your machine to the American Express Office. I then went there myself and found a man who could crate it ready for shipment, Monday morning, to Pleasant View, Concord, New Hampshire. I am so glad that you are appreciating the great privilege of serving our beloved Leader and Mother in Israel, and I pray that you will keep in the one Mind, that she may be helped in her wardrobe, which should be perfect, comfortable, and harmonious, the ex- pression of spiritual thought. I am sure you will give her your whole attention, and will be careful that your thoughts are right, that you may not disturb her with a discordant tone. We are all so earthy, and she is so heavenly. She is so patient and loving with us, else we could not stand. I know that you will get time to read and commune with God, and handle every suggestion of error that would take you into chaos. I have taught you by precept and example to conquer error, and to love all. You have had a wonderful blessing in going to Mother and her household. I know you will strive to be worthy. Give my love to dear C. . . , L. . . , and P. . . , my beloved sisters, and to dear Mr. F. . . , who is one of the best men on earth to-day, because he has guarded our darling Leader all these years. Remember me kindly to Mr. M. . . and his wife. I do not send love to Mother, for I would not ask you to trouble her, and I am now writing her. She knows that I love her better than all the world, and there is nothing that I would not do for her, but Letters of Encouragement to Students 237 I do not ask the dear ones to trouble her with a message. Now dear, dear D. . . , watch and work and pray. Do all carefully, and be sure that you make every- thing comfortable for our dear Leader. Make all to suit her. She knows what she wants, and if you study to please her, you can. Love to you, dear. Now know that you can make everything exactly as she wants it; there is no power but Mind, and Mind governs you. Love will help you. Ever lovingly. Always yours, Augusta E. Stetson. Hotel Touraine, Boston, Mass., July 15, 1903. Dearly Beloved: — "Stem the tide; walk triumphant on the shores of immortal consciousness, and rest beside the still waters on the * Plains of Peace.' " These words I saw mentally last night, and as the letters came out and I spelled them, I took them as a promise and send them to you. You have nothing to do but reflect Truth and Love. All power is of God. Give my love to my dear student, Mr. H . . . , and tell him to ponder this vision. It is of God, and for each of my faithful students. Give much love to the dear ones in the Reading Room. I cannot write more to-day; I must detach myself from home cares and rise to a more exalted comprehension of the eternal real. Take care of the lambs. Let each love more and be more Christly meek. This will make them mighty, and reflect omnipotent Love, which destroys all sin. Lovingly ever, yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 2^8 Letters of Encouragement to Students First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I West 96TH Street, November i, 1903. My beloved Students: — Last evening you must have had a baptism of the Spirit. I was with you, uniting my thought with yours in prayer and song, and the dear ones here all united for one hour in your prayer and praise. It was a season of impersonal unity, and I know the voices were heard by the dear Love as they were wafted to heaven's portals. You are growing like the flowers of spring, and the dews of divine Love fall on you, distilling their perfume and power as you rise to your spiritual con- sciousness, and feel and taste the life which is eternal, and the love which is bliss and affluence, beauty and harmony. Do not falter in your upward flight, but soar and sing, and drown the noise of battle, which is only the death of the false material senses. Love has chosen each of you, and shown you that you are immortal. Then act and speak as possessing authority, and manifest the Christ in every word and deed. You are true and faithful, and all things will be yours, when the clouds roll by. You have been learning to find me in Mind, and the impersonal presence is leading you. My love is ever with you all. The false claim, malicious animal magnetism, has no power to disturb otir harmony. - Our new church edifice is finished. It has always been an idea in divine Mind. We are only now begin- ning to reveal it and must see it unfold into the Church Triumphant. Love to you all, Faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. Letters of Encouragement to Students 239 I West 96TH Street, New York City, May I, 1904. My dear Student: — In reply to the question in your letter regarding my recent case of healing, I am glad to confirm the report. I have just sent an account of this case, with a box containing the gall-stone, ' to our Leader, Mrs. Eddy. Several physicians, to whom I have shown this, say that the removal of this stone with- out the surgeon's knife and with no rupture attending it, is beyond their understanding. But they admit the fact and have requested me to give them the stone. This I cannot do. I shall convince many of the healing power of Truth by exhibiting this objectified material thought, typify- ing hardness, obstruction, belief, etc., which Truth and Love expelled. I will give you the measurements of the galLstone which I trust will not deceive you as to its seeming reality. Faithfully, lovingly your teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, June 28, 1904. My beloved Students: — You are learning to see and hear God's voice in nightly dreams as well as in the day dreams. The visions of Daniel and others came in dreams, and you can often trust the nightly visitants to convey the messages from good. I send out every moment thoughts which I find floating in the mental spiritual * Measurements of gall-stone: Greater circumference — 53^ inches. '~\ Lesser circumference — 3! " Greater diameter — 2 ** '' Lesser diameter — iiV " :i- /:2r:Jji/i. 240 Letters of Encouragement to Students atmosphere, when Spirit forces its messages to me, and lifts me out of sense into Soul. I am sure that you and my precious lambs all hear and feel my mental influence, or reflection of. Love and Truth. There is much to be done to divest ourselves of self, but there is enough of self dissolved already to give us glorious glimpses of our eternal oneness with omnipotent Love. I can see the work to be done to open the windows of heaven. I am striving for victory over self, and my efforts are as much for those I love as for myself. God is good. We must be more grateful for our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, and love her more and more while we thank God for her. Keep close to God, and follow the teachings and example of Christ Jesus and our Leader. This will keep us close together in the bonds of Love — loving each other and blessing all by our reflection of Love. Faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I West 96TH Street, July 24, 1904. My beloved Students: — I am overwhelmed with the abundance of joy and peace which seem to flow to me like a river. I must write you a few lines, because I feel that you are appealing mentally to me, and I am conscious of your presence. I believe that God has a message for you to-day which I must convey to you. Oh ! the wisdom and the riches of this knowledge of our God and His Christ. Oh! the deep love and boundless gratitude which we feci for our beloved Leader, Teacher, and Mother, Mrs. Eddy, who has saved us from belief. Letters of Encouragement to Students 241 and led us to '* Immanuel, or God with iis'' {Science and Health, p. 34). Surely, all who profess to be her followers have not caught the chord of Christ, or they would be on wings, whenever she bids them to a spiritual, or communion feast. They would make the welkin ring with hosannas whenever she appears, and the stones would cry out if they did not proclaim her as the one chosen of God in this age to save men, and to lead them to eternal Life in the Christ- mind. We have only to love God more, and love and obey our beloved Leader, to destroy all false sense, and be found in eternal Life — in our true consciousness — home — heaven. We must not count our bleeding footsteps as we climb the rugged hill of Christian Science, but we must rejoice to know that error is dying, and we live. Nothing that ever lives can die. We have always lived, because God is our Life. Divine Love is sure to cast out all fear. We do not live in matter. Unity and power are not in an atom, nor in dust, the dust image. Man is immortal consciousness. "Strength is in man, not in muscles" (Christian Science Journal, vol. xxii., p. 259). We win our vic- tories by meekness and love, and we are safe as mem- bers of the body of Christ, God's manifestation. I am always striving to reflect Truth and Love to you. You are now perfect and eternal ideas of God, harmonious substance-ideas. You are not ma- terial, there is no matter. Do not listen to error which argues for itself and for substance in matter which is not man, nor you. Love untold to you both. Fondly and faithfully thine, Augusta E. Stetson.^ 16 '" 242 Letters of Encouragement to Students I West 96TH Street, New York City, December 24, 1904. My beloved Students: — I have little time to write you, my many duties are so pressing, but I will steal a few moments, and send you a loving greeting. My heart is always throbbing in unison with the great heart of Christ, for there is no other presence and we are consciously moved by the divine impulse, and recognize the reflection of Love. God is good to us, is He not? He is never good and evil, but always good. I am working as usual with self. The warfare is grand, and I see daily evidence of the destruction of the human and the reveahng of my real, divine selfhood. If I only could see you and dear M. . . I could tell you much which I cannot take time to write. I am very happy to know that you are having such educa- tional advantages and that you will be usefiil to our Cause, and will serve our Leader so much more effectu- ally as you develop in the true mental. God has guided you, and His love is protecting you. You are covered with His feathers, and you have only to lean more trustingly on the infinite. Make your demands on your Father-Mother God, dearest, and know that error cannot prevent you from getting your dominion over all false thoughts — if you cling to Christ, and abide by the Golden Rule. We have nothing to fear. There is no defeat for a true Christian Scientist. Mark Twain remarked at a dinner last week, that in the near future Christian Science would be the only rehgion, and so it will. Watch and pray and love and demonstrate your Science, and God will do the rest. I love you, dear, and I know that you are rising in the Truth and will have a happy year. It rejoices Letters of Encouragement to Students 243 me to hear from Dr. L. . . of your good work in your school. I must close and write a few lines to dear M. . . Remember, Love is flowing to you always from Her infinite source. God be with you every moment and bless you in all your Christian Science efforts to be true to Principle and idea. Ever lovingly and faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, June 3, 1905. My beloved Student: — ' I am not with you in person to-day, but I enfold you in my heart, and feel that I am not separated from you. There is no space in Mind, and there is no division of Love's ideas, so, dear heart, you are with us, and only a heliej is taking a trip in belief, while Love keeps us close together, singing Her sweet songs of joy and gladness as w^e soar and soar beyond the dream and the dreamer, holding sweet converse with God and with each other. We are both developing in Truth, which will finally set us free from the fetters of the fleshly mind. We shall reveal the eternal verities of our individuahty, until having dissolved this ''too solid flesh" of beHef of substance-matter, we shall awake in God's likeness — ever-present and eternal man. To our real individ- uality there is no separation. You have much to anticipate of pleasure and profit this summer, and with your Science you can enjoy the sweet promise which nature and the material universe afford — a foretaste of the new heaven and the new earth which your ^ steamer letter to a student. 244 Letters of Encouragement to Students spiritual sense will reveal. God will keep you on upward wing, my dear student. Love will cover you with Her feathers and bring you Her blessings as fast as you make yourself ready to receive them. Now be happy, dearest, and return to us in possession of more wisdom, grace, and goodness gained from travel and experience. With many loving thoughts for you and dear R. . . and our precious jewel, Miss D. . . , I am ever yours in bonds of divine love, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City^ September 8, 1905. My precious Student : — Your dear letter gave me peace and joy. I am glad you are having such a restful, quiet time. I know that you must feel like a mariner who has sailed the seas over, outridden the storm, passed the breakers and the hidden reefs, and anchored in the peaceful haven, strong and rich with experience, and ready to advise others of the dangers of the deep, and to mark out for them the lighthouse stations, the bell buoys, and the magnetic currents which must be known for the safety of the ship of Christian Science and its passengers, en route for the haven of immortality. You will do great work this season. We are all un- folding in meekness and divine love, and these are the forces which destroy error. We are all rising gradually but surely **unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. " We are as- similating ourselves to Truth and Love, therefore we arouse the carnal within and without, but we know that our Christ will set us free. Love never fails. Anything that calls itself love, and fails, is not, never was, and never can be love. Letters of Encouragement to Students 245 I am learning to lean more confidingly on God, and I find I need to feed my lambs with meat of the Word, since many of them are rising spiritually and are able to digest it. I send you inexpressible love, dear one, and never cease to pray for you. Please remember me to your brother. Lovingly, faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, September 12, 1905. My beloved Student : — >■ I "f^^^ Just a few words which are, I am sure, all that is necessary. Love is casting out self, and sense material, in us all, and it means suffering mentally or physically or both. We shall some day get into our *'holy habitation" (wholly spiritual consciousness), and our thoughts will blend with Life, Truth, and Love. Then the irresistible conflict between the Christ and the carnal will have forever ceased, and our peace will flow like a river. The battle is on — the meeting of the Teachers' Association is approaching, and all the army of Israel must be in ''the secret place of the most High" for the blessing which must follow this meeting of our Leader's soldiers. I am sure that all will be refreshed by this opportunity to get into their books and hold silent communion with Love. I am clinging to Christ against mental arguments which would deafen me if possible, but can never convince me that evil is real. I know in whom I trust, and that He is able to protect and deliver me and mine from the jaws of the lion, and the fiery furnace. Give my dearest love to M. . . . I love you both with a love beyond the human, and which will never fail. 246 Letters of Encouragement to Students Please pardon haste — if I do not get this off now I shall perhaps not soon get another chance to write you. Lovingly, faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City> January 7, 1906. My beloved Students: — Such love as I bear to you can never find expression in tongue nor pen. The gratitude I feel to my Father for giving me the priceless treasure of your steadfast loyalty to Principle, to our holy Mother in Israel, and to me, her student, can never be conveyed in words. I bow before our God, and sit in silent, voiceless prayer, asking for more divine love, that I may reflect to you the power which will aid you and all my dear ones to arise and show forth more and more the glory of omnipotence. Our precious Leader's resurrection must also be ours. As she rises, we who are watching with her will rise also. We must hear her voice, and follow and obey her example and teachings, which will make us heirs of the inheritance which she has revealed to us, and bids us redeem. I am always praying for those whom God has given me; and that prayer is to realize my oneness with God, and to manifest the potency of my spiritual thought — the Christ-mind, which is but reflecting the one and only cause or Mind. This force must reach each dear member of my student- body, and quicken thought and increase his earnest endeavor to put off the old material sense, and to put on the Christ-mind, which is God manifest in idea. We are kings and heirs of God, possessing authority Letters of Encouragement to Students 247 to speak for God, and having spiritual power to de- stroy all that is opposed to eternal Life, Love, and Truth. Let us go on to final victory over the material world, the flesh, and the claim of evil, and awake in^ His likeness. We are united in the bonds of divine Love, and are inseparable from our God and His anointed, Mary Baker Eddy. This we know, and to know this is eternal Life. Ever devotedly, faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I West 96TH Street, February 28, 1906. My beloved Students: — The eternal flow of love which I send you as I think of your faithful service in Christian Science during the many years since you enlisted as soldiers of Christ, "to lessen evil, disease, and death" {Science and Health, p. 450), cannot be expressed in words. The language at my command can never convey my heart's deep love and appreciation of your fidelity to Principle, to our holy Leader, Mrs. Eddy, to me, and the brethren who labor with us for the establishment of the kingdom of God, good, on earth. You all have indeed been faithful over a few things. You will be made rulers over many things, if you continue to the end, steadfast, brave and untiring in the service of Truth. A closer link has bound us, and we clasp hands more firmly as we sacrifice, for each other and for humanity, our time, our labors, our personal ease, to benefit, or cheer, or encourage. If we open our hearts and become channels for Love and Truth, God will use us to convey His manifold benefits to His children. And who gains 248 Letters of Encouragement to Students most from the river of Life and Love that courses through the heart? Surely, there must be a ''purifi- cation of sense and self" {Science and Health, p. 324), and the action of Spirit-force must widen the channel until it offers no resistance, and all is Love and Love's ideas composing the body of Christ. The "material pigment" {Retrospection and Introspection, p. 79), must dissolve, and leave the substance-idea. I am keeping my eyes to the heaven of Soul and my face to the material blast, as I meet the claims of error ; but, like the bird on the topmost branch of the tree that sways and bends to the angry tempest, so I sing and rejoice and fear nothing, knowing that I can soar on the wings of faith, understanding, and divine love, when the branch bends and rebounds. So, dearly beloved, let us stand in the bonds of love and gradually merge into the real and eternal, — the Mind of Christ. Error has no place, no power, no presence where the true consciousness is understood, and we are awake to the Truth which sets us free from any claim to an opposite mind. Your unselfed love is manifest in the symbol of the mansion my Father is revealing to me, of the many His dear Son promised those who would worship Him in spirit and in truth. The unity of my students has been so blended in their gifts that their love-light will be reflected in color, form and utility. It is all the gift of our heavenly Father, through His anointed, Mary Baker Eddy, whose Christly mental influence found avenues in you, her faithful followers, "to prepare a place for" me where I could work more efficiently for God and for His own. Lovingly, faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. Letters of Encouragement to Students 249 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I West 96TH Street, March i, 1906. My beloved Students: — Truly has it been said, "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. " I have sown the seed in the soil of your honest hearts, and labored to water that seed. Some« times my eyes were filled with tears of discouragement as I counted the lambs who had strayed on the mountain beyond my teacher-voice, and again tears of joy welled up as I found the faithful ones gazing stead- fastly on the goal, nor counting their weary footsteps as they scaled the rugged heights of Christian Science towards the haven of Truth and Love. Often I have heard the lone mountain lambs' piteous cry as they were pierced by many a thorn, and I have sought for them, to carry them in my arms back to the fold. This is the sowing, but never has one of you caused me one moment of grief. I love to recall your faithful adherence to Principle^ your loyal devotion to our beloved Leader, Mrs Eddy, your Christly characters, and your firm, unfaltering step as you journey "On the way there," with your eyes to the goal and your faces to the contending forces. You have encountered many a storm on the tem- pestuous ocean of false belief. Hidden reefs and roar- ing breakers threatened to wreck 3^our barque, but you have been brave and dauntless mariners. You stood at the helm, and heeded not the dashing wave, nor the tempest's mad roar. Your great Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, has launched you upon the waters, and given you the chart. Science mid Health with Key to the Scriptures, with which to 250 Letters of Encouragement to Students work your passage through the trackless, treacherous sea of mortal mind. You are nearing the shore of eternal consciousness. You already hear the sweet voice of our Father- Mother God, welcoming you home. You will soon cast anchor in the haven of ever-conscious Love. God will make a short time of it "for the elect's sake. " He is faithful to His promise. He keeps His tryst with His own, and the harvest hoiu* is now. Rich and rare are the garners prepared for those who have borne the heat and biirden of the day. Sweetest songs ring out from the grape gatherers, as they bring in the rich clusters of love, and peace, and joy, — the fruits of spiritual achievement. The wise virgins have their lamps (consciousness) filled with oil (understanding). They await the call of the bridegroom. The fine linen robes (spiritual thoughts) of the righteous are appearing, and the gold of human character is fast dissolving under the solvent of Love which reveals the real man of God's creating. It is the white heat of divine Love which is separating the dross, and leaving only the pure substance men- tality. This is our glad harvest hour. Our holy Mother in Israel, Mrs. Eddy, is revealing the Church Triumphant, and will finally gather in the faithful to the heavenly fold. Those having ears will hear her, and will feel her sweet presence, as the power of her mighty love rests upon the waiting hearts which will meet in that sacred sanctuary of Truth and Love. I am rejoicing in a bountiful harvest, spiritual understanding. My dear students walk beside me towards the goal of immortal consciousness. Their dear love and tender care of my temporal necessities Letters of Encouragement to Students 251 are comforting. I recall their long and faithful march side by side, heart to heart with me during many years. My love is beyond the power of tongue or pen to express, dearly beloved. You will know it by the influence it sheds, for it is the reflection of divine Love. You will soon see the home into which you are already built. Your love will brighten it, and thus the different students will speak from ceiling to floor. I am deeply grateful for your loving remembrance of me, and I pray for you from a heart overflowing with grateful love. Tenderly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, March 2, 1906. My dear Friend: — ^ You say that fear makes it difficult for you to sing. You can sing without fear. Mind is the source of music. There is but one Mind. That Mind is pure harmony; it is unlimited in range and power. It sustains itself, for it is omnipotence and omnipresence. It has its instruments, its agents or reflectors. Pure Mind keeps its representative always attuned. Any other theory than this is a suppositional god or behef , which we know has no influence over Mind or Mind's ideas. You know that you live because you manifest exist- ence. You know that you voice harmonious being, and have perfect ability to express melody. You can- not be touched by any fear, nor do you admit another power than the one harmonious Father- Mother God. ' * To a professional singer. 252 Letters of Encouragement to Students Love gives tone and color to thought. Be not afraid oi fear. There is no such claim in God and God and His idea is all. Love is supreme, and you, as an indi- vidual idea, are Love's voice. You do not depend upon God's idea to give you support in your church work, you rely upon Principle. I feel that it is time for you to tr}^ your wings, and W. . . is better away than with you, since there may be danger of personal contagion — her fears for you which influence you to fear. Trust Truth to give you the wisdom which is necessary to carry on the work. We cannot tarry too long in one state of realization and demonstration, but we must progress, and this means struggle to rise higher. Now, dear, sing as you should. You can never fail while you know that pure Mind governs your throat. When you know this, it will not seem hard to sing, it will be a joy. The same Mind governs you that governs the song-birds. Like them "soar and sing." The thought back of the composition can only be a God-thought, because there is only one Mind. Let Spirit govern your every thought, and Love will give richness to your tones. Faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. p Oswego, N. Y., June 1 8, 1906. My beloved Student: — I have had to demonstrate, since we arrived here Saturday at ten o'clock in the evening, that all of me is here. You have become such a factor in the Oswego vacation that I miss you. However, I feel your mental presence, your real, incorporeal self, and heart beats ta heart in the reciprocity which testifies to our divine Letters of Encouragement to Students 253 individuality. You are a tender child, faithful and intelligently obedient to Principle, and your spiritual intuitions guide you to follow and rejoice "All the rugged way. ' ' ^ You must be gaining a glorious experience from the Word which went forth at our Communion. Love is a mighty solvent, and already has begun to melt and purify even the gold of human character. Soon the dross will disappear, and the ideal substance-man will stand forth clothed in the might and glory of celestial being. Our beloved Leader is in the light, whose radi- ance must dispel all darkness or mortal concepts. She is approaching the third stage, as defined in "Pond and Purpose" {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 205) — how near to the "omnipotent act" which "drops the cur- tain" no one knows, nor should we contemplate it, but she will some day solve the problem of material sense and reveal herself as did our Master, Christ Jesus. We must watch with her, and listen more intently for her voice, if we would learn its tone, and recognize the spiritual ideal woman whose mental touch is immistakable, and whose guidance will be throughout eternity. I am going to work here in tnis lovely quiet home, and prepare for the future^, when I shall need much truth, and faith, and divine love to stand and work out my own salvation, helping my dear students to work out theirs. It is peacefully sweet here. We all speak of you often, and wish you were here. N. . . has made a good demonstration, and was so happy to see her daughter. I am gratified that our young girls are unfolding spiritual qualities. There are enough in my church to evangelize the city if they continue to rise spiritually. I shall find much help in them in the future, in their reflection of omnipotent Mind, the Christ- mind which destroys evil. * Miscellaneous Writings, page 398. 254 Letters of Encouragement to Students Give my dear love to your mother and to every one in yolir family, and with deepest love to you I am, Ever faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City^ Central Park West and 96TH Street, July 26, 1906. My beloved Student: — You are learning, my dear student, a salutary lesson, viz., that you cannot lean on an earthly staff. You had arrived, when you were in New York City, at a point in your experience where you were called to choose. I was quite sure that you were trusting to an earthly arm. Had Mr. A. . . been a Christian Scientist and taken his stand, he would not have left New York. God is here, as well as there, and he would have found Him here. The dear man may wander till error punishes him so severely that he will cry out to his Father- Mother God who will hear and answer him. Oh, why do some have 'to be so severely punished by error before they turn to God? God is so good. He supplies His children so bountifully. His love feeds and fills the famished affections and supplies every human need. Why did we ever Hsten to false arguments? Why did we love ease, and rest in silly peace in material environments? When shall we all awake and be individual, doing our own work in healing, and trust in Truth to provide for our few temporal needs? When we do, Love will fill our treasure-house, and no good thing shall we miss. ' I know that you will see this lesson, dear S. . . You will know in whom to trust, and that you cannot do another's work. Our Leader says, "We lose a per- centage due to our activity when doing the work that Letters of Encouragement to Students 255 belongs to another" (Message to The Mother Church, igoo, p. 26). I am not at all surprised, but I am sorry for dear Mr. A. . . He will find God as we have. He should call while here. I would be glad to help him. God will show you the way, dearest, and out of the gloom will come the glory. You have not lost the chord of Christ. For a moment error seems to keep you on minor key, but Love will finally attune your harp to Her perfect harmonious will, and cause you to praise His Holy Name, for this leading. I love you. God will lead you. Do not turn to physical personality but cling to Principle and its idea, and let God furnish His own avenues, spiritual individualities, to bless and cheer you. Love will never forsake you. You may forget or divide your worship. Love never will. Give my affectionate regards to Mr. A. . . and dear little H. . . and with much love to you, my dear S.rijiii^ I am, Ever faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, August 31, 1906. My beloved N. . . , M. . . , and W. . . ; — I have just written to the other three children, who are wandering in foreign lands, and I must not repeat my letters as I write you, but I must put in what you all need as you read each other's letters. The moments of silent communion with God find me breathing a prayer for you all, and this is so tangible to me, that I feel I am with you. The weather has been very warm and very humid. It seems to be the aroused consciousness of animal natures. We are meeting and mastering these lies, which have no right to declare their presence, since 256 Letters of Encouragement to Students they do not exist in God's universe, and are unreal to all who have spiritual understanding of the unreality of belief. We are rising daily to see that Mind is God, and that there is but one Mind. We reflect this Mind. Every so-called mortal thought, every carnal sense or desire must yield to Truth. Our consciousness must know only Life, Love, and Truth. Then we live, we love; we are unchangeable in Truth, always sub- stance-idea, forever reflecting our Principle. This true spiritual consciousness is our divinity. It is our Christ-mind, and our power over sin, disease, and death. I long for the fulness of Love which fulfils the law of Spirit. You must know that our beloved Leader is making her great demonstration. It seems like the latter days. She will break the bonds of sin and death, and all the faithful will rise with her into the light of spiritual consciousness. Her resurrection will be our resurrection. We shall have part in the first resurrection, and over us the second death will have no power. We who have suffered with her will reign with her. All who have struggled to overcome physical sense, and, through spiritual sense have wrestled with mortal mind to destroy it, will never fear the suggestion of death. Disease has lost its power over us. We have God's promises, and they can never fail. I have only heard from Mr. T. . . once, but I feel sure that he is all right, since Mr. O. . . writes he is fine in Christian Science. T am convinced, N. . . dear, that you will gain much growth in the impersonal by this temporary separation. You will find each other in the spiritual mental, and will not be losing, but gaining your true individual selfhood. Letters of Encouragement to Students 257 i£ I send much love to M. . . . She is, I trust, making you all happy by forgetting personal self and thus blessing you and others. i? If we had only known in the past the secret of living, loving unselfishly and doing for others who are worthy and truly needy, how great would be our spiritual power and how much stronger we should be to-day to heal the sick and sinful. I am going to meet you at the steamer when you arrive here unless some call prevents me. Watch and pray without ceasing, for you know not when your Leader, the impersonal Christ-idea, will come mentally to you, and you must not be found in the mortal thought, asleep in the material senses. Love imtold to you all. r Ever yours, Augusta E. Stetson. .^ Hotel Touraine, Boston, Mass., June 15, 1907. My beloved Student: — I have felt it was hardly necessary to write you. Spiritual thought is a mighty power. We should strive to gain this divine impersonal impress as fast as possible and abandon material methods of conveying our mental messages or thoughts. I hope you are realizing the powerlessness of error to limit you; to keep away your patients, or to prevent God's word from healing through your reflection of Truth and Love. You know no fear. You are the expressed image of intelligence and Life, and no subtle so-called mortal mind argument can come as a cloud between you and Principle, which is your affluence. Know that error is but a cloud — a dream. Hold tenaciously to the real and eternal in Truth. You 258 Letters of Encouragement to Students must work and break the mesmeric efforts of mortal minds to shut off your supply. The sinner and the sufferer will come to you to be healed. As you handle error in yourself and for others, you will not be a channel for discouragement or fear. God fills all space, and you are in Him. I shall soon be with you. Oh! may I be free next season from the constant demands of so many upon my time, who keep me from more important work. Yet I feel that God will use me as He desires. Lovingly, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, July II, 1907. My beloved Student: — I know that I need not write you to assure you of my steadfast love for you, and my constant labors that I may so rise in the spiritual as to help you and all my lambkins to exalt the Christ -consciousness in themselves. I am penning a few lines only because I feel that you may hear me perhaps a little clearer if I give you ocular evidence of my close proximity. You may say, I do not need material evidence of pen and paper. If so, I am glad. The spiritual mental telephone must some time replace the old outgrown and cumbersome method of conveying thought. If we sit at a telephone, but can- not hear the message, the instrument is of no use to us. Let us then study, practise and demonstrate the spiritual mentality or mental telephone which will reveal ever-present Love and Her ideas, and over which no false mortal thought can be sent. In Truth there is no mortal mind, therefore there is no mortal, matter body. There is a seeming terrestrial Letters of Encouragement to Students 259 body, which is not substance, and which the light of Truth is fast dissolving. The celestial body, or the body of spiritual sense, is eternal substance, and this, I through faith and understanding, we are discerning. ' Some day the scales will fall from our flesh- veiled eyes, and we shall see face to face. Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking to Christ, who will 1 demonstrate to our longing sense the male and female of God's creating, — the ideal man, who has always ' existed in the bosom of Life, Love, and Truth. You are experiencing just what you need to exalt you Christ- ward, dear M. . . . God is good. He sent His angels, and they ministered to your necessities. I have had more true happiness from this than you can conceive, and no one will receive as much reward as the angel friends who obeyed the voice of Love and gave you the cup of cold water in Christ's name. Thus He gives His angels charge concerning us. My love to you and the dear ones whom God is blessing. All send much love. Faithfully yours, I Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, July 17, 1907. My dear Student: — I have made several ineffectual attempts to write you since you left, but this morning I am up before the others have awakened, and shall get this letter off to-day. There is nothing new to write you. The "same subject continued," would express it all. What more is necessary than to pray without ceasing, to watch, and to work for the Mind that was in Christ Jesus.? 26o Letters of Encouragement to Students This will work out our salvation, and free us from the claim of sin and physical self. I long to burst the fetters of finite sense, and feel the wings of faith and understand- ing lifting me to conscious power over error, and oneness with the Father. I want the '' dominion . . . over all the earth" which God has promised to His children, and which must be the result of the Christ-mind. Jesus demonstrated his mental might over the false carnal senses, and he said, "That they may be one [with the Father], as we are." Let us strive for the perfect model, and listen to our Way-shower who bids us be "perfect, even as your [our] Father which is in heaven is perfect. " It is a warfare with the fleshly mind, but we are sure of victory, and some day we will be able to say, "I have overcome the world" (the material senses). Then we will rejoice in " dominion" over all error. The dear church is as strong as the Rock of Ages. The "gates of hell" cannot prevail against it. Love is lifting us all above the fear and error of this Adam- dream, into the freedom of the sons and daughters of God. I rejoice daily that I see a marked change in every student, in the line of spiritual development. It is the hour when the law of Love must be fulfilled. We must never sink into the night of sensualism and lose our light. "They that sleep sleep in the night." We "are of the day" — therefore we must put off the things of the flesh — the old man (mortal thoughts) , and put on the Christ. I am glad that you are with your family. It is good to renew the old ties and take sweet counsel with those who are looking to Christ, and following on to know God. You need not limit your visit. There is not the slightest need to do so. Letters of Encouragement to Students 261 My three maids are the same good girls, and my chauffeur and house man are improving. H. . . and C. . . leave to-morrow. I shall miss them — they are such dear, happy children. We are all as usual, very happy and rejoicing in the work of unselfed love. Please remember me to your family, and with much love to you, dear M. . . , I am, Ever yours, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, September 15, 1907. My dear S, . . : — Your letter must be answered immediately, or I shall not get time to tell you how happy I was to read your strong words of scientific heart-to-heart communion. I was particularly pleased with your recognition of my relation to dear H. . . in whose thought I had sown the seed of Truth and Love — literally turned up the fallow ground, and planted the true substance, which ever lives by its own vitality. You, dear one, have carefully weeded and watered the garden, and you and I will see the fruit of our labors, our tears, toils, and prayers. H. . . will develop into the ideal man, for God is claiming His people and our beloved Leader is drawing us God-ward — away from material sense into the spiritual. The material manna has fed us long on our wilder- ness journey. Our fathers ate of it, and are dead. We must rise and follow Christ in the regeneration, and find the Word of God — the bread that cometh down from heaven — the substance which alone feeds and satisfies the immortal cravings. To-day the call of our Leader is "Choose ye." I am striving to find my Christ-thought or mind sufficient for every need. I 262 Letters of Encouragement to Students cannot tell you, dear S. . . , the joy and peace which are mine, nor can I tell you the necessity I see before me to "put off the old man" (mortal mind) and put on the new. I desire no longer to "eat and drink with the drunken, " but to partake of the bread of God, of which if a man eat he shall live forever. As mortals require material food and drink, so do immortals de- mand immortal food — love, peace, joy — the fruits of which are eternal life. Are we willing "to leave the false landmarks"? {Science and Health, p. 324.) Do we experience joy as we "see them disappear".^ The work before us is apparent. God demands our entire obedience to the law of Spirit. Are we beginning to eat of the heavenly manna? I am hoping that you may visit New York during the Association. You have always a loving welcome. The password is love — unselfed, and loyal to God, to our holy Leader, Mrs. Eddy, and to her loving loyal followers who labor for unity in the bonds of the Spirit. I know that your dear boy will be a man and stand for his Christ, in the school at Exeter. Deepest love to you, my dear S. . . Faithfully yours ever, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, September 27, 1907. My beloved Student: — Because I hear from you so frequently through A. . . I almost feel that you are with us, and so delay writing. You are always with me in these hours of your growth in grace. I am sure that you must feel the love which I reflect to you and dear Mr. E. . . This test of your Letters of Encouragement to Students 263 faith and understanding is lifting you to demonstrate the mighty power and presence of Truth. I know that the God whom you serve continually will lead you safely, and will draw you into such close, tender oneness with Himself, that you will some day rejoice that you were so blessed as to meet the sorrow- ful experiences which exalt you. Love comes so near, and is so dear when the claims of error attack and crucify us. Then God deHvers us. Evil tortures us until we rise into spiritual power, which casts out error and leaves us free as birds, to soar, and sing of God's goodness and love. After each victory, the lying senses have less of the carnal or mortal. This process must continue until material sense gives place to spiritual concepts, and we see God in man and the imiverse. The process of destruction is not agreeable. While Truth and Love are reconstructing the body, we shrink from the chisel and the hammer, which the great Maker and Builder uses in making us fit temples for the Holy Spirit. I, like Paul, have learned to rejoice in persecutions and in infirmities. I trust that dear Mr. E. . . is rejoicing in the death of a false sense. I am sure he knows the nothingness of the beHef, and does not fear it. All disease and discord are from the false material senses, which are dreams and illusions. We must awake and come forth, and (when we have suffered awhile) Christ will give us light. "If we suffer [with Christ], we shall also reign with him.'* Let us stand firm as an anvil when beaten upon, and Love will lift us above all the illusions called mental and physical discord. God is omnipotent. There is no other power, no other presence. Keep your eyes fixed on the goal of im- 264 Letters of Encouragement to Students mortality, and sing as you journey on, knowing that you will "reap, if we [you] faint not. " My love is always going out to you. I know that you are strong in Christ. Give my affectionate regards to Mr. E. . . Tell him to hold steadfastly to Truth and demand and finally redeem his birthright — perfect health, holiness, and immortal manhood. With my dearest love to you and to H. . . , I am, Ever faithfully yours, Augusta E, Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, November 13, 1907. Dearly Beloved, My Joy and Crown of Rejoicing: — ^ If love and gratitude could be measured, mine would outweigh the universe. Indeed, it would fill all space, and embrace you in the heaven and earth of Spirit — entirely separate from, beyond and above the jarring elements of finite conception. There, close nestled in the arms of Love, in the sweet secret of the Most High, I would listen for your response to the pulsations of the great Heart, our Father- Mother Mind. There would I lead you and there w^e would tarry. There we would see face to face. There would we hear the voice and see the substance- image of our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy. There we would partake of the feast which Love has prepared for us, and our hungry long- ings for substance, Truth, would be satisfied with living bread. There we would rejoice in boundless bliss, and chant praises to God, our creator and King, throughout endless cycles of eternal unfoldment. Shall we press forward shoulder to shoulder, heart responding to heart, reciprocally strengthened, as we ' To my Student-body Association. Letters of Encouragement to Students 265 soar above earth's illusions, into the pure atmosphere of spiritual consciousness? There is but one reply. Then, beloved of the Father, let us gird on the armor of love more securely, as we press toward the mark of the prize — perfect spiritual being, reflecting our Principle, Love and Truth. God bless you until your cup of blessings overflows, and you exclaim, "I am satisfied, my 'life is hid with Christ in God.' " Ever your faithful, loving teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, February 5, 1908. My beloved Students: — I am again reminded of your continued fidelity to Principle, to our beloved Leader, and to me, your teacher, in this latest expression of your loyal love. You are standing firmly at your posts, guarding the citadel of your thoughts, and it goes without saying that you admit no one who has not the password — divine Love. No disloyal mental waif can pass the guard and find lodgment in the temple of God — your spiritual thought. This is evidenced by frequent tests of your faith. You have been steadfast soldiers of Christian Science walking with me while I have, as teacher and under-shepherd, led you to the Great Shepherd — Christ. The enemy has always found you clad in invincible armor. To-day I rejoice in your abiding faith and wisdom, which assure me of your growth in grace, and in the demonstration of the Mind of Christ. . I love to think of you all as lilies unfolding in the garden of Love. My heart goes out to you unceasingly, that you may rise to spiritual understanding and 266 Letters of Encouragement to Students dominion over all error. Love must and will fulfil Her law in you and in me. Faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. telegrams' New York, N. Y., 5-18-08. There is but one union, God and man. Good governs every moment, and compels obedience to the law of Love. There is no power opposed to Love. Handle the belief of opposition to God, and His idea. Prove your Principle. Letter en route. A. E. S. New York, N. Y., 5-21-08. Right will prevail. Justice is omnipotent. The one Mind decides all questions. God and man co- exist and cooperate. The law of Spirit is the only law. Error never had a voice nor a presence. Truth and Love fill all space. A. E. S. New York, N. Y., 5-22-08. ' You reflect eternal Life, and are panoplied in Love's invincible armor. There is no power opposed to you. Reflect omnipotence — Christ, Truth, and anarchy will flee before God's idea — your spiritual self. A. E. S. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, May 18, 1908. My dear SUident: — Union with God is the only union. In Christian Science, Spirit governs, and there is no other presence, nor power. Error may seem to have power, but Christ ^ To a business man, during a strike. Letters of Encouragement to Students 267 is there, and you reflect him. You do not doubt your Principle. You know that the false claim malicious animal magnetism, the carnal qualities of the human mind, is stirred by Truth in this hour, and you also know that you have the opportunity to prove your sword, the Word of God. He works with, and through you, and you will see the mighty power of God, as He manifests His ever presence to you, His representative, as you labor to uplift that type of consciousness. Do not give malicious animal magnetism — evil — the lie — any power. This condition is not real. It is error de- stroying itself. It must go out under the power which God reflects through man. You have dominion as God's idea. I am strong in the battle for the unity of good. It is God who demands that we rise in realization to make null and void the seeming claim to another power and presence. ''The dragon cannot war" with us {Science and Health, p. 567). He is already "stung to death by his own malice" {Science and Health, p. 569), and of course his angels must be destroyed with him, for Michael and his angels must prevail against the false claim called the dragon. Love alone will fulfil the law. Love is omnipotent. Every man in that field is God's child. Every lie and every liar is impersonal evil and its personification, and "is neither person, place, nor thing," says our Leader {Science and Health, p. 71). This condition of anarchy is not real. Greed, avarice, and resistance to God's law never were true. No one ever believed that he was opposed to right^to law and order — because Life, Love, and Truth are all. I am with you in spirit. God will surely deliver you. Never doubt this. God and you are one as divine Mind and Mind's manifestation. 268 Letters of Encouragement to Students This will work out all right, and will prove how great is our God, who governs, by His perfect law of Truth and Love, the universe, including man. Rest in in- finite Love and see the effect of trusting Truth, and having no other trust. Affectionately, faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I West 96TH Street, May 29, 1908. My beloved Student: — The claim of witchcraft and rebellion has no power. Anarchy is uncovered, and when seen as a false claim can be destroyed by our reflection of Truth and Love. God reigns, and He will deliver you from all these avenues for the belief of evil. If you make so-called evil unreal. Truth and Love will soon drive out the evil-doers and in their places you will discern the real man. Evil-doers will cease to trouble you when you learn that mortal so-called mind and matter are illusions. Such lawlessness is short-lived. God reigns. Give my love to all. Handle the claim of witch- craft, rebellion, and anarchy, — the separating thought, — with your reflection of the Word of God. Love will deliver you. Work to free all from error. Untold love to J. . . and M. . . and yourself. Lovingly, faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, October 12, 1908. My beloved Student: — ' I am glad to hear from you, and to know that you are appreciating the opportunity to pioneer in that ' Written to a student who was working among the coal miners. Letters of Encouragement to Students 269 plane of belief. Some beliefs are better than others. I often realize that I am entering a slum mentality, while sense testimony declares for refinement, and money covers corporeality with purple and fine linen, gold and precious stones. But all the same it is a slum consciousness, though on Fifth Avenue, and needs to be cleansed of its impurity. I am sure that you can do much for others there, but far more for yourself, beloved, if you can, with Christian Science, and through the lens of Love, behold the idea of God in those people. This experience will exalt you, and will teach you what my pioneer work taught me — to see the utter falsity and unreality of mor- tal man and the material universe ; to be glad to destroy false material concepts, and to labor to find the image of Life, Love, and Truth in my brother and sister. Do not be deceived by the evidence of the material senses. God and His universe and man are every- where, and through spiritual sense you can pierce the veil and find the true man. The earth and its riches must be revealed. It is all mental. Look for the treasures in Mind, and your spiritual thought will evolve the true object. The thought of the people, as it is elevated and turned to good, will change the place, and the people, and the earth, in that location. I am sure, my dear student, that you will be more grateful for all the comforts you enjoy when you share the hardships of self-sacrifice and deprivations which dear Mr. G. . . has undergone to provide comforts and luxuries for you and his family. You and he will get rich reward for your kindness to me. When you get home I want to read to you some letters of our Leader, that you may see what your 270 Letters of Encouragement to Students reward will be for having been the reflector of God to me during the days when the enemy was determined to crush me with the burden of the cross. I know that you will be here for. the Association. I have met and risen above a claim in the past few days, and I am now ready to lift my student-body higher. Judge Hanna lectured here last evening. It was a fine lecture, and three thousand people are said to have heard it. Every inch of space was covered. Extra seats were put in, and those who stood were perfectly quiet, and seemed not to mind standing. I must close now, dear. I am so pressed with work and for lack of time I am not able to accomplish all I would. Give my kindest regards to dear Mr. G. . . , and tell him I am always striving to aid him in his work of revealing and taking possession of the earth of God's creating. I am sure you know how fast I am writing to get this off before the next patient, or impatient appears. Love untold to you, dearest. Faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, Junes, 1909. My beloved Student: — You, as God's idea, are reflecting the power and presence of Principle, Truth, and Love, and all must obey the word of the Christ- man, as God gives it to His idea. His image, and Hkeness. There can be no opposition to the divine man, who is God's glory and who reflects His will, and there is no other man. To understand the oneness of God and His idea, the Letters of Encouragement to Students 271 spiritual universe — generic man — reveals His indi- vidual ideas, the members of His body. Understanding and possessing God-qualities, we find that we are in our place and are governed by the mighty power of creative Mind, before which beliefs and the false claims of life and intelligence in mortal mind and its corporeal body must disappear. Here is the secret of the power of God's child, and he thus compels recognition and demonstrates divine Mind. Light dispels darkness. When one's eye is single the whole body is full of light. The knowledge of God's allness is the eye which is single, and your whole body is full of light so that beliefs disappear before the white Christ who is the man in God's image. You will lighten the load of error for every one and will reveal the ideal man when your spiritual sense dispels the illusions in your busi- ness. When you realize the spiritual origin of man, you will see your employees as your brothers, and spiritual sense will destroy your false concept of them. Then imity of action and prosperity in Truth will follow. Love is the fulfilling of the law. Faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, June 6, 1909. My beloved N. . . ; — Doubtless you are rejoicing in happy anticipation of the meeting, in person, with your dear husband and the reunion of the family, which will be a sweet reward for your long separation. The Truth of being declares there is but one Mind, one universe — generic man — that we are individual members of the body of Christ, 2']2 Letters of Encouragement to Students and that we are never separated. " Let God be true, but every [material] man a liar" [Science and Health , p. -471). We must hush this lie of personal sense, and escape from the bondage and limitations of belief, if we would reflect and manifest the man to whom God gave dominion over all things. We are fast bursting the bonds of belief, and are exercising man's prerogative — the power and presence of infinite Mind. Wisdom and intelligence will find expression in us when our spiritual sense dominates belief. Light disperses darkness. Arise then, beloved, and let your light shine. The glory of the Lord is His idea, and His arm is encircling you. His child, and is bestowing upon each individual idea blessings infinite. The dark shadows of corporeal sense, finite belief and illusions, are fast fading before the Christ- idea, who is God manifest. I long to catch a glimpse of the real and eternal universe and man, and to tarry in my divine selfhood until I can grasp, and retain the divine image. This vision which must finally come will give energy to endeavor. No longer will we be deceived by the delusive senses, nor sigh over idols and the images of Adam's generation — sin and sickness, sorrow and death. In this divine consciousness to which we journey there is only ever-present Life, Love, and Truth. God's dear children each reflect the fatherhood and mother- hood of Love. Each is whole, reflecting the compound idea, the male and female of Life and Love. Thus we are whole, not half. In this compound spiritual consciousness we have dominion. God is reflected, and our oneness is made with our Father, the Principle of being. I am constantly occupied with work, but Letters of Encouragement to Students 273 I never forget you, dear. My love flows to you con- tinually. Faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I West 96TH Street, August 11, 1909. My dear Student: — There is deliverance for dear Mrs. H. . . Put your trust in God. Christ will never fail in his promise, ' ' Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end.'* The test of our faith in divine Love and Truth, our heavenly Father, as the only presence and power, must come to all, sooner or later, and we pray that we may always be ready to meet the demands of Truth. The material world, the phenomena of the will of the flesh, must not deceive us. The will of God must be recognized and obeyed, if we would escape the ills to which flesh is heir. All must sooner or later plant themselves on the rock, Christ, and the sufferings of the flesh will finally turn all to divine Love. Either through suffering or Science, or both, we must learn the utter nothingness of matter and material phenomena, the allness of God and our relation to Him and the phenomena of Spirit. We cannot admit, and dwell in thought on the reahty of matter, and expect Spirit to form our spiritual concept. Let us be true to Principle, follow our beloved Leader out of matter into Mind, and thus behold the real substance-idea, or the reahty of our dear ones, who are tarrying in belief, till, awakened by suffering, they, like us, seek the Truth which sets free from material illusions. 274 Letters of Encouragement to Students You can help dear Mrs. H. . . only as you deny material sense testimony, and declare for her oneness with God. I am sure that you are meeting your own problem in this experience, and you will rise according to your adherence to Truth. That "All flesh [mortal mind and its material embodiment] is grass" (Isa. xl., 6) seems true to me. Mind is substance, — indi- viduality. The material body is a mirror reflecting what mortal mind impresses upon it. Let the Christ now be manifest on the flesh. Keep the true image ever before you, and thus help her, and free yourself from false mental pictures. We must be true to Christ in our thought. Keep your mind filled with Truth and Love. I am writing just a line to Mrs. H. . . for you to give her when she is permitted to hear from her friends. God is with you. This lesson will exalt you. There is no room for earth's idols. God and His ideas alone are real. Ever your affectionate, faithful teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, November 22, 1909. My beloved Students: — "God is our refuge and strength" (Psalm xlvi., i). I am in the "secret place of the most High" working, watching and praying to rise to the demands of Truth and Love, in this hour. The dross is being consumed and the gold appears. I see that only by the experi- ences of the refining furnace can the fleshly mind be consumed. The conflict with material mentalities, through which I have recently passed, has burned out much of the human self. I shall work, watch, and pray alone with God and for Him, till I rise to do the work of healin^: the sick Letters of Encouragement to Students 275 and sinful as true Christian Scientists should heal, in- stantaneously in every case, by destroying sin, the cause of all disease. I am following our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, and shall stand in the power of God, until purified as by fire. I like to feel that I am strong in faith to meet all that Love sends me. Love to you both, dear ones, and to your parents. Faithfully yours ever, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, March 10, 19 10. My beloved Student: — God is good. I am rejoicing in the peace which only spiritual sense can give. The hour is momen- tous. Only faith and spiritual understanding can meet it. Truth and Love will deliver all who put their trust in divine Mind. Never have I had such a firm grasp of my Father's hand, nor such love for our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy. I am on the rock, Christ, and I pray that you and dear M. . . are there also, forever. Love untold to you all. I cannot come in person but am with you in spirit. "God is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat." Lovingly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, June 15, 1910. Beloved Students: — "Wait, and love more'* {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 389) with our beloved Leader, and you will reap the reward of loving, and working alone with God and for Him. The Hght is shining in our hearts, and the way is luminous with life and love. I see the demon- 276 Letters of Encouragement to Students stration of divine Science more clearly every moment. Self-immolation reveals the ever-present ideal man and universe. Who can stand the test? Only they who discern and demonstrate Truth. I never believed that I should be teaching universal consciousness, as I am doing to-day by proving to the world the power of spiritual understanding to annul the false claim of malicious animal magnetism to destroy me mentally and physically. Yet this is God's way, and the silent influence of spiritual love reaches untold numbers, and uplifts me and mine and all who are ready to rise Spirit- ward. Faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, August 31, 1910. My beloved Student: — Just a few lines to tell you that I appreciate our blessed Leader's words, "Love is reflected in love'* {Science and Health, p. 17), and that you are one of Love's love to me. Your thorough work in character building, and efforts to build on a "wholly spiritual foundation" {Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 390) will, if you continue to stand in Truth, and endure to the end of all beliefs in a physical self, crown your life with success. When any one struggles for the Mind of Christ, and strives to bring every thought into obedience to Truth, he is building the "house [consciousness] not made with hands. ' ' It will be ' ' eternal in the heavens (harmony). I think of you often. S. . . writes that you are so brave and strong, and have done so much for our Cause. She says, "K. . . C. . . is a rock^ Letters of Encouragement to Students 277 in steadfast allegiance to Truth and such a student is worth teaching and working for. She will be and is a strong support to you as you come to be known for what you are. " I endorse what she says. Stand firm in Truth and Love. Be faithful to our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, and you will be true to yourself, to me, and to all. Please give my love to dear Miss J. . . Lovingly ever. Your faithful teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. -TiJ 2:0/ Wiry 3^b ^14 CHAPTER V LETTERS TO PATIENTS For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. I Corinthians iv., 20. Truth is as "the still, small voice,** which comes to our recognition only as our natures are changed by its silent influence. No and Yes, Introduction. 96 Fifth Avenue, New York City, April 21, 1896. My dear E. . . ; — I am sure that if you knew how often I send you strong, loving thoughts to make unreal to you your seeming false condition, you would know how faithful is my love, and how much I have to meet in sharing this experience with you. I know the hour will come when you will see that all things work together to wean us from the objects of material sense, and you will rise to your Christ-consciousness with purer desires for that which is immortal. I do not believe that we can enter the kingdom of spiritual consciousness until we have been made ready through self-abnegation, suffering, and the purifying process of the destruction of material sense and sin, or the belief of matter as sentient substance. Let the beasts (human beliefs) roar; they only devour and destroy themselves, and leave the pure Christ — our immortal being. You know, dear one, that 278 Letters to Patients 279 shadows are not substance. You know that mortal thoughts are but the false and fleeting, and not the reaHty. Then they do not deceive you, nor make you suffer. Your divine self is ever denying material sense testimony. God is ever with you, and Love is holding you in tender embrace above all that would cause you to falter. Lean more trustingly upon Him. Nestle more closely to Principle and, so far as you can, reflect divine Love upon your dear husband, who appears to your finite sense to be suffering. God is good and good is all. Ever yours lovingly, Augusta E. Stetson. 40 Dartmouth Street, Winter Hill, Mass., July 2, 1896. My dear Mr. H. , . ; — - Your letter is most welcome. I am glad to learn that ' you understand that all material evidence is false, that it is only the "old man" trying to assert himself, and claiming to possess life and intelligence. " The I blood, heart, lungs, brain, etc., have nothing to do : with Life" {Science and Health, p. 151). Your life is I in Mind. You are not material, and mortal mind, I with its mortal phenomenon, matter body, is but a I shadow. It cannot be either sick or well. It is but a belief. The Spirit, Truth, and Love, are moving upon the face of the waters of false sense, purifying you and dispelling the illusions which have so long held you in bondage. You possess the courage born of under- standing, which God imparts, and which nothing can destroy. Exercise it. Belief is not power. It is not real and is but a dream. You know that you are 28o Letters to Patients awaking from the protracted nightmare of fear, to learn that you have always been the image and likeness of God, — your only creator or Principle, whom you represent. Before ever the false sense obtained, as a false claim, you existed in Mind, and, when all material sense has vanished, and the remembrance of the dream has departed, you will still continue to manifest om- nipotence— intelligence — God, and exist in Life, Love and Truth, which evolve health, joy, peace, and immortality. Do you not see the utter falsity of this claim as able to overcome omnipotent Mind, or its idea? Mind is your refuge. Spirit heals by expelling the lie that mortal sense can create or destroy. Jesus said, ** ' Destroy this temple [body], and in three days I [Spirit] will raise it up ' " {Science and Health, p. 27). So may we, when we understand more, and possess more of Truth which reconstructs the body by removing the belief that any organ can be inflamed, ache or disappear. And why? Because matter has no sensation, no intelligence, no life, no substance, and this understanding of Truth will conquer the falsehood, which is the foe. Fear is to be overcome by Love. Love is All and ever-present, filling all space; therefore there is no room for fear. There is no one to fear, for you are God's image and likeness, and so are all. Substance is Mind, and you are substance-idea. Love and Truth are substance, and are everywhere manifested in objects. You cannot lose your God, and your God cannot lose you. God cannot lose a member of His (Christ's) body, and you are indissolubly connected with God and His Christ — an individual member of the body of Christ. There is no power opposed to God. He is the only cause and creator. We are in His beautiful world Letters to Patients 281 now. We are His loving, perfect children now. John says: *'Now are we the sons of God." He is the only God, and beside Him, I acknowledge none other. There is no mortal man; matter is a myth. Let us enter so far into this consciousness that vvc lose our fear of what mortal sense claims it can do. Then we shall gain our victory over error. We may as well do it here. The struggle for the supremacy of Mind over matter must go on until Truth, here or hereafter, casts out all material thoughts which are manifest in disease, discord, and death. I am writing with my paper on a book, as I sit on the porch, with the wind blowing hard, so you must pardon the writing. I am determined to finish this before any one interrupts me. I am trying to get rid of the echo of disturbed mortals, and you are the only patient I carry to-day. I know that you have gained suf- ficient understanding to realize that you are not sick, nor ever were. A dream has been broken ; an halluci- nation is being overcome, and you will prove that Truth sets you free from illusions. I do not charge you anything. In fact, I do not remember my visits, and I do not want anything more. You have paid me enough. Let me be in your debt, — only of loving gratitude, that God has manifested His power in raising you up from suffering where you can see how omnipotent is Mind, and how powerless and false is disease. I trust you will be strong in Christ. Now be happy. Have no fear. Rejoice in your dominion. All disease is the result of false mentality, and so false that it must go when Love and Truth are present. There is no matter. You know that God is All, and that Mind is health, holiness, and immortality. He who sees this has eternal life, and will never see 282 Letters to Patients death as real. Death is a farce, the fear of nothing. Love casts it out. Give my love to your precious wife. Tell her to be glad and rejoice that her husband has found Christ, and is, with her, solving the problem of human exist- ence, entering into the mystery of eternal Life. Write when you feel like it. Tenderly and truly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 96 Fifth Avenue, New York City, August 29, 1896. My dear Mr. L. . . ; — You are now immortal. Thank God that Love is ever-present and omnipotent. The Love that has destroyed the arrow that had wounded the dove is pouring into the wound the healing. Love will not fail to restore you to health. There is no other exist- ence but the spiritual. God is All, and man is His image. Of course you know this in the letter, but you must gain the spiritual sense. This spiritual understanding is Life, and Life's manifestation, man. Matter is not you, nor are you in matter. Man is outside the shadow cast by mortal belief, and mortal behef cannot prevent Spirit from destroying the shadow, with the pain and discord of personal sense, which is a falsehood. Who suffers? God and His idea? No. Then no one suffers, and you are above fears and hallucinations. Awake, and never yield to the falsity that Love, Life, and Truth, your creator whom you express, cannot conquer a lie. Love is healing you by destroying fear. Love to your dear wife. Ever yours sincerely, Augusta E. Stetson. Letters to Patients 283 96 Fifth Avenue, New York City, November 19, 1896. My dear F. . . ; — Do you remember the effect of your first treatment? The heavy chemicaHzation which followed the condi- tion then, is now the same. Your recent experience must have cast to the surface the error, or fear, and its phenomenon, or pain, followed, which is all that error can do — cast itself to the surface for self-extinction. You met it bravely with Truth and Love, and you have conquered. Do you remember how you came up after that experience? You will rise again into newness of Hfe after this victory over a false sense of life in matter. Your life is in God, Mind. You cannot lose your God nor yourself as a mental reflector of God. He is your strength, yotu* existence, and you must conquer all beliefs that matter or blood is anything but illusion — a ghost, having no power. Now take new hope and strength, and rise to see that there is only Life eternal from whence you derive your life. God is with you, fear nothing. Love is yoiir peace and strength. Eat and drink of the bread and the wine of Life and Love, and know that you can eat whatever is necessary to satisfy the demands of the beHef or material senses, until Spirit feeds and satisfies the immortal cravings. Lovingly, faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 24 West 720 Street, New York City, n^ L 7 J yr July 24. 1899. My beloved V. . . ; — Your life is yours to defend and enjoy. You proceed from the great Principle, eternal Life. Never lose this consciousness. You are not in matter — Love is 284 Letters to Patients ever holding you safe from all illusion of false substance. The only substance is Mind, and you can never be separated from this only substance, eternal Life. Do not believe material sense testimony. There is nothing to fear. Love is all, and you are safe in this ever- present divine Love. Let us be reflectors of good, voice our Father-Mother God, and never admit evil as a reality. Evil should not have a witness. May God make us conscious of our great power to rise superior to all sin, sickness, and death. Give my tender love to dear L. . . and M. . . and Mrs. D. . . , my precious jewels, whom I am helping to apprehend the real and eternal facts of being. If you feel like going so far, it would be pleasant for you to visit the Christian Science church near you. It is strong in Christian Science and Mr. and Mrs. S. . . are splendid, meek, loving reflectors of Truth and Love. Be strong, dear. It is a battle with error, but you will win, and rest like the dove, in the arms of omni- potent Love. Ever yotu* loving, faithful teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. 24 West 72D Street, New York City, January 12, 1900. My beloved Student: — I do not think that you know how my heart has gone out to you since you so bravely took up the w^ork of Christ, to relieve a dear little sufferer, and to carry divine Love into the home made unhappy by the belief that matter has life and intelligence. Now, my precious soldier, put on the full armor of Love and Truth. Forget self, and the material environments which are only type and symbol of the real and eternal. Letters to Patients 285 and, with eyes fixed on the white Christ, and often on bended mental knee, implore the dear Father- Mother God to fill your thought with such spiritual realization of the perfect child, God's own idea, His image and likeness, that the claim of discord and dis- ease in your patient will vanish like darkness before Hght. Our blessed mission is to relieve suffering humanity. Your present efforts are to restore this child of your dear friend's to health, and his divine harmony. God is with you. You know that He never made disease, and the spiritual identity of this child is God's own reflection. Error has clouded us all in the past, and all have suffered from ignorance of the Science of being. It is now time for all to awake and put on their strength. We are convinced that none, much longer, can resist the onward march of Mind. All will, ere long, open their eyes to see the cause of all sickness and death. Then humanity will arise and refuse to submit to the false thoughts which produce suffering. Mankind will choose the mental spiritual consciousness, and find the dominion and joy, health and peace which are man's birthright. Just a touch of this divine power, which is inherent in each of us, is a foretaste of heaven. As I look out upon suffering humanity, I see before it the inevitable diseases and disappointments, sorrows and separations of loved ones by the cruel deceiver, so-called death. I behold the helplessness of humanity to avert such conditions, and to preserve its health and God's manifold blessings. Then I cry out for wisdom and Love to aid me more speedily to bring the world to see the Truth ; that all is Mind, and that there is but one Mind who made the universe, pure, perfect. 286 Letters to Patients and eternal — and who made man to enjoy, not to suffer — to love, not to hate — to live, never to die. Thus "the way" Jesus marked out is becoming clearer to us all, viz.: that man must see himself as spiritually mental. Life, Love, and Truth are all. What seems to our finite sense, matter, sin, sickness, and death, is but the action of a false sense, and not the reality of life. The physical is but the manifesta- tion of the so-called mortal thought, which the im- mortal divine Mind will destroy, — first, its pains and beliefs will disappear, then, as the false mentality dissolves, the real and ideal man will appear. Let your demonstration of spiritual power appear in awakening the child to health and harmony. Talk to him, and teach him his power of resistance to error. He must be ready for Truth. The physical conflict which is going on is evidence of Truth's appearing to him. A little child may lead the parents into the Science of Life and Love. Oh ! if they only knew the wonder- ful work which is theirs to do in the near future ! All are coming into that Light, whose radiance is even now flooding the world. If they only knew what health, and joy and peace there are in Christian Science, they would turn their thoughts to the contemplation of the real and eternal! I shall be in Boston the sixth, seventh, and eighth of November. Now, dear student, heal your patient. Watch carefully and prayerfully with the child. Give my kindest regards to your friends, Mrs. and Mr. J. . . , and with ever-increasing love to you, dear, I am. Your faithful teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. [The child was healed.] Letters to Patients 287 Hotel Touraine, Boston, Mass., July 10, 1900. My dear Jkf . . , ; — You know that there is but one God, whose voice you recognize and obey. You cannot hear error through any avenue. You have no fear, for Love is your shield, and Love enfolds you. False mental suggestions or hypnotic influences cannot use you. ' You can rise and dispel false suggestions, and the lying arguments of the carnal mind. The only reality is divine Mind. Mind creates and controls the uni- j verse, including man. The material body and the material universe are the phenomena of false sense. They must vanish, and the real body and the real universe must appear. *' The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof." He made and governs all. Let us be consciously controlled by divine Mind, or Spirit, , and rest in the understanding that we are safe in the arms of our Mother-God, Love. You can see how powerless is weak human beHef, and how it appears and disappears. The claim, fear, is a tyrant, and until we break the fetters of belief of life in a matter body, we are subject to fears which end, as we have seen, in discord and disaster. So rejoice that you trust in God. ! Give much love to dear H. . . and A. . . and the i family. Be firm in regard to the position your sisters take against Christian Science. Let Truth and Love be your defense. Read our Leader's recent address, and rise and demonstrate over all error. I shall be with you to-morrow in spirit as you meet the test of your faith and understanding. M. . . did what she pleased with her own, and no one even dreamed what she was thinking until she had worked out with God her decision to give part of her money 28S^ Letters to Patients to the church. Neither would I, to whom she con- fided this in order to execute it, offer one suggestion. I refused to do this, and positively forbade her to give me in h6r will the five thousand dollars as she had planned to do. I knew she was able to judge what was best for the church, and this was between her and God. She is to-day looking higher than money for her support, and she realizes that God supplies every want, even as He clothes the lilies and feeds the sparrows. Day by day the manna must fall for us, before we rise above all material things. My heart goes out to you, dear M. . . Your sister was my valued student. My "cup" has been to part with her, and to crush the human longings, and refuse to yield to the belief that she has left us. She lives and acts in God's universe. Be strong — she is in our midst, just beyond the veil. God bless you and yours. Lovingly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, 143 West 48TH Street, January 3, 1901. My dear J. . . ; — I know you understand that I am often thinking of you, although I do not write frequently. Love is your refuge, and you realize how surely error is destroying itself. It cannot turn you for one moment from your trust in omnipotent Truth, nor compel you to admit that anything is disturbed but the false senses which Truth is destroying. Let Christ operate and recon- struct the body. ''When a false sense suffers, the true sense comes out" {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 276) are the words of our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy. You- Letters to Patients 289 I are rising to a higher sense of your divine image, and your heart must sing, as you soar into heights beyond the surging sea of human sense testimony. '\ As you chng to Christian Science and rise to meet the irresistible conflict between Christ and the so-called car- nal mind, you are surely grasping the eternal verities of true spiritual being. Love will remain your high tower : into which you can flee from mental and physical pain and fear. You know the allness of Mind, and that you are meeting the claim of false mortal mind, which Christ will destroy. Be brave, and trust and know that suffering does not last forever, but only until it destroys a false sense of life in matter. Whatever may seem to be defeat, as you work in Truth and Love, is not failure, but is Love's way of delivering us, as we merge from sense to Soul. Life is all and ever- -present. I I send you all deep, forever love, and I know that you 'are working out a problem for yourself, and your changed thought will help all. God will comfort and support you. i :;:i'.^:-i;j4 \o .11 i.t)i. Lovingly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, 143 West 48TH Street, January 12, 1901. My dear C . . . ' — Love is Life, joy, peace, and strength. Love is God, and God is All: there is naught else. Rejoice \hat you know this, and that there is but one God and His ideas. God is your Father and Mother. You know that you love God because you love your parents. You know that you are God's image and likeness, and so are they. You are happy in the dear home which 290 Letters to Patients Love has given you. Love gives you Her gifts through the dear father and mother — God's ideas. Only to false sense are they seemingly your material father and mother. You are happy and free and there is no confusion. You do not want to think of self. Think of them, and see what you can do to make them happy. Make some return for all they do for you. Sing and dance and ride a wheel and play like a happy child. Do not sit and pore over your books all the time, but read a page and then go and demonstrate what you have read. Love to your parents and much love to you, — also to each of the dear girls. Lovingly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, 143 West 48TH Street, August 19, 190 1. My dear L . . . ; — 3n iiiw Your letter received. You will fear no evil when you know that the conflict is only the death of personal sense and not the death of organic matter. Let us see it for just what it is, lust, hypocrisy, and malicious mortal mind — the material senses. You know that the carnal senses in all must die. Our dear Leader says, "Waking to Christ's demand, mortals experience suffering " {Science and Health, p. 22). Spirit is mov- ing upon the error, and the beast, our human senses, must yield to the Christ. Do not fear, but rejoice in the suffering which destroys your false claim. You will prolong your sleeplessness if you talk of it or think too much of it. Think how Love is wrestling with you to free you Letters to Patients 291 from sensuous mesmerism, the belief of life and sensa- tion in matter. Impersonal error is working through Mrs. . . . You will defend yourself from error by knowing that evil cannot use her as an avenue to injure herself or you. She is God's perfect child, and can only reflect Love and Truth to you, and receive Love and Truth from you. I have met this repeatedly during my warfare against impersonal evil which worked through personalities who allowed themselves to be agents or mouthpieces for so-called envy, jealousy, hatred, malice, revenge, etc. I am beyond the influence of impersonal error through her, and have only love for her and for all. The effort to harm me is evidence that I am fighting for Truth and Love. I need more humility, and experience and suffering will aid me toward acquiring it. Error only destroys itself. It has only the power you give it. You must fulfil the law of Love. ''''^^^-^■ Lovingly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, May 20, 1909. My dear K , . . : — No matter what belief says, God speaks to error through spiritual man, and declares error's powerless- ness and its nothingness. ' ' The law of Truth to error " is '"Thou shalt surely die' " (Miscellaneous Writings , p. 208). Evil and its embodiment "is neither person, place, nor thing " (Science and Health, p. 71). There is no power, no presence but Mind and its manifesta- tions. What, to your material sense, seems opposition to Hght, seems so only to your false sense. When you denounce and destroy your belief in a belief, you will 292 Letters to Patients get your dominion over finite concepts, the evil one, the He. God governs in D. . . " The earth is the Lord's '* and all that is within it. Command your spiritual understanding to demonstrate your Principle. This is your opportunity to solve a mental problem. It is really a problem in divine mathematics. You may call it your algebra. I wrote to M. . . yesterday. Your problem and hers are tests for you both. Conquer false sense and see the salvation of the Lord. I know that the nothingness of self -hypnotism and universal mesmerism will be apparent to you when you have proved the dominion of Mind, or good, over the illusion called evil. The business is not governed by evil mentalities, for evil has no reality unless you give it power. You are controlled by divine Mind, the only power. All material things are illusions and delusions. Let Mind come forth, through your spiritual reflection, in its manifestation of harmonious activity and prosperity. Faithfully yotu*s, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, June 6, 1909. My dear M. . . : — I am expecting to hear of your successful graduation in Berlin, and that you responded to intelligence, as my cablegram declared you could. I sent it at once, on receipt of your cable. I have worked faith- fully to reflect to you, dear, the presence of wisdom and Love. I trust you have been responsive to the power of Truth, and that every fear has been dissipated by my reflection of Love. Oh! if we all could sooner Letters to Patients 293 chase away the illusions which throng the gloaming. But we must be patient, and work, watch, and pray for the Mind of Christ. When we are obedient to the law or Mind of God, the Principle of being, all conflict will cease, and we shall be at peace, and shall manifest wisdom, might, and Life eternal. I send you much love, dearest. My work is occu- pying my every moment, and when you hear me mentally, as I reflect to you God's dear love, you will feel the strength and intelligence which will enable you to accomplish all that is demanded of you. Jesus said, "I will come and heal him." His Ego, the reflection of Principle — the Ego-man was the power with which he healed. Let us all find our Ego-God and radiate intelligence, wisdom, and love. Lovingly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, June 20, 1909. My dear L . . . ; — There is one Mind, ever-present Truth and Love, in which we all "live, and move, and have our being.'* There is no way to escape from this presence and power — therefore we are always safe if we abide in divine Love. There is much to give us joy and strength when we realize our oneness with Principle, and that we are and always have been God's reflectors, bearing His image. We are now perfect as our "Father which is in heaven. " God being All, there is no other presence nor power. We cannot believe this scientific statement of being and admit another presence and power called mortal mind, sin, sickness, and death, if we are beginning "to build ... on a wholly spiritual foundation " {Chris- 294 Letters to Patients tian Science Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 390). We must know that the illusion called mortal man and his material embodiment, a matter body, is false. Matter cannot testify of pain or of pleasure, for there is no matter. Mortal thought is a liar and was such from the be- ginning. You cannot believe a lie when you know the Truth, so never believe that the inanimate, cor- poreal body can suffer or enjoy. It is sensationless — it is not substance. It is merely a shadow which will disappear under the white light of Christ. It never lived, and therefore it has no life to surrender. Meet every argument of mortal mind with a protest. You have divine, spiritual power, and the Word is as effectual to-day to heal as it was during Jesus' experience. The Word is God. You are God's idea. Your presence, your consciousness is the re- flection of substance — Spirit, and you have only to understand and exercise your God-thought to dispel the illusions of belief. Stand firmly at your post. There is but one man — not two. You must speak to belief with authority, and know that Truth always conquers and destroys a lie. There never was a ma- terial Adam and Eve; there never was a material universe. The illusion called the material world will dissolve and disappear, and our spiritual concept will reveal a spiritual man who has always existed, and a spiritual universe which we have always occupied. Antedate your existence. Jesus said, ''Before Abra- ham was, I am." Mortal mind — the Adam-dream of life in matter — cannot deceive us longer. I shall be declaring this summer, that nothing will come to our church which needs your judgment and wisdom, since you must be absent. I am glad that Letters to Patients 295 you are not going to remain longer away— although I feel that you are never absent mentally from your dear church. I am going to write V. . . a line to-morrow. It is now one o'clock in the morning and I must close. Lovingly and faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, My dear B, . . ; — I have just received your letter with enclosed ap- preciation of my services. I rejoice that gratitude is one of your virtues, because a character which possesses this quaHty is sure to respond to the healing Truth. It opens the thought to the power of Christ, which the healer reflects, and melts away the belief of discord and disease. No matter how pressed I am with work, nor how heavy the burden of responsibility which I carry in my field of labor to establish the spiritual heaHng-power of true Christian Science, I shall always be ready to help you and yours, so long as you are striving, as you are, to "put off the old man" (belief of life in matter) and "put on the new man," the Christ-mind, in which is no sin, sickness, nor death. The Mind of Christ or Truth gives us dominion over the false senses which hold us with their discords to the matter body. Like light, spiritual thought dispels darkness, or the illusions of mortal beliefs. The warfare is between the mortal thought, the lie that matter can suffer and die, and the immortal or Christ-mind, which knows only eternal Life, Love, and Truth, and which conquers the beliefs of the so-called fleshly mind, restoring harmony to humanity. Each must some day begin 296 Letters to Patients the battle between the human and the divine, and learn to control his body, and business and environ- ment, by thinking God's thoughts, and refusing to submit to the so-called mortal thoughts which are continually testifying of pain and pleasure in matter. There is but one God, Mind, and man is God's image and likeness, spiritual consciousness, which is expressed in a perfect spiritual manifestation — Christ. There is but one creator; therefore all that seems to be the opposite of Life eternal, Love and Truth, is a false man, and a false creation — false thought manifest — dust to dust. The true spiritual thought will trans- form the body and the universe, revealing the perfect man and the perfect world of God's creating. Our blessed Leader, Mrs. Eddy, says, "Eternal Truth is changing the universe" {Science and Health, p. 255). We are all working to change our thought and to get the power of Spirit, that we may destroy the works of the devil, sin and death, and finally we must destroy the claim of a devil, the cause of all evil effects. God is and God is All. Therefore we will drive out all beliefs that we live in a matter bod}^, or a material world, and will gain our oneness with the great source of our being, eternal, conscious Life which will hold us in health and harmony. Trusting to our Principle, we must demonstrate the mighty power of God and His man to whom He gave dominion over all things. I thank you for your helping hand for my material needs. If you need any more assistance come to me, but I believe you are now free. Love to dear M. . . Ever your affectionate friend, Augusta E. Stetson. CHAPTER VI LETTERS OF COMFORT For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, . . . That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ. — Colossians ii., i, 2. God pities our woes with the love of a Father for His child, — not by becoming human, and knowing sin, or naught, but by removing our knowledge of what is not. He could not destroy our woes totally if He possessed any knowledge of them. His sympathy is divine, not human. — No and Yes, p. 30. 96 Fifth Avenue, New York City, Sunday, May 7, 1894. My dear F. . . : — I have only a short time before the evening service — ^yet I must write you if only a word or two. I look for you, dear, in Mind, for there only can I find you, but human sense calls for its manifestation, and as we have not yet dissolved this illusion, it still claims recognition. I am thankful that the belief or mortal mind has lost as much of its power over us as it has. I rejoice that the ideal can touch the ideal, and cognize the substance of Mind. Joy and gladness will be ours when this too solid seeming flesh, or clay disappears at last, never to deceive us more. Our church edifice at Madison Avenue and Twenty- ninth Street was well filled to-day. I think that you 297 298 Letters of Comfort all were there in spirit. Matter was not manifested as you, and as I lost the false concept for the true and spiritual, I thought of dear B. . . , my dear student, of darling G. . . and little A. . . , and last, but by no means least, my big boy student, A. . . , — such a fledgling in Science, but really preening his wings for a celestial flight. We are all ascending the hill of Christian Science together, and the stronger helps the weaker in the true brotherhood of Love. Only in spiritual consciousness can we find our reality — never in matter, and little by little we must lose our trust in materiality. God alone is our Father, our Mother, our Protector — the giver of all that is good, real, and eternal. As we apprehend this, we turn from the things of time and sense to contemplate the real and unseen. How like the weaning child we cry for that which was once so real and essential! Oh, my dear student, His hand is firm, His pruning knife is sure. He will cut out poisonous, noxious weeds (thoughts material) from our mind, and in their place will be found such spiritual thoughts as will bring forth peace and plenty, joy, strength, and life eternal. God's ideas have in them no element of care nor sorrow, pain nor death. Think how we hug to our bosom the lie, the belief that corporeality is real, the finite, material belief that always stings us. We should be glad to part with the false concept of our dear one though it may seem real. Look above "fading, finite forms" {Science and Health, p. 264). This matter existence is only a dream. Do not be deceived. You will reap, for you will not faint. We shall come up to the demands of Christ, if we are faith- ful, having our robes washed and made white, in suf- fering and Science. I see glimpses of heaven now. Letters of Comfort 299 I hear the harmony of heaven occasionally, and I know that we shall burst the veil of the fleshly mind and shall grasp the eternal consciousness. Losing the material, we shall gain the spiritual. I hope to see you in person soon. Dear L. . . seems very calm under this sore affliction and had a brighter look this morning than for some time. She feels the spiritual presence of her darling boy. Error cannot deceive her with its falsity that he is dead. Matter was not he but her false sense of him. Now she will look forward to destroying the material senses, and will work for spiritual sense which alone will reveal him. She will find herself looking to, and for the incorporeal idea, instead of fixing her thought and gaze upon the corporeal and fleshly form. It will be easier for her to declare there is no matter, All is Mind, now, and though it costs her tears and sighs, a wail and a moan, she cannot mourn as if she did not under- stand something of the Truth. Her mother-love will not lose sight of God's idea, whom she knew as G . . . ii^It is very unreal to me. I know that he is here, and has never gone, never died. What he left was his and our false concept of him. You seemed to bury him, but he was never in nor of matter. He was, and is spiritual, and is working on towards the full light. He will not be turned backward, but will press on, till he gains the vision of the real. Now, dear, remember, as I free myself from sin, belief of life in matter, false thoughts. Love will exalt me. Love's arms are about you, and will support me and you. Her voice will tenderly comfort and cheer you. You are a faithful soldier of our dear Leader, Mrs. Eddy. You will do your own work. 300 Letters of Comfort and overcome belief. I am ever with you mentally to cheer and encourage you. My love for you is beyond words. Will you watch and pray, dear, and know that we are fast losing the echo of error? Truth and Love are reappearing with "lap piled high with immortal fruits" {Science and Health, p. 494). All spiritual things will be ours when we abandon the counterfeit, the material senses. Do not grieve for illusions. There is not one material thing real. Wait till divine Love unclasps your hold on beliefs, and then you will see the smile of otu* Mother-God, and the dear ones whom you have loved and seem to have lost. Ever fondly and forever, Yours in love, Augusta E. Stetson. 143 West 48TH Street, New York City, April 27, 1898. My beloved Student: — You know that God is All, and that man is and ever was His image and likeness — spiritual and not material. You know that Love is with you, and will wipe away all tears from your eyes. You are sure that your dear companion is not in the material form which is left, but is a mental, spiritual man, existing in Mind, not in matter. He is not dead, but is living ; he is not absent, but is ever-present, and is one with God. We all have to learn to lean upon our Father- Mother God. "Thy Maker is thine husband'* (Isaiah liv., 5), and oh ! my dear student, I am so glad that you know this. Love will supply every want and "feed the fam- ished affections" {Science and Health, ];). ly). You will never grieve as they who believe that matter is real. Letters of Comfort 301 You know that he lives as God's idea and is near, and that only the veil of the fleshly mind hides him from you. This will some day be rent and your spiritual sense will behold your dear companion in his spiritual reality. In the meantime, God is very near to you, and will sustain and comfort you. How good is our God. You would have had no health, no understand- ing with which to meet this bereavement but for Christian Science. I am with you mentally at all times, and in person when necessary. Your sisters and brothers in Christian Science will comfort you in this hour. You know, dear, that they will send you tenderest sympathy, and will be with you to aid you. Our church is founded on the rock — Christ — and our beloved Leader watches over it. Love rules in every heart. Be sure ever to commune with God, and deny material sense testimony as far as you can. I send you loving, helpful thoughts, ever declaring there is no matter, all is Mind. Ever your faithful teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. Hotel Touraine, Boston, Mass., August 30, 1898. My beloved Student: — I received your letter, and wired you at once. The message was returned the next day, and I have since sent you mental messages. I will send this to the Rooms to be forwarded to you. I know, dear one, that you are going through an experience of this dream sense, which will prove to you the non-reality of matter, and you will see that the corporeal body was not the dear mother, but was your false sense of her. We learn the letter of Christian 302 Letters of Comfort Science, but the experiences of the illusive mortal mind teach us that spiritual substance alone is real. Our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, tells us to "look beyond fading, finite forms'* {Science and Health, p. 264), and find the true being. Your dear mother is mental and immortal. Because our concept is still material we cannot bring out the embodiment or expression of spiritual personality or her individuality. Love's ideas are forever present, and your mother is, as ever, God's idea. She lives in the real and only universe. She is as truly active and substantial as her creator whom she reflects. This is the scientific fact of being. There is no mortal mind, no matter. There is but one cause — eternal Life, Love, and Truth, and she is an individual idea forever manifesting ever-present, omni-active Mind. You can rejoice in the understanding that the claim of limitation — finite belief — which held her so long has destroyed itself, and that she has awakened from this plane of belief and will press on toward spiritual sense which will destroy all belief of matter. The Truth and Love which your mother learned and demonstrated while in this stage of belief will be her strength and deliverer, and she will make rapid transit into spiritual freedom and oneness with Love. You can now rest, dearest F. . . , and rise to the spiritual, till you awake and behold her, and all, in the image of our Father- Mother God. I passed through the same experience of loss of my material sense of an earthly father. I once thought I could not endure the separation. When it came five years ago I was surprised to find that I had lost so much of my false sense of him, and gained so much of my true sense, that I saw matter for what it was — • a shadow — and I felt the substance of his dear love Letters of Comfort 303 and noble character as tangibly as I once seejned to feel his material presence. This showed me that he never lived in matter, and that I had never seen his individual identity. It gave me fresh impulse to press forward and reveal God's man and universe, including my dear father, who was, and is, God's idea. I also saw that I had but one Father-Mother God. You have been a loving, faithful daughter. You have much to make you happy in the thought that you brought your mother to Truth, and that she awoke in the light. Now turn to your father and work for him as far as he will permit. Make him happy in Truth. Let your love reflect so much of the Christ that it will cheer and comfort, and lead him to God. I have not had a day of vacation yet. Each hour has been filled with work for our Cause and for patients and students, and my church. I never cease my active work in Christian Science. ' i Give my loving sympathy to your father, and with boundless love to you, dear, and to B. . . , I am, Your faithful teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. 24 West 72ND Street, New York City, June 20, 1899. My beloved Student: — I know that you are strong in the understanding that man is spiritual and not material. You know that God is eternal Life, and that man is His image and likeness. You also have learned from the Com- forter, Science and Health, that matter is but a false sense, a mortal belief, an error, having no Hfe nor intelligence. The sense dreams have seemed very real, and we often mistook them for God's eternal verities; but Truth has shown the objects of the deceitful 304 Letters of Comfort material senses to be shadows, while Mind alone is substance. This experience came to you after the long night of tears, and prayers, and pleadings for God to show you the way, and now you are beholding the nothingness of that which once was to your human conception the real man. Dear heart. Love is sure to fill the void. You know where to turn for rest and peace. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee. " Once the true spiritual sense is awakened this dream- sense cannot cloud us. We love to think of all the good and Christly acts and words of our dear ones, as we have 'journeyed with them through the wilder- ness of mortal mind. The good they expressed lives on, some day to unfold into perfect manhood and womanhood in the perfect consciousness, w^hich is the Mind of Christ. You are strong to meet every shadow that crosses your mental sky. You cannot falter, but will continue on upward wing, looking to the hour of final deliverance from the sin, suffering, and sorrow of this earthly house, which is now gradually dissolving. Truth and Love is revealing our "building of God" — our spiritual individuality or identity — spiritual con- sciousness. Do not look into matter for man. He is not there, he is in Spirit. Remember, "Thy Maker is thine husband," and lean more trustingly on the infinite arm. Love sustains us all, and Love will fold you to Her great heart, and whisper the lullaby which alone calms the troubled child. This experience is a dream. All is Life — no one has died. Let all progress in divine order, and let us hush the selfish sorrow that would keep humanity longer in bondage. Live for God, and for those who have life's journey before them. Lighten others' burdens with Letters of Comfort 305 smiles of cheer and acts of love. I know that you will, my dear student. You have won your way into your teacher's heart by your patient, faithful adherence to Christ, and obedience to God's demands — by your loyalty to our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, and to me, your teacher. I am looking forward to your return, and am ever with you. My true sympathy is with you and the dear ones, all, but it is not voiced in the old tongue, which pierced the heart and accentuated sorrow. There is no death. God is All, and He is Life. You have not lost your dear one. He lives, and continues to exist. You have only lost your false sense of him. I sympathize with you for your sense of loss. God will show you the love which is so gentle, and which will soothe the heart. "Love not the [material] world, neither the things that are in the [material] world. " The world of Spirit is our goal, and our gaze must be fixed there. Please give my love and sym- pathy to each member of your family and with tender, ever-increasing love to you, I am, Ever your faithful teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. 24 West 72ND Street, New York City, May 19, 1902. My dear Student: — The motherhood of God, Love, overshadows you in this experience, and "underneath are the everlasting arms." There is one material idol less, and the ideal loved one is never absent. Your dear mother cannot be separated from God for an instant; therefore she lives, and is hidden from our view only because we look through the material concept, instead of through the 3o6 Letters of Comfort spiritual. When we lose the finite and unreal, and see through spiritual sense, we shall behold her in the beauty of spiritual individuality. How we long, and labor, and pray for a glimpse of the real. I know that you will rise higher in the realm of Spirit as you seek for the loved, but not lost. You must not believe she has left you. Continue to think of her in Mind; of her love and Christly character, and shut out the false image which she has thrown off. Thus you will find her in Mind, and you can wait patiently until you behold her substance- presence in God's image — the perfect, glorified child of our Father-Mother God. Oh, dear heart, learn to lose with God, and see the nothingness of matter. "All flesh is grass" (Isaiah xl., 6). It is not substance. God and His ideas are real and eternal, and your loved mother lives — a spiritual, mental being. I have learned most salutary lessons since my two dear ones passed from my sight this year. I feel nearer to them both since the false "material pigment" {Retrospection and Introspection, p. 79) has disappeared. Their mental spiritual influence, as God's ideas, has never left me. I send you deepest love, and know that divine Love sustains you. Faithfully your teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. 24 West 72ND Street, New York City, November 20, 1902. My beloved Student: — "Weeping may endure for a night, but jo}^ cometh in the morning." How we realize the fleeting joys of the human, when its sorrows overflow the heart, Letters of Comfort 307 and we are left to learn that our Father alone can feed the immortal cravings. How we are compelled to cling to the dear divine Love — our God, when the severance of fleshly ties casts us, dreary and desolate, on the shores of time, and hope and faith are found inadequate to soothe and strengthen. My dear student, lean more confidingly on Christ. Love never faileth. You know that your dear companion has not died, and that which seems death is but transition. His mind can never cease to exist and act, for it came from God, and lives, and moves, and has its being in God, who is ever-present — therefore His representative, the spiritual man, is ever-present. Matter is only the false and temporal, which sooner or later must return to dust, its native nothingness. We must rise to spiritual sense and Truth will reveal him. The dear, real man — made in God's image and likeness — lives on, and is active and intelligent, only hidden from our sight because of our false corporeal sense. Oh! ''who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Christ is our life. We are spiritual re- flectors of our creator, eternal Life, Mind, Soul, Spirit. We are one with God, as our Master declared when he said, "That they may be one [with the Father], as we are." Your dear husband was noble, and true to his religious convictions, and was most just and kind. His was an exceptional character^ — conscientious, faithful to every obligation — respected and loved by all who knew him. I always saw the Christ-element in him, and I loved him as a dear child of God, my brother, who was striving to find eternal Life. He is still with us. Let us know that there is but one creator and one creation, and that he is rising and o 08 Letters of Comfort unfolding in the real and eternal, just as 2ve are rising to more spiritual discernment of our individual identity, and are coming more and more consciously into our oneness with the Father. Mr. V. . . never would have left as he did, but for a momentary letting go of his spiritual mental dominion. He yielded to the arguments of mortal mind. Mrs. Eddy says, "The belief of that mortal that he must die occasioned his departure " {Science and Health, p. 312). Let us cling more steadfastly to the God whom we worship, and whom your dear companion is reflecting, and after the storm of sorrow has calmed. Love will fill your heart, dearest, with peace and rest. ''Christ will command the wave" [Science and Health, p. 570), Love will triumph and you will find again your dear com- panion, safe and joyous in God's happy universe, where ''there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed aw^ay. " God bless and keep you and the dear ones all who have had to meet this experience. My love ever flows to you. Love is always reflected in love. Every student and church member will send you tenderest love and deep true Christian Science sympathy. Ever your faithful teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I West 96TH Street, February 15, 1905. My dear Mr. . . .* — I am sure you know that I am with you in this hour of your experience, when the parting from a loved mother, the severance of the human tie, which Letters of Comfort 3^9 has for so many years bound you, has come. You have been a tender, loving son, and you will meet this transition with a calm trust in the Love which will care for your dear mother, and will comfort and pro- tect her far beyond all that your human love could do for her. She was a Christian Scientist, and knew the truth of being; therefore she has the light, and has awakened to fairer scenes, having progressed through suffering and the experiences of this dream existence. She will rise to know her reality, and will go from height to height of strength, joy, and peace, until she attains the perfect manifestation of her perfect spiritual selfhood, and rejoices in immortality. You and I must follow Christ on this plane of existence and strive to demonstrate immortality. Some day we shall burst the veil of material sense, not through death, but through the understanding of ever-present Life, and will behold our dear ones, perfect as the Father — our creator — is perfect. The helplessness of age appeals to our deepest affection, and the separation from our dear parents, at present, causes a wrenching of the heartstrings. This is all the dream belief. We know that our loved ones never lived in matter, therefore they have never died. They still are with us. We know that their individuality is with us, and will be revealed to us when they, and we, gain our spiritual sense. I am not unmindful of your wife, who has so lovingly shared in the tender care of your mother. She has been a true daughter to her. You will miss your mother's tender ministrations, but it is better that Christian Science has enabled her to escape from the bonds of the fleshly mind tmder- standingly, and to soar into a more spiritual conscious- ness. Love will guide and bless you. My deepest love 3IO Letters of Comfort is with you all to-morrow. There will be peace and calm for Love comes nearer to us in such hours. I am about to write G. . . and A. . . " ■'•' ^^ Ever yours, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, March 24, 1907. My dear Student: — Our beloved Leader tells us that " Sorrow is salu- tary. Through great tribulation we enter the kingdom. Trials are proofs of God's care. Spiritual development germinates not from seed sown in the soil of material hopes, but when these decay, Love propagates anew the higher joys of Spirit, which have no taint of earth " (Science and Health, p. 66). My beloved student, this experience will exalt you to see your dear son H. . . in God's image, pure and Christly, free from the dross of material sense, and already, as he has always been, in the true image and likeness of his Maker. "The encumbering mortal molecules, called man" (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 205), he repudiates, and his brave fight for his immortal man- hood will win for him, as he unfolds in spirituality, a sure entrance into his oneness with eternal Life. Lilce his Way-shower, Jesus the Christ, who, on the cross, refused the narcotic which would have quieted the material senses for awhile, so your dear son pre- ferred to taste the claim of death, rather than escape its pangs by resorting to a drug. He drank the jidl cup. He made no terms with mortal mind, but met the foe with faith that divine Love would usher him into the light of a higher plane of existence. Over Letters of Comfort 3rf our dear H. . . the second suggestion of the claim of death can have no power. He is free and joyous, in a consciousness which has suffered out of much of the claim of a fleshly mind, and has paid a large part of the debt of belief of life in matter, for himself; the debt being the belief that matter ever was intelligent or any part of himself. What an example for all! What a hero he has been ! How much of the belief of the reality of sin its pains and its pleasures he has destroyed for himself and for universal consciousness ! Consciousness must be uplifted by his contest with error, even though he did not quite finish his problem and remain visible to us. He is a power, an invisible presence with us, such as he never was before. His pure spiritual thought will be felt in our student-body and church members, with the potency of his spiritual realization. We shall feel his dear presence and know that one soldier has fought the good fight, and has kept the faith and never resorted to drugs. He is no longer bringing out wholly material conditions, but his true sense is unfolding and he is realizing the wonders and beauties of an advanced spiritualized sense. I feel that his transit to a more harmonious plane of consciousness has been attained, because he under standingly suffered out of the flesh. We shall never consider him as absent from us. The voice of God's idea, your dear son, will sound more sweetly in your journey towards Spirit, than ever sounded his voice when uttered through materiality. My dear student, rise with your Christ to follow your dear son, who is constantly ascending in the scale of spiritual being. Let him inspire you with his demonstration of trust in God, and his willingness to endure unto the end. I send you deepest love. 312 Letters of Comfort I know that you understand what this means to me. God will come near to you, and to me, and to all who are clinging steadfastly to Him in this hour — these latter days — which God must and will shorten "for the elect's sake." Faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. Telegram Hotel Touraine, Boston, Mass., June 20, 1907. My beloved Student: — Rejoice that you know the reality of being. Rejoice that you know how to worship God and how to deny the seeming reality of matter. Rejoice that you have stood for your Christ against all tests, and that your dear son worked scientifically to the end. He does not have to undo poor work, but is progressing in the line of light, rising from glory to glory, and will unfold till all corporeal sense is lost and his divine manhood is revealed. Love to my students in your household. Lovingly, faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I West 96TH Street, September 20, 1907. My beloved Students: — J. . . is ever with us, since matter never was the real individual. Mortals claim and can have the material body. We repudiate its claim to substance or as any part of God's creation. Clinging to the fleshly Letters of Comfort 313 embodiment, and the idolatry of fleshly relations has prevented many a soldier of Christ from winning his victory over the claim of life in matter. We must rise in this hour to perceive, through spiritual sense, that the sensuous appetites bring death. Are we ready to eat of the bread of God and live? Even the ** apple," so seemingly innocent, put Eve in bondage to the senses, the belief of good and evil. Are we eating and drinking with the drunken to-day? Do we partake of the tree of good and evil? Let us ascend in the scale of being by following the Mas- ter and our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy. However slowly we progress, let it be progress Spirit-ward. Turn away, little by little, from the pleasures of corporeal sense, and ask divine Love to give you the true substance which will satisfy the immortal longings. We often mistake our hunger for righteousness, for hunger for material things. We feed the carnal senses with carnal food, thereby strengthening belief, until belief comes to its limit. If we eat of the tree of pleasure in matter, we shall die. If we eat of the tree of eternal Life, we shall live. Rise, dear ones, to see this, and God will gently lead those with young— the new idea. Love untold to you both. J. . . is rising continually in spiritual power, and we must rise with her. So-called malicious animal magnetism must be handled with Truth and Love reflected by us. Take time to do work on this. M. A. M. is the dragon which Christ will cast down to the earth, if you work to make Love and Truth the reality of being. Love to all the dear students. Lovingly ever, Augusta E. Stetson. 314 Letters of Comfort 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, August 26, 19 10. My beloved Students: — How truly we are all learning the nothingness of matter and the allness and substance of Mind! The false material concepts which have so long expressed their false phenomena, and which have hidden from our view the spiritual idea, are fading, and we are proving matter to be without life or intelligence. This is teaching us that we must spiritualize our thought if we would reveal the real man whom God creates and governs. A spiritual consciousness is necessary to enable us to behold man in God's image and likeness, the eternal manifestation, or spiritual idea. Our dear E. . . never lived in matter. God is his parent — Father, Mother, Life, and he cannot be separated from eternal Mind. He cannot go anywhere but to the Father, ever-present Love, whose ideas are ever-present to spiritual sense. The fading, finite, false concepts must disappear, and their manifestations depart, that the real and spiritual man may appear. You have only lost your physical concept of dear E. . . The finite embodiment was real and dear to your material sense. Idolatry weaves its cords tightly around its object, and holds it firmly in human love, or love of fleshly personality. Spirit operates and severs the human ties, and through suffering and Science we are compelled to look beyond material sense-evidence or the veil of flesh, to God, the only creator, and man, the perfect and eternal expression of creative Life, Love, and Truth. A change of consciousness will reveal this to you, and you will love to work for your spiritual concept, which will disclose the ever-present Christ and dear Letters of Comfort 315 E. . . as a member — idea — of the body of Christ. He is being ''Hfted up" to assimilate himself to God — to grasp the things of Spirit, and is drawing you Spirit- ward. Our blessed Leader, Mrs. Eddy, has taught us how to walk after the Spirit, and that God and His spiritual universe, peopled with spiritual beings, are here. This is the knowledge of God and His Christ — ■ man — and is eternal Life. This is the only universe, for in Christian Science Spirit is infinite — there is no other presence nor power. In this spiritualized consciousness there is no death, neither sorrow nor sighing. Love is the atmosphere of the spiritual and ever-present universe. E. . . is breathing deep draughts of the life-quickening power of Soul, his source and supply of life. Human belief and human love will not forever hide from us our loved ones. The light of spiritual understanding will dispel the shadow called mortal mind and its embodiment, and the individual identity will be seen. Read from Miscellaneous Writings, page 42, and thank God that we have a spiritual Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, who teaches us that ''Life is real, and death is the illusion " {Science and Health, p. 428). I am sure, my dear students, that you will rise and take possession of your birthright — your spiritual consciousness. This seems to require time and much spiritual growth. But peace and spiritual love are sure to follow every demonstration over the belief of life in matter. Love never faileth. Our Leader says, ''divine Love cannot be deprived of its manifestation, or object " (Science and Health, p. 304). You must not lose, but reveal E. . . — not in the image of sin, sickness, and death, but in the image of God. 3i6 Letters of Comfort My loving sympathy is with you in this time-world experience. " We must feel ere we can pity, We must long before we pray, We must know the need of comfort Ere we cheer another's way." I have drunk the cup of earthly woe, separation from loved ones, to its dregs. There is no redundant drop in the cup our Father gives us. You will find the dear Christ ever-present to wipe away every tear. You will arise from your dream and follow Love's leadings. Much love to the children. Lovingly, faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, September 28, 19 10. Dear Dr. and Mrs, W. . . ; — ' My heart goes out to you, in deepest sympathy. The call has come to you, to pass under Love's rod. I pray that Love's staff may comfort you, and feed and fill the famished affections. Yoiu- darling, God's dear child, tarried awhile wdth you in the flesh, twined his loving arms around you, filled your hearts with his sweet presence and then preened his wdngs for a heaven-ward flight. He has risen to a higher and more spiritual consciousness ; and will draw you above the temporal earth-weights, to his Father and to your Father, to his God and to your God. For several years I have seen the noble, manly laddie go in and out. His youth and goodness have strongly appealed to me, and I have realized that his * To a neighboring Presbyterian minister and his wife. Letters of Comfort 317 physical and mental development evidenced the sweet Christian home influence of his devoted parents. He still lives, and loves, and constantly ascends in the scale of spiritual unfoldment of intelligence and eternal Life. He is hidden from view only because our eyes are flesh- veiled. Spiritual sight will reveal him, and for that, all who love and serve God are working, and praying. "There is no death ! What seems so is transi- tion." You will not always sigh for ''the touch of a vanished hand, and the sound of a voice that is still. " May we see our loving Father's hand in all our experiences in this temporal existence, kiss the cross and await the hour when we shall meet and clasp in loving embrace, the loved and seemingly "lost awhile. " Most sincerely your friend, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, December 15, 19 10. My dear Dr. W. . . :—' God alone can satisfy the immortal cravings, and feed the "famished affections" {Science and Health, p. 17). There is no death. Transition is but rising higher from the human to the divine consciousness, to realize more the ever-presence of eternal Life, our God, the source of our being, and the supply of all His creation. Dear brother, lean more heavily on the great heart of Christ. Your cry will reach the ear of infinite Love, and the peace that floweth like a river will course through your being. You will not ask in vain, and God will wipe away all tears from your eyes. Your dear companion has only gone before. The loss of earth-weights shortens the way to spiritual Life. ^ To a Clergyman. 3i8 Letters of Comfort *' Now the tuning and the tension, Wailing minors, discord strong; Afterward, the grand ascension Of the Alleluia song." I enclose a sweet poem. With tenderest sympathy, Sincerely yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, July 12, 1911. My beloved Student: — I have just learned from V. . . that Mr. S. . . has passed on. I recognize only the real man, in God's image and likeness, who never was in, nor of matter, and never died, for there is no matter to live or to die. Mind, God, and His man, or manifestation is All. The operation of Spirit dissolved much belief that held human thought to the shadow body of the false mortal concept. He was not permitted to go as was threatened years before. Divine Love gave him the ministry of Truth through Her reflectors, that he might get a grasp on Truth and Love ere he progressed towards the further unfolding of eternal Life, his source and ultimate of being. He has the blessed Truth. He accepted divine Science as far as he could receive and assimilate it. He is advancing on upward soaring thought-pinions and this transition strengthens his realization of eternal Life. We are all learning that the material molecule called matter never had life, never was bom and never died. We are learning to turn from this false mortal so-called body, and to be present with Spirit, eternal Mind, which, as ideas, we reflect. Eternal consciousness is our life, our substance-being. We are turning away from the idolatry of the Adam belief, corporeality, the Letters of Comfort 319 material sense or the dream worid, and are uniting our thoughts with our God and the ideas which compose the body of Christ. We are assimilating ourselves to immortal consciousness, and are finding our oneness with the Father, and with His idea, — Christ. We are learning the meaning of Paul's words, to be "fitly joined together," united in the bonds of Spirit. This is our precious Leader's hour. She is God's interpreter to the children of the twentieth century. There will be less belief of life in matter for them, for Christ is come, and will reign forever as the ideal spiritual representative of eternal Life, Love, and Truth. Mr. S. . . will continue to rise out of his false material sense into his spiritual sense and will finally attain to a '' wholly spiritual " consciousness {Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 390). I wish he could have remained and demonstrated here, but it seemed not possible. We are thanldul that he saw the truth of being as clearly as he did. He lives and is active. He was very dear when I last saw him. Love is leading him as She leads all, and he will learn with us, that ''Spirit is infinite; therefore Spirit is all," including spiritual man and the spiritual universe. We must remember our beloved Leader's advice to me and to my loyal students everywhere, to begin *'to build ... on a wholly spiritual foundation.'* Shadows must disperse before the substance-idea. The Christian Scientist must speak with authority to the man of sin, the fleshly belief, and command error to cease. He must declare that matter possesses neither life nor substance. He cannot admit two powers, nor two men. There is one God, one Christ, one man — the spiritual universe, including individual members which 320 Letters of Comiort comprise the body of Christ. This is the only reahty. No one ever died, and I am glad that I have risen to fight for God and His ideas as the real and only people. If we are faithful to our teachings, evil cannot claim a universe nor a man. Death must finally cease with those who gain the spiritual understanding, which is Life. Our Leader will reappear to the world, and prove the Word of God to be Truth. The Love of God will compel belief to cease to claim life, and will drive sin and death out of consciousness. Rejoice, my dear student, that you know this truth, and try to make your demonstration of eternal ever- present Life. Give my true Christian sympathy to your dear mother and son. They will see the nothing- ness of matter in this experience, and will feel the presence of the man who never lived in matter, but who was, is, and ever will be the spiritual man of God's creating — never absent, only hidden from view by our fleshly concept. Be strong, dear. You are meeting the test of your faith and understanding. Do this by "leaning on the sustaining infinite" {Science and Health, Preface, p. vii.). You do not need human sympathy, but divine understanding and love. Lovingly, faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. RETROSPECTION^ Sitting and musing alone to-night, While the moonbeams reflect their shimmering light, And the waters below, in silver sheen. Like the streets of our heavenly home, I ween; While the twinkling stars, with their radiance bright, Talk of angel forms in the world of light, — 'Written in Bombay, India, in 1880. Letters of Comfort 321 I dream, and the waters whispering low, Tell of childhood, and friends of long ago. I yield me to memory, and once more tread Those childhood paths, which with joy I sped, And I sit again on my father's knee, And list to the tales he told to me. I gaze on his face, so young and fair, And can see no trace of age or care; So I sit as a child, on my father's knee, And list to his loving words to me. Dear mother appears, — what word so sweet; Again as of yore, I kneel at her feet. And learn from her lips the words of Truth, As she taught me of God, through childhood and youth. I hear her speak in her gentle tone, - Of our dear Redeemer, who trod alone The winepress, and suffered to set men free From sin, and from death, in Gethsemane. I am clasped to her heart, as in youth, she pressed Her little one to her loving breast ; And I feel her heart with joy beat wild; As she hopes, and prays, for her darling child. Then I pass my hand through her rich brown hair. But can see no thread of silver there. And so to-night as a child, I rest In a beautiful dream, on my mother's breast. — The dream is o'er, I wake from the past. Too bright, too beautiful far to last; My heart is sad, and I hush a sigh, As my thoughts to my distant parents fly. Oh! deep in my soul lies a fer\^ent prayer Of thanks to God, for His tender care, For my parents, spared to me so long, Till I chose the right, and shunned the wrong. 322 Letters of Comfort My father dear, as I think of thee, Time has furrowed thy cheek I see ; Thy step is less firm, and thine eye has less light, But thy heart is as youthful, thy smile is as bright. And there as in childhood, again I would rest, On my noble, loving father's breast. Dear saintly mother has felt Time's hand. He has touched her Hghtly with his wand, And as I look on her beautiful hair, Some threads of silver I notice there. But her heart has resisted the storms of time, And is loving, and brave, as in youthful prime. If efforts to render me worthy your care Are crowned with fruition, in answer to prayer, Then I will reward you, — and comfort always, And thus my creator will honor and praise. Oh ! love is abiding, enduring for aye, And gratitude wipes every tear-drop away. Thus love and deep thankfulness, — offerings meet, I lay as a tribute, dear ones, at your feet.^ / V ^' A. E. S. CHAPTER VII LETTERS OF THANKS If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? — i Corinthians ix., ii. Gratitude is much more than a verbal expression of thanks. Action expresses more gratitude than speech.— Science and Health, p. 3. I make strong demands on love, call for active witnesses to prove it, and noble sacrifices and grand achievements as its results. Miscellaneous Writings, p. 250. 24 West 72ND Street, New York City, February 16, 1900. My beloved Student: — ivrnB I IL Just a few words to you before I retire. Your love offering to your God, for His Church, and to our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, will bring you great returns. I rejoice that you took Love's money with which to build Her temple. We shall never want. Giving to God, with spiritual understanding, "does not im- poverish" {Science and Health, p. 79) any more than planting good seed in good soil impoverishes. The increase is sure. One has to rise spiritually to see this, but once it is learned it is a joy to sow and reap. When I see the darkness of idolatry, the golden calf of the counterfeit worshipers, I know that only the lesson of sorrow, or suffering, or loss will teach them to look to the only source of supply — divine Mind. I thank God that my precious students are awaking, 323 324 Letters of Thanks and yielding in childlike trust to Love's rod and Love's staff. Our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, is taking away false gods and false trusts. She is showing us the true cause and creative power, which gives us health and eternal Life. I would thank you for the sweet gift to our Leader^s Church, but to give is your great privilege and God will reward you. I rejoice that you love God, and that you have your part in the church home which our heavenly Father is revealing as a testimony of our love and gratitude to His holy One. Your household has loved much. Ever your loving teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. 24 West 72ND Street, New York City, July 7, 1900. My dear Student: — I arrived at ten-fifteen last evening and had such a lovely, cool ride home. I felt Love's atmosphere all the way, and to-day it lingers with me, like the refrain of a sweet hymn of grateful praise to God. I am truly blessed in my dear students, and such as you and yours give me a foretaste of Love's haven, where no arrow wounds the dove, and no tears force their expression. Trembling lips will not utter faint hope, and no heavy sigh will be found in divine con- sciousness to cause us to falter on upward wing. How I long for the revelation of the ideal man and the real universe. We are all approaching the goal of im- mortal manhood and womanhood, and Love is fast dissolving material sense. Sooner than we dream, we may hear the Father's **Well done," and awake in Love's likeness. Letters of Thanks ^3%S My heart overflows with gratitude to you and dear Mr. E. . . for your tender care of me and mine. I reaHze that God is working through you. You are good avenues for divine Love or I should not have found His mansion open to receive me. Among the many, and they all are God's, how few are open to His "little ones." We have the key to our Father's house in which are many mansions. If we are only faithful, we shall unlock every heart, and every door will be opened wide to us. We have the true bread which we must break to the hungry multitude. Only the water of Life will quench the thirst of humanity. We carry the cup and we have access to the Fountain. Let us labor to save the weary wanderer on the arid desert of mortal mind. The parching heat and the weary road — the mirage and delusive visions — will, in time, turn them to God. I have rested in your dear home, till I feel strong to press on. I am to-day finishing my correspondence to date. It is more easily done in the belief of cool weather, but the heat will have to yield, for I shall work, and sense testimony cannot prevent me from doing Love's work for Her. I shall be back soon. All will work out right. Again with love to you, my dear student, and prayers always for you and yours, I am, Ever your faithful teacher, Augusta E. Stetson.^ q 24 West 72ND Street, New York City, August 10, 1900. My dear Students: — I know that you will understand why I have not written you since mother returned from her delightful 326 Letters of Thanks visit to you — namely, that I was unable to do so, and that I was only waiting for a chance, when the waves of opposition to Truth and Love should recede for a little time. I have no language in which to express my ap- preciation of your kindness to my dear old (young) mother. Error would tell me that we have not so long a promise of her dear presence, and that age is real, but we know that she is in Mind, and reflects eternal Life, and that all that we ever lose of our dear ones is onr false sense of them, which, when destroyed, will reveal God's perfect idea. She has never had such a delightful visit in all her dream life, and it is so sweet to listen to her, as she tells of your care of her and of your loving ministrations, all of which she cherishes and lives over every day. You will sometime hear, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. " Those in the belief of age have so little to cheer them, and only memories of the past, and the loved ones, and, to their sense, the departed. Too many sad pictures hang on memory's walls, and the future seems to give no promise. To-day is all they promise themselves, and we shall be blessed if we do what we can to cheer and comfort them. Let our hearts prompt us to do all that is possible for their happiness. I have had so much to do the past week, but am free to-day. We always are free when we have time from pressure of much work to bathe in spiritual thoughts, and wash away material sense with truth and love. I am glad you are having time to commune with Spirit, and to realize your oneness with Love. You know your reality, and are not deceived by the material molecule, called matter; nor by the false argument called mortal mind. Letters of Thanks 327 Your immortal divine self is always at peace in its Principle. I shall hope to see you, and have a chance to thank you, in person, for all you have done for me. G. . . wrote me a lovely letter. He is fully consecrated and is safe in divine Mind. Mrs. A. . . will be with you soon. I am glad she can have the joy of your dear home. She is a brave, dear soldier, true and strong. Love is drawing her heaven-ward. She loses, one by one, the earth- weights, and will finally find the dear ones all in Mind. Mother and sister would send much love if they knew I were writing you. Love to you both. Ever your faithful teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. 24 West 72nd Street, New York City, September 14, 1900. My beloved Students: — Among all the gifts which Love has sent me, there has never been a type of eternity. Last evening I saw the symbol in pearls and diamonds, and felt that I had won a recognition from the Father, through you, an assurance in type that I am, in my reality, in the eternal consciousness, safe from the bonds of time, and free from the discords and limitations of human sense. This came to me flooding my thought. I was conscious of a taste of heaven, as I gazed on the exquisite jewels which spoke of the radiant beauty and light which eternity now shadows forth. "And as we rise the symbols disappear. " It was only a quick illumination, but it will be permanent when I reach the full import of this wonderful type and symbol. You are left to comfort me with your true, loyal love. 328 Letters of Thanks and your dear ones are a joy and blessing to cheer me as I press onward through the wilderness to the promised land. Darling M. . . did her work before she left, by bringing you and yours to be near me, and to work with me. She could not tarry longer. The problem was too great, but Love did not leave me without supplying her place with her own dear ones. I have had a strange sense of nearness to you, and to your dear children since M. . . left. I know that she is active in a higher plane than she could reach while here, and I feel the touch of her reflection of Truth and Love in the realm of the real, moving me to higher inspiration, and uniting me more closely to those whom she loved. Let us continue to contemplate the substance-ideal, and lose the material sense or the false and unreal. Let us learn to read type and symbol until they dis- appear, and the real appears. I cannot express my gratitude in words for the manifestation of your dear love. I wonder why you should feel that I deserve any such reward for what Love prompted me to do for you. I have done nothing of the much I would. I pray that I may be able to return this kind tribute in spiritual jewels. With tender age-abiding love to you and yours, I am always. Your faithful teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. 24 West 72ND Street, New York City, February 27, 1901. My dear Friends: — I am overwhelmed with a sense of the dear Christ's protecting love, as I look through a mist of tears of joy and gratitude at the two gifts — silk patchwork Letters of Thanks 329 quilts, one for our beloved Leader and one for me. Only patient, tender, divine love could have produced these. I know that I minister to your spiritual needs, and I accept this material manifestation of your love. With deep gratitude, day by day I realize how I am meeting the sting of the serpent, evil, in its various phases, as I tread upon its head, but Love antidotes the poison, and I walk calmly on, keeping my eyes fixed upon the white Christ, following my Master's bleeding footsteps up the hill of Christian Science, and imitating, as far as I can, the example of our beloved Leader, Teacher, and Mother, Mary Baker Eddy. I will press on, dear loving disciples of Christian Science, for my revered Leader's sake, for your sakes, for the lambs in my fold whom God has given me, and for all who will come to me in the future to learn where to find the bread and water of Life. Love goes before us always, and before I met this hour and had to drink this cup of opposition to the Truth I teach, you were putting together the silk pieces, symbols of Love, to cover me from the effects of malice and jealousy, envy and revenge which have come like ''the blast of the terrible ones." 'T was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me . . . Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matthew xxv., 36, 40)- I have no time to listen to the suggestions of self- pity, but must make all these beliefs unreal, and know that I am now spiritual, and can reflect Truth and Love to the broken-hearted, which will give them a touch of the Christ love which heals and redeems all from the illusion of personal sense. 330 Letters of Thanks With thanks beyond any language to express, and love which will never fail to watch with you and yours, I am, Ever yours, Faithfully and lovingly, Augusta E. Stetson. 24 West 72ND Street, New York City, April 3, 1901. My dear Students: — I am very sure that you understand that circum- stances prevented me from making a proper recognition of your remembrances on Easter morn. As for appre- ciation, I can never find words to convey my gratitude for all that you are to the Cause of Christian Science, to our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, and to me, and for all you have done, and are doing by the reflection of your beautiful characters — your pure, true, unselfed, and loving presence, at all times so helpful to cheer and encourage us, and keep us on upward wing. Your lives flow on together in charity and blessing to all who are so fortunate as to call you friends. My precious mother loved you so fondly, and you, dear Mrs. H. . . , were so kind and tender with her, that I weep in my heart (though I never permit a tear to fall) , when I think of you and of her. I can do so little to show you my great love and gratitude for all this; but God will bless you, and that loving atten- tion you gave my dear mother while she tarried with us in the flesh, will come back to you tenfold. You both were so kind to her. She loved you and deeply appreciated you. I can feel her individuality — her presence at all times, and sometimes I long to see her Letters of Thanks 331 fn reality, but I must wait until my spiritual sight reveals her. iVgain I thank you for your beautiful gifts. They are so choice and are to me a promise of strength. With devoted love to you both, I am, Faithfully your teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. 24 West 72ND Street, New York City, July 24, 1901. My Dear Mrs. E. . . : — I wonder if you know how much I enjoyed you, your dear ones, and your sweet home during my visit with you? I felt all the time a sense of refuge from the storm and tempest of mortal thoughts, which, during the week, have been sounding in my ears. This mental battle between Truth and error is reach- ing its height, and, as Professor Totten says, is *'at the end of its career. " "The aggravation of error foretells its doom," says our beloved Leader {Science and Health, p. 105). We are all rejoicing in the prospect of final emancipation from all discord — mortal mind and its phenomena. I trust you and your treasures, four, are very happy and enjoying all that the dear Love (which is over and above all) has granted you. Your life is a type of the ideal, and your family make an earthly paradise. God is with you and rules and governs so that you are safe in the hand of omnipotence. I thank you again and again for your kindness to me. Also please tell dear Mr. E. . . I am constantly reminded of him in some kindly act or word. Thank him for all he did to make my visit pleasant. Give my kindest regards to H. . . I hope he will come and see us with you. Much 332 Letters of Thanks love to my darling little A. . . and G. . . , and with tenderest love to you, I am, Faithfully yours ever, Augusta E. Stetson. 24 West 72ND Street, New York City, December 26, 1902. My beloved Student: — Your fidelity to Principle reveals much to me. I am reluctant to believe that I have attained to the Christliness you accord me. I feel at times that I am the least of the apostles, and then God seems to speak to me through my beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, or through you, or some other loyal, faithful student, and tells me that I am a chosen vessel. I think my mission and the cup and cross are hidden from me, or I could not so fearlessly go on to conquer the foe — mortal mind. I am more grateful than words can express for my dear students. I could weep when I think how I sometimes have to apply the rod — rebuke to error — only to save, or awaken the dreamer. God will never forsake me, and I shall not always have to drag around the dead bodies of lukewarm and material students in my effort to save them until I almost faint and fall. The sifting has begun. I am waiting on God. He will bring it to pass in His own time and way. Truth must deliver. "Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.'* Your love offering shall go to the making of my church dedication gown. I have the outside mate- rial which was made in China six years ago, and was given me last year by a student for whom it was made. Love gives me all I need for the wilderness journey. I am filled with peace and love, and pitiful compassion Letters of Thanks 333 -J for my straying lambs, students who have followed the "hireling." Deeply appreciating your goodness and your demon- stration in working so scientifically your home problem, I am with tender love to you and my dear student, Mr. W. . . , and the children, Gratefully and faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, 143 West 48TH Street, May 8, 1903. My beloved Student: — From the depths of a grateful heart I thank my Father for such a loving, loyal student. Surely He finds a large open avenue in you to show me His tender love, and the beauty of His infinite Mind. Giving is living and loving is Life. The Fountain is ever pouring forth its infinite substance and harmonies in form and color, but dense material sense is an obstruction, so the closed heart receives not the blessings which are ever waiting. The action of Love never ceases. Love moves, circulates, operates and always finds an outlet through some human who is responsive to Her. For your last expression of beauty and utility I am most appreciative, but for your steadfast adherence to Principle and helpfulness to our Mother and Leader, Mrs. Eddy, and to me and to my beloved students, I thank God. Be strong in love and humility. Work, watch, and pray for the Mind of Christ, and heal the sick and the sinful by your reflection of good — God. Lovingly and faithfully your teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. 334 Letters of Thanks I West 96TH Street, New York City, May 23, 1904. My dear Student: — Your expression of love, in the gold and in the pic- ture of our beloved Leader, came to me with a sense of your gratitude and loyal love. My first impulse was to return the gold, but I was conscious that Love had found a channel in you, and would broaden it if I kept the gift — which would return to you a hundred- fold. I thank you for it, dear, and I shall try to return it, in more consecration to Christ, that I may reflect to you more of his love and joy and affluence. I pray for you to-night that the dear Father may fill your heart with love for His children, with wisdom with which to lead humanity to Christ, with meekness which will give you your inheritance, the earth. You will lose sight of self as you gain spiritual discernment, and as the human self is subdued, God will govern you. We must all labor for the Light which lights the world. Let us pray "Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law." You have been patient with me. In Jesus' words, you ' ' have continued with me in my temptations." I have seemed to take little interest in your work, but I have been so pressed with my own duties that I had to leave you more and more to Principle alone. As I rose, I knew you would follow, if you kept your eyes fixed on Christ. You and I must follow (in the mental) our great Leader. Physicality profits no one. My students must learn to hear the voice of God through the impersonal idea, our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, and be led by Mind. Love will lead us all into the kingdom, if we faint not. We must prove the Principle of being and meet every test. God works with us and we fear not. If you need help call on me, but try first always to do your own work. Lfetlief^ of Thanks 335 You know my love for each preeious lamb in my fold, and you can always feel sure that it will never fail . Love is ever-present because we are Love's reflection, and Christ will deliver us. Be strong, dear heart. Battle bravely for your birthright, your spiritual dominion,, and you will win. How my hum.an would spare you and do your work for you. I must sometimes seem to my students to be cruel, but it is only to be kind. Oh! how much easier it would be could / lift them into understanding. But each has to do this for himself with occasional help. No one can do another's work. Again I thank you for both gifts, and the dear love that came with them. Lovingly, faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, November 28, 1904. My beloved Students: — I am unable to voice my appreciation of your loving care of my temporal necessities. The beautiful ex- pression of your protecting love, which came to me in the gift of furs, gave me a thrill of gratitude to my Father-Mother God for such watch-care through you, my precious students, loyal, loving, and brave, who stand for Truth and Love, and who aid our blessed Leader by standing shoulder to shoulder with her stu- dent, your teacher. You are broadening your channels through which Truth and Love flow, and they will widen till they blend with infinite Mind, and all limits and bounds will be lost. 'Tt is more blessed to give than to receive." Therefore, I crave the privilege of giving you more love daily — ever-increasing, divine love, which expands 33^ Letters of Thanks and ascends until it leaves us together in the pure atmosphere of Spirit, beyond the sea of mortal concepts. My spiritual love is not now objectified to you in phenomenon, but if you wait patiently, pray, trust, and love, you will see, through the lens of spiritual percep- tion, your robes of immortality — the wedding garment — and the dear Father's mansion which Love is now waiting to give you. When the false material concept has been destroyed, all will be revealed, and you will be satisfied. My love for you is inexpressible. God bless you. Ever fondly thine, Augusta E. Stetson. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I West 96TH Street, October 4, 1905. My beloved Student: — I have been so occupied since receiving your loving expression of fidelity and gratitude, that I must have seemed unmindful of your remembrance, yet you know better than to expect any material manifestation of appreciation, since you are sure of my ceaseless prayers and love for you, and my hopes and aspirations for your final attainment to perfect manhood in Christ. The ideal must appear in process of unfoldment, and if you keep in line with Truth, and follow and obey the teachings of our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, you will rise with her, and with me, and with all the faithful, to see the real universe, and man in God's image and Hkeness. Oh! strive to be a reflector of Life, Truth, and Love, for this is man, and your dominion will then be revealed. Letters of Thanks 337 God bless and keep you from the evil that claims to be a power, but which divine Love proves powerless. I thank you for the flowers; I wish they were not perishable. I like to remember the good thoughts expressed by these reminders of the giver. Lovingly, faithfully your teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. 42 West 73RD Street, New York City, October 13, 1905. My beloved Students: — I am glad that you understood me, and do not wonder why I seem unmindful of your love offering. You know too well that I am deeply grateful for your con- stant affection, your noble efforts to aid our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, by being true to Principle, to her, and to one of her representatives, your teacher, whom she has given you. To me, your lives are continued blessings. I have never shed one tear, nor suffered from anxiety one moment lest your footsteps were straying. You are always marching to the music of loyalty to God and to His holy One, Mrs. Eddy, and are helping me to feed her sheep. I prize your beautiful gift, and it shall occupy a place where it will constantly remind me of you, my beloved students. I have little time to write, but I am always working to help you onward and upward. I find that I must work more and more in the spiritual mental, and we together, who are watching with Christ, will rise to newness of life. I send you deepest love, and when "Our Home" is finished, you will help me to open the windows of heaven in it. Be strong in faith, and Love will give you 338 Letters of Thanks • ►_ * ► J-. ,, ^\ understanding — thus we will help to establish Christ's kingdom on earth. Faithfully, lovingly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, June 2, 1906. My dear Student: — I am quite at a loss for words to express my ap- preciation of your unselfed fidelity whenever the blast of error falls on my head. I am sure the recent attack must have called forth the sympathy which expressed itself in the beautiful roses. Their sweetness exhales Love's tenderness, and their rich gorgeousness testifies the affluence of Love, as She operates in the hearts of those whom She uses as channels to bless and gladden. It seems so little to say only, I thank you. I am glad I can do more than this. / also am an avenue for Truth and Love, and I can give you spiritual things, thoughts, and radiate the peace, and strength, and joy, which make the world brighter, and open our eyes to the reality of good, and oiu* dominion over all the earth. The foam of the infuriated belief or material sense, as it sees the end of its suppositional influence over the Christian Scientist, is evidence that the battle is on. We are armed for victory. The malice, envy, jealousy, and revenge which mortals send out are to me "as the idle wind which I regard not. " In fact I rather rejoice in an opportunity to cross swords with the foe, since I know that it means that I am worthy to stand and defend the Truth. Our Leader says that "Whosoever proclaims Truth loudest, becomes the mark for error's shafts" {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 277). Then I Letters of Thanks 339 must be a shining ''mark" indeed, and I shall continue to shine, while error can continue its bombardment, until it ceases to charge and fire for want of mental ammunition. God reigns and is all power. This we shall prove. I sing as I go, and I sing louder and more joyously as I see the futile efforts of malicious animal magnetism — the thoughts of so-called carnal mind — to hinder me and my flock from entering the Christ-consciousness, and taking our dominion over all that opposes God. You are a Christian Science soldier, and you will never let its banner trail in the dust. Sincerely yours, Augusta E. Stetson. .nboo^ 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, September 8, 1906. My dear Miss C. . . : — I am in receipt of your letter with enclosure. I rejoice to see your appreciation of Christian Science, and of my poor efforts to aid our dear Leader, Mrs. Eddy, in establishing the kingdom of heaven in the hearts of men. Your protecting love for my dear church — the child of my tears and toils, my prayers and persecutions — touches a tender chord in my heart. Love has always found Her avenues to provide for the needs of this church, and Love always will find those who, like you, dear heart, are grateful for Her enfolding arms. Here we unite in praises to our God for our beloved Leader, who has shown us the way to Christ, — eternal Life. I trust you will realize more and more the sweetness and joy of an unselfed life, — a life "hid with Christ in God. " 340 Letters of Thanks Meekness and mercy unite in opening the windows of heaven for us. I thank you, my dear student, for your helpful thought, and pray that you may ever continue to rise, with your gaze fixed on the goal of perfect love — immortality. Lovingly, faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, December 21, 1907. My dearly beloved Students: — I hardly know how to express my gratitude for your continued goodness to me, and for your long years of loyal service to the Cause of Christian Science, to our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, and to me and the brethren. Words are empty, idle, impotent to convey the appre- ciation and deep love which wells up in my heart for you, and for yours. I say little, but my prayers for such students as you, rise to the infinite, and touch the great heart of Love. They must bring to you infinite blessings in love, joy, and peace, and in increased under- standing of your divine possibilities — your dominion, and relation to Love, for God hears and answers prayer. I am pressing on to my immortal selfhood, and my dear loyal students are following, their eyes fixed on the goal, keeping step to the music of Soul — the march towards the realization of eternal being. I have never seen a more exquisite thing than the beautiful silk you have sent me, and while I am not of the material world, and am never found among those who indulge in the conventionalities of society, which I long ago abandoned, yet I know that this is for a need Letters of Thanks 341 which is not yet manifested. Love furnished the wed- ding garment before we were called to the Dedication feast. I shall wait on Love to clothe me in Her pure white and perfect robes. ''Even in this world, there- fore, 'let thy garments be always white"* {Science and Health, p. 267). I thank you again and again. This love-thought will do its double work of moving me to purify my con- sciousness, to become perfect, and to see that my robes are "always white." I shall keep the perfect model, Christ, always before me, and shall finally win the white robe, the crown of immortality. Lovingly, faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, February 6, 1909. My dear Friend: — I have tried to write you and tell you how much I appreciate your help in our church music, but the many demands upon my time have prevented me. I am satisfied however that those, like yourself, who understand and love good music, and who appreciate the best artists are willing to aid in securing their services. Our church is in splendid condition and many are strong in faith and understanding. We are proving the power of the Christ-mind in the healing of the sick and sinful, wherever the soil is ready for the seed of Truth and Love. Love knows only health and harmony. Evil knows only discord and death. We are proving the truth of our beloved Leader's teachings by giving no power to envy and jealousy. Error must foam itself into fury and destroy itself. You must rejoice 342 Letters of Thanks that our church is built on the rock — Christ, and that all the world must finally acknowledge this. We can meet the false claim of revenge and envy — the opponent of God, in all its phases, and prove it powerless. I love to think of you, of dear M. . . , and the boys, and of your protecting, loving home shelter during the years that I have been meeting cruelty and persecution, physical and mental discord, because of my radical teaching and demonstration of absolute Christ- ian Science as I worked out of the human into my Christ-consciousness. I have stood hourly at my post on the battlefield, bringing out my church against all opposition from those in the churches who do not in- terpret Science and Health as I do. Those were days which I struggle to forget, but I never forget you, dear H. . . , and darling M. . . , who ministered to me in my lone warfare to demonstrate love for the brethren who should have aided me in the stupendous work of establishing Christian Science in this great city. Your home seems my home always, but I am so pressed with work that I cannot get a moment to myself, or I would be with you often. Always remember that my heart overflows with gratitude and love for you and yours, and by my faithful adherence to Christian Science I feel I am blessing you all. Faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, April 22, 1909. My dear Students: — You are ever before me in the gift which is trans- parent, and which suggests that we all are striving to be transparencies to reflect the power and presence of Letters of Thanks 343 Truth and Love. It is very dear of you to provide this beautiful protection for my desk, and I think of you frequently as I sit at my task of letter-writing. The type is significant of your steadfast, loyal adherence to Principle, and your protection of your teacher. Love covers us with Her feathers, lest rough waters chill us, or wild winds mar our peace. So have I always striven to cover you, dear ones, with the reflec- tion of divine Love, lest error should mar the tablet of your mind. I thank you again and again from a full heart of gratitude. I send you deep love which ever increases as I rise in the scale of infinite Love. The re- minder is ever before me, that I must be a transparency for Truth, therefore I continually strive to realize the allness and ever-presence of God, good, and the nothing- ness of so-called mortal mind and its embodiment, matter. Lovingly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, December 18, 1909. My beloved Students: — I have greatly appreciated your protecting care for my temporal necessities, evidenced by your gift of five hundred dollars with the assurance that ''loving heartj^ would contribute the same amount monthly." I accepted the generous gift, of five hundred dollars, feeUng that Love had found Her channels, and that I must not close Her avenues by refusing to accept the munificent offering. I therefore gave God thanks for His tender care of me, and for His goodness manifested through His children. I see in this hour that the seed of Truth which I have 344 Letters of Thanks sown in the hearts of thousands is springing up, bud- ding and blossoming, and sending forth the perfume of unselfed love, in deeds, and in blessings unlimited to me. I also, when I received this expression of your generous care, thanked God for my beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, for having called me from the contem- plation of a material world and its illusions, to consider the spiritual, unseen things of God, which are behind the phenomena of finite sense, and are waiting to be revealed to our spiritual sense. I thanked Him for her watchful, protecting love of me and mine for twenty-five years, during which time she has turned me to Truth and Love as the source of supply for my every human need, and He has always found His own avenues to me. Never has my trust, faith, and understanding of Love failed to verify the promises of God. I fully realize your growth in the divine understand- ing of Spirit and the spiritual facts of being, and how truly you are gradually assimilating yourselves to God, and are unfolding Christly qualities which give you spiritual power over the claim of evil, and which will eventually free you from the so-called carnal mind- forces. Your spiritual individuality is appearing in the fruits of the Spirit — love and peace; a calm trust in God and in His ways and means; a desire and effort to behold the perfect man in God's image and likeness, where mortals see the sinful, sick, and dying mortal man. You are attaining, through indefatigable strivings against material sense and the overcoming and destruc- tion of the beliefs of corporeality, a compassion for the sinner, and a willingness to make unreal every thought which proceeds from the so-called carnal mind, with its qualities of envy, malice, hatred, lust, greed, and hypocrisy. By your determination to make evil- Letters of Thanks 345 thinking and evil-speaking unreal, you are gaining on the side of your spiritual identity. I rejoice in the great opportunity which has been given you, in this hour, to enable you to make this demonstration of good over evil. Love is always the victor. The only solvent for the claim of hate and sensuous, maHcious animal magnetism is Love. You and I must prove our Principle, Love, by loving divinely, and never conceding reahty or power to evil, in any of' its forms or phases. The eternal God is our refuge. Love is omnipotent and ever-present, and all the in- fluences which proceed from Love unite us in the bonds of Spirit and separate us from the seeming force of the false claim called mortal mind. Mortal mind never was, and never will be a power or presence to any one whose consciousness reflects divine Life, Truth, and Love. As we repudiate the claims of this false, corporeal, finite personaUty, our individual, spiritual selfhood asserts its dominion, and we recognize our oneness with God— the Principle of being. Then we under- stand the Master's words, "The kingdom of God is within you." This kingdom is a state of spiritual consciousness, and heaven is here and now. If you contemplate Spirit, divine Mind, you will utilize the forces of God, and will discern your royal inheritance — your oneness with Principle, Mind, and will know your- selves as spiritual ideas of God, dwellers in the spiritual, unseen universe. If you dwell in mortal mind you will evolve the things which the carnal mind produces — a material, discordant environment — a world peopled with objects (physical personalities) produced by belief and governed by so-called malicious animal magnetism, jealousy, malice, 34^ Letters of Thanks and revenge, the product of the carnal mentality called mortal mind. I have chosen my eternal, spiritual individuality. I am pressing hard to escape from the bondage of belief of life in matter, and I am catching glorious glimpses of a world in which is no sorrow, sin or death ; no cruelty, no separation, no tears, no bitter wrongs, no ingratitude ; but Love uniting all in the brotherhood of man, with one loving Father or creator, who is over all, in all, and through all that is real and eternal. This is our heavenly estate which we are fast redeeming, and the clamor and chaos of hatred and malice — ''earth's harmless thunder " {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 374) — cannot deter us from taking possession of this divine inheritance. I am going to ask a favor of you, my dear students, and I know that you will not deprive me of the oppor- tunity to continue to love and trust my heavenly Father more confidingly, as I am called to make greater demands upon my faith and understanding of God's love and sufficiency. I am profoundly impressed and gratified to know that you desire to minister to me; but since the Directors of The Mother Church have forbidden me to teach my usual classes, and have re- moved from the Christian Science Journal my name as a practitioner, thereby depriving me of my revenues from these sources, I feel that it is more scientific for me to ask you to drop the matter right here, and to turn your attention to the protection and support of our dear church, which is passing through deep waters. Will you please discontinue, as a body, the monthly offering to me, and let us be individual in all that we do for the Cause and for each other? We shall then be reciprocally blessed, and there will be no per- sonal influence brought to bear upon any one. Divine Letters of Thanks 347 Love must operate, and find response in human hearts. You know the gratitude I feel for this proof of your desire to provide the things that are necessary for me in my ''passage from sense to Soul" {Science and Health, p. 566). We shall rise higher and more quickly by the course which I venture to suggest, because it is in accord with divine Principle, which is ever lifting its steadfast adherents to greater heights of divine understanding and power. So shall we soar above the seeming world of temporal and finite illusions, into the realm of the eternal and infinite, into conscious oneness with Life, Truth, and Love. Lovingly, faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, January 31, 19 10. My beloved Students: — I include all who are in this demonstration as stud- ents, for my prayers and labor of love have reached you, both mentally and audibly, during many years of my preaching and teaching in my Church and Institute. You are among the faithful who prove that "Love's labors are not lost." ' I am rejoicing in this present ex- perience. You surely are able to read the signs of the times and understand them ; therefore it is not necessary for me to do more than refer you to Romans, eighth chapter, from the thirty-first to the thirty-ninth verses. I rejoice that you are all standing firm in faith and understanding, which Christian Science has given you, and that you never yield to the aggressive mental argument of so-called malicious animal magnetism, namely, a power opposed to God. I praise God that ^ Miscellaneous Writings, page 100. 348 Letters of Thanks you are demonstrating the beauty of divine Love which never fails. I am deeply grateful to my heavenly Father for His protecting love and care of me, and I thank you, my beloved students, for your obedience to His word in conveying to me His message. I know that I apprehend the source of life and love. I understand the creative Mind, or Principle of man and the universe, and I recognize the avenues through which Love reflects Her presence and supply — thus working through Her ideas to bless and protect all who love and serve God. Oiu- beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, says, ''Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need'* {Science and Health, p. 494). It must, for Love is all and we are Love's children. Evil is neither pres- ence nor power. There is no claim even, for God is All. Let us all dwell in Love, in the sweet secret of Her presence, which fills all space. I am so free, so peaceful, so confident that Love will deliver me and mine, that I am strong and happy in the midst of "the fiery darts of the wicked," which I know are only illusions. Oh! dear ones, follow our blessed Leader into this spiritual consciousness which is heaven here and now. Faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, March 31, 19 10. My dear Students: — ' I have never really been of the material world, in the sense of entering into its public places of amuse- » A victrola was presented to me by my students after my " trial " in Boston. Letters of Thanks 349 ment, having been from childhood brought up by strictly religious, old-time, Puritanical parents, who considered the influence of the theatre most demoralizing, while the church was the only place of safety for those who serve God. The first theatre I ever attended was on my arrival in England as a bride. Mr. Stetson persuaded me to go to see the play, Our American Cousin. I had found the passage across the ocean of thirteen days in the old Cunarder, Tripoli, rather monotonous, and in a weak moment I accepted the invitation. I enjoyed it immensely, notwithstanding I had been taught that God was not in such worldly environments. When we returned to the hotel, however, my conscience began to trouble me and I wept sorely at my temptation and fall. I was distressed that I had strayed so far from my parents' religious precepts and example. But I recovered from this deflection from the straight line of religious duty, although, in reality, I have never cared for the theatre. I have attended but three plays during my dream-experience, but I have had no compunctions of conscience with regard to them since. Later, I indulged in two operas, one abroad and the other in this country. Thus my endeavors have always been directed to religious work, and since I came to Christian Science, through our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, twenty-six years ago, I have given every moment of my time to the spirit ualization of my thought, to the healing of the sick and the reforming of the sinner. But alas, a change has "come o'er the spirit of my dream," and I find myself listening to operas, minstrel singers, and entertaining all kinds of musicians nearly every evening. I am able to say that I am "get- 350 Letters of Thanks ting up to date. " I do not feel that I am behind the times now. When I am questioned as to my favorite prima donna, I am reHeved of the embarrassment occasioned by my former forced reply, "I have never heard one. " I am not quite sure whether I am warranted in say- ing, " DeHver me from my friends, " until I am confident that their loving effort to give me pleasure by the gift of a victrola does not result in my demoralization. Having escaped so long the snares of the footlights, and the glamor surrounding the stage, I must consider care- fully how much time I dare give to the entrancing Melba or the great Caruso. I must not linger too long with lesser entertainers lest I forget to listen to the voice of the ever-present, impersonal Christ, and the song of an innumerable company of angels, ever near to all who find, and dwell in the "sweet secret of the narrow way" {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 389). I find that wisdom teaches that all are God's children, and that behind the finite fleshly form (the false personaHty) is the real, ideal man in God's image and likeness, and thus I entertain, in these musicians, the children of the one Father- Mother God. Therefore, I am learning that I do not need to see the physical personalities to enjoy their talent, but that I can remain in my own environment and listen to the voice of Love through Her channels of harmony, knowing that ''Sound is a mental impression made on mortal belief" {Science and Health, p. 213). I carry divine metaphysics higher, and realize that there is but one power — the mighty presence called Mind, intelli- gence, eternal Life, Love, and Truth in manifestation, which produces all sound, and governs harmoniously every tone in the limitless range of melody. Letters of Thanks 35 1 I am discerning through constant contemplation of the spiritual and eternal verities of being, that finite limited capacity is giving place to infinite possibilities, and that man is mental, spiritual, and one with God — never in, nor of a so-called matter embodiment. So, dear ones, may not this victrola be to me God's in- terpreter, that man is the ever-present manifestation of Principle, not dependent upon organized fleshly ma- teriality to convey messages, or to produce the harmony of Soul? "As we rise the symbols disappear." All material organization composing the material man must disappear, and the real man in the image and likeness of his creator must appear in the glory of immortal being. It is sweet to be remembered as you have remembered me. I am deeply grateful that you desire to cheer me. You have afforded me the opportunity, by this gift, to find in these musicians my brother and sister in their true divine selfhood, without the encumbering molecules called material bodies. The divinity or true selfhood of these great artists will be revealed to me as I rise to diviner heights of spiritual understand- ing, and each who now ministers to me through the belief of the victrola will finally catch the chord of Christ and voice the harmonies of omnipotent Love. Your loving care and thoughtfulness of my present position, in my travail towards the realm of the real, will be rewarded. My love is ever with you. I know that you receive it, as Love reflects Herself in love. Thus we are reciprocally blessed. I want you all to spend an evening with the victrola in my home. Gratefully, lovingly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 352 Letters of Thanks 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, April 25, 1910. My beloved Students: — ^ For many years I have written all my letters, and have repeatedly worked into the morning hours to answer my correspondents. When I first preached in the pulpit of First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I wrote my sermons, carefully copied them and read them, not confining myself to the notes any more than was necessary. I had no time to write my manu- script except in the evening, and through the night, many times putting down my pen at two, three or four o'clock in the morning. Do you ask why I did not write during the day? I answer, because I had to treat my patients, teach a class about once a month, and care for a growing body of students, besides doing other church work, taking charge of weekly meetings, and on Sundays preaching a sermon. Thus I provided for my temporal needs, while I was preaching the gospel to the small church, which paid no salary for two years. Afterwards it paid six hundred dollars a year and later, for several years, one thousand. During the time I was pastor of the church, I had a large practice, and went from house to house treating the sick and watching with patients, often through the night. When I had written fifty-two sermons, and could find no time during the week to write a new one, I felt no compunction of conscience in repeating one of those sermons. I preached with manuscript for three years. At the end of this time our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, sent word to me to preach without notes. It was a severe test at that time, but I obeyed, and after a while found great relief in speaking extemporane- * An Underwood typewriter was presented to me by my students. Letters of Thanks 353 ously. I had more time for my patients, students, and correspondence. It seems sometimes when I look back over those years of the human footsteps which lead to the divine, that I would not exaggerate if I should say this house could not contain the letters I have written during the last twenty-five years on the subject of Christian Science. I am just realizing how hard has been the work of employing eyes and hands, the slow medium of pen and ink, with which to convey thought. The lack of time which necessitated haste in my writing, also made my chirography almost illegible. When this crisis arrived, divine Love came again to my relief, and lo, an Underwood typewriter and full office equipment appeared in my home! I had often thought I would like one, but felt that I could not afford a stenographer. When this evidence of divine Love was manifested, I found four expert stenographers tendering their ser- vices and declaring that the good they received in transcribing Christian Science letters and articles was ample reward for their labors. I find my pen grieving from neglect, and my hands questioning why they, who have served me so long and faithfully, should be relegated to comparative inaction. They reach forth to grasp the pen, but immediately are told that they are not necessary, and can rest from that service. They threaten that they will forget how to hold a pen or trace the thought, but the stern steno- grapher reminds them that progress has relieved them of this well-performed duty. Thus they are spared the humiliation of being regarded as superannuated hands, and rejoice that they now may minister to hu- manity in other ways by clasping the hand of God more firmly, as they reach out to lead mankind to Christ. 354 Letters of Thanks Our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, has placed them in God's service, and they will find employment in working for Him in His way. They must obey the divine law and rest in action, ever responsive to Mind. New occasions teach new duties : Time makes ancient good uncouth ; They must upward still, and onward, who would keep abreast of Truth. ' God supplies all good, and He has given me my dear students. I can say with the Master: "Those that Thou gavest me I have kept.*' I thank you, dear ones, for your unselfed love and care for my temporal needs. You are ever with me in my home, reminding me of your desire to make the crucial experience of the present hour less wearisome. I want you all to come and see how much you are doing for me in this service. Faithfully, lovingly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, May 14, 1910. My dear Student: — I am more grateful than words can express for the evidence of your fidelity to Principle. I am constantly working for God's kingdom to "come ... in earth, as it is in heaven," and all who are striving to "put off . . . the old man'* (mind) are feeling the quickening presence of infinite Love and Truth. You are beginning to build on a " wholly spiritual foundation" (^Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 390). Spirit is giving us the assurance and peace which follow obedience to Her law, — the law of divine Mind. We are surely * Lowell. Letters of Thanks 355 under grace — not under the so-called material law. We must not return to positions outgrown, nor affiliate with those who prefer to dwell in the false sense of life in matter. Henceforth let us tear down the old structure, the claim of organized, vitalized matter, the Adam, mortal so-called man, and with the solvent of love let us reveal the real and ideal man, — God's child, until through spiritual growth the eternal facts of being are under- stood and demonstrated. We must gird on the full armor, stand in the front as the battle rages, and win a glorious crown of immortality. I am strong, happy, and such a calm peace is mine that I wonder if I am in heaven and have really entered into the spiritual consciousness. I am sure I must be feeling the mental presence of our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, and I trust I am passing the message of Truth and Love along the line of reciprocal thought. You and my faithful students must catch the echo. Sincerely, faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, July I, 19 10. My dearly beloved Students: — How can I convey, even faintly, my appreciation of your great love for God, and for His highest visible manifestation, our blessed Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, and for me, her student, and your teacher. I could weep tears of gratitude that you are the fruit of my labors for the Christ of God, and I renew my endeavors to do more for the Cause of Christian Science, because I have such rich reward in your steadfast allegiance to Principle, 35^ Letters of Thanks and willingness to suffer with Christ, that you may reign with him. I am gaining such reliance upon ever-present divine Love, that I find a peace which is a deep-toned joy, and a rest which is inexpressible. It assures me that I am reflecting the power of infinite Love, and I rejoice that all who are within the radius of my thought, feel the presence of the impersonal idea. So I work, and watch, and pray, and "love more for every hate'* {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 389), conscious that I am helping you, and all my dear, faithful students to rise above the false and finite sense, to the spiritual, where J we find God and His children, and for a moment catch ' a breath of Love's atmosphere. This will be to us, if we faint not in the race for immortal consciousness, a permanent, "conscious, constant capacity to under- stand God" {Science and Health, p. 209). Already we find rich reward for every effort, and a recompense in our oneness with divine Mind. Can we ever be sufficiently grateful to our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, for her teachings, and noble life and example, which have taught us how to meet and master the evil one, whose aim to kill, through personal avenues, physically and morally, has been thwarted. God bless you and yours, dear hearts, for the cup of cold water which you I have always given me. Love will reward you. Ever faithfully, lovingly yours, r Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, September 30, 19 10. My beloved Students: — How evident it is that God gives His angels charge over me, and that, as our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy. Letters of Thanks 35^ assures us, "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need" {Science and Health, p. 494). My heart overflows with grateful love and a ''God bless you," to each whose name I have just read. You have blessed me, in your dear efforts and self-sacrifice to make my home duties lighter, ' that my environment may prove the truth that "cleanliness is next to Godliness. " I am rejoicing in the fruits of the Spirit, — love, peace, and joy, and am happy that you are in the understanding of your oneness with God, and your immortal consciousness here, now, and forever. I am working and praying without ceasing for you, and for all mankind, and for all whom God has given me to bring to our revered Leader, Mrs. Eddy, the great shepherd, in this age, of Israel's flock. We are the sheep of Love's pasture. . We love divinely. God is our life, therefore we are forever with the Father- Mother God. We reflect omnipotence and omnipres- ence. Truth demonstrates Her power and presence to us, Her ideas. We admit no other creator, no other source or supply and we claim our spiritual relation to God and to His children now. So-called mortal mind and its manifestation, flesh and blood, never rises to spiritual apprehension. The human never discerns the real and eternal. It is through spiritual sense alone that we mentally grasp the deep things of God, and appreciate Love's treasures which She gives to Her children. I love you, and I pray that your strength fail not, and that your under- standing may increase till you awake in the image and likeness of Love. You have placed in my home (your home) that which will lighten the burdens imposed by belief of a power opposed to God, with its material ^ Refers to a vacuum cleaner presented by students for my home. 35^ Letters of Thanks demands and its material phenomena. On our journey through the wilderness of belief towards spiritual understanding, Love lifts the load imposed by material sense, through those who respond to Her, and thus we merge from darkness into light, from material behef into Love's eternal home of Spirit. Faithfully, lovingly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, January 24, 191 1. My beloved Student: — I have struggled with human emotions and have succeeded in restraining tears that threatened to flow last evening when I found your ''alabaster box of precious ointment. " When Mr. H. . . gave me the candy, I thought he brought it to me. I may have thought at the time that it came from you also, but I felt if it had, you would not ask me to do more than send you my thanks, since I have so little time in which to observe conventionalities. This box of candy has been in my closet all this time^ nearly two months. The family has taken a piece occasionally with me, but we indulge so little in that which is not absolutely necessary — delicacies and luxur- ies— that we had not reached the second layer. Last evening a student took out the cardboard that separated the layers, and behold the treasure! Letters and gold were revealed. I cannot describe my feelings when I thought of my long silence, and wondered what you would think of such seeming indifference and ingratitude. Had I permitted them, tears would have flowed in floods. I realized that I had, unconsciously, given you all much Letters of Thanks 359 to meet. Your dear love must have had a severe test. In a small degree, it seems like my experience of the past two years. I have had to wait and trust, and apparently stand alone with God, to make my own demonstration of what my beloved Leader has taught me for many years. Knowing her divine selfhood to be the Christ-idea, I feel her constant presence with me, and understand that it is only finite sense that separates us; therefore I strive for spiritual sight to behold her reappearance as she merges gradually out of the fleshly mind into the "wholly spiritual "thought, giving us the proof that she has conquered *'the last enemy," the claim of death. This will be the second appearing of Christ, and our Leader will have some followers who will obtain and re- tain the spiritual concept, or the deathless man of God's creating. We hear it said that centuries must elapse before this demonstration can be made by any one. Twenty centuries have passed since Christ Jesus made his demonstration over death. He said he would come again. The Christ has come again and is manifest in our revered Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, who has ful- filled the law of Love and will in her own words demon- strate her teachings, ''for tired humanity's reassurance '* {Science and Health, p. 494). This is the beginning of the millennial age. Scripture informs us that at the second appearing of Christ he will rule all nations and peoples, and that in one thou- sand years all will have awakened to the truth of being — eternal Life. There are some to-day whose spiritual understanding enables them to grasp the Science of being and defend the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy — the divine meta- physics of Christian Science. They are the first-fruits 360 Letters of Thanks of her instruction, and I rejoice that you are among those who have faith, and hope, and love, which will enable you to follow, as Christ leads on to the destruction of sin, disease, and death in universal consciousness. I am more grateful for this manifestation of your selfless love than words can express. You, my dear ones all, have already received the recompense of aiding in caring for my temporal needs, for divine Love rewards your every good motive and act. I am com- forted when I realize that I am able to reflect to you the Life and Love which bless you and enlighten your understanding, giving you glimpses of a Life without end, joy, and peace, and power which come from Christ, and are your divine inheritance. This spiritual under- standing unites us in the one divine consciousness and we gain our freedom in the knowledge of an eternal Parent, our Father- Mother God. Jesus demonstrated his true selfhood — spiritual man — and our revered Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, will make her demonstration and represent her true selfhood — the spiritual woman. I pray that we may follow her ex- ample, and "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory " (Col. iii., 4). Continue to work, watch, and pray. Do not lay down your sword until the battle is won, and the victory is yoiu*s. Faithfully, lovingly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, February 14, 191 1. My beloved Students: — Your dear love w^as manifested in the victrola records which proclaim to the listening world that "Love Letters of Thanks 361 Watches over All. " ' To humanity, blind in the beHef that evil is real, and that man is mortal, subject to sickness, sorrow, and death, this conviction of Love's ever-presence will fall Hke dew upon the mown grass, or showers that water the earth. It is Truth voicing Her primeval promise to comfort and cheer through the shadows which throng the gloaming, and repeating Her assurance of the immutable motherhood of God. Love casts out all that is unlike Her perfect likeness and image. The understanding of the allness of Love — the Principle of being, our Mother-God, Hfts us to anti- cipate the hour of final deliverance from the belief of a power called hate or fear, and reveals our firm foundation, Christ, Truth, against which no supposi- tional claim of error can prevail. Love is Life, and the quickening power of the words of the record "Love Watches over All," will be potent to raise many a feeble hope to renewed efforts to seize the things which are of God, and to rise from doubt and despair. You personally cannot speak to many. You can reflect to as many as are attuned mentally to hear the sweet promise "Love never faileth, " but you have made it possible for thousands to Hsten to the voice of omni- potence in song and sermon. You will some day hear, " I was sick, and ... in prison, and ye came unto me." If you ask, "When saw we thee sick, . . . and came unto thee?" then shall ye hear, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. " Let us gird on the armor of selfless love, work for »The poem "Love Watches over All" was sung into the victrola by a prominent soprano soloist, and so given to the world. 362 Letters of Thanks God, our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, for humanity and for our glorious Cause, Christian Science. ■ ,'• Lovingly, gratefully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, June 10, 191 1. My beloved Student: — Your love is like that of Ruth, or the women at the cross. God is pouring out the riches of His love into your heart and home ; your lines are falling in the foot- steps of His flock. You are rising to grasp the deep things of God, and are bringing into your life the demon- stration of the Mind of Christ — power over all the illusions which compose the dream-existence. The Son or idea is taking possession and is sweeping away false human concepts through which you once gazed on the universe and man. I am giving God praise for our beloved Leader's demonstration in the fact that her teachings will be defended and preserved. I am rejoicing that in the gloaming I can see my stu- dents apprehending the Truth as taught by Mrs. Eddy through my ministry. Therefore I am comforted as I see God's sons and daughters appearing — rising out of the deep sleep of Adam and revealing the real man and the real universe. Work, watch, and pray, for you know not the hour when the Son of man — the ideal man, cometh. You have been dear to me in asking me to your lovely home and in making it easy for me to reach you. I was so very happy. Dearest, I am sure that you real- ize the treasure you have in your husband. Do not force him to accept advanced metaphysics, but live Truth and it will gently lead him to your Father and Letters of Thanks 363 to his Father, to your God and to his God. He cannot escape from Love in Her reflected idea, his Christly companion. Lovingly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, July 16, 191 1. My dear Students: — My heart overflows with gratitude for the love which gave me a reminder of the precious student whom we all loved so devotedly and divinely. She is ever with us, for "Where God is we can meet, and where God is we can never part" (Christian Science Journal, vol. xvii., p. 239) . These words of our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, ring through my thought, and I feel the gentle presence of both Leader and student, as I contemplate Spirit and spiritual ideas, — God, our Father-Mother, and the children which compose the spiritual universe — the only universe — the only verities of being. Mary Baker Eddy, God's interpreter to this age, His revelator to this generation, lives and moves in our midst, works, or reflects the power of omnipotence — guides and guards her people as truly now as when she was personally visible to physical sight. As she con- tinues to make her demonstration over "the prince of the power of the air" — the higher claim of so-called mortal mind to intelligence and life — she lifts all who are building on a spiritual foundation. The demonstration will be made by our great Leader, whose mission it is to prove the "second time" the potency and reality of divine Mind and its manifestation. This should not be doubted. She demands "wholly spiritual " consciousness — or character — and they who 364 Letters of Thanks build on the rock, Christ, Truth, will, through spiritual sight, behold her. There is much to be done before the hour of her reappearing. The students will be allowed to prove their understanding of her teachings. They will say, as of yore, "My Lord delayeth his coming." They will beat the maidservants and the menservants and many will have chosen Spirit or flesh before our Leader calls all to account. The true Christian Scientist is working to defend Truth, and is rising in spiritual understanding of God's allness and man's oneness with Love — thus making the claim of evil and matter unreal. The real Christian Scientist is uniting with those who love good. This is the unity of good. The material, so-called Christian Scientist is uniting with error, and this is the unity of mortals, evil. I am sure that you are uniting with our revered Leader, Mrs. Eddy, in rising as fast as you can to ''wholly spiritual" consciousness. The separation of mortals, in belief, and immortals in understanding, will be made by the Lord of the har- vest. Our work is to keep our minds filled with Truth and Love, while we denounce and deny the claim of error, by reflecting Truth and Love. We are God's dear children. His love will deliver us, if we are faithful to our highest understanding of Christian Science on a wholly spiritual basis. Dear M. . . B. . . is with us, and is rising as we are — with our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy. Our Leader's resurrection is continually going on from height to height of spiritual supremacy until she conquers the last foe in the mortal mental realm. Her resurrection is also our resurrection, if we rise in the true Christ-mind to see the powerlessness of the claim of evil to govern us or to compel us to admit that we are mortal. Letters of Thanks 365 "The old dragon" {Science and Health, p. 570) cannot convince us that there is a power opposed to God from whom- we receive our being. The claim is false — the witnesses are false. Love is all. We are Love's perfect ideas; evil cannot make us vic- tims of hate, mahce, envy, jealousy, lust, and hypocrisy. There are no such qualities in our God — therefore they are only the hallucinations of so-called mortals. Looking further, Christian Science shows us that mortals are fast destroying themselves. Truth and Love are driving error to its final self -extinct ion. The mental madness — the hate and jealousy of the carnal mind — is sure to increase to self-annihilation, and the words of our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, will be verified, ''The aggravation of error foretells its doom" (Science and Health, p. 105). Be meek, just, and refuse to be- lieve in evil, to act, or think, or talk it, except to talk it down and make it unreal, and God will keep, and bless and prosper you. I love you devotedly and divinely. Remember that one with God is a majority. I am not trusting to a human being but am relying entirely on Christ. I do not know what will be given me as a further test of my faith, but I shall not be moved from allegiance to Princi- ple, to m.y beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, and to my faithful students. Our dear M. ... is sure in God's time to burst the veil of flesh, and as we put off false mentality, and put on the spiritual, she will be revealed to us. I thank you from the depths of an overflowing heart of gratitude for the lovely picture of our beloved M. . . . Lovingly ever yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 366 Letters of Thanks GARNERING ' "Whose fan Is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner." — Matthew iii., 12. Oh! wheat of God, Who spurn time's sod, And rend the finite sense; Who fearless dare On wings of prayer, To leave earth's shadows dense. Oh! wheat of God, Whose feet have trod Time's arid desert sands; Whose quest for Love, The heavenly dove, God's peace and power commands. Oh ! wheat of God, Thrust out from clod And earth-weights, rise, and soar To heights sublime. Where Love's bells chime Love's endless more and more. Oh! wheat of God, The chastening rod Of Love, consumes the tares. Love's hand hath led, Love's love hath fed God's wheat, with ceaseless prayers. Love's chosen love. Love's white- winged dove, Has garnered in her wheat ; 'Written after presentation, by students, of a sheaf of wheat, July 17, 1910. Letters of Thanks 367 Has scaled Mind's mount; Has drunk at fount Of Spirit infinite. Oh! wheat of God, The Master trod This finite dream of woe. Our Leader drank His cup, nor shrank From test of cruel foe. Oh! wheat of God, Wield Love's strong rod Which frees earth's mental slave. God gives you might To prove the right — Gives victory to the brave. Intrepid band, You understand Your source — eternal Life. Obey His Son, The Holy One Who stills all human strife. Oh! wheat of God, Kiss ye Love's rod. Rejoice ye dauntless, sing; Love's voice obey. She leads the way. To Christ, our Lord and King. A.E. S. CHAPTER VIII LETTERS ON BUILDING THE HOME For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God. I Thessalonlans, iii., 9. The real house in which "we live, and move, and have our being" is Spirit, God, the eternal harmony of infinite Soul. The enemy we confront would overthrow this sublirne fortress, and it behoves us to defend our heritage. . . . our true temple is no human fabrication, but the superstructure of Truth, reared on the foundation of Love, and pinnacled in Life. Pulpit and Press, p. 2. REPORT OF AN ADDRESS GIVEN BY MRS. EDDY ON THE SPIRITUAL MEANING OF THE WORD HOME^ The home of the Christian Scientist is in the understand- ing of God. His affection and interests are there, and his abiding place is there. The entrance to that home, she said, was through the footsteps of Truth, by following Jesus' words and works. Human reason could not teach men this true following. Spiritual perception and inspiration must do this. Chris- tian Scientists, she showed us, must build three tabernacles, and the building of these must be in the divine order. Christian Science teaches the great unreaHty of sin, and students of this Science, said the speaker, must meet and master the claims of sin in all its forms ; thus, and thus only, demonstrating its nothingness. First, there was the tabernacle reared to the living God, by self-consecration to the life of Christ — this includes the « Christian Science Journal, vol. iv., pp. 211, 212. 368 ^f 'il 1 Letters on Building the Home 369 victory over sickness, sin and death. This tabernacle is the gospel of Jesus and no structure could be reared whose foundation was not laid thereon. To him who builds the first, the second is not hard. The second tabernacle is made for Moses, by the fulfilling of the law, according to the Hebrew Decalogue. Nor was it sufficient that a man did not break this law visibly. The Penal law restrains mortals. to a great extent, through fear of punishment but the law of God is Love, constraining man. In that silent sanctuary, hidden from mortals' sight, there must be moral courage, honesty, purity, and rigid, un- swerving adherence to right. This home of Soul and taberi'-; nacle of Justice brought to light much spiritual power, so that healing appeared through Moses. A union of Love and Justice, the gospel and law, is the certain home of the disciple, wherein he abides in the understanding and partakes of the power of God. Love, said Mrs. Eddy, when understood, detaches our affections from the human standpoint, and attaches them to the divine. It wings our efforts, inspires our struggles, heals our hearts, bruised in warfare with error, and enables us to lay ourselves willing offerings on the altar. The third tabernacle was Elias. Whosoever hath in- habited the second may enter this, where prophetic vision is the reward of faithfulness, unselfishness, love. There thought triumphs over the din of error, and reads in ''the signs of the times, " with assured hope, the final "restoration of all things." This Horeb-height is the unity of the law from Sinai, the death on Calvary, and the Revelation. It is the taber- nacle of the Most High, the Mount of Transfiguration. I West 96TH Street, New York City, October 2, 1905. My beloved Students: — You have made a demonstration which I feel is the beginning of your work for yourselves, since we reap 24 370 Letters on Building the Home what we sow. Your pure desires to provide rrie with fine linen ^ for my new home, which is t3^pe of the righteousness of saints, arc a lesson to me, that I must keep pure and spotless within, and that Love has shown me Her care of me through your priceless love. From a letter to me from Pleasant View, Concord, N. H., received this morning, I quote the following: "Am glad to hear that you are to have a home. You deserve it, and your Father is rich, and will not deprive you of one good thing, but will add continually to your storehouse of blessings: everything belongs to God, then it is yours now, as His reflection, for there is no debt in divine Love. " I quote these words, and they apply to you as well as to me. I am glad, dear ones, to know, that when I break the sense of limitation, and Love gives me the type of a "mansion" in my "Father's house," my dear students will find a change for themselves. I will then have a home where I can call to me my own, and together we will have sweet communion. Did you only know my deep divine love for each of you, you would not wonder at my frequent silence when I meet you. It is love without words, because words cannot express it. Divine Love pulsates its presence, power, and substance. There are depths to which we must descend to exalt our Christ, and there are heights to which we shall ascend with our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, where the glories of earth, and heaven, and man await our beatified vision. As we put off false individuality and meditate on Christ, our divine possibilities are being gradually revealed to us, until we shall eventually behold the ' This letter was sent to Mrs. F. . . and a few of Mrs. F. . .'s patients, who gave me some household linen for my new home. Letters on Building the Home 371 true spiritual man — God's representative. Self is gradually being lost in Soul. We are nearing the real and eternal consciousness, and are able to detect the ideal man in those who are reflecting Love and Truth. I pray that you, my dear students, will grow in grace, and in the knowledge of your divine energies, and of your spiritual power to destroy sin and sickness. Together we will gird on our armor and conquer all that is unlike the anointed. Let understanding, our divine thought -forces, not belief, control our so-called muscles, nerves, and brain, imtil we bring our bodies and every thought into subjection to Christ, a living sacrifice to Truth. God bless and keep you ever on upward, onward wing, until we all reach our home in Soul. Ever faithfully and fondly thine, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, October 3, 1905. My dear Friend: — Your letter with inclosure was a surprise to me. I hope I have done enough to merit such generous reward for my services. If you would allow me to ^y. my charges you would find them very small. I have decided to keep your gift imtil my home is finished, and then purchase something which will remind me of you when- ever I see it. It is my joy to look forward to the class, and realize that I can then reward you tenfold for your dear protection of me, and your regard for my temporal needs. There is so much in the present and future, of health and power, of peace and joy, that I thank God that I have labored and suffered long and patiently to defend the Science of being until I could demonstrate 372 Letters on Building the Home it, and show you and others the might and dominion of man when governed by omnipotent IMind, which all can and should manifest. You also will learn that pure Mind evolves things — and that according to our thought, so is our body, and so is the universe. Then let us strive to change, or to spiritualize thought, that it may transform and dissolve this false, material body, and reveal our spirit- ual selfhood — in the image and likeness of perfect Principle, God. Love is revealing the unselfed Christ, ideal man, in you and yours, and my church and beloved students are rising spiritually, by constantly contemplating eternal Life, and by claiming their divine birthright — their oneness with God. Love is ever- present and Love is all. Let us reflect Her, and She will do Her work in and through us. The claims of belief of life in matter must be denied and destroyed by our reflection of Truth and Love. Lovingly, faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson.' I West 96TH Street, New York City, October 10, 1905. Dearly beloved Students: — My pen is powerless to convey to you my forever love, and deep gratitude to my Father for the priceless gift of two such faithful students — loyal to God, and loyal to His anointed, our beloved and revered Leader, Mrs. Eddy. During long years of trial and temptation in the journey from matter to Mind, you have walked beside m.c in the battle of Truth against error, hand clasping hand, and heart responding to heart. I have never known you to "follow afar off," nor have you ever resisted my repeated demands to rise to meet the Letters on Building the Home 373 perils of the hour. You have quickly obeyed the voice of our Leader, and have held up my hands by your fidelity to Principle and its idea. The waters have almost overwhelmed us at times ; but when the waves receded, our feet were on the eternal rock, Christ. God has given us strength and grace for many years to hold aloft the banner of Christian Science — to tread safely in the narrow way, and to demonstrate for our- selves the power of Christian Mind-healing, and, where it was possible, we have given the sign to others. You must be grateful indeed to realize that having done all you have been able to stand amid the shot and shell, the roar of the angry foe in hot pursuit, and the hosts of opposers to our God and His Christ. It may be said of you, "These are they which came out of great tribulation." These are they who have wrestled with false sense, and have prevailed over much. They shall win the reward of the faithful — health, holiness, and immortality. You will surely hear, ''Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. " We are not dependent upon the presence of cor- poreality to assure us of our nearness to each other. We meet and recognize each other in Mind, and clasp the imseen hand, and hear and see mentally. Christ Jesus said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." So we are rising with Christ, and are penetrating the veil of matter, and discerning the real of each other — the spiritual idea. God is protecting us from the fiery darts of the enemy. We are every day proving the nothingness of error, and its futile efforts to slay the Christian Science soldier who is panoplied in love. Our only safety is to remain in spiritual consciousness. Here the carnal 374 Letters on Building the Home sense cannot enter, and we are safe — "hid with Christ in God." Glorious experiences of the power and presence of divine Mind await us. We shall learn the sweet lesson of universal, spiritual love, which is harmony here on earth, as it is in heaven. Jesus said, ''In my Father's house are many mansions." I am revealing one, and am longing for my "Home, Sweet Home, " the type and symbol of my mental home in Spirit. I could not enjoy its rest and protection if my dear students were not within its walls; their love speaking to me in thoughts expressed in form, outline, utility, and color. So our home will be Love's fortress where I may labor more restfully 'for my dear church, and rise more rapidly into divine Mind, which will draw my dear students higher — away from the belief of matter. God will reward you for your steadfast loyalty to His chosen One, Mrs. Eddy, expressed in your comfort and aid to me since I began the work in New York City. Together we will labor, watch, and pray, till we hear the "Well done." n oj^nj jvsd ex Ever your loving, faithful teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, October 16, 1905. My beloved Student, M. . . , and My dear friend, Mr. E. , . : — I must seem most ungrateful and unappreciative of your love, expressed in the beautiful gift you sent me, but if you could see my work, and the demands which are constantly made upon my time, you would not wonder that I appear occasionally indifferent to my blessed students. The rug is exquisite. I shall place Letters on Building the Home 375 it where it will constantly remind me of the dear donors. If my feet could rest on anything long, they would tarry there, and the love which inspired the gift would refresh and strengthen my footsteps in the heavenward race for "Home, Sweet Home." I shall some day ''run, and not be weary." I shall mount with wings, as eagles, and my loyal, loving stu- dents like you, and 3^our dear children, will rise with our beloved Leader and with me to see the real universe, peopled with God's children, all united in the bonds of purity and love, free from the fetters of sin, sickness, and death. This is the goal to which we press forward. This is the state of mind which is the kingdom of heaven. This heaven is on earth, and we have a foretaste of it when we are unselfed, and love our neighbor (he who does the will of the Father) , as ourselves. The evil belief, mortal mind, will not long deceive those who labor and love, who watch and pray, for it is but an illusion, and will disappear when we look at man and the universe through the lens of Truth and Love. I send you deep appreciation. I am unable to express its height and depth and breadth, but if you are listening you will catch the tone of Truth, and Love will attune your thought to heavenly harmony. You cannot lose the chord of Christ. You are safe in the arms of divine Mind. Love is enthroned in your hearts, and you will finally win immortality. Please give my love to H. . . . Your dear children here are safely anchored in Christian Science, and are daily rising to heights of health, holiness, and immortal consciousness. I thank you again for all you have ever done for me, which I feel that I can only repay in reflection of Truth 376 Letters on Building the Home and Love. God bless and keep you. When I am in my home, I want you to come to see me there, and always call when you visit the city. With love that ''never faileth, " but ever increases, I am, Yours faithfully, Augusta E. Stetson. LETTER TO STUDENTS OF THE CLASS OF I I West 96TH Street, New York City, December 10, 1905. My beloved Students: — The heart is said to speak most when the lips move not, and this silence was surely not misinterpreted the evening of our class reunion, when your dear love took visible expression in beauty and utility, which blessed you, and spoke words of cheer and fidelity to me. * ' We must feel ere we can pity. We must long before we pray, We must know the need of comfort Ere we cheer another's way." I am each day learning to labor and wait for the glad hour when my dear students shall rejoice in spiritual vision, and shall behold, with the eye of faith and understanding, the Christ — the ideal man and God's perfect universe. The furnace heat is purifying the gold of human character, but the gold must dissolve, to reveal the substance — the image and likeness of God, His perfect man, Christ, and the individual members of the body of Christ — the manifestation of God. We have the Holy Bible, and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures as our chart to the haven of perfect manhood — the eternal city or Letters on Building the Home 377 spiritual consciousness. We are vigilant mariners, each standing at the helm of his own individual ship (consciousness) — watching the points of the compass — looking to see Christ coming towards us walking on the waters. When the roar of the breakers warns us of danger, and the magnetic currents draw us from our safe course, or when hidden reefs arise to terrify, we hear Christ: "Be not afraid." *'I am with you alway." Keeping our eyes constantly fixed on the goal there is no fear as we stand at the helm. With the courage of a firm trust in the ever-present Christ, and with a knowledge of the power of God, which is our divine nature and individuality, we can sail over the tem- pestuous seas, defy the illusions of personal sense, and anchor safely in our longed-for harbor, the city of our God, never more to go out into storm-tossed human concepts. We have stood firmly at our post of duty. Divine Love will give us wisdom, strength, and grace to con- tinue until the end of all error. We must learn to love more divinely, to see all through spiritual sense, and to make evil impersonal. As we strive to save those who are not strong to resist error, or who are going through the experiences which exalt (if they humble and purify), let us be patient and long suffering. We need more patient Christly love to free ourselves from self-love and self -righteousness, and more determination to work for the weak and heavy laden, who are strug- gling with the temptations of malpractice and with their own errors. "Little children, . . . love one another" means also help one another to conquer error at home and abroad. My love for you is inexpressible. You are the jewels in my crown of rejoicing. I have many classes, 37^ Letters on Building the Home so my crown is studded with precious stones. God will polish some who have been removed, and will set them again in my crown when through suffering and Science they are worthy. I shall feel that you are with me in my home and your home since your dear love has contributed towards its furnishing. It is our united home, a type of our eternal "Home, Sw^eet Home" in heaven (harmony). Lovingly and faithfully your teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, December 28, 1905. My beloved Students: — It were useless for me to attempt to express in a letter the language of a full and overflowing heart of grateful love to God for such students as you, whom the dear Father has given me to cheer and comfort me, as I carry the banner of Christian Science aloft, amid the shot and shell of the enemy of good, and their cries of " Crucify him. " I am indeed reaping a most bountiful harvest of loving thoughts, in manifold manifestations, each one of which will be a picture on the walls of memory, hung in the mansion, which, from the many in my Father's house. He has assigned to me and my students. The fine linen, pure spiritual consciousness, which is the righteousness of saints, must be worn by us all, as we labor and watch, pray and wait for the Lord of the harvest to enter our home, and abide with us there. Its walls will be resounding with praises to God for His great gift to us, our holy Leader, Mrs. Eddy. They will echo with songs of deliverance from sin, disease, and death, and the laughter of the happy children of Letters on Building the Home 379 our beloved Leader will echo in the corridors, until, through the light of our ever-present Christ, we shall see the smile of God in the face of His child, and know that heaven is within us. I am sure that you reap with me, or I could not enjoy the many blessings which come flowing in to me. Your steadfast fidelity to Principle, to our Leader, Teacher, and Guide, Mrs. Eddy, and to all who are faithfully following and obeying her as God's messenger to this age, will crown your lives with health, holiness, wisdom, and spiritual power to heal the sick and the sinful, and will win your own reward — immortality. My love for you often finds expression in silence, so mute am I when spiritual love comes flooding my being, and baptizing me with gratitude, and recognition of your nearness to me as members of my student-body, lambkins of my fold, whom I am leading to our great Leader, Mrs. Eddy. She will carry them to Christ, where the flock will be safely shielded from the wolves, and can go in and out, and find pasture, and lie down beside the still waters. I thank you again for your dear remembrance of me. I shall use your gift to clothe the idea (house) which will soon be your home and mme. Love reflected in love will be our Mother, God, home, and heaven. This is our precious Leader's demonstration through you and me, and all among my students who love divinely. Lovingly, faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. ■: I West 96TH Street, New York City, January 15, 1906. Beloved Students: — Your dear gift, which means far more to me than gold, or anything which it can purchase, lies before me, 380 Letters on Building the Home with its precious language. I interpret it with gladness as I read the sacrifices and love which brought it forth to bless and cheer me and provide for the needs of the hour. I am grateful that I have stood, amid the thunderings of error and the deafening roar of mortal mind which opposes our Christ. The rich inheritance of our Father's love and of eternal Life is ours because of our fidelity to Principle, to our dear Leader, Mrs. Eddy, and to the Cause of Christian Science. I have held the banner of Truth aloft, far above the aim of the archer, and have urged you to keep your gaze fixed on the eternal rock — Christ, until the warfare is ended. You discern your dominion and your royal birth- right, and you will labor, watch, pray, and wait for the hand of Love to crown you. I rejoice in knowing that as I petition the Father for more wisdom, love, meekness, and grace, you feel the pulsating presence of the power which impels me to plead, and you rise with me as heirs of God. Our revered and beloved Leader has given us the Key to the kingdom of heaven. She expects us to follow and obey her teachings and Christly example, and with this Key to unlock the gates of im- mortal consciousness. We will not lay down the sword till the battle is won. I am deeply grateful for your dear loving care of me and no tongue nor pen can ever write or convey th(5 depths, height, and breadth of my love for you and for all my faithful students. My dear lambs are nearly all safe in the fold, and those who are wandering on the mountain are some day going to hear the voice of love, and return to the sheepfold, happy to be safe again with the flock. I am sure that you are listening for the voice of our Leader, and are all working to be ready Letters on Building the Home 381 to meet our Christ, when the demonstration shall be made of the power of infinite Love over sin, sickness, and death. Again I thank you, dear ones, and when my home and your home is finished, we will meet in it and raise our united voices in praise to God for His greatest, best gifts to us, Jesus the Christ, and Mary Baker Eddy, '^ur guides to eternal Life. Ever lovingl}^ and faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. LETTER TO STUDENTS OF THE CLASS OF 1 899 I West 96TH Street, New York City, February 6, 1906 . My beloved Students: — Words seem to fail me. They are wholly inadequate to express or convey my deep appreciation of your tender, loving care for me, and I can only lift my eyes and behold the Father, keeping watch over me, and sending His many blessings through His avenues — His dear children. I am convinced that this hour is a harvest time for me and mine since the seed of Truth and Love which I have sown for many years — sown in tears — is bringing me fruit of its kind, love, peace, and joy. I have known it would return to me after many days, but have only known this in the letter. Now mine eye beholdeth it, and I fall on my face before ever-present, omnipotent Love, and cry out in grateful prayer: "Oh! Father, exalt my Christ-mind to reflect more of Thy love, that I may draw my blessed students to see Thee in Thy manifestation; to feel Thy mighty power in Thy substance ideas, and to so flood their consciousness 382 Letters on Building the Home with Truth and Love, that like a tidal wave it will sweep away all false conceptions, and reveal Thy universe — Thy body — man, the spiritual universe or Christ, and each individual member, perfect and im- mortal." I am reaping in joy. Our beloved and revered Leader goes before us, open- ing one by one the gates of the eternal City, conscious- ness, and calling us to follow and obey, as she leads. We are catching glimpses of the many mansions which our Father hath promised us, through Jesus the Christ. The one that our Father-Mother God has assigned to me and mine is fast appearing in symbol. Let us work, watch, and pray that we may be ready to enter and occupy, till Christ comes, and reveals the "house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." In my new home we shall meet and commune with divine Love. It will be my trysting place with the invisible Christ, ever-present Love, where I can listen for Her voice, and learn to detect more quickly the human from the divine. In the quiet of those walls (which have never been permeated by the jargon of mortals, with their language of sin, sickness, sorrow, and death) , I can hold sweet converse with God. Ma}^ we so manifest the Christ, and so truly emulate, obey, and follow our Mother in Israel, Mary Baker Eddy, that we can say, nothing that maketh or worketh a lie can enter and abide in the house which Love has built and furnished. I thank you for your loyal love for God, for our Leader, and for all mankind, and so far as I can, I try to reciprocate in spiritual thoughts. Of this I am sure, that God will reward you for all the kind and helpful thoughts and deeds which you have always sent me, Letters on Building the Home 383 and that your harvest hour will bring you much fruit of the Spirit, love, peace, and joy, and all that is neces- sary for your temporal needs, until Spirit supplies, feeds, clothes, and environs you, Her own. With love which is inexpressible and ever increasing, I am, Faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. LETTER TO STUDENTS OF THE CLASS OF NOVEMBER, IQGI I West 96TH Street, New York City, February 10, 1906. My beloved Students: — - I would that I had the pen of an angel to impart the gratitude of an overflowing heart of appreciation for your affection. I am silent before Love's manifesta- tions, and can only breathe a prayer to our Father, to reward them for their devoted love and steadfast loyalty to Jesus the Christ, to our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, and to me, her child. I rejoice with joy unspeakable, and cease to count my crosses and toils, as I behold the faithful and dauntless students working and demonstrating the Truth which I have taught them, and defending and protecting the Cause of Christian Science from evil thinkers and evil-doers. You are stars in my crown of rejoicing, and your dear love is an impenetrable armor, surrounding me as I go in and out proclaiming the reappearing of the Christ, and demonstrating the power of Truth in the healing of sin and sickness. Love will abide with you, — for every good thought and deed, every victory over physical self, every sacrifice for the saints, invites Her to tarry and sup with you, and thus you entertain Christ 384 Letters on Building the Home and leam from Love how to fulfil Her law, and live forever. We each have our problem to work out alone with God. Dear ones can give us the sign, and watch with us, and upHft and encourage us, but no one can do our work entirely. You are all brave soldiers, fighting for your birthright — eternal Life. You will win a glori- ous victory if you continue as you are now doing. God will give you wisdom and grace to overcome personal sense, and to love unselfishly, divinely, uni- versally. God is All. You are His manifest ideas, reflecting Him. This is truth, and it will set you free from all illusions of matter. My love goes out to each, and must help you move onward to the eternal. I am beholding the promise verified, "In my Father's house are many mansions." I have walked toward the Father; He has come to meet me, and my weary cry for rest is answered. I shall rest on the way there, in the home prepared for me by Love, through Her avenues, my dearly beloved students and church mem- bers, who are following Christ. Our trysting place with the Divine will be in the house which is type and symbol of the one "not made with hands." God is good to His own; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them in His bosom. May the dear Father hold close to His great heart these lambs which I found on the mountain far away, and may each rest in His tender embrace, until all cease to look for false freedom, and are beyond the power of the wolves — safe in the Shepherd's fold. I send you boundless love, and am laboring, watching, praying, singing, and rejoicing for you always. Lovingly and faithfully your teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. Letters on Building the Home 385 I West 96TH Street, New York City, February 15, 1906. My dear Students: — From a full heart of gratitude and love I thank you fcr your gift to me. Gold is but type and symbol of the gold of human character, and far beyond the human is the Christ love which is manifested in your tender care of my temporal needs. I constantly labor to rise to more spiritual heights of realization for your dear sakes, as much as for my own. I know that you are partaking of the things of God, and your cooperation in searching for, and find- ing, the dear Love ''Who forgive th [destroy eth] all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases" (Psalm ciii., 3), is bringing to you the imperishable things of spiritual consciousness. Dearly beloved of the Father, cling closer than ever before to the Truth which will set you free from every belief of the flesh, and will finally give you an under- standing of your oneness with infinite Mind — your God-given dominion over all the earth. Rich treasures of the things of God await our recognition and apprecia- tion, and we will labor for them and rejoice in the guid- ing hand of God, whose power and presence lead us all the way from the material sense — mortality— to the spiritual sense — eternal Life. Again I thank you, and feel a sense of joy that you are to be in our home; my home which will also be my students' home. They will be represented in some mxanifestation of utility and beauty and comfort. May you rejoice that you are reflecting divine Love to me. I return much love to you all. Your loving teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. 386 Letters on Building the Home I West 96TH Street, New York City, March i, 1906. My dear Students: — Let me repeat the words of our revered Leader, Mrs. Eddy, in Miscellaneous Writings (page 343), which I love to apply to you, dearly beloved: "Among the manifold soft chimes that will fill the haunted chambers of memory, this is the sweetest: 'Thou hast been faith- ful!'" Your love is divine — therefore it is substance, which the winds of error cannot move, nor the surging sea of belief wash away. It increases and develops — unfolds its power and permanence, radiates its peaceful, love-inspiring presence; touches with tenderness every human harp-string until it is attuned to the chord of Christ, and the dove descends, and the voice is heard, "This is my beloved Son [idea], in whom I am well pleased." To attain unto the standard of the perfect man in Christ is our constant endeavor. Who can hinder us? Shall tribulation or persecution, or any other supposi- tional power prevent us from following and reigning with our Christ, and our God-crowned Leader, Mary Baker Eddy? Not the illusion, death, nor any other false claim of so-called mortal mind can prevent us from obeying her teachings, and emulating her holy example. We have enlisted in the battle of Truth against error, and victory already rests on the side of Truth. "Only with thine [our] eyes shalt thou [do we] behold and see the reward of the wicked" (evil think- ing). "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. ' ' The hour approaches when we shall be called to the wedding feast — the marriage of the Lamb. May we labor to pos- sess and put on a wedding garment, that we may not hear, "Friend, how camest thou in hither not having Letters on Building the Home 387 a wedding garment? " We are all striving to put off our filthy rags — self-love, self-will, and self -justification, that our real robes of purit}^ and love, with which our Father- Mother Love arrayed us, may appear. We have worn these white robes throughout the ages, but clouds of mist (belief of life in matter) have concealed them. Through the light of Christian Science we see God's man, our brother and sister clothed and in his and her right mind. In the near future, at the dedication of the extension of our holy Leader's Church, let us praise God on bended knee for Jesus the Christ, and for Mary Baker Eddy, who have shown us the way to eternal Life on earth — who have gone before us, treading on scorpions and removing the stings of poisonous vipers (evil thoughts) until we have learned the way and can tread with safety the highway to holiness. God is good, and we are seeing His promises fulfilled. He has promised you and me a mansion among His many, and mine and yours is being revealed. We are sitting daily and hourly at the feet of Christ, bowing in humility before the unseen Presence, waiting for the light which will dissolve the darkness of belief, and re- veal our reality— the universe of Love's creating, a world in which is no sorrow nor crying, nor dying, for the former thoughts which produced them will have passed away. This is our goal. Dear co-workers, press on. Learn "to work alone with God and for Him" {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 118), and this will unite us in the one Mind and in spiritual cooperation. I am deeply grateful to my Father for your dear love. You will see your tender care in the *'Home, Sweet Home. " Lovingly, faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 388 Letters on Building the Home I West 96TH Street, New York City, March 3, 1906. My beloved Students: — I cannot express in words my profound gratitude for your loving care and unselfed love, manifested in your gift. You know my deep affection for you — my age-abiding love, and my appreciation of your fidelity to Christian Science, to God, and to His anointed, our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy. We will not remember our tears and toils, our cares and crosses, our defeats and doubts on the wilderness journey, for the harvest hour is here, and the love, joy, and peace of spiritual consciousness is ours. Songs and psalms and paeans of praise to God for victory over self ring from brave combatants for eternal Life, and the anticipation of final victory over all self and sense nerves the faithful to earnest endeavor to endure, and continue unto the end of error. Through all that we have encountered we have been drawn into a closer union, where heart responds to heart, and Spirit unites us in the bonds of spiritual love. Truly, there remains a rest, and a sure reward for you who have held aloft the banner of eternal Life, Truth, and Love, amid the shot and shell of the sharp- shooters who have always aimed at Truth's standard- bearers. You are nearing the "Home, Sweet Home" of Soul. When the law of love is fulfilled, we shall read our titles to mansions in our Father's house, which now we reveal in t3'pe and symbol. My home (and your home) is opening its doors to welcome us, and the voice of Love is preparing "a table ... in the presence of mine enemies. . . . Surely goodness and mercy shall follow" us continually, and we "w.ll dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. " Entrenched in this citadel, I can do more and better work for my precious Letters on Building the Home 389 students, and for humanity. I shall sing, and rise God-ward, as I continue to work, watch, and pray for the Mind of Christ and for the love which fulfils the law of Spirit and sets us free from the bondage of sin and death. Ever devotedly yours in Truth and Love, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, March 16, 1906. My beloved Students: — As I witness day after day the evidences of your faithful adherence to Principle, and to the teachings of our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, your unselfed love of our great Cause, and your overcoming of personal sense, I rejoice that amid the lightning flashes of error you are always on the rock of eternal substance, ever listening for the voice of the Father above the roar of the tempest, and ever sending out the life-line to those who are struggling with the drowning wave. God is good to me to send me such students, but for whose overshadowing love I might fall under the bur- den which I carry up the hill of Christian Science. God has placed His guardian angels very near me, and your love-light chases away many a cloud, disperses many a shadow, and illumines my pathw^ay up the steep cliff towards the summit of im^mortality. There are roses all along the way, and I hear the music of the invisible choir, and ever and anon the song of birds and happy children gladden the journey, so that I sing instead of sigh, rejoice instead of repine, and glory in the cross of Christ. Our beloved Leader and Teacher and Guide goes before us, wdth her hand in the hand of God ; her eyes continually fixed on Christ ; her feet 390 Letters on Building the Home always walking in paths of righteousness. We can cheerfully follow, and rejoice that we are worthy to be called her disciples. You are tenderly mindful of my seeming needs. My heart is filled with gratitude as I behold your useful, loving gift, and know that you nestle in every nook and corner of my home which I symbolically discern, and which m.y Father has assigned to me. I am striving to redeem it, and God will illumine me till type and symbol disappear, and I behold my home in Soul. It is our home. You must enter and enjoy it. What it means to me you can never know — a refuge from the storm, a pavilion in which I may hide from the "blast of the terrible ones," a place in which quiet and rest will enable me to continue to assimilate myself to God and to reflect more of the spirit of Christ to my beloved church and my students. God will gird me with wisdom and love to labor for my flock, and to stand a witness to the might and majesty of divine Love. I thank you, and love you. Ever tenderly and truly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City March 17, 1906. My beloved Students: — The love and gratitude which my faithful students are expressing to me in this hour in desiring to be represented, and to comfort and cheer me in my home, where from floor to ceiling, I shall read the hand- writing, ''Love hath sent you this" — give me fresh courage to grapple with the perplexing problems of dreams and shadows, human concepts, which Truth and Love must and will soon dispel. Letters on Building the Home 391 The sunlight of God's presence is seen and felt in you, as the Christ becomes more and more apparent on the flesh, as the hand of compassion clasps more tenderly and heart speaks to heart in tones which restore strength, and cheer and impel you God-ward. Earth's phantoms are fast fleeing before the ever-present Christ, and the light of Love is revealing God and His earth peopled with immortal beings, who reflect omnipotence, having dominion over the earth, and co-existing forever with God, their creative Principle. An endless life is our birthright. We are awaking to take possession of this royal inheritance. We tread on serpents ''on the way there, " but we are not pierced by their sting. We take them up, handle them and when we discover their nothing- ness, they become our rod and staff. We find that it was only belief that had the sting, and not the serpent. Destroying the belief, as we are taught to do by our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, we find all so-called serpents, in whatever form, all beasts, however fero- cious, harmless. Some one has said, ''the beastliest beast of all is [mortal] man" — but understanding dis- closes the spiritual fact that there is but one man, the spiritual, immortal idea, God's image and likeness. Belief, the lie, which has so long claimed that there is life and intelligence in matter, has deceived the whole world. Christ Jesus, our Way-shower, demonstrated his power over all evil, and our holy Mother in Israel, Mrs. Eddy, has so closely followed Truth in her life, that she has found for herself and for humanity the lost chord of Christ. Having attuned her own harp to its harmonies, she calls us to follow, and blend our anthem, and paeans of praise to God, with the 392 Letters on Building the Home rhythm of Love. We are one in the unity of the Spirit and in the bonds of Christ. Truth has set us free from much bondage to the flesh, and will finally break every fetter which holds us to the belief of life and intelligence as existent in matter. Then we shall rejoice in the freedom of the children of God, and having forgotten our crosses and cares, our tears and toils, our disappointments and con- stant fears, pains and partings, we shall soar on pinions of spiritual thought into the atmosphere of divine Mind, and rise from height to height, unfolding always the infinite capacities and the living energies and possi- bilities of man, who is the image of his Maker. There is no other mxan. I am unable to express my gratitude and love for you — words fail me. Only by m.y reflection of Love, as I am lifted Spirit-ward and draw you to the Christ, healing and blessing you, can you know how the ever- present Christ broods over us, quickening us with inspiration to strive to possess the qualities of Spirit. With tender love, I am, Faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, March 18, 1906. My beloved Sludefits : — My loyal students seem to hail with joy the appearing of the type and symbol of my home. The love which is flowing to me is unselfed, pure and Christly. Its influence brings cheer and comfort as I ponder on the undestroycd illusions which hide from my vision the home which is behind the shadows. God will reveal it when we rise above the mists. Letters on Building the Home 393 Already the law of Love is dispelling the clouds, and with the eye of faith and understanding we discern the perfect home of Soul, wherein is no sickness, sorrow, or parting. In this redeemed mansion the hearth-fires bum brightly. It is lighted by the sunlight of Love's presence. Its doors need no bars, but open at the touch of God's angels, who go in and out panoplied in Truth, nor know aught but the protecting wings of Love. In this sacred home which is awaiting all who continue faithful to Christ, there is rest and joy and peace, dominion and an endless life. Oh ! for the wings of a dove, that we might fly away to this place which is prepared for us, and remain there forever at rest. Some day we will be in the true consciousness, where no arrow wounds the dove. When we rise with our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, to see the things which "God hath prepared for them that love Him," when we obey the law, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me, " and "Love thy neigh- bor as thyself," we shall see the smile of God in the universe, and on the face of man. The true meaning of Mother, home and heaven will be understood, and like little children, we shall be care-free, clothed and fed by vSpirit, ever unfolding in joy and power to demon- strate the glories of God's creation. My love never ceases to enfold you. My arms are ever stretched out to God in prayer for you, that you may rise with our holy Leader, nor ever fail to listen for her voice, and follow and obey her teachings. This prayer will be answered. You are true and loyal soldiers — valiant in battle against error, and have won many victories over false sense. Defeat is not in your vocabulary. Press on, dear students, and hand in hand we will ascend the hill of Christian Science, nor 394 Letters on Building the Home murmur on the "rugged way."' We must sing and rejoice that our eyes already catch ghmpses of the home gathering, and our ears already hear the faintly wafted "Well done." I send you love which is inexpressible. Fondly, faithfully thine, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, March 20, 1906. My dearly beloved Students : — I am unable to find words which will express my ap- preciation of your exquisite gift to me — harp-shaped andirons. I am mute before the type and symbol of light and harmony, which you are putting into my home. For years I have been without a home of my own in a great city, and have been most grateful to warm my- self by others' firesides, and have appreciated the light of the homes where I have ministered to the sick and sorrowing. My Father is now revealing to me one of His "many mansions," and love is furnishing me with many useful things, among which yours is most signi- ficant. The light and the harmony are perfect and magnificent. I almost find myself waiting for the Master's hand to sweep across the harp, and accompany the invisible choir, which is always sounding forth the praises of God. The fire-light of ever-present Love will illumine the home, and the fragrance of flowers — the smile of God, and the fruit of the Spirit will give us a foretaste of our "Home, Sweet Home" in heaven — harmony. Peter asked of the Master, what he would have by forsak- ing his false sense of father and mother, brothers and sisters. Jesus answered that he would have father and ^ Miscellaneous Writings, page 398. Letters on Building the Home 395 mother, brothers and sisters, houses and land, with persecutions. Our beloved Leader says "When a false sense suffers, the true sense comes out" {Miscellaneous Writings ^ p. 276). So I, through leaving all for Christ, have found all these in the real and eternal. I no longer count my Vv^eary footsteps. Roses are strewn along the way, where my false sense once found thorns. Looking through a more spiritual sense I catch glorious glimpses of the reality of being, and sing instead of sigh as I journey on to the home of Soul. I am inex- pressibly grateful for your fidelity to Principle, and to our dear Leader, and to me during all the years of m.y warfare with error in this great city. You have indeed ''continued with me in my temptations" and you will receive the reward of the faithful. I must so rise in spiritual understanding that the type and symbol of m^y home will disappear, and the eternal hom.e, the ''house not m^ade with hands," will appear. God is faithful. He will fulfil His promise to us, and we shall enter into the consciousness in which there is no sin, sickness nor death, no cruel partings — no longing for the "touch of a vanished hand, nor sound of a voice that is still," for the spiritual forms of our loved ones will be revealed. In this home of Spirit the hearth -fires will bum brightly, revealing our Father-Mother God, and the children, with not a "vacant chair." Each harp of a thousand strings is attuned to the harmonies of Spirit, and psalms of grate- ful love, and Te Deums of praise ascend to the eternal Father for immortal existence, imder the law of Love. Let us work, watch, and wait, ever praying for strength and grace to fulfil the law of Love, — which is the kingdom of heaven within and without. Again 39^ Letters on Building the Home let me try to tell you how much I value your dear care of my home, in providing this useful gift. I am antici- pating much pleasure in your visit to me when my house is finished. With love, I am. Yours sincerely, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, April 21, 1906. My dear Mr. E. . . ; — Your kindness is evidence of your Christliness. "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these ... ye have done it unto me." It seems a material thing which you sent me, but Love moved you to do something for me, and my temporal needs were met by your loving efforts. It matters not who minis- ters to us, so long as Love finds Her own channels. It is indeed true that if we leave "house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake and the gospel's, ... he [we] shall receive . . . houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions." But what of persecution ? Only through the destruction of a false sense can we gain the true sense of each other. I delight in the cross which has elevated me to see God and His idea, Christ. Let us work for the Truth which sets us free from the illusions and delusions of material sense. I thank you more than any words can express for your love offering. I shall enjoy the gift, and you will feel many a loving thought as it reminds me of the giver. When I am settled in my new home, I would like Letters on Building the Home 397 you to call upon me. Again with grateful thanks, I am, ] Faithfully, affectionately, Augusta E. Stetson. LETTER TO CLASS OF JANUARY, 1 892 I West 96TH Street, New York City, April 26, 1906. My very dear Students: — Pardon my delay in replying to your sweet letter and remembrance. I need no material manifestation to asstue me of your faithful love and devotion to our beloved Leader and the Cause of Christian Science, and to me, your teacher. For years, through ** evil report and good report" I have always found you at your post of duty, and with each test of your faith you have risen higher. You cannot lose your way in, or through the wilderness, if you continue watching and praying, and waiting on God. There are heights of glory and bliss, dominion and peace, to which we must rise; and with oiu- eyes fixed on the goal, and our hearts warm with love for God and His anointed One, our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, and for each other, and for humanity, we shall stand on the Mount and behold all the land of promise, which stretches out before us. He is faithful; we are trusting. Love never faileth; then may we not now sing and rejoice and praise our God, knowing that the clouds of personal sense are rolling back and dispersing? Soon the sunlight will chase away every mist, and Love's smiling universe will greet our view. With this imderstanding of Life's reality can we falter or faint 39^ Letters on Building the Home by the way? I am always striving to attain "tinto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." The life he lived, I must live, if I would gain spiritual power to demonstrate Principle, as he did. For this I labor, watch, pray, and wait on God. My efforts are not alone for myself, but for my dear flock, who, if they are faithful, as I am lifted up, will rise with me. This is mental unfolding and thus we ascend together to the Father. I send you vciy devoted love. It ever flows to you, my dear students, and to all mankind. They whose hearts are open to Truth and Love receive Love's affluence, through every channel, and are refreshed continually. Let us follow and obey our holy Mother in Israel. Keeping step to the anthem of "on earth peace, good will toward men," we shall '' run, and not be weary;" v^e shall "walk, and not faint;" we shall enter into the pure atmosphere of the Christ-mind, and heaven will come down to earth. This new heaven and new earth are not afar off; we know they will be soon revealed to those who endure unto the end of all belief of life and intelligence in matter. ) Ever faithfully and devotedly, 2. Yours in Christ, '^ Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, April 30, 1906. To the Choir and Choral Union of t First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. My beloved Students and Friends, Sweet Singers of Israel: — You have for many years poured forth anthems and Te Dcums of praise to our Father-Mother God, which have touched the hearts of listening worshipers, Letters on Building the Home 399 with strains of music, which inspired the seeker after Truth to quicken earnest endeavor, and which gave to the weary and heavy laden fresh hope and renewed courage to press on to the goal of sinless humanhood here on earth. Your fidelity to God, to our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, to me, her humble follower and student, to the Cause of Christian Science, to each other, and to 'the Church of Christ, is beyond expression. Always at your post, always cheerful and obedient to the call of duty, always loving and united in your work as a choir and choral, you have proved many years the power and omnipotence of divine Love. Our beloved Leader asks in Miscellaneous Writings, page 1 1 6, "Are we filling the measures of life's music aright, emphasizing its grand strains, sweUing the harmony of being with tones whence come glad echoes? " Again, on page io6, she says that: "the music of Soul affords the only strains that thrill the chords of feehng and awaken the heart's harpstrings." As your teacher, ever watchful that the enemy enter not and create tones of discord to mar the sweet concord of hearts which ptJsate to the law of Love, I rejoice to be able to say, *'Well done, thou good and faithful." No arrow shot from the archer, barbed with envy and jealousy, has been aimed high enough to reach you, and separate the members of our dear church choir. The evil one has utterly failed in every attempt to bring discord into your choir-body, and to-day Love unites each member of this choir and choral in the unity of spiritual love and obedience to the law of God. May you rise to meet the higher demands of Christian Science and continue to demonstrate spiritual imity. My heart is overflowing with love for you, and grati- tude to our Father for your faithful adherence to 400 Letters on Building the Home Principle, and for your devoted love for our holy Mother in Israel — God's anointed in this age. She is leading us to the infinite, as we follow Christ. We must open our eyes if we would see what she so earnestly desires us to behold. You are well armed with the letter of Christian Science ; you need only the spirit to reveal to you all the glories of earth and heaven and man. This I am sure you will finally attain, since you, with me, are ''persuaded, that neither death, nor life, . . . shall be able to separate us from the love of God, " good. How I labor to rise into a purer consciousness, that as I am lifted up I may draw you God-ward. You are ever quick to respond to the mental call of our Leader, and thus, together, we will listen for her voice, and obey and follow her, the spiritual idea, until we sing with her the song of the redeemed. Be watchful. Be vigilant. Pray without ceasing, which means — think God's thoughts after Him continually. Since we are thoughts, we must think constantly; then let us see that we think eternal Life, Love, and Truth. Let us contemplate goodness, truthfulness, mercy; knowing, as we do, that Mind is all, and that there is but one Mind — God. There is no reality in any thoughts but those of Life, Love, and Truth. When we are permit- ting false thoughts to occupy us, we are ceasing to live, to love, and to reflect God. To entertain a mortal thought is to entertain a death thought. To consider the body as sentient substance is to be in darkness. Let us strive to be absent from the material sense of our body and to be present with the Lord. We are advancing, and whither? We are ascending, being moved onward and upward by the divine impulsion. How, like wandering children, w^e are coming back to our Father's house! Letters on Building the Home 401 My home is type of the mansion in my Father's house. May I be ever found about my Father's business until I am worthy to behold and enter my house not made with hands. I pray for humility, meekness and divine love to finish the race for immortal womanhood. With thanks inexpressible for your loving gift for my home, I am ever, Your faithful teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, May 4, 1906. My dear, dear Friend: — I have tried several times to speak to you about leaving, and to express my deep gratitude for all you have done for me in the years when I needed some one to give me the shelter of a home, away from the routine of my busy life, where I could hide from the many de- mands made upon my time and strength. No one will ever know what your protecting, loving care has meant to m^e. It is difficult to articulate my appreciation when I attempt to tell you, and so I write you now, hoping I may partially convey my gratitude for your many, many acts of kindness. I have prayed that I might reflect divine power to bless you and yours, and thus in a degree reciprocate your goodness. I know that I have been able to do something in return for your generosity. My affection for you and your boys is beyond words to express. I shall want to come to you all occasionally, and feel that I have your home in the future, as in the past, as a hiding place from the heavy demands of the hour. My work is laborious. It taxes me beyond human 26 402 Letters on Building the Home strength. But my strength is divine and in God, and I draw heavily on my Father. No one knows the varied calls and the many details of my work. Sometimes I am surprised to find that I can accomplish so much. I shall have more strength rather than less as I go on. I need my quiet home in which to work out of the mate- rial into the spiritual sense, thus inspiring my students and followers to more spiritual attainments. I am anxious to get my house settled and in running order, that you and M. . . may break bread with me there. I may not wait until I am sure of competent help, but will have you come with the boys soon. I shall not feel really happy till this has been accomplished. Your dear husband has been so kind, and has done so much for me. I feel I may have made it disturbing for you, by my irregular coming at dinner, and the frequent telephone calls, which must have given you both much inconvenience. You never made me feel that you were the least disturbed. I am sure your love made you patient with me. God bless and keep you. I cannot repay you except to labor to reflect more divine Love, that I may always help you onward — Christ -ward. I hope I shall soon see you in my new home. With deep, age-abiding love to you both and to the dear bo3^s, I am, i Always faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, June 23, 1906. My beloved Students: — As I look upon the evidence of your fidelity, and Christly love, I realize as never before the precious Letters on Building the Home 403 import of Jesus' words, "Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. " As I entered my home, on Thursday, carrying a heavy burden of care, in the seeming evil which Truth has aroused smce our communion, when divine Love stirred error to the surface, and which is directed to Truth's standard- bearers, I saw your magnificent gift,^ and if God had spoken audibly to me. His voice would not have been more unmistakable, than when I saw Love through you, crowning my work. You began long years ago to walk side by side with me, "o'er crag and torrent," all the rugged way of this wilderness journey, and I pray that you both will endure later the coming test of your faith and understanding. Our revered Leader, Mrs. Eddy, says, The Mother Church was the cross— the Extension is the crown. When you were securing this crown you knew nothing of this Word of God which she voiced, in her statement that her work is crowned; but Love moved you to crown your teacher's work. You did not know why you could not get the crown ready when I entered my new home, type of the real home in divine Mind; but Love knew the hour, and until Her word went forth, you could not objectify the thought. Oh! my dear students, I can no more convey to you my sense of the meaning of your heavenly privilege of being chosen to do this work, than I could weigh my oratitude, or measure my boundless love for you. ^' Thou hast been faithful. " I am thanking our Father day and night for such Christly love as yours. Beloved - The gift was a large crown that had been on our church edifice at 143 West 48th Street for seven years. When the church was sold this crown was removed by the workmen, thrown into the rubbish and car- ried off. Two students found it. had it regilded and put on a beautitiU pedestal and placed in my home. 404 Letters on Building the Home students, you and I have suffered with our Leader, and shall we not reign with her? False concepts must pass away; and spiritual sense must reveal the new heaven and the new earth — the new man created by our Father-Mother Love. In our true consciousness there is no discord, no pain, sorrow nor death. Have we not this sense of God, and our oneness with Him now? The veil is growing thin. Spiritual sense discerns the eternal verities of being, and catches occasional tones of heavenly harmony. The sunlight of Love's presence will melt away the mists of finite sense, which hide the child of God. You are led by the Spirit, to minister the cup of cheer, and to quicken my earnest endeavor to the end. At this point of my demonstration I am crowned by you, and I go forward more confident, since I know that up to this hour my work has been approved by divine Love through our Leader, Mrs. Eddy. The way will grow brighter and brighter unto the perfect day, if you hold fast to Christ. I will watch, and labor, and pray that these whom God has given me, may be with me in the joy and affluence of eternal consciousness of Life, Love, and Truth. We will go, side by side, mentally declaring for our dominion over the material world, the flesh and all evil, till our spiritual power over all the enemy startles the sleeping world to admit that God is with us. Love will lead you to the fulfilling of Her law, and if you continue faithful to Truth unto the end of physi- cal sense you will be crowned by Christ, with immortal- ity, sinlessness, and everlasting bliss. "Choose ye" to continue with Christ that ye may reign with him. My words are weak; my love is mighty, and struggling for utterance. May you be my joy and crown of rejoicing. Faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. CHAPTER IX LETTERS TO CHILDREN Verily I say iinto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein. — Luke xviii., 17. Beloved children, the world has need of you, — and more as children than as men and women: it needs your innocence, unselfishness, faith- ful affection, uncontaminated lives. You need also to watch, and pray that you preserve these virtues unstained, and lose them not through contact with the world. — Miscellafieous Writings, p. no. 24 West 72ND Street, New York City, September 2, 1900. My darlings I. . . and H. . . .* — How sweet it will be to feel your dear little hands about my neck when I wear the dainty ribbon bands which you prepared for me. I know that every stitch was Love's activity, Her ceaseless motion, weaving in and out, producing form and utility — and was sent to me through you. The type seems necessary to us in our present mental condition. I shall feel very restful as I use your gifts and realize who made them. It is very dear of you, precious children, to take your time to do this, and I fully appreciate it. I have little time to consider the material demands, for I must ''be about my Father's business." He will clothe and feed me, while I give you spiritual food, and Love will clothe you in Her own spotless, seamless garments as you rise above the mists of matter illusions. 405 4o6 Letters to Children Thank you again and again for your loving remem- brance. May our dear Father-Mother Love keep you, and tenderly guide you, till you rise beyond the dream of this material world into the sunlight of eternal Mind, your spiritual selfhood. Ever yours lovingly, faithfully, Augusta E. Stetson. 24 West 72ND Street, New York City, December 27, 1900. My darling L. . . : — Your letter shows me what a selfless little girl you are. Christian Science teaches us to be grateful for all that Love gives us. I am happy to see that my precious little lambldn was so grateful for ail that Love had given her, that she had to send me some of her sweets as an expression of her gratitude. I return many thanks and much love. You are a little Christian Science soldier, and I rejoice in the assurance that my dear Sunday School children know who fought against error to free them from the bondage of belief. It was our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, who gave us Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. I, and the dear Sunday School teachers, and the church members all work for you. Therefore you will escape much that the children of the nineteenth century suffered. Be a strong, true worker for Christ, darling, and love more and more those who cannot see, as you and I do, that this is the second coming of Christ to mankind through our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, who will fulfil the law of Love. Lovingly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. Letters to Children 407 ■ r- Hotel Touraine, Boston, Mass., June 22, 1904. My darlings, little D. . . and M. . . : — Your letter was sweet. It had the touch of spiritual love, and I am always so happy to feel that the dear Father has found some one through whom to send me a message. Love is so very near to us all that we cannot think or speak without voicing Her. Then Her words are tender and sincere and loving, and, when they reach you, they just fill your heart with such joy and peace, that you almost feel as if an angel had come to you and asked you if you knew that you were in heaven. We know that we are there, do we not? Some people do not yet know that there is but 07ie world, — the spirit- ual,— and one God who created and governs it. We know that we are God's children, happy, loving, and true, and that error cannot deceive us longer nor make us admit that there are two worlds, one where people are sick and sad, and another where people are happy, healthy and good. Truth gives us power to break this error, and scatter the mists that would hide the real world and our real selves. I thank you for your kindly thought of me. I shall soon be at home. Give my love to all in your dear home, and remember that I love you fondly, because I love God, and you are His ideas, good and true- little lambkins of our precious Leader's fold. Lovingly ever 3^ours, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, August 3, 1904. My darling little F. . . : — I have been so pleased with the lovely hatpins you sent me that every time I put them in I say, dear little 4o8 Letters to Children F. . . will hold my hat firmly. Both I have named F. . . , because then I think of you, darling, and if I only were spiritual enough, I should see your dear real self. I am trying very hard to get away from every mortal thought, and get my God thoughts, which will bring out all, and every one in their real substance embodiment. You know there is but one body, Christ, the mani- festation of God, and that we are individual members of that body. We are not matter nor error, for there is no so-called mortal mind in Truth. Our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, has taught us this truth. Then when we get our spiritual sense we shall see our real selves. Will not that be happiness? I shall wait patiently till I find your real spiritual self, the image and likeness of Love and Truth, and in the meantime we will both declare that God is our Father and Mother, our Principle whom we love and serve and who will take us into our heavenly consciousness, where there is no matter nor error. Ever fondly, with my dearest love, Yours, Augusta E. Stetson. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I West 96TH Street, January 25, 1905. My dear Sunday School Children: — You know, without being told by me, how dis- appointed I was not to have been with you at your party, but I had to do some work which no one else could do, so I sent you my loving thought, and went on doing the Master's work. You know we must never be grieved nor disappointed when we cannot have our Letters to Children 4^9 own way, and do as we want to do. Love always leads us safely when we are willing to do as God directs, and we can always talk with our Father-Mother God, since He is ever-present and we are one with the divine Mind. I love to think of you, my dear little lambs in the Sunday School, as you grow in the understanding of Christian Science, and develop in goodness and the beauty of holiness. The strength of eternal Life which you manifest day by day, the intelligence which you reflect, and the sweetness of the Christ-consciousness which is making your dear little faces luminous with purity, sincerity and tender love-light, are a joy to me as I watch your progress into the divine Life. You are going to be the strength of our church; in fact you^ are now. If you live in the God thought, and re- fuse to obey the mortal, false thought, you will escape the discords of the matter-dream, and will merge into the health and harmony of the ideal, the God child. I love you more than words can express. I love to think of you in your real selves as safe from all sin, sickness, and discord, held in Love's arms, close in the secret of Her presence, joyous in the power of good, clothed and fed by Spirit, our creator, and as always sending out your sweet thoughts into the world to heal, and happify and bless others. I thank you from a full heart of gratitude for your beautiful gift. ' I am sure you must have felt the joy- bells ringing in your hearts as I sent you grateful love for it. Be good reflectors of Love, darlings, and you will reap a bountiful harvest of blessings. I love you, » This gift was a large white rabbit filled with candies, which the children were to present to me at their party. 410 Letters to Children precious lambkins of our blessed Leader, Mrs. Eddy. God bless my brave little soldiers in Christian Science, Ever yours faithfully, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, September 4, 1905. My darling little M. . . ; — You are one of the sweetest, dearest avenues that I ever knew, through whom Love dispenses Her gifts. The beautiful spoon which you have given to me for my new home was formed by the same Mind that forms the bud and blossom, and this Mind worked through your loving thought to evolve its object. It is the daintiest one I ever saw, showing that your mental transparency is very free from error, such as selfishness, for any one who has this quality could not have brought out such a dear gift. Things, you know, are thoughts objectified. Of course no one has yet destroyed all false concepts, but we are all working to conquer self- love and the false self as fast as we can. Some are getting rid of error faster than others, but only because they work more persistently to keep their minds filled with Truth and Love, and refuse to entertain naughty mortal thoughts. I think you will have a lovely winter, and I am sure that you will gain your true self if you continue to do as you are now doing. When you gain your real self — }^our spiritual consciousness — you will be like Christ Jesus and our dear Leader, Mrs. Eddy. You know that Christ Jesus could quickly heal disease and cast out evil thoughts, which cause disease. His God-thought was powerful to cast out the belief that disease was real, and the disease vanished. He could always de- Letters to Children 411 stroy all error with his spiritual thought, and so can you and I, when we resist all belief of life in matter, through the power of our Christ-mind. I would like to stop the rain from getting every one so wet to-day, but I have not conquered enough of error in myself to do it. Jesus could, and we must have do- minion some time, for God gave us His own power. He gave men dominion over all things, and when we are governed by God we shall exercise that dominion. I know that when we are better Christian Scientists we shall not have so much rain, and storm, and accidents, and all sorts of discord, and diseases, which are the phenomena of mortal belief; but we shall have harmoni- ous conditions, healthy bodies, and beautiful weather. When we start for church, good thoughts will bring us to the church on time. Now, we are subject to other people, whose erring thoughts bring out all kinds of discord, tardiness, and we are not yet strong enough to dispel the universal force of error, which claims to be a power, but which must some time be destroyed by Truth and Love. Some days mortal mind sheds so many tears. There are days when mortal mind is very cross and selfish, and the wind and thunder and lightning appear. All this we know must disappear, for Love is omnipotent, and we are Love's children in reality, good and happy, and healthy and loving. These thoughts bring sun- shine, beauty, power, and joy to us, to the birds, to the beasts and to everything on the earth. This we shall see when error is destroyed. Will it not be lovely to be governed by good, and have no discord, — to love and live happy and free? I thank you again, my darling little M. . . , for your unselfed love and sacrifice in giving me this 412 Letters to Children beautiful spoon, which I call my love-spoon. You must come to my home, when it is finished, and eat an orange with the spoon. I love you, darling. You are a heroic little Christian Science soldier. You will be a great help to our dear Leader, to me, and to your parents as God develops your Christ-consciousness. Lovingly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York CitYj February. 8, 1906. My darling Children: — I thank you for your sweet letters. I see in every line of your composition the dear little 'hands working to teach me unselfed love. Yes, Christ Jesus loved little children, and took them in his arm.s and blessed them, and said that they were of the kingdom of heaven. This was long ago. Christ said he would come again, and I think he has come to m^e and to you many times. Whenever you are loving and unselfish and obedient, you feel happy. Christ Jesus is saying to you, " Dear, good little child, I love you. " He always comes to you Vv4ien you are good, and then he puts his hands on your heads and you can feel his arms, love, around you, and your hearts are so happy that you sing and dance for joy. Christ Jesus is right here, but you cannot see him until you are like him, — so good, so loving, so obedient to God, that you will see the Christ-man who is close beside you. You will change your thought until you bring out the real of Christ Jesus and of yourself and of every one. I think our dear Leader, Mrs. Eddy, must feel his Letters to Children 413 arms around her always, and she must see him, too, because she is so good. We will follow her, will we not, and she will some day- put her dear arms around us, and put her loving hands on our heads, and say, "I love you, dear children, be- cause you are like Christ Jesus. You can do just what he did. Your good thoughts can heal the sick and you can drive out naughty error-thoughts which make people sick and unlovely, and you can get your lessons perfectly and so easily, because you reflect intelligence.'* She is talking to us all the time, and walking right beside us. We would see her if we had all God thoughts. I want to see the real Christ Jesus and Mrs. Eddy, and your real selves and the beautiful real world. So I am working to be good, and so are you all, dear little ones. Ever your loving friend, Augusta E. Stetson, CHAPTER X LETTERS AS TO INDIVIDUALITY VERSUS PERSONALITY To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. — Revelation ii., 17. The immortal man being spiritual, individual, and eternal, his mortal opposite must be material, corporeal, and temporal. I endeavored to lift thought above physical personality, or selfhood in matter, to man's spiritual individuality in God, — in the true Mind, where sensible evil is lost in supersensible good.— Retrospection and Introspection, p. 73. Hotel Buckingham, New York City, December 28, 1897. My beloved Student: — Your letter gave me joy. I see the true spiritual sense appearing, and the gradual disappearance of the old human self, which gives us all so much trouble. Human self is our only enemy. Its constant demands for recognition, for pleasure, and diversion, make material existence at times almost intolerable. I thank God for the uncovering of the tyrant of mortal self which held me enslaved to sense testimony for so many years. I am thankful that I have burst the fetters so far for myself and for others, and that the wiles and snares of the old carnal mind are unmasked, and are thereby deprived of their imaginary power. Love is leading us out from the shadow of physical 41.4 Individuality versus Personality 415 forms and the "image" of mortal mind, and is reveal- ing in each of us the image and likeness of God. We are not mortals, but immortals. We are working faithfully to rid ourselves of the old illusion that we are mortal. Assert your spiritual rights, and declare for your harmonious and immortal being here and now. Matter is illusion. Awake from the dream, and sing the song of the child of Love. Love created us. Our Mother-God is immortal, eternal, and ever-present Mind. Then we are the same, as ideas, reflecting creative Principle. Love is mighty to cast out fear. I pray that the war- fare between the flesh and Spirit will be soon ended. Then you will find yourself confident of your real self as spiritual idea, and the mortal and false sense will cease to demand your attention. Good only is real. Harmony alone is Truth. Joy is the birthright of man, and his existence is in the great Principle, the one good or Mind — Life, Love, and Truth. Then let us regard sin, sickness, and death as nothing, for there is but one power. Life, Love, and Truth. I know, dear, that you are to do a great work in Christian Science. I am sure that if you continue steadfastly in divine Science, you will find that Spirit will operate through you to give God's little ones bread from heaven, — health. But for this physical discord which is the warfare between the human and divine, you would now be asleep in mortal mind, dreaming of its false pleasures, until later you would have been suddenly awakened by suffering. Mrs. Eddy says, "Waking to Christ's demand, mor- tals experience suffering" {Science and Health, p. 22). You have nearly fought your way out of this attack, and will be able, as you advance, to help free many 4i6 Individuality versus Personality others. I hope you see that you have a great and holy mission for which God is now fitting you. Be brave and you will be sure to radiate the power of Truth to others. Give my tender love to your dear parents and your brother. Your loving teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. Hotel Touraine, Boston, Massachusetts. March 27, 1900. My dearly beloved Students: — ' When I asked you to convene in our auditorium for a meeting of the Students' Association, I anticipated the pleasure of being with you in person, and of giving you some advice which I feel is necessary in this hour. I am sure you will understand that my physical personal- ity is not necessary, and that I am with you in spiritual •personality or individuality in the one Mind, as you gather together in our dear church, whose walls ring out with praise to our Father for His great gift to us of His holy One, our precious Mother and Leader, Mary Baker Eddy. To-day, as we pray, let us reconsecrate our hearts, give all honor to God, and renew our vows to be more worthy to be called our Leader's disciples. Let us strive to follow her example of patient love and meek- ness, longsuffering, and untiring efforts to establish the kingdom of heaven on earth. Let us do as she enjoins in all her teachings and example, "Love one another" as she has loved us. Thus my student-body will fulfil the law of Spirit. It is now the hour for our lamps to be filled, trimmed » Written to my Students' Association. Individuality versus Personality 417 and burning — not faintly, but brightly, that we may see *'the way" and behold and walk safely towards the goal of joy and immortal consciousness. The veil is growing thinner. We are gaining clearer visions of ourselves and of each other as Love's perfect mani- festation. The "material pigment" {Retrospection and hitrospection, p. 79) called flesh and bones does not deceive us with its claim of substance, as formerly, but looking through it we see God's dear child. This begins to reveal our heaven on earth, and patient firm denial of the claims of material sense will gradually dissolve those false claims. We shall soar into higher altitudes of thought where Love sings to us Her songs of blissful harmony. The way has been rugged, but Love has never ceased to watch over us, and call us from danger chasms. At times our weary feet have loitered on the road, but our Mother's voice sounded above the siren suggestions of mortal belief and moved us onward "o'er crag and torrent" in the true path that wound upward. Dearly beloved, let us keep our eyes fixed on Truth and Love. We shall not sheathe the sword till the battle is won. The shot and shell of false mentality aimed at us will fall to the ground. The false mental beliefs, malice, envy, and revenge will pass over our heads and homes if we are protected by the invincible armor of Love. Evil has no power. There is no evil. Every one is good, and loving, and true. Impersonal evil claims a power to convince us to the contrary, but Truth declares that evil is a lie, and we have proved it. Sooner or later we must be perfect "even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Are we all striving to make the demonstration .^^ Do we love? 4i8 Individuality versus Personality Are we contemplating the world of Spirit, girding on the breastplate of righteousness, and keeping in line with our Leader, Mother, and Teacher, who is giving us the Key to eternal Life, or are we lingering on the road, playing with the false objects which personal sense evolves, and toying with idols? Dear ones, ask your- selves, and answer to Love. I know that you are striving, and I know that you are winning. The smoke of battle hides the path, but when you have sufficiently conquered material self, and see each other through spiritual concepts, you will rejoice in victory, and the illusions of finite sense will disappear. Work, watch, and pray to gain your birthright — eternal Life, the power of divine Mind, your oneness with omnipotent Life, Truth, and Love. I am with you. Matter is nothing. Love inexpressible to you, my beloved students. Your faithful teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. Hotel Touraine, Boston, Massachusetts, May 25, 1901. Beloved Students: — I am with you always in the one Mind. Love is never separated from Her idea. God is ever-present, manifested in ideal man. We are individual m.embers of the body of the one Christ. The one sun of the solar system shines on all, and knows only light. Those who represent the belief of evil get the benefit of the sun, as well as those who are good. The sun knows only to shine, and has no knowledge of darkness; so our God, who is Love, knows nothing of the evil which seems to be working to make its false claims real. We, as God's ideas, know nothing of hate or malice. Individuality versus Personality 419 revenge and envy. The human is not real to us, when once we realize the Christ power which illumines all. Belief of life and intelligence in matter is a myth. The sense that sees evil is material and mortal. Spiritual sense can take no cognizance of anything but God, Love, Life, and Truth and the ideas of Mind. Let us watch that we be not deceived by personal sense into thinking there is any other power than Mind, divine and perfect. Dwell consciously in this Mind, and know that there is no other. There is no one to believe error. Every one knows Truth. There is no matter. No one is deceived by it, attracted to it, or fears it. The only attraction is Spirit, and the spiritual universe, including every idea. Live in spiritual sense during these hours of struggle for the supremacy of divine consciousness, and your divine sense will make error unreal to you. ^ Read at your meetings the 124th Psalm and two verses of the 125th, the 19th chapter of Revelation, Science and Health, page 569, lines 3 to 11 next page; page 571, line 15; Miscellaneous Writings, page 340, lines 4 to 7; page 341, line i to end of chapter; page 176, line 20 to end. For three weeks, during this trial in Boston (Woodbury against our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy), we will surely watch with Christ, and not sleep on our swords. Be sure that each of you three times a day retires for communion with God, asking for wisdom to reflect omnipotent Truth and Love, and do this faithfully. The love I send you is substance. You are my joy and crown of rejoicing. As / rise, you rise; as we both rise to spiritual understanding, the universal thought ascends in the scale of being, and the light of Truth and Love reaches humanity, and illumines the entire con- 420 Individuality versus Personality sciousness. Thus the claim of sin, sickness, and death will become less resistant to Truth and Love, and humanity will more readily respond to the healing Christ. Let us be faithful to our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, who is carrying a heavy cross up the hill of Christian Science, for the salvation of mankind. Love without measure to all. Ever thine, Augusta E. Stetson. Hotel Touraine, Boston, Massachusetts, May 30, 1901. My dear Student: — Love never fails. If you have ever really loved your friend, her opposition to Christian Science will not make you love her less. I would do all I could to show her its beauty by silence and goodness. It is not necessary for you to speak one word. By your life she must know that you are a follower of Christ. I am sure that in time she will not antagonize you. Her divinity is her reality. Her hiiman sense can- not shut her out from Love, and from you, Love's reflector. Oh, the mighty power of Love! Never doubt it. It stirs the carnal sense to resistance, but it destroys carnality, and the spiritual idea appears. H . . . G . . . is a sweet child of promise, who is looking for her Christ, and she will surely find him. Love will lead her, through you, if you are only patient and wise and do not agitate her. Wisdom and Love will guide you. I would leave all with Love, and not intrude myself upon her. God will unite you in His own time; wait patiently for Him to move your friend to desire your Individuality versus Personality 421 presence, then go. I would trust more to divine dic- tation. Rest, dearest, and all will be yours. Love to your dear ones and kisses to my dear little L . . . Lovingly, faithfully your teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. Hotel Touraine, Boston, Massachusetts, June 6, 1 90 1. My beloved Students: — There is no space, since infinite Love fills the uni- verse. The way does not appear for me to be with you on Sunday, the first Communion I have ever been away from you personally during many years. This is my test as much as yours. I shall be imperson- ally in your midst, and the dear church will enfold us all, while we realize the impersonal presence of each of God's ideas. Matter is shadow. We exist in Mind. The great battle has been fought, and I do not think one of us is wounded, but error says we are a little weary. Error is a lie. Our Leader says, "God rests in action" {Science and Health, p. 519), so do we, God's manifestation. The accuser is cast down, and oh ! what nothingness it was. Why did we fear it? When we all rose above the belief of any mind but God, we conquered. Let us see each other as God's ideas, and love God's manifestation, nor confound the so-called mortal with the immortal. Let your Communion be with Christ, who will feed you with the bread of heaven. Love to you all, Faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 422 Individuality versus Personality First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, 143 West 48th Street, August 11, 1902. My dear Student: — For several days I have tried to write you, to let you know how our dear church is getting on, but there seems no time for a letter to you, there has been so much else to do. This transitional stage needs my watchful care. I have never felt such tender solicitude for all as now. It was a great test for the dear church to give me up as Reader, but the members are brave, faithful, and scientific. They know that they have a wise Leader, Mrs. Eddy, and that she will take them safely into the consciousness which is the kingdom of heaven, if they will cling to the Pastor, Science and Health, and the Bible, and not worship personality. Miss L ... is doing very well, and will, as soon as all are adjusted to the new conditions, be perfectly satis- factory. She has poise and is a fine character. I know that as she develops she will be a clear transparency for Truth. Mr. R . . . will also meet the demands of Christ. I met them both to-day, and heard them read in the pulpit. I must remain here and get them ready for the autumn when all will come home and accus- tom themselves to the new Readers. I have occupied the pulpit nearly seventeen consecutive years, first as Pastor and then as Reader. My care of my church will be even greater now. Are you not beginning to find the power and peace and joy of the impersonal work ? I have had some strong evidence that I am fast rising above the false and finite sense, and this encourages me to press on. We are watching and waiting for the Word. It is necessary that we keep much in spiritual communion, that, when our Lord shall appear, we may be found watching. Individuality versus Personality 4 ^■ The higher revelation is to be attained by watching and prayer. We must rise every day with our Leader to higher spiritual sense. I find the food question is becoming ver}^ clear to me. The two hundred and twentieth page of Science and Health, and many other passages, are very im- portant to consider and demonstrate. I have been able to discern something of what Jesus meant when he said, 'T have meat to eat that ye know not of" (John iv., 32). With the bread of heaven comes a wonderful strength, and spiritualized thought sometimes rebels at material food — the fiesh-pots of Egypt. Truly I catch a faint glimpse of the words of our Master, "If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever" (John vi., 51). It is worth every sacrifice, every pain, and every tear we have ever shed in our spiritual warfare, to be able to apprehend our reality and our spiritual possibilities. God is our Life, there- fore we are immortal and must finally prove it. I was pleased to see our Leader's letter. She thought you had seen the letter, evidently, and she was quick to disarm your mind of any thought you might have entertained as to her true meaning. Had she not watched with me,. I would have fallen under the burden. Her quick intuition saw this, and her letter broke the seeming power of belief of malicious mental malpractice against whose cruel influence I was labor- ing. She always does her work at the right time. She was not going to let you be in doubt, and her meek explanation was touching. I am going to be in Concord the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth of this month with Mr. and Mrs. H . . . , Mrs. T . . . , Miss P . . . , and the E . . .'s. I beg you will pardon this hasty letter. If I wait to 424 Individuality versus Personality write a proper one I may not get time to do it. Give my dearest love to dear Mrs. H . . . , and believe me, Your faithful, loving teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City» August 5, 1903. My dear Student: — I am sure that you know what pleasure it would give me to be with you in person, and how grateful I am for your invitation; but I am on the watch-tower, clad in armor, and it looks now as though I could not put it off for a furlough for some time. Surely I shall not be ready for dress parade until the present demonstration, the completion and dedication of our church edifice is made. I have taken three new patients to-day, one a little child who appears to have no intelligence. I must work with God and for Him, and convince myself that she is not in, nor of matter, and that there is a true reflection of intelligence in her — an idea of divine Mind, in the place of the belief. I must first realize my own completeness in my Father- Mother God, the only creator. I must reflect the male and female (the compound idea) of His creating in myself; knowing in the understanding, or spirit, what we all have long known in the letter, namely, that we are not a partial reflection of the fatherhood and motherhood of God, but complete in ourselves, a unit, one with omnipo- tence. This will destroy the belief of the ph3^sical personality as substance, and will reveal the spiritual personality or individuality^ — the true image and likeness of Principle, true spiritual selfhood. Christ, the ideal man, has appeared to our illumined Individuality versus Personality 425 spiritual sense. He was manifest once in the flesh. He said he would come again. To-day he appears to us through the veil of the flesh, — the false image, or forma- tion of the human concept. His presence is felt by all who are ready to receive him. He walks invisibly with all who call upon him, and, when we rise above the fleshly concept, his true image will be manifest — the image of Principle, good, the ideal man. "'When Christ, who is our Hfe, shall appear [be manifested], then shall ye also appear [be manifested] with him in glory'" {Science and Health, p. 325). I long for the awakening, but I must do the work of reflecting Spirit, and help to arouse others from the mesmeric sleep and deep dream of Adam, who expressed the image of his sensuous concept in Eve, who was Adam's own thought said to have been his rib and who ever since has dark- ened history by reproducing false images — the material creation. Our beloved Leader and Mother in Israel, Mrs. Eddy, was the first to see Christ at his second, impersonal appearing. She felt his presence and heard his voice. We cannot say whether, under divine illumination, she caught a spiritual glimpse of the ideal image or substance-idea, — the Son of God, who destroys the false human selfhood, — but we sing her words, "And o'er earth's troubled, angry sea I see Christ walk" {Mis- cellaneotis Writings, p. 397), and — mentally, through spiritual sense — we perceive his invisible presence. We follow her as she follows Christ, and when the Holy One, the pure, true Leader of the children of Israel, Mary Baker Eddy, rises to higher spiritual altitudes, we shall rise with her. Just as Jesus' resurrection was the resurrection of his disciples, so also will her resurrection, with the de- 426 Individuality versus Personality scent of the Holy Ghost, elevate us to higher spiritual realization. Christ Jesus represented the fatherhood of God. worked out his problem of scientific being, and found his oneness with Principle. At the ascension, when he knew that he was losing the material sense which had enabled him to mediate in the flesh, he told his disciples he was about to leave them (as a physical visible personality) ; but that he (his invisible divine personality or individuaHty, his true image or body, the eternal man), would never leave them, but would be ever with them to aid and cheer. Had they risen with him, they would have continued conscious of his presence, and had they understood his divine individuality they would have revealed him in his spiritual embodiment — the image of creative Mind — Life, Love, and Truth. Our dearly loved Leader discerned the presence of Christ. To her was given the cup which she must drink, if she would follow Christ, and lift a sin-blind world to see the ideal man at his second appearing, without sin, flesh. She represents the motherhood of Love. She has called mortals to awake, and to behold the Christ- idea, whose presence can only be felt and seen through spiritualized sense. With this illumination comes the destruction of false concepts and their false formations. Then man takes hold of eternal substance, which is immortal being — God and man. In this hour, as in the past, our Leader is guiding us to God. She has taught us how Jesus demonstrated his dominion, and through her spiritual recognition of his w^ork, and his invisible presence, she teaches us to listen for the voice of Christ, as he leads the world to God and to our home in heaven — harmony, which is here on earth. ** The earth is the Lord's, and the Individuality versus Personality 427 fulness thereof." Her divine, impersonal presence as an idea of God, is becoming more real to mc every day. I do not see her in the mental as corporeality or in physical, finite form, as I once did. That sense is fading and I feel a tender presence. I hear a sweet voice saying, ''This is the way, walk ye in it." Thus we find on the highway to holiness that Jesus and Mary have learned ''the way," and the sons of God are coming into the kingdom of heaven on earth. Oh, the riches of this understanding ! The ' ' two witnesses are fulfilling the law of Spirit. May we realize the second appearing of the Son of God, and appreciate our great Leader, whose ear heard Christ's im.personal call to turn from flesh and follow Spirit. As she drinks of his cup, that she may find her oneness with Love and show us the way, so may we, with loving obedience, see Christ, Truth, and finally awake in the perfect image and likeness of Love. Then bliss and eternal existence will be ours. I need not go to you in person, my dear student. You will feel and recognize me in idea, in my impersonal individuality. My love to Mr. T . . . and the dear children, and all in your home. Lovingly, faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 4440 Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, October 23, 1904. My beloved Students: — ' I am waiting on God — no one yet knows anything that is to be done. All are very happy, and the « Written to my Students' Association in New York City during a meeting of the National Teacher's Association in Chicago. 428 Individuality versus Personality Association will give a power to the body, as all these old soldiers (teachers), battle-scarred but strong, take a firmer hold upon the infinite, and press forward to the end of all error. I pray that you all may feel the pulse of the great heart of Love, and that you will rise into newness of life and see the reward of your efforts for self-abnegation, consecration, divine love and imity. Oh! watch with your Christ. Protect your Christ-child, your spiritual consciousness, or Herod, mortal so-called mind, will destroy it. Choose to walk with God, and trust God to care for you. Learn to lose with God. Lose your material sense of yourselves and of others — lose your trust in material ways and means to an end, — lose your sensuous appetites and tastes, and see that God is substance, who supplies our material needs until He is found to be our only support. Be not murmurers in the wilderness, nor cry for the ^' quail" and "garlic." I pray that you will be cir- cumspect and never repeat to the unbelievers what sacrifices of personal sense and self you make to reach eternal Life, and your oneness with Principle. They would not understand your consecration, and could not see your reward in love, peace, and joy. We are faithful to our vows — to work for Christ, and to make all error unreal. How few are ready to grow gradually out of the human into the divine. If we are ready, we should not reprove another who is not able to run so fast as we the race for immortality, nor offend him by repeating our victories over material sense. "If meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh," etc. (i Cor. viii., 13). God bless each of you, my dear students, and may I bring you fresh inspiration for the rest of the Individuality versus Personality 429 journey from sense to Soul from this meeting of the National Christian Scientist Association. I love you with a love which human language cannot express. I believe "These are they" whom God has given me, who will walk beside me in white robes, pure spiritual thoughts. Love will show us the way. We will keep our eyes to the heavens — our face to the blast — until the "Sun of righteousness" bursts the clouds of mortal sense, and reveals the eternal real — the universe of God's creating, where God will feed and clothe us, and eternal bliss will be our only consciousness. Ever lovingly and faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, December 26, 1904. My beloved Student: — Love spans all space. I come into your presence to- day and reflect to you the love that fills my heart for the steadfast loyalty to Principle and idea that I find in you. If I allowed my emotions to control me, I should weep tears of gratitude this Christmas-tide that so many of my beloved students have been able to stand during the years of my pilgrimage from the unreal to the real, and are still with me, giving me the comfort and care which keeps me from fainting by the way. No one can tmderstand the depth of my love for those who have come up with me through great tribu- lation, and are still standing, as we pass through the fires which must purify even the gold of human char- acter. I rejoice that they will share the boimdless bliss of the ideal life which they are fast attaining. God gives us strength to resist all that is unlike 430 Individuality versus Personality the Christ, and to receive the blessings rich and rare which our Father is pouring out upon us in our new consciousness. Our concepts are changing. We are rising into the understanding of God's allness and our oneness with Him — therefore that all is eternal Life, Love, and Truth, and that we, and all the world, are His reflection. I send you endless love, dear L . . . I have little time to enjoy my beloved students personally — so much church work and care of patients and students de- volve upon me, but I shall rest some day and enjoy their companionship — rest in action with the faithful. I thank you for your loving thought of me. You always bring out such beauty and affluence, from an unlimited spiritualized thought. Do not forget my gratitude, and believe me, Faithfully thine, Augusta E. Stetson. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I West 96TH Street, July 2, 1906. My beloved Students: — I cannot be with you in person, as you "sail the seas o'er," but I can be near you in spiritual sense, and only thus can you know the presence which is substance. You are surely learning life's lesson of the allness of Mind, and the nothingness of matter. Our mental messages defy obstruction, for God fills all space. You will find the ever-presence of Love always near when you call upon Her. You must lean more trustingly upon the sustaining infinite when you feel that finite sense is trying to arrest your attention and hold you to the false and untrue argument of life in matter. Individuality versus Personality 431 I send you, my three dear ones, much love. Enjoy, and hear good in every manifestation of Mind. I send you a letter of introduction to my student, Mrs. S . . . , in Rome. Au revoir. Bon voyage. Your faithful teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I West 96TH Street, September 15, 1906. My dear Student: — ' Since the Commimion Service in Boston with its uplifting influence, I have realized more clearly than ever the great responsibility that rests upon Christian Scientists in this hour. The subtle action and argu- ment of impersonal evil, through ignorant or malicious avenues, or physical personalities, must be seen, met, and handled by the defenders of Truth, in order that our Cause may be protected, and that our Leader's heart may be cheered by our understanding of scientific being, as revealed through her teachings. Only con- stant vigilance, and a great struggle will enable us to win this battle for spiritual personality, or true individual- ity. Read our Leader's Message for 1901, beginning with the headline, ''God is the Infinite Person." Study this carefully, and in quiet communion with God, ask that her meaning may be revealed to you. Much confusion is apparent, the result of ignorance, or a lack of spiritual discernment as to the true meaning ^ This letter was sent to Mrs. Eddy at the time it was written, with the request that she read it, and tell me if it were absolutely scientific. She replied that it was, and returned it with some marginal notes of commendation in her own handwriting. This letter was shown to the Board of Directors of The Mother Church and read at the " trial " as a proof of the correctness of my teaching, which they decided was " pretended Christian Science." 43^ Individuality versus Personality of the word personality. Many are blinded to the Christ- man by their false sense of it. If you will put the ad- jectives physical, material, finite before it, you will soon discern the difference between infinite personality, spir- itual personality, spiritual individuality, and physical or corporeal personality, or the illusive mortal sense em- bodiment. Read Science and Health, page 1 1 6, beginning at line 2^, and also read all that bears upon personality and individuality in our Leader's other works. Can you not see the effort of anti-Christ to-day to hold up physical personality to terrorize those who are struggling to redeem their spiritual, individual selfhood? The word self is also used freely in such expressions as abnegate self, destroy self, ignore self, which in the sense of physical self, personal sense, or mind in matter, we should do, but in a higher sense, we should recognize and defend our spiritual selfhood. We should exalt Christ, — we should manifest our Principle, and show forth God's glory in the eternal self, or substance- idea, which is the image and presence of good. The material sense of personality must give place to a spiritual sense, which is our identity or individuality. I detect the intent of malicious mental malpracti- tioners to deprive the Christian Scientists of their birth- right, by persistent arguments for the necessity of meekness, and voluntary humility. If Christian Scien- tists become weary of the struggle to defend their in- dividuality and yield to this suggestion, they cease to reflect the dominion of omnipotent Truth. **For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep" (i Cor. xi., 30). There is a mental laziness which must be seen and handled. It results in haziness which clouds the spiritual sense, and prevents the recognition of spiritual Individuality versus Personality 433 individuality, which is man, governed by God, revealing health, happiness, and the loving Father's affluence, that supplies every need. If the wings of faith and understanding are clipped, they cease to soar, and the victim drops to the level of his own false sense, and fails to prove the possibilities of his spiritual personality as a reflector of Love. Our Master is admitted by all to have been the meek- est man that ever lived, but did not he contend for his rights as a Son of God? Did he not say, "Destroy this temple [physical personality], and in three days I [with my spiritual consciousness] will raise it up" (appear, manifest myself to you)? He reflected or manifested God, and with the courage of his spiritual selfhood he rebuked and resisted personified evil. We often hear the novice in Christian Science speak of a person, or a body of people, as being "very impersonal," without specifying whether he wishes to imply that they manifest impersonal good or impersonal evil. However, all are judged by Jesus' test — their fruits. Jesus constantly asserted himself, and his oneness with the Father. This willingness to appear aggressive to those who were trying to prevent his demonstration of the power of divine Love over sin, disease, and death, was true meekness. He knew the nothingness of physical personality, which has no princi- ple, and is but a shadow or substanceless m3rth. He admitted, as real, no presence but the divine. Every Christian Scientist must fight the battle for individual manhood and womanhood ; he must be true to his spiritual selfhood ; must be mighty in meekness, if he would destroy the false sense of a power opposed to Life, Truth, and Love. The claim of a mortal mind, with a physical embodiment, possessing life and sensa- 38 434 Individuality versus Personality tion, with its false appetites, pleasures, and pains, must disappear as our Christ selfhood is lifted up to oneness with divine Love, and all must finally behold the face of our Father-Mother God in His Christ, the universe or body, including the individual members. When we cease to discuss physical personality and find our way out of the carnal concept, that perfect divine personality, God's man, will appear in the beauty, majesty, and continuity of his creator, God. What did our beloved Leader anticipate when she called us to Pleasant View, "to look upon our dear faces"? Her invitation was the call of Love. We heard God's voice speaking to us through her. His chosen one, and we lost, for a time, the sense of a finite personality as we lingered in that holy presence. If we, standing before her, could lose the material concept for a moment, what may not our great Leader have seen in the upturned faces of that multitude? The meeting with our dear Leader, and the bread, truth, with which she fed us, will enable us to continue our march toward the final realization of Truth, when we shall no longer stand and wait, but shall rest with her in the encircling arms of divine Love. Let me return for a moment to the two words that I wish to impress upon you, and add that those who say that impersonal healing and impersonal teaching is enough in this hour, fail to remember that our Leader still requires personal healing and teaching. If all need for personal work was over, and it was no longer necessary to teach or heal, we should rejoice to be freed from the responsibiHties ; but we have not arrived at this point of demonstration, and no argument of the enemy shall lull me or tempt me in the heat of battle to lay dow^n my sword just before the victory is won. Individuality versus Personality 435 Love will quicken us to strive lawfully to demon- strate the Christ-mind in healing and teaching; to hold our position in the body, rising ever higher in the scale of being, while we trust more trustingly in God, to move our tongues to teach so long as our Leader requires it; to move our hearts to heal by reflecting Love, and to move our bodies to the bed of the sufferer, by day or by night, until the bonds of sin are broken. It is easy to read, talk, and dream. It requires effort to conquer the love of ease, and the dislike of disagree-^ able personaHties and their loathsome diseases. It would be easy to put Science mid Health in the hands of our patients and send them away with the assurance that they can be healed by reading it, — which is true, if they will follow the advice, but they need encourage- ment. It is a hard problem to conquer carnal self and to rise to our spiritual individuality, the pure Mind of Christ, that we may patiently bear with their unceas- ing demands until disease and error flee before the Christ love, or until we find that we are "casting pearls before those who trample them under foot, thereby rob- bing both themselves and others" {Science and Health, p. 234). I pray that I may be able to keep that which has been committed to my trust. Active workers are needed. Lazy drones cannot re- main in the hive of Christian Science, finding excuse in the words "God will do the work. " We must show forth His powder and glory as His ideas. We must sing, not sigh, work and practise, not rest in sensuous ease. Self -righteousness is destroying more than one to-day. Only the hireling refuses to stand until Love delivers. Humility turns from the smile of the Pharisee, clings to God, and waits for His approval. Another word is becoming the shibboleth for imper- 43^ Individuality versus Personality sonal evil, — "Democracy." This is absolute Christian Science, and will be the ultimate when man is governed by God. But the hour is not yet for me. I recognize and obey my Leader and Teacher. She is at the head of an organized body, or church. Her rules and By- Laws for the government of her church, I strictly ob- serve and obey and teach my students to obey. She calls her students and places them where she sees that God requires them to do more in His service. She is God's manifestation, reflecting more of the God qualities than any other personality. Those who look upon her through a material concept see physical personality, personal control, etc. Those who discern her spiritually, behold her spiritual individuality, or the spiritual idea of good, who voices the law of Spirit and is chosen to lead meekly from material sense up to the spiritual ideal. It is wise for us to listen for her voice, and to . . . follow and rejoice All the rugged way. Mary Baker Eddy. I am strong and joyous in the understanding that we have an individual, spiritual body, "whose builder and maker is God. " With love. Ever yours faithfully, Augusta E. Stetson. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I West 96TH Street, November 24, 1907. My dear Student : — You are too good a Scientist to believe that I do not often think of you and frequently send you helpful thoughts. My silent pen may seem to contradict this Individuality versus Personality 437 but you know better. I find that my cares continually increase, leaving me less and less time to devote to students because there are so many more to whom I must attend. I want to thank you for the beautiful picture you sent me. It was dear of you to remember me. I am slow to acknowledge the receipt of your love, but I appreciate it, dear. I feel so confident that you are always responding to my mental touch, or reflection of Love, as I commune with Spirit, that the medium of pen and paper to convey my thought seems slow. We are rising to the understanding that we are men- tal beings and are dividing between the mortal mind and the immortal Mind — between the carnal belief of life in matter and life in spiritual consciousness. So you see that we are often together, when material sense testimony declares that we are separated. Then I feel I reach you and all my dear students, without the cum^bersome medium of pen and paper, yet we are still able to convey messages which the human seems to require to prove its tangibility. I see your dear mother often. She is a blessed child of God, who does her own work so faithfully that she requires very little of my personal attention. She feels my thought and rises as I rise giving me the support of her spiritual realization and thus comforts and aids me. Your brother and sister also are always in their places and always a joy to me. God is good to give me such blessings. I would like to have you here to give thanks on Thursday, but you are giving thanks where you are and we are in the one IMind. Space is no separator of spiritual individuals. I trust that we shall be revealed in due time as the ideas of ever-present Love. Love is our creator or Principle, 438 Individuality versus Personality and Love will reveal Her universe and Her ideas as we lift our thought above the false mental concept and its material embodiment, to the great verities of Soul and Soul's embodiment. I sometimes feel that I would like to immediately dissolve this ''too solid flesh" and put on my immortal selfhood in the image and lilceness of God, but that I cannot do. I must merge gradually from the false to the true sense and wait on divine Love. And so I gird on my armor more securely and with staff in hand, ''I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.*' I wish you would give my dearest love to dear A . . . D. . . . Tell her I often send her helpful, wireless messages and that I would Hke to hear from her when- ever she can write without inconvenience. I send you much love, dear, and hope to see you soon in person. Lovingly ever, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, September 18, 1909. My dear Student: — I trust that you have seen the powerlessness of error to hold you to the belief of life in a corporeal body. You are only meeting the false claim of a power opposed to God and His idea. You know the ever-present and omnipotent Christ can destroy all lies concerning the reality of a corporeal body. All my loyal students who have risen to Mrs. Eddy 's demands are beginning to build on a "wholly spiritual foundation" {Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 390), and as fast as we can we are rising above the physical and false embodiment Individuality versus Personality 439 of a mortal mind and a material universe. These days reveal glorious visions of the ideal man who reflects his perfect Principle. The universe of Love's creation and Love's pure and perfect idea is here and now. As the false, material sense dies, the spiritual sense discloses the blessed substance-idea. We are none other than perfect ideas now, and forever, and we must meet and master every claim to life in matter. It is grand to enter upon the warfare with evil, and prove its false, illusive claim to be unreal. I rejoice in the conflict between Christ and the carnal in universal consciousness. As we rise Spirit- ward, error screams at us, but we have no time to argue with nothingness, as it hastens on to self -extinction. Our aim is to find our home in Spirit, Mind, and to rest in divine Love, the source of all reaHty. Joy and peace are our portion, and I am in possession of enough of these fruits of the Spirit to nerve me more and more to desire to possess all that belongs to my divine birthright. You must work and pray and wait, and Love will deliver you. Handle impersonal evil in every false suggestion, and do not be blind to its avenues. You know^ that impersonal evil is powerless to reach you through any avenue or personality, if your mind is filled with Truth and Love. You must not believe there is a claim of evil to reach you through any channel, since God, good, is all power and presence. You must not believe in a belief, nor believe that any one believes in a belief. They who hold evil over any personality are increasing their own false sense and injuring them- selves. Know that you are one with God, mental, spiritual, and that you have no other mind but the Mind of Christ. Be a reflector of Love. Be Christ's 440 Individuality versus Personality representative, and you will have the power of God and be able, in every trial of your faith, to stand against the "fiery darts of the wicked." Give much love to Mrs. H. . . . Remember me to your dear father and mother. I am very happy, per- fectly well, and the forces of the claim, malicious animal magnetism, the evil instincts of the carnal mind, directed to me through various channels, have no effect on me. Let me hear how you all get on. The others are not my students to care for. They have a dear teacher who will do her duty by them according to our Leader's in- junction in her By-Laws. See Article xxvi, Section 2, of the Manual of The Mother Church, "Care of Pupils." Ever lovingly your teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City» January ii, 19 lo. My beloved Student: — God bless you and keep your heart fixed in Truth and Love. Never did I cling to the cross and kiss it as during this experience — when evil thinkers, evil speakers and doers would terrify me, if our revered Leader, Mrs. Eddy, had not taught me the power- lessness of the claim of evil, and the omnipotence of divine love to protect me from the wrath of mortal man. The awful wrongs and falsities, and himian brutality which are being manifested in my present persecution show me that I must be willing to suffer with Christ, if I would free myself from evil which is personified in mortal mentalities, who see through material sense and have no idea of divine metaphysics. Only the might of the Word of God can deliver me ; so I panoply myself in love, and having done all, I Individuality versus Personality 441 stand in Truth, waiting for deliverance in God's own time and way. I am proving that I am immortal; for no one could endure the united forces of the so-called carnal mind expressed in mental poison, envy, jealousy, revenge, unless he were encased in the protecting armor — the impenetrable shield of Love. • Be strong, dear heart, and trust in God to separate us from the claim of evil, and give us genuine, true, and good Christian Scientists with whom to fellowship in our journey towards immortal being, — a ''wholly spiritual" consciousness {Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 390). I hope you occasionally see dear Mrs. C . . . and M . . . B. . . . How vaHantly they have stood for Christ and for our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy. How they have worked, and how they have won an under- standing of their oneness with Principle, and their God-being in Mind. The battle between Spirit and flesh continues. Malicious animal magnetism, so-called, fears the power of Spirit as the true and faithful reflect the potency of Love and Truth. We must not yield to the argument of a power opposed to Mind, God, but must rise to overcome "all the fiery darts of the wicked." Handle malicious animal magnetism in its every subtle argu- ment. There is no power but Mind, Spirit, Soul. We are, and ever have been the reflection of Mind. We are now immortals, and Truth and Love will enable us to destroy all that is carnal and human in belief until we awake in the likeness of Christ. Much love to you. Please remember me kindly to Mr. W . . . God is good to me and mine. I am trusting Him implicitly. Lovingly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 442 Individuality versus Personality 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, August 25, 1910. My dear Student: — In reply to your questions, "Can you condemn evil as impersonal and not include the personality which manifests it?" and, "What does it mean to 'come out from among them, and be separate'?" I would ask yoti, How long have you been studying Science and Health and our beloved Leader's other writings? These questions are answered on every page of her works, but material sense does not discern spiritual truth. Spiritualization of thought is requisite to show the unreality of mortal mind and its matter body. Spirit is all, the only creator, and the universe of Spirit is filled with spiritual ideas, and is the only tmiverse. As we spiritualize thought, we begin to comprehend the immortality and ever-presence of this spiritual universe, and to detect the falsity of the claim of another cause or creator than God, with its claim to a material world composed of sinning, sick, and dying beliefs, or material bodies. On pages 31, 32 of Unity of Good, by our dear Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, we read: It can be shown, in detail, that evil does not obtain in Spirit, God; and that God, or good, is Spirit alone; whereas, evil does, according to belief, obtain in matter ; and that evil is a false claim, — false to God, false to Truth and Life. Hence the claim of matter usurps the prerogative of God, saying, "I am a creator. God made me, and I make man and the material universe." Thus you see, evil has a manifestation and calls it man. This mortal mind and its image must be dis- solved. Mrs. Eddy called it "a lie from the beginning" {Science and Health, p. 567). Our Leader writes in Individuality versus Personality 443 Science and Health, page 267: "Every object in ma- terial thought will be destroyed, but the spiritual idea, whose substance is in Mind, is eternal." If Spirit is all, universal man is the spiritual idea, or Christ, and each idea or child of God is a member of the body of Christ. Thus you see that there is no room for mortal thought, nor its visible manifestation, a matter body or a material universe, since Spirit fills all space. The argument of the lying, talking serpent, that material man and the material universe are God's people and universe, has deceived the whole world with its dark- ness, "chaos and old night." But, thank God for our wise Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, who has taught us the Science of being and how to interpret the Vv^ord of God, the Holy Bible. Jesus said: "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. " Thousands are awaking and freeing themselves from the claim of life in matter, and, to such, ' ' The accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." As we contemplate Spirit, Christ, " the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world," dispels the darkness or claim, and shows its false images or forms to be without life or intelligence. They are but myths or illusions. As we gain the Mind of Christ, the perfect image or likeness of a perfect Principle will be revealed. On page 32 of Unity of Good, Mrs. Eddy says, referring to mortal mind, or imper- sonal evil: "This so-called mind and mxatter can- not be separated in origin and action." Continuing, she asks: "What is this mind? It is not the Mind of Spirit ; . . . This mortal mind declares itself material, in sin, sickness, and death." Again I ask you, What is it that is sick.^ Is it not 444 Individuality versus Personality the embodiment of error, a matter body? If evil never is personified, what are you treating as diseased? Is not error manifesting itself on its own fleshly embodi- ment? What is it that dies? Paul asks, " Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? " Mrs. Eddy, on page 6i of Miscellaneous Writings, records the following query : " What then does sin ? . . . For instance, the man is held responsible for the crime; . . . and certainly I saw him, or his effigy, dangling at the end of a rope. This * man ' was held responsible for the ' sin.' " To which, Mrs. Eddy replies: According to the Word, man is the image and likeness of God. Does God's essential likeness sin, or dangle at the end of a rope? If not, what does? A culprit, a sinner, — anything but a man! Then, what is a sinner? A mortal; but man is immortal. Again: mortals are the embodiments (or bodies, if you please) of error, not of Truth; of sickness, sin, and death. It must be apparent to you that evil does personify itself in material, so-called man, for mortal mind and body are one, — the sin and the sinner. This so-called evil or corporeal man is real to humanity, until Chris- tian Science, or spiritual understanding, reveals the falsity of the claim, and destroys its qualities,— fear, hatred, malice, envy, jealousy, revenge, lust, hypocrisy, etc. — which are expressed in the flesh. On page 22 of No and Yes, Mrs. Eddy writes: "Jesus defined devil as a mortal who is full of evil. *Have I not chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?''' Was not evil personified in Judas? Jesus pointed out the personality when he said: "He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall Individuality versus Personality 445 betray me." Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. Judas was a mortal who personified the devil. When the Christ denounced impersonal evil, Judas went out and hanged himself. Thus, "Error, urged to its final limits, is self-destroyed" {Science and Health, p. 476). 9: Mrs. Edd}^ also states, on page 23 of No ayid Yes: *'To conceive of God as resembling — in personality, or form — the personality that Jesus condemned as devil- ish, is fraught with spiritual danger." In Retrospectio7i and Introspect io7i, read page 64: You cannot separate sin from the sinner. . . . The sin is the sinner, and vice versa, for such is the unity of evil; and together both sinner and sin will be destroyed by the supremacy of good. This, however, does not annihilate man, for to efface sin, a/m5 the sinner, brings to light, makes appar- ent, the real man, even God's "image and likeness." . . . In Christian Science the fact is made obvious that the sinner and the sin are alike simply nothingness. Impersonal evil embodied itself recently in a per- sonality called Gallagher. Impersonal evil moved the feet of that personality to pursue Alayor Gaynor to the steamier; moved its tongue to ask a Roman CathoHc priest who was present, "Which is ^Mayor Gaynor?" Then moved its hand in the endeavor to destroy this man, believing that life was in matter and that he (Gal- lagher) could take it. Had impersonal good operated through the human Gallagher, it would have extended the hand to help and bless. God, who is Love, is operating in humanity to-day, eliminating evil, "making mankind better physically, morally, and spiritually" (Science and Health, p. 466). Mrs. Eddy declares in Unity of Good (pp. 35, 36) : 44^ Individuality versus Personality The material atom is an outlined falsity of consciousness, v/hich can gather additional evidence of consciousness and life only as it adds lie to lie. . . . From the beginning this lie was the false witness against the fact that Spirit is All, beside which there is no other existence. Thus you see the nothingness of mortal mind and its physical personality. Christian Scientists are not en- deavoring to spiritualize mortal mind's embodiment, but the argument of the lying, talking serpent is working to continue the delusion, and to hold Spirit in the bonds of matter. This is the dragon's subtlest sophistry — **Evil is impersonal, never personal." Adam, the false belief, has always endeavored to hide his manifestation or corporeal body from Truth's demand, ''Where art thou ? ' ' Christian Science uncovers the bald imposition calling itself man; calls it by name, error, belief, and bids it come forth and answer for the deeds done in its body. The seed of the woman has crushed the serpent's head. "Error found out is two-thirds destroyed" says our Leader {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 355), and, let me add, that the other third of the body of sin and death, from which Paul prayed for deliverance, will sting itself to death with its own lust and hypocrisy. To-day Christ reigns. The supremacy of Mind is understood, and thousands are demonstrating the power and presence of omnipotent Life, Truth, and Love. Christian Scientists are striving to bring every material thought into obedience to Christ, — to conquer the material senses which once held them in the bonds of matter. They repudiate mortal mind's phenomena, evil, sin, sickness, and death (which embody themselves in the flesh), as being no part of God's creation. They ''love not the [material] world, neither the things that Individuality versus Personality 447 are in the [material] world," knowing that these bring only sorrow, suffering, and death. They dwell continu- ally on the things (thoughts) of Spirit. They meditate upon and strive to emulate the life of Christ, and of our revered Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, and they demon- strate the power of spiritualized consciousness, in the fruits of the Spirit — love, peace, and joy. All phenomena are the expressions of thought. As we rise in the scale of spiritual thinking, we gain spirit- ual ascendancy over the illusions of physical personality, with its claim to life and intelligence. As we continue to urJold in the realization of God's allness, and of our oneness with Him, we are gradually lifted above the human into the divine Mind, and perceive the infinite capacities and possibilities of man when governed by God, his divine Principle. It is then that we apprehend how the deeds of Christ are wrought ; how with the Word (his spiritual power) he healed the sick, destroyed the belief of the reality of mortal mind with the imderstanding that behind the shadow or mortal body is the real man — God's idea, perfect and immortal. "Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick" {Science and Health, pp. 476, 477)- So long as humanity is governed by mortal thought, it wiU express a mortal body and a material universe, and will see man through a corporeal concept. Chris- tian Scientists are to-day waiting, watching, and pray- ing for the Mind of Christ, or the spiritual concept which will reveal spiritual man. As brave wrestlers for the prize of immortality, I 448 Individuality versus Personality often wonder why such contestants do not awaken sooner to the Truth and come forth, clothed, and in their right mind — why, when they read, "The carnal mind is enmity against God," they do not investigate this carnal mind more thoroughly, and learn how much they possess of it, how far they obey it; why they do not study cause and effect, and, with Truth and Love, emancipate themselves from this false causation and its disastrous consequences. Christian Scientists must not murmur in the wilderness, nor cry "O Lord, how long? " The glory of God is being continually revealed to us in health, peace, harmony, and spiritual love, which is a foretaste of heaven, here and now. Through the teachings of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by our revered Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, and the faithful demonstrators of divine metaphysics, or Christian Science, the world is awaking to learn the meaning of the Scriptures, "And God said. Let us make man in our image, after our likeness : and let them have dominion . . . over all the earth." This dominion is gained through the teaching and demonstration of Christian Science. Science and Health is the greatest gift that God has ever sent to humanity, because it is the Key to the Scriptures, and unlocks the hidden treasures of the Holy Bible, the Word of God. We owe an unutterable debt of love and gratitude to our Christly Leader, Mrs. Eddy, through whom God gave it. Is not your question, "What does it mean to come out from among them and be separate" already answered ? Some persons reflect more of good than others. In Unity of Good we read on page 56 : If Jesus suffered, as the Scriptures declare, it must have Individuality versus Personality 449 been from the mentality of others ; since all suffering comes from mind, not from matter. . . . Holding a quickened sense of false environment , and suffer- ing from mentality in opposition to Truth, are significant of that state of mind which the actual understanding of Christian Science first eliminates and then destroys. Prophets and apostles suffered from the thoughts of others. Their conscious being was not fully exempt from physicality and the sense of sin. Mortals classify themselves. The spiritually minded are at peace with the spiritually minded. They meet on the stairs of spiritual love and exemplify the unity of good. Christian Scientists struggle with this false mentality, in their effort to gain the Mind of Christ — their spiritual individuality. They do not shrink from contact with the materially minded, if, by association, they can aid them in gaining an understanding of the Science of being, which destroys sin and siclmess. But they "Never breathe an immoral atmosphere, imless in the attempt to purify it " {Science and Health, p. 452) ; therefore, they separate themselves from those who adhere to error. Truth attracts and classifies. Jesus says, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." As Christian Scientists are lifted spiritually, they draw those who love God, and who are striving to gain their spiritual personality. You must differentiate between the terms "spiritual personality" and "physical personality." Spiritual personality, or individuality, is our divine selfhood. Physical personality is the flesh that (to sense) wars against the Spirit. We hear on every side, "There is no personality." There is in reality no physical '11 jiitii 29 s- 450 Individuality versus Personality personality, but there is a strong claim which must be made unreal. The physical personality of Jesus was the mediator, during this earth-life, to those who saw only physical personality; but his spiritual personality or individual identity was "Emmanuel, . . . God with us." He asked, "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? " Through a material concept, Philip saw only physical personality. Peter, through a more spiritual concept, said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" — in other words Peter discerned the ideal man, which was his, — ^Jesus' divine selfhood — or the Christ-man. Thus by avoiding, and denouncing personality, and fearing it, we fail to reveal the spiritual individuality of our brother in God's image and likeness. In speak- ing of those who do not understand the difference be- tween spiritual personality and physical personality,. Mrs. Eddy says in Retrospection and Introspection, page 74: He who does this is ignorant of the meaning of the word personality, and defines it by his own corpus sine pectore (soulless body), and fails to distinguish the individual, or real man from the false sense of corporeality, or egotistic self. Finite personal sense, hypnotism and mesmerism, have existed since the belief of life in matter — since a mythological Adam and Eve are said to have believed the arguments of a lying, talking serpent. This claim of hypnotism or mesmerism can be summed up in the term, "physical personalit}^ " which, under the light of divine Science, reflected by spiritual personality, loses its power, and vanishes into its original nothingness. Individuality versus Personality 451 My dear student, strive to attain the Mind of Christ. You will gain your spiritual concept if you labor for it. You sacrifice your time, and make persist- ent efforts to acquire a knowledge of music, devoting, sometimes, six or seven hours a day to practice. What would you think of confining yourself for that length of time to the Bible, and Science and Health, that you might make their hidden treasures your own? '- You possess the qualities of Christ, and you must redeem these qualities by meeting and overcoming the so-called qualities of mortal mind. Give all the time that you can possibly spare to the study of the Holy Bible, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and our Leader's other works, including the Manual of The Mother Church, spiritually interpreted. Learn, from communion with God, that spiritual sense will teach you that our revered Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, is the highest visible manifestation of Truth and Love on earth to-day; that she is leading all who listen to her voice to follow and obey Christ, — the impersonal idea, — out of matter into Mind — out of flesh into Spirit. Let no doubt intervene to cloud your sense of her as the great Leader of Israel's army — Love's representa- tive. She is our forever Leader, and we should dwell continually in the ''secret place of the most High'* (spiritual consciousness) , that we may feel her Christly touch, and hear her loving voice as she calls us to scale the height of Christian Science, nor to be satisfied until we put all beliefs under our feet, and stand with her on the summit of spiritual love. We must not weary of this struggle for immortality. At every demonstration over material sense, we hear, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end "(the end of the belief of a mortal man and a material universe). 452 Individuality versus Personality \.' "■ ■ ■ If we endure unto the end we shall see face to face and know even as we are known. Faithfully, lovingly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, September 21, 19 10. My dear Student: — You ask me for an explanation of the following quotation from The Christian Science Monitor, which I will answer as I understand the teachings of our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, in our text-book, and her other writings. The quotation reads : Women sometimes follow a personal spiritual adviser through enthusiasm for the teacher, but no true develop- ment of spirituality can come from such a following. Jesus understood this when he said, "No man can come unto me except the Father call him." Thousands of women have followed Mrs. Eddy as a ** personal spiritual adviser,*' and true development of spirituality has come as demonstrations of her teachings have been made. Enthusiasm for Christian Science, and grateful love for Mrs. Eddy's selfless life, holy example, and spiritual instru.ction have given her a true following of faithful students. Through her spiritual guidance, we learn to differentiate between the finite personality, and the spiritual personality. Not comprehending Principle and idea, or God and His manifestation, the spiritual personality or individuality, many lose sight of God's demonstrator, — the Christ- man, manifest to human sense in the flesh, but, to the spiritually illumined, never in nor of the flesh. • It was his ''divine nature " {Science and Health, p. 26) Individuality versus Personality 453 to which Jesus alluded when he said, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him" (John vi., 44). Who was this "me"? It was his spiritual individuality which proceeded from the Father, and to which he referred when he said, " I and my Father are one. " Jesus referred to this unity of his spiritual identity thus : . . . " I and my Father are one;" . . . The one Spirit includes all identities (Scie?ice and Health, p. 333). In speaking of his demonstrations he said, "I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, He doeth the works ' ' (John xiv. , i o) . Again the query, who v/as this ''me'' through whom the Father re- flected Himself? God does not work through matter, nor does He use mortal mind as an agent to draw humanity to Christ. When Jesus said, "Come unto me, . . . and I will give you rest," did he intend the people to infer that he meant, "Come unto my finite personality, that finite personaHty may give you rest " ? No. He said ' ' Come unto m.e," " the divine idea of God outside the flesh " (Science and Health, p. 482), and the pov/er of Principle which I (my Ego) reflects will cast out the beliefs of false, flmite sense, and give you rest from the discords produced by belief of life in matter. In the 190 1 Message to The Mother Church, page 44, we read: Is man, according to Christian Science, more transcen- dental than God made him? Can he be too spiritual, since Jesus said, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect"? Is God Spirit? He is. Then is man His image and likeness, according to Holy Writ? He is. Then can man be material, or less than spiritual? As God made man, is he not wholly spiritual? 454 Individuality versus Personality The reflex image of Spirit is not unlike Spirit. The logic of divine metaphysics makes man none too transcendental, if we follow the teachings of the Bible. Jesus never called personalities to his human person- ality. He constantly denied finite personality for himself and for others, and never admitted a power opposed to God. But he continually called people to him as a spiritual teacher, and declared for his divinity as the Son of God. He directed humanity to God as the only cause and creator, and as the source of his existence and power. This Life, Truth, and Love — this trinity of good — was individualized, to the perception of mortal sense, in the man Jesus {Rudimental Divine Science , p. 3). Again, Jesus said, ''And I, if I be lifted up from the earth [material illusions], will draw all men unto me" (John xii., 32), and also, "I will come and heal him" (Matthew viii., 7). God is ever-present and ready to heal, but man is required by God to reflect His power. Mrs. Eddy says : I went to his bedside. In a few moments his face changed ; its death-pallor gave place to a natural hue. The eyelids closed gently and the breathing became natural ; he was asleep. In about ten minutes he opened his eyes and said : * ' I feel like a new man. My suffering is all gone ' ' {Science and Health, p. 103). The Principle of Christian Science is divine. Its rvile is, that man shall utilize the divine power {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 69). Jesus said of Lazarus: "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep" {Science and Health, p. 75). Individuality versus Personality 455 Jesus said: "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. " Both God and man do the work, for they are inseparable as Father and Son. Man is spiritual; there is no other man. So-called mortal man ''is neither person, place, nor thing" {Science and Health, p. 71). Evil is neither quality nor quantity: it is not intelligence, a person or a principle, a man or a woman, a place or a thing, and God never made it {Message for igoi, pp. 48, 49). Jesus said to Philip, ''Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?" Philip threw his finite, fleshly concept over Jesus, and beheld him through the lens of so-called mortal mind, just as many are doing to-day, who call themselves Christian Scientists. Jesus endeavored to open Philip's blind eyes, when he said, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. " Did he expect Philip to regard him as God? No. But he knew himself as spiritual, immortal man, in the image and likeness of the Father, endowed with power from God, who gave him dominion over all the earth. He defended his sonship with God. Philip did not understand his own sonship. Jesus beheld in Philip "the perfect man" (Science and Health, p. 476), but Philip beheld in Christ Jesus, a fleshly embodiment. Philip profited by the teachings of Jesus as was shown later in his interview with the eunuch. Philip's requirement was, that he should not only acknow- ledge the incarnation, — God made manifest through man, — but even the eternal unity of man and God, as the divine Principle and spiritual idea {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 77), Divine metaphysicians behold in our beloved Leader, 45^ Individuality versus Personality "Emmanuel, . . . God with us;" they see and feel the power of God working through His Son, or the compound idea — man. They acknowledge the Son as the demonstrator of the Father, eternal Life, Truth, Love. John said, "Now are we the sons of God.'* Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I am. " Mrs. Eddy says, "John the Baptist had a clear discernment of divine Science: ... he antedated his own existence, began spirituall}^ instead of materially to reckon himself logically; hence the impossibility of putting him to death, . . . through violent means or material methods " {Miscellaneous Writings , pp. i8l, 182). There is but one God, one Christ, or man, the spiritual universe, and countless sons or members of the body of Christ, who are governed by and are reflectors of Spirit. This is the only creation which Jesus ac- knowledged. He said, " Call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. " Mrs. Eddy's world-wide, w4se leadership is known to all; but mortals, uninstructed in Christian Science, or Christian Scientists who have not attained to spiritual discernment which reveals the ideal of all, believe her power to be the exercise of a great human mind, or will. They do not perceive man's relation to God, and they confuse the physical personality with the spiritual individuality, or idea. They do not give credit to the son of God, who demonstrates the Prin- ciple of scientific being. "Jesus sent forth seventy students at one time, but only eleven left a desirable historic record. Tradition credits him with two or three hundred other disciples who have left no name" {Science and Health, p. 2^), Mrs. Eddy, in her wisdom, has sent out disciples to Individuality versus Personality 457 demonstrate the healing power of Christian Science, and we recognize her as our spiritual Leader and Guide to eternal Life. From Moses to the present hour, all who have struggled to demonstrate their spiritual individuality have been maligned and persecuted, ''scourged with worse cords than those which cut the flesh" {Science and Health, p. 474)- The Pharisees claimed to worship God, but would not acknowledge His Son. They said, ''We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is" (John ix., 29). Jesus understood his immortal selfhood — "he said, 'Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away ! ' and they have not : they still live ; and are the basis of divine liberty, the medium of Mind, the hope of the race" {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 163). Jesus was accused of making himself equal with God : . And the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote him. And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee? Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them. If I tell you, ye will not believe : And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go. Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? [immortal man]. And he said unto them. Ye say that I am. And they said. What need we any further witness? for we ourselves have heard of his own mouth (Luke xxii., 63, 64,67, 68, 70, 71). Mrs. Eddy claims for herself immortality here and now. She has discovered the deep things of God, always was, is, and ever will be immortal. She in- 45^ Individuality versus Personality structs her students to claim their divine birthright as children of God, — to follow the teachings and ex- ample of Jesus, and she says, ''follow your Leader only so far as she follows Christ" {Message for iQOi, p. 70). Those who discern her impersonal identity do not regard her as a finite, personal Leader and Teacher but as God's interpreter to humanity. Jesus said, "I will come again." It is evident to those who have spiritual perception that Christian Science is the second appearing of Christ to the world. Jesus asked, "When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" (Luke xviii., 8.) "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (by the physical senses). Christian Science is demonstrable Truth. Christ makes demands for demonstrators. Spiritual sense discerns the im- mortal and infinite idea, and crowns it the Messiah. Abuse of the motives and religion of St. Paul hid from view the apostle's character, which made him equal to his great mission. Persecution of all who have spoken some- thing new and better of God has not only obscured the light of the ages, but has been fatal to the persecutors. Why? Because it has hid from them the true idea which has been presented. To misunderstand Paul, was to be ignorant of the divine idea he taught. Ignorance of the di\dne idea betrays at once a greater ignorance of the divine Principle of the idea — ignorance of Truth and Love {Science and Health, pp. 560, 561). Let me refer again to the quotation, Women sometimes follow a personal spiritual adviser through enthusiasm for the teacher. We "remember that a few faithful women followed Jesus to Calvary, but they did not discern the impersonal Individuality versus Personality 459 Christ sufficiently to deny the evidence of the senses, and to declare for the immortal substance-idea that he was about to demonstrate. They were deceived by the evidence of the personal senses, having regarded him merely as a personal teacher. While he was personally present with them he quickened them with his reflection of Love and Truth, but they had not sufficiently de- veloped the qualities of Truth and Love, therefore they could not follow him in his demonstration. History is again repeating itself. To-day Christian Science attracts many, but few are willing to pay the price of deliverance from sin and death, which Christ requires. Jesus paid it for himself. He opened the way for others, and won an immortal crown. He left an invaluable legacy to humanity — his example and demonstration — the way to eternal Life. Mrs. Eddy has discovered and founded the Science of Christianity. She has taught the Principle and rule by which we can demonstrate man's dominion and oneness with God. She says, "No human pen nor tongue taught me the Science contained in this book. Science and Health" {Science and Health, p. no). Jesus never denied his own works, but said, **I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do.** He demonstrated Principle, or the Science of being. The Ego-man reflected the Ego-God. Therefore his state- ments, "I and my Father are one," and "My Father is greater than I," implied his divine or spiritual individuality. He said, "I am come a light into the world" (John xii., 46). "No man cometh unto the Father, but by me** (John xiv., 6). Again I repeat, this I — ego — was the spiritual idea or the ideal man, not corporeal personality^ False material sense and its embodiment, Jesus continually denounced, and his 460 Individuality versus Personality struggles against the claim of life in matter terminated on Calvary, and closed forever, for him, the conflict between the human and the divine. Christians, like students in mathematics, should be work- ing up to those higher rules of Life which Jesus taught and proved {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 29). He said to those who believed in the false claim of life in matter, or a power opposed to God, ''Ye are of your father the devil," and again, ''Ye are from beneath; I am from above." Christian Scientists declare for their immortality here and now. They contend that they proceed from the Father, are therefore from above, and must de- monstrate God, the source and supply of being. Jesus said to his disciples, "The works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. " He did not claim to monopolize Principle or to be the only representative of God, but labored to instruct those dull disciples how they, by obeying his teachings and example, could demonstrate the Principle and rule of divine Science, in health, holiness, and immortality. Thus he claimed his oneness and power with God, and taught others that God was also their Father. Let us be brave defenders of our spiritual individuality — our oneness with the Father. Let us emulate the example and life, and obey the teachings of Jesus the Christ, and Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science ; let us honor the Son or divine idea,— " Emmanuel, . . . God with us," and let us continue to pray without ceasing, — "Let not the flesh, but the Spirit, be represented in me" {Scierice and Health, p. 33). Mrs. Eddy says: Individuality versus Personality 461 Dispensing the Word charitably, but separating the tares from the wheat, let us declare the positive and the negative of metaphysical Science; what it is, and what it is not (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 172). The harvest is ripe. Christ demands laborers, and the laborers, — those who are willing to leave all for Truth, take up the cross and be in the front of battle every day —are few. I pray that all my dear students may teach and practise true demonstrable Christian Science. Then will the Son prove the Principle and rule of divine metaphysics, and the Father will honor the Son. We constantly hear the beginner in Christian Science say to patients, "I did not heal you; God did it." Mrs. Eddy says, "God will heal the sick through man, whenever man is governed by God" (Science and Health, p. 495). Thus it is evident that as we work with God, God and the ideal man cooperate in the healing. Mrs. Eddy also says: The Principle of Christianity is infinite : it is indeed God ; and this infinite Principle hath infinite claims on man, and these claims are divine, not human; and man's ability to meet them is from God ; for, being His likeness and image, man must reflect the full dominion of Spirit — even its supremacy over sin, sickness, and death (Miscel- laneous Writings, p. 16). Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son (i John ii., 22). Study faithfully the Holy Bible, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures^ our Leader's other writings, and the Manual of The Mother Church. Then divine Love will guide you. You will walk in the footsteps of His flock, and will be a clear transparency for eternal 462 Individuality versus Personality Life and Love. You will demonstrate Truth and relieve suffering humanity, until through meekness, selflessness, and divine love, you will instantaneously dispel the illusions of sin, sickness, and death — thus opening the prison doors to them that are bound, and will set the captive free to proclaim: Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ : for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night (Rev. xii., 10), Faithfully, lovingly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. CHAPTER XI LETTERS ON CHURCH PROBLEMS Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. — i Thessalonians iv., I. Never was there a more solemn and imperious call than God makes to us all, right here, for fervent devotion and an absolute consecration to the greatest and holiest of all causes. The hour is come. The great battle of Armageddon is upon us. Will you give yourselves wholly and irrevocably to the great work of establishing the truth, the gospel, and the Science which are necessaiy to the salvation of the world from error, sin, disease, and death? Answer at once and practically, and answer aright! — Miscel- laneous Writings, p. 177. 143 West 48TH Street, New York City, February 18, 1900. My beloved Student: — Just a few hurried words to you this morning. Love is leading you. Keep your eyes fixed on the goal, and do not swerve from your adherence to Principle. Be happy in God's service. See your brother and sister in God's image. "The Lord is in His holy temple." "Ye are the temple of the living God." Your spiritual consciousness is God's temple, His own abiding place. I am happy in contemplating your meekness and am anticipating the might that you will win from humiHty and unselfed love for God and humanity. Stand in Truth, and having done all, stand. You are 463 464 Letters on Church Problems meeting only what your Master and your beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, met, and what all pioneer Scien- tists meet. Do not pity yourself, nor regard yourself as a martyr; this is error talking to you, — the "talking, lying serpent" {Science and Healthy p. 529) which w^ould rob you of your birthright, your oneness with God and your dominion over all things. Meet it with Love and Truth. Go to Principle and you will be governed by the law of God, and all will be well. Our dear Father's arms are aroimd you; He guides and guards and enfolds you and your dear husband and children. Trust Him more trustingly, dear. Your church will feel the pressure of your prayer that continually ascends to God for your precious flock. You will hear, "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the king- dom. " The words of our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, are more and more luminous as I read them. I am asking my students and my dear church members to read, especially for a few days, Unity of Good. We must learn that there is no death, by understanding God's allness, the omnipotence of eternal Life, and by destroying the mental cause of death. Unity of Good has strong arguments for overcoming the "last enemy," death. Now rise to realize that God will bring peace and joy in His own time to His flock. The wolf cannot enter your fold and carry away the lambs, if you stand on guard and clothe yourself with meekness which is spiritual might, love, and humility. These Christly qualities prove an invincible armor to all who consecrate themselves to God's service. What if by your stripes humanity is healed? Jesus gave himself a living sacrifice, and our dear Leader, Mrs. Eddy, Letters on Church Problems 465 has never faltered in her labor of love to uplift mankind • — to exalt the Christ in human consciousness, and to abase the human. Then rejoice that you are worthy to suffer with Christ, that you may reign with him. Give my love to the boys and your husband, and with faithful, tender love, I am, Yours ever, Augusta E. Stetson. 24 West 72ND Street, New York City, February 28, 1901. My dear Student: — I am sure that you are well aware of the great pressure of work — care of patients, students and church — which has been brought to bear upon me since I was in your dear home. I have been often with you in thought and I fully appreciated your hospitality, and your husband's warm welcome, but I sent word to L. . . which I hoped would be a just plea for you to wait until I could write you a letter. The Brush will case' has been a fierce mental battle, from which I have emerged with the proof of honesty and truth written in the history of the courts. I am weary, but have no time to rest from active duty. My hands are torn, but I have no time to bind them up. The dear Love must heal them, while I go to others, and pour in oil and heal the broken-hearted. I must forget self, and labor for others. This is life. I want you, dear, to thank Mr. C. . . for all he did for me and mine while we were with you. It was so ' Miss Helen Brush bequeathed about seventy-five thousand dollars to First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. Two members of her family contested the will. All the other members desired this provision to be carried out. The trial in the courts resulted in a victory for the church. 466 Letters on Church Problems sweet of you both. I wish I could come when I am not pursued and haunted by the enemy of good, which hates troublesome Truth and its advocates. I do not know how I should act if I could put off the sword, and go on a furlough. The hour is not yet. God will grant it some day. Give my kindest regards to Mr. C. . . Kiss the children for me. You know my deep love for you, and that I am working always for you and yours. Lovingly, Ever your faithful teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. Hotel Touraine, Boston, Massachusetts, June 7, 1901. My beloved Student: — I have been so constantly occupied with the work on this trial, ' that I have felt it wise not to write or think outside of it if possible, and I knew that so far as I could, I must leave my students to do their own work. So I have had no care for them. The victory has come at last. We have demonstrated the power- lessness of hypnotism, witchcraft and mental diabolism to overthrow the Cause of Christian Science and the work of our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy. We have realized enough of Truth and Love to nullify the seem- ing power of the foe. Now we can say understand- ingly, " The accuser of our brethren is cast down, . . . unto the earth. " What has the enemy not tried to do all these years to injure our Leader and me! In a letter written by Mrs. Eddy to me are these words: "The lies that * Trial in Boston of suit brought by J. . . C. . . W. . . against Mrs. Eddy. Letters on Church Problems 467 are told about me or what I say of you are not worth your notice nor mine."^ I thank God that I have been able to stand until error uncovered and destroyed itself. The error was made so unreal that instead of three weeks, which the Judge gave for the trial, it was over in four days. The enemy was conquered as soon as we rose in a body to spiritual understanding and realized the allness of God and the nothingness of evil. There will be grand work in the future for those who have stood loyal to Truth, to our Leader and to their loyal teachers. I am obliged to remain here a little longer, and shall get a few days of quiet rest, which I seem to require. There is no reaction in Truth, and we know it. I shall be mentally with my flock on Sunday. I feel confident that the communion will be blessed. It will be the first one in fourteen years at which I have not been with you in propria persona. God is leading us all to find our real selves. We are not in matter, therefore we are always together, and some day we shall not alone feel each other's presence, but shall see the glorified face of every one. I rejoice, dearest B. . . , in the knowledge of your true, grand character, your loyalty to Principle and idea, and your unswerving pursuit of Truth. You will receive a rich reward, my dear student. The things of time and sense are losing their reality, and the real and substantial are appearing to you. I hear you have gone through your anticipated experi- ence and all is well. Give my love to dear G. . . and tell her to begin to discipline the child now, so that when it comes to Sunday School I shall not have to teach it obedience. I know it will be a child of the twentieth century, and will reap the benefit of our Leader's sufferings to make sin and death unreal for himianity. ' Vital Issues in Christia?i Science, page 366. 468 Letters on Church Problems I must close now. Remember me lovingly to the family. With endless devoted love, I am, Always your faithful teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. 24 West 72ND Street, New York City, January 16, 1904. My beloved Student: — I see God's hand in this deliverance, as I have never seen it before in any other church problem but our own, which has passed through all the experiences attending the human footsteps which lead up to the divine. I had left all with Truth and Love, and I knew that, if it were right, the church would come into line and be saved. I had worked faithfully, and so had you and the dear ones who are the strength of the church. Now, dear, you know you must love divinely, which means you must conquer your own false sense that any one is evil, or if evil controls any one you must make the claim of evil unreal to yourself. I have found that when I convince myself that I love God because I love His idea, the true individuality, the corporeal personality does not trouble me so much, and finally error yields to Love as I reflect Her. I would be wise and not seem to be aggressive just now, for they are so lawless they will not understand your loving motive. Be sure that you are pleasant to every one even though you know that they are enemies of good, in belief. Be social after church, and make no distinction between the true Christian Scientist and the false. I love God and His idea, therefore I reflect the power of divine Love through the veil of the flesh. I cannot do enough for every Letters on Church Problems 469 one to help them to see Truth. Forget yourself, dear, and be loving and tender, and all will feel your Christly love, and you will enjoy the people. You have three years before you in which to read. Remember the Manual elects for three years — your church By-Laws must conform to the Manual. You must use the 1903 copy and study it well. Read, the first of every month, A Rule for Motives and Acts, Article xx, vSection i . You say that you are '* a nonentity." You can be if you believe you are. You may feel the necessity of enforcing the By-Law, page 32, Article iii. Section 7. I would be very gentle with the one who is allowing herself to personify evil. She may be an innocent victim, of en\y or jealousy, and you must "hurt not the oil and the w4ne. " Let God judge. He is just. I would be happy and loving until my people were soothed and comforted and fed with Truth and Love. The poor dears have been starved for the true bread. They have had only stones. Now give them the blessed Truth. Show them the beauty of Christian Science — the joy of the Spirit — and awaken them to love God and His idea. Talk of courage and strength and peace, and the dear Father's care for those who serve Him, and the possibilities of Christian Science when lived. Make no remarks which can be con- strued into condemnation of any one, nor ever talk over another's faults. Study your Science arid Health and Miscellaneous Writings, and be a law to yourself. God has put you there as Reader through your church election. Know that you can serve three years. Never forsake the church. I hope the church Reading Room will be open every day, and that patients will come there to be treated. Be sure that you 470 Letters on Church Problems allow there no gossip nor criticism of any one. Say to all, "We will be Christian Scientists and see that we obey the ' Sermon on the Mount, ' and our Leader's words; and we will demonstrate health and happiness and all that we need, as God has promised. " Handle mentally the false suggestion — m.alicious ani- mal magnetism — with Truth and Love, and be careful that you do this in the Wednesday evening meetings. Talk on the love of God, and m^an in His image, and the power of Christian Science to heal sin and sickness, for strangers do not know what malicious animal magnetism means. Mention our Leader occasionally, and sing one of her hymns at every service, if the people do not object. If they do you can say you want her to be brought into- the hearts of the people by all uniting in singing her words. Make all feel that they are helping you, as they are, to build up the Cause in A. . . It may be I should not direct you but leave you entirely to Principle, but I know that you will be guided by Principle if I do my duty as your teacher, give you the benefit of my experience, and encourage you in your hard place. This applies also to J. . . and M. . . . I think you have the understanding and love to develop the church. The children are the strength of the body, as they unfold in spiritual sense. Oh, I am so happy that you had wisdom to stand when error would have driven you out ! I should have given you up as hope- less had you abandoned your post. You lost one point when the church offered you the Readership before, and you refused it, the office, and I was afraid you had gone back instead of forward this time. You are troubled by the opposers just as far as you believe that error is real, and have not sufficient Letters on Church Problems 471 spiritual power to make evil unreal. You will have to walk right over all obstacles and be blind to all "livid faces" and "fierce expressions," and you will make yourself useful to your church and grow in the power of divine Love, in proportion to your victory over false concepts. I hope you three w^ll give your best efforts to quicken the body and bring unity in the bonds of love. You can always speak in the Board meetings, even though you are only ex officio and can- not vote, and you can use every argument for Truth, but you must do it in your prerogative as First Reader and because you are obliged to aid them by your understanding. Be firm, but gentle and scientific, and never let error carry the day. God will guide you three. Cling steadfastly to Truth and Love. Error is powerless; Love wins. The false belief, malicious animal magnet- ism, fails to overthrow a true Christian Scientist. Meekness and love, faith and understanding will conquer. The claim of malicious animal magnetism, can never destroy the good, nor permanently give the church into the hands of evil. Lovingly ever yours, Augusta E. Stetson. Hotel Touraine, Boston, Massachusetts, December i8, 1907. My dear Student: — I can take but a minute in which to write to you. I received a letter from Mrs. S. . . to-day, in which she says you told her that I said she should resign. I know you could not have said that, and I wrote her that I said to you, "If it be true that Mrs. S. . . ad- 472 Letters on Church Problems ministered a pellet or prune juice, I know that she will acknowledge it or resign. " I never interfere with another's church work, nor in any way meddle with another teacher's students. I try to weed my own garden, and that keeps me always busy. Now, dear, you must try to find the Christly way to benefit your church, yourself, and each member of your church. I wrote Mrs. S. . . that if error had handled her to do wrong she knew it better than any one else. She also knew that, if she had deflected she must not justify herself, but in humility admit her mistake. I also said that I wanted 3^ou and her to come together in unity and love, for Love alone is real. If she has done wrong and does not admit it, she cannot advance. If she acknowledges the error, is penitent, and promises to live in the future according to Christian Science, then the church must decide whether it will give her another trial and let her go on reading. This is all to be worked out in meekness and love on both sides. I trust, dear, that you are trying to love divinely and that Mrs. S. . . is doing the same. I will write again soon. Be meek, it will make you mighty, loving and honest, then you will rise to a scientific demonstration of Truth and Love. Lovingly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, December 24, 1907. My dear Student: — Your letter has been a comfort to me. I feared that you had been handled by error and made to hold Mrs. S. . . in error, instead of seeing that imipersonal Letters on Church Problems 473 evil was working through her, and that this should be treated as you would treat a disease, a fever or a cold, both of which are manifest error. We must meet these mental claims with divine love and compassion, as a mother would meet it for her child. When we love divinely, and separate the error from the individual, we help the person who is voicing error by our reflection of Truth, which destroys impersonal evil which works through personalities. Thus we help our brethren to free themselves from the attacks of so-called malicious animal magnetism, and we free ourselves from the belief that our brother or sister is evil. If we do all we can to set the captive free, and if he is so bound by error that he cannot awake, we must leave him alone, with a sense of pity and love — • never with hardness nor unkind criticism. We must defend ourselves against the seeming reality of evil by reflecting Truth and Love. If we hold another in error we are doing ourselves the most harm, and are making ourselves a channel for sin. We must work indefatigably to conquer our belief that evil is person, place, or thing. Read the chapter entitled, "No ReaHty in Evil or Sin" in our Leader's Message to The Mother Church for igoi. Mrs. S. . . will suffer if she has done wrong. I could help her, if she would ask me, and thus save her from the cruel malpractice or impersonal evil which she seems unable to nullify. She is God's dear child, and this false finite personaHty is but her "shade" {Poems by Mary Baker Eddy, p. 29). Let us not fear a shadow. There has been much false teaching regarding "per- sonality," and many have gone astray on this word. I trust that you are clear on the difference between physical personality and spiritual personality. 474 Letters on Church Problems My little success in Christian Science has been due to my determination to see God and His idea, and to reflect divine Love. I will not judge or condemn per- sons, but I will judge error and will separate it from persons. When you hear any one say there is '*no personality," you may know that he is on a certain plane of consciousness where he fails to differentiate between corporeality — matter, the embodiment of mor- tal belief — and the real man or spiritual personality or individuality. If God is Person, as our Leader says, then He is All — one creator, one causation, one consciousness, individ- ual. Supreme Being. His ideas, or children or thoughts are reflectors of His being. He being Person, His ideas may be called personalities, but this is spiritual personality, the reflection of the infinite Person — God; not finite personaHty, or corporeaHty. When I hear Christian Science students condemning personalities, without the adjective, I know that they do not know the difference between the spiritual personality, and the finite personality, or corporeality. Spiritual personality and individuality are synony- mous terms. I acknowledge the spiritual personality as God's idea, and I refuse to beHeve in the corporeal or finite person, as anything but shadow or symbol. From this spiritual idea or unseen individuality I can- not run, but through divine Love, I must reveal the real man in God's image and likeness. How can I ever see God until I destroy my false concept, and behold God in my brother and sister and the real universe? You see, dear, the reason that there is so much schism and separation everywhere to-day, is because Christian Scientists do not get even the letter of Christ- ian Science correctly, therefore they cannot get its Letters on Church Problems 475 spirit, and love divinely. In other words, they remain under the old belief that error is real, and they attach error to physical personality or corporeality. Let us love, and God will give us power to break the chains which bind ourselves and others. Love is omnipotent. Then let us he Godlike. Let us be Christly, and we will find that all things are ours richly to enjoy. ''The earth is the Lord's," and we shall see the real earth and the real heaven when we have made God, good, real, and evil imreal. We must awake and put on our strength. We have always been perfect ideas of a perfect Mind. We have only to put off the old mind — belief of life in matter and evil as power or reality — to behold God, His man and uni- verse. My kindest regards to your husband and family. Lovingly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, March 18, 1908. My dear Student: — I am looking forward with interest to the result of your application papers. It does not seem possible that she, Mrs. S. . . , could have secured the confidence of the people. Perhaps she told them that I endorsed her. Mrs. H. . . knows how I urged for unity and love. I emphatically declared that I was only working for my student, to see if she were wrong in her resistance to what she thought was error in Mrs. S. . . Surely she could not say that I endorsed her. I have nothing to do in her case, and I know nothing about her work except what I have been told. I leave my students to judge for themselves, and to act according to their 47^ Letters on Church Problems understanding of right. If they make mistakes after I have taught them how to demonstrate Truth, they will learn by the things they suffer. I am glad that Mrs. B. . . has helped you in regard to your work with the Publishing Society and JournaL I hope she will not have more to meet on this account, but she is not afraid of unjust criticism and will do her work, and God will deliver her. Do not talk over the condition more than is absolutely necessary. Perhaps you will have no further trouble. I would not go to law for the title of First Church. It is not right and we must protect the Cause. So-called malicious animal magnetism would like to get you all up before the people in a personal conflict. Error would do this if you would allow yourself to be manipulated. Leave this to God, and work to heal the sick, and to bring every thought into obedience to Christ. I am sure that you can hold your services and increase your membership and radiate spiritual power into the city, which will draw all men unto your spiritual individuality — as idea. I have always worked in this way. Let error attack and foam, and stir up all against us, while we open not our mouth but work alone with God, and for Him, until we see the self- destruction of evil and its utter failure to injure us. The trouble with many is that they uncover error and then continue to see it, and talk it, until it is real to them, and the true consciousness is obscured. Keep your mind on Christ. Knov/ that error may prosper for awhile, but that it will be finally self- extinguished. You are to make good real. You cannot argue for both good and evil. Impersonal evil cannot find an avenue in you or in any one. Love your neighbor as yourself. This helps you and helps Letters on Church JPrgblems 477 your enemy by weakening the claim of evil in him to harm you. Pardon haste. My love to all the dear ones in your Society. Sincerely yours, Augusta E. Stetson. Oswego, New York, June 13, 1908. My dear Students: — I am thinking of you to-day as I rest in this delight- ful "Farm Retreat" among the trees, birds, and flowers, and mentally work for God, for my beloved Leader, for the Christian Science movement, and for my dear blessed students, who are scattered throughout the coimtry. They are looking for a change from routine work, and an opportunity to contemplate the things of God. I have much joy in seeing the good work that my students are doing everywhere. I rejoice to hear from yotir church through Mr. C. . . , who writes me of its prosperity. You are all learning to labor, watch, wait, and "love more" (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 389). We are learning to handle impersonal error, and not to attach it to the physical personality. Also to help the person who is a channel for impersonal evil. Love will antidote hate, envy, revenge, — the mental qualities of mortal mind which are the cause of all sorrow, suffering, and death. Love will cast out fear of the mental assassin, and we shall learn that God and His idea is all. The lie must lose its seeming power, and cease to claim oiir attention. God reigns. Give seeming evil no power. Study the Message for igoi of our beloved Leader^ the chapter on " No Reality in Evil or Sin " (p. 48). You 47S Letters on Church Problems will gain much from reading this chapter at this hour. Evil claims to embody itself in the flesh. As there is no evil, there is no material flesh, no matter. The fleshly mind and its embodiment is sin, but as God is All, there can be no reality in sin. Thus we reduce the claim of a mind opposed to God, to nothing, and our spiritual power asserts its dominion and God gives us the victory. We do not fear the false claim of evil, nor hate, nor love it nor its embodiment. All being "infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation" {Science and Health, p. 468), the ghost of mortal sense, the lie, disappears, and we perceive, back of the shadow, the ideal man. Thus Love reflects Herself in love. We are all learning to discern the real from the false and material. I am gaining much from constantly dwelling in the one Mind. I strive to enter into pure spiritual consciousness, and to abide there, that as I am lifted up I may draw you and all true, faithful seekers for Truth with me. Peace and power and joy fill me with gratitude imspeakable. I long to have all experience it. Love will bind Her own in the bonds of the unity of Spirit. Let us labor to attain our divine selfhood and to behold the smile of God in the face of our brother and sister. Please remember me to your father and mother, and with devoted love to you, I am, Your faithful teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City» October 30, 1909. My dear Students: — Your letter is before me. I have nothing to say, since nothing that I could say would have any influence Letters on Church Problems 479 with those who do not discern the spiritual facts of being as I do. I have great peace and confidence in God, who will deliver me when the lesson of persecu- tion is sufficient to exalt me. I am rising to the zenith of divine Love by complying with the orders of the Directors of The Mother Church, and I am opening not my mouth except to defend Christian Science. I cannot change my convictions. God will decide the question. The investigation that is going on through our Trustees is to ascertain the facts concerning our church. Our Trustees must determine as to the con- ditions said to exist in our church, and that "without fear or favor," as the Directors advise them to do. I trust my teaching of absolute Christian Science, my life and my all with God. Nothing can ever turn me from loving, grateful, prompt obedience to my beloved Leader and Teacher, Mary Baker Eddy. My immortal self is safe in Mind. I dwell continually in my spiritual consciousness, only speaking to belief to destroy it. I must obey my Leader and " build . . . on a wholly spiritual foundation " {Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 390). The "old man," himian belief, must be destroyed. I am more grateful than words can express that I understand the workings of so-called malicious animal magnetism, and that I have enough of the Mind of Christ to defend myself from the forces of the claim of so-called evil, which is poured out upon me by evil thinkers, who use every avenue, and the press. To meet these volleys of error and rise above them, through the Christ love and the qualities of Spirit, which alone will annul evil, or the claim, — for there is no evil,— this is my test. 480 Letters on Church Problems My students are proving my spiritual teachings also, and are being weighed in the balances of God. May they have oil in their lamps! I must keep my lamp filled and burning brightly, that I m.ay be wedded to a higher ideal. Read Miscellaneous Writings, page 276 and on to the end of the chapter. With love to you both, I am, Yours faithfully, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, December 31, 1909. My beloved Student: — Just a few lines to tell you that the hour has passed for doubt or question as regards the conditions of the present phenomena. I am on my face with heart throbbing with gratitude to God, and adoration for the wonderful experience through which I have passed, and which has exalted me to grasp more firmly the right hand of my Father-Mother Love, and to behold my real self, my immortal self, safe in divine Science. I can never tell you how the light floods my thought, and how it reveals the real of all, and uncovers the error of those who believe in the false testimony of material sense. "^ The tares and the wheat can no longer grow together. They must separate. It is inevitable. Those who have grown to see, through spiritual sense, the divine idea, are united in the bonds of spiritual love, which makes for power on the side of God. Moral chemicali- zation is universal, and you will find it working in every body of Christian Scientists. The few who have spiritual discernment will stand and suffer for Christ. Letters on Church Problems 481 The many, who are only camp-followers, or who have the letter without the spirit, will unite to oppose the faithful who can no longer continue in material organi- zation. The battle is the Lord's. We have only to stand still in Truth and Love and see the salvation of our God. I am strong and free and am reflecting Christ to the world, day and night. I know that my dear students who are watching with our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, feel the mighty power of the love which comes con- tinually surging through my consciousness, until I feel that I am already in heaven. I know that I under- stand the words: Let "the word . . . have free course, and be glorified" (2 Thess. iii., i). No material sense can obstruct the power of the divine idea. The night of materialism is far spent. God pity all who have not kept oil, spiritual love, in their lamps. To-day many are following blindly, and are walking in the glow of the light which shines from some v/ho have kept their lamps filled and burning; others follow the majority, or popular opinion. Only they stand who have the letter and the spirit, and who understand the words and works of our Master, and of our Leader in her works, and words, and holy life. I am experiencing more light and power with God every hour. "Behold, I come quickly" is being verified. I wish I could impart to you just a little of the visions I have of the future, when I shall have won a complete victory over the belief that I am sub- ject, in the slightest degree, to a material body. I know that material organization must be abandoned by those who have made the demonstration of a perfect material organization, and that now we must begin " to build . . . on a wholly spiritual foundation " 31 482 Letters on Church Problems {Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 390), and, as I find that I am out of material churches, it seems almost as if I were out of a material body or organized matter. I am absent from this false sense so much, and present with Love and Truth so constantly, that I almost see, and feel, and hear, and touch the real and eternal ideas which people the spiritual and 07ily universe. Oh, how I work day and night for humanity [ Let "the word . . . have free course, and be glorified." I know that my precious students who are able to discern the truth in Christian Science, feel my prayers, and my spiritual presence, and are lifted to a greater reliance upon the sustaining infinite. Your faithful, loving teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, January 19, 191 1. My dear Mr. S . . . : — Your letter appeals to me as from one who is seeking the solution of a perplexing problem which seems to exist between the Board of Directors and myself. First, there is a difference of interpretation of Mrs. Eddy's writings, the text-book of Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Also the charge of mental malpractice, which, in a thorough investigation held by a Committee of Inquiry, composed of the Trustees of my church (all advanced divine metaphysicians) , was proved absolutely ground- less. I send you under separate cover a report of the Committee. The publicity of the position in which the Board of Directors placed me before the world two years ago Letters on Church Problems 483 could not have been borne by any woman who had not learned the "sweet secret of the narrow way" {Mis- cellaneous Writings, p. 389), and leaned heavily and entirely upon the sustaining infinite — our Father- Mother God. If you are not a divine metaphysician you may not readil}^ understand my definition of mental malpractice, to which you referred in your letter. Let me quote irom Miscellaneous Writings, by Mrs. Eddy, page 31: Mental malpractice is a bland denial of Truth, and is the antipode of Christian Science. To mentally argue in a manner that can disastrously affect the happiness of a fellow-being — harm him morally, physically, or spirit- ually— breaks the Golden Rule and subverts the scientific laws of being. This, therefore, is not the use but the abuse of mental treatment, and is mental malpractice. Christian Scientists admit but one Mind as real, the Mind of Christ. They worship one God, one Spirit, or Soul, one creator — eternal Life, Truth, and Love. They regard all men as mental beings, emanations of the one creative Principle, God, and maintain that man reflects Life, Truth, and Love; therefore that man is spiritual, not material. This is the man of God's creating, and is found in the first chapter of Genesis which is the history of the real creation, when God made man in His own image and likeness, and gave him dominion over all things. Opposed to this history of the real man is the Adam, or carnal, so-called man, found in the following chapters of Genesis. Paul said, " To be carnally minded is death ; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace" (Ro- mans viii., 6). Thus we see that spiritual thought — life, truth, and love — is a force for good, the law of God. 484 Letters on Church Problems The carnal thought, which is a belief of life and intelli- gence in matter, and which expresses itself in hate, malice, jealousy, envy, revenge, and all evil, is a so- called force which works discord, sin, disease, and results in death. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (i Cor. xv., 22). The exercise of the spiritual thought conveys peace, harmony, and spiritual uplifting, upon whomsoever it may rest. It naturally follows that the qualities of the carnal mind, indulged and sent out, would have the opposite effect. Christian Scientists enlist to lessen sin, disease, and death. They admit the claim to a power called evil (which Jesus also admitted when speaking of the carnal, Adam, so-called man, and vSaid: "He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own : for he is a liar, and the father of it") but they do not believe this power to be real — • eternal — ^therefore they follow the teachings of Jesus the Christ, our Way-shower to eternal Life. Obeying the law of Spirit — the truth by which they are governed, they labor to annul the qualities of the human mind, for themselves and for those who appeal to them for help. Thus they prove the omnipotence of the law of Spirit to free them from the claim of a law of sickness a,nd death. Mrs. Eddy has taught her followers to obey the law of God, to follow the teachings and example of Jesus the Christ ; to have that Mind in them which was also in Christ Jesus, and to love their neighbor as them- selves. Admitting but one power as real — ^the spiritual consciousness which God bestows, — a true Christian Scientist could not malpractise. He knows that Letters on Church Problems 485 wrong thoughts indulged, or entertained of another, would react most heavily against himself, and he would thereby be giving power to evil as well as to good. By departing from the strict rule of divine Love, he would vitiate his power to do good, or to heal, and would come under the forces of evil, which he knows are destructive. During twenty-six years of my Christian Science warfare, I have striven earnestly to make evil thought unreal, and to make the Christ-mind real and potent in the healing of sin and disease in all their manifesta- tions. I have proved divine metaphysics or Christian Science to be demonstrable Truth. The severe test through which I have passed during the last two years has driven me to the height of demonstration of divine Love. I have been enabled to make injustice and cruel wrongs, ignorance, ingratitude, and disdain, unreal to myself. I have so well succeeded in overcoming and abnegating the human selfhood, that to-day, I can say with the Apostle, "None of these things move me." I stand immovable for the teachings of Jesus the Christ and Mary Baker Eddy — the possible demon- stration of victory over sin, disease, and death, through obedience to the law of God. I was accused by the five Directors of The Mother Church of mental malpractice, and, as I have said before, a thorough investigation of this charge was made, at my request, by the Trustees of my church in New York, and afterwards at the request of the Board of Directors. I asked that this be done by them with- out fear or favor. After an exhaustive examination of twenty-five of my students, sixteen of whom were later dropped from The Mother Church in Boston, this verdict was rendered — that my teachings and 486 Letters on Church Problems practice were strictly in accord with Science and Health, the text-book of Christian Science. Three others stood for absolute Christian Science, making nineteen of the twenty-five practitioners who stood immovable with me. When reports came to me from Boston of the efforts of the Board of Directors to prove my teachings and practice unscientific, I was incredulous. I knew that I was teaching and practising the Principle of Christian Science precisely as I had done for twenty-four years, and that I was constantly increasing in realization of Truth, and in demonstration of divine metaphysics. I could not believe that the Directors would attempt to assume the prerogative of my Teacher, Mrs. Eddy, who had always commended and endorsed my work. I have always obeyed constituted authority. Even though I did not agree with them, in their interpretation of Christian Science, I obeyed, and trusted God and our Leader to direct and enlighten me. The accounts of their determination to find some- thing by which they might depose me, were so frequent and well-authenticated, that I decided to speak to the practitioners (twenty -five in number) with whom I met every day to discuss metaphysical points relating to Christian Science practice and to go through the weekly Bible Lesson. I decided that I must protect myself and my church from the false charges, misrepresenta- tions and absolute reversal of my teachings, which were made, and which I knew were mental malpractice. My only protection was to entrench myself in the citadel of divine Love and Truth, and reflect the qualities of Spirit to each one who was holding the opposite thought towards me. I never for one moment permitted myself (nor did Letters on Church Problems 487 my students, the practitioners with whom I conferred) to cease declaring that these Directors were brethren- God's children; and that envy, hatred, malice, or any quality of the carnal mind, so-called, could not separate us from the love of God and unity in the bonds of Spirit. We obeyed our Leader's injunction as to malpractice, found in the Church Manual, Article viii, Section 8: "Members will not intentionally or knowingly mentally malpractise, inasmuch as Christian Science can only be practised according to the Golden Rule : ' All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them/ (Matt. 7: 12)." I strictly obeyed this By-Law, as I have always done, and during this controversy with the Directors I con- tinued to declare for the omnipotence of Truth and Love, and the powerlessness of the claim of evil which opposes itself to good. This was called malpractice because I spoke directly to them. I leave all to judge who was malpractising and who has been so doing during the past two years. I am never heard except when I defend my spiritual interpretation of Science and Health, and repeat my ever- increasing loyalty to my Leader, Mary Baker Eddy. I must fulfil the law of Love. I will quote from an article that appeared in the New York papers of November 8, 1909, in which I explained what I mean by mental malpractice: I will give as an illustration what I understand to be the difference between mental malpractice and '' Indispensable defence" {Science and Health, pp. 451, 452) or self -pro- tection. If I felt sure that I was being attacked, either ignorantly or maliciously by any person, I would fill my thought with 488 Letters on Church Problems the qualities of God, Truth and Love, which alone render one invincible to the entrance of evil in any form — fear, doubt, envy, malice, revenge, and whatever proceeds from the carnal mind. From this fortress of defence I should speak to the person, addressing him by name, and should declare God's omnipotence and ever-presence, and that there is no other power nor presence. In other words, I should come to him reflecting Truth and Love, and should declare that he is God's image and likeness, a spiritual being, perfect and immortal. I should then speak to the error which might be operating through the human mind, for which he has been an avenue. I should endeavor to see him as our Leader writes on page 476 of Science and Health — "Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. " Then I should declare that malicious animal magnetism, in all its forms and phases, was power- less to work through a human personality, using him as an avenue to injure me or any one, or to hinder the progress of Christian Science. This could only bless the corporeal man, and is doing unto others what we would be willing to have others do unto us. It would heal the ill by casting out the evil thoughts which produce mental and physical disease. It is the superiority of spiritual power over material sense, and is not malpractice. Mental malpractice is the influence of one so-called mortal mind over another, and may be either innocent, ignorant, or malicious. Innocent malpractice: — A mother is often an innocent malpractitioner upon her child. With her own thought filled with the fear of disease or accident, apprehensive of danger for her little one, she produces these impressions upon the child's mind, to be afterward manifested on the body in the form of disease. Ignorant mental malpractice is constantly in operation among those who are ignorant of the power of thought, and exercise their human wills to obtain that which they Letters on Church Problems 489 desire. Gossip and harsh unjust criticism freely indulged, strike discord into many a heart, and are mental mal- practice. Thus many are driven to Christian Science, where they find the lost chord of Christ, and a compassion- ate, divine Love, which attune to peace and harmony. Malicious mental malpractice is any thought entertained or expressed with intention to govern or to injure another. True Christian Scientists, admitting but one Mind, striving to have no other mind but the Mind of Christ; to have one God, and to love their neighbor as themselves, can only bless all upon whom their thoughts rest. I trust I have not presumed too long upon your valuable time. I feel that if I answer your letter I must make plain my position, which I cannot do in a few words. iT This letter is for your own information, in reply to your request. Yours very sincerely rjxj Augusta E. SxETSON^^rr 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, August 29, 191 1. My beloved Student: — Your letter reached me yesterday. I cannot tell you the sorrow it brought. It seems too much to believe that there should be such a division in your dear church. I wrote E. . . at once and asked her what it all meant. She had mailed me a letter after the meeting and I received it to-day. She said very little, but mentioned the church meeting, and added that you and several others had not worked w4th the church for some time, and that you were called to answer whether you were willing to unite and w^ork with the members in love. 49^ Letters on Church Problems She said that you all regarded the church as inde- pendent, and considered their present members as a "new organization," when it was under the same old By-Laws, with but a little amendment. They had, she said, been unable to get the By-Laws from Mr. F. . . who took them with him when he resigned as Clerk. She is, I am sure, most earnest to have all the members work in loving spiritual unity, guided by Principle. I cannot understand, my dear student, how this condition came about. If you and E. . . follow Christ and our beloved Leader, as I believe you both try to do, how did this separation come? Governed by the one Mind, we are one in cooperation. The law of wisdom and intelligence, of Love and Truth, binds us in bonds which can never be severed. The struggle to make evil unreal and good real, to see each as Jesus saw man, through the lens of spiritual understanding and love, is what we are striving to do. This compels us to '*love more for every hate," says our blessed Leader {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 389), and so we conquer self and live in love. Oh! my dear H. . . , do you realize what I felt when I read these words in your letter: "Their whole action is a disgrace to self-respecting people".^ I wondered what malicious animal magnetism was doing among the lambs of my dear student's flock and what the term "new organization" meant. I was not able to write you a reply till I had roused myself from the false sense of things, and vigorously handled the "enemy of good" {Christiari Science Scfitinel, vol. xi., p. 910) which was working to make me believe that my two dear students were at variance. After awhile I rose into the clearer atmosphere of Truth and Love and I saw you both as God's perfect children. Letters on Church Problems 491 He who hath seen the spiritual idea as the only child of God, does not accept sense testimony — the lie. Then I sat down and wrote you and E. . . She will show you her letter I am sure, if you wish to see it. I knew that for some time there had been an indiffer- ence in the church, and that Mr. F. . . had resigned as Clerk, but I felt that this was normal chemicaliza- tion, and I have seen so much of this conflict among Christian Scientists, when error is stirred to the sur- face by Truth, that I gave it no serious consideration and left you and E. . . to solve the problem and restore harmony. Dear H. . . , you say, "the organization which claims to be rtmning at your command and under your protection and counsel I am unable to take part in." I do not know anything about ''the organiza- tion," to which you refer. I know only the dear First Church of Christ, Scientist, in your city, and, whenever you or E. . . , as m.y students, need and ask for m.y advice, I, your teacher, shall always give you the benefit of my experience. You know what this advice is, and you can give the dear members the benefit of your teaching. I have no hesitancy in saying that I am willing to give my struggling Christian Science students all I have to give to help them "On the way there," as my Teacher for years has given me. I am not idle. I feel that our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, and my blessed student, M. . . B. . . , are behind the shadows keeping watch over that church, and all the claim of the hosts of a suppositional hell can never overthrow it. It has passed through deep waters. The dreadful blow was felt before the word was received, and the 492 Letters on Church Problems fatal mental dagger did its work. God pity those who dealt this blow. Now I see that error would strike again and de- moralize this church-body, by bringing in division. Schism, strife and the poison of asps under the tongue would dismember it. Divine Love forbids such work, and commands that the serpent be uncovered and destroyed by those who know that God is All and man is good. I shall remain in the citadel of Love, and from this vantage ground I shall send forth the Word — God's law — that sensuous, malicious animal magnetism, env^^ jealousy, hate, malice, desire for place and power, self- love, self-will, lust, and hypocrisy, shall go out of that church, even if but two witnesses are left to love and fulfil the law of God. I know too well my mission. I shall stand for genuine Christian Science as m^y Leader requested me to do. I care not for physical personalities. They are the image of mortal, so-called, mind, and as I am instructed by Science and Health and our revered Leader's other writings, and her personal letters, I shall stand for Principle, and the spiritual personality or idea. I shall work, watch, pray, and fight for our Leader's true followers, and for their churches of Christ, Scientist, everywhere. God has given me the "spirit ... of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. " This was my first text preached in Boston with Mrs. Eddy sitting beside me in the pulpit. I am absolutely fearless. I have met and demonstrated over the so-called claim of hate, malice, envy, and evil of individual and of universal consciousness. I have lived through all, and I shall stand and defend the teachings and work of Mary Baker Eddy. Love will do the work, for I love divinely, therefore efficaciously. Letters on Church Problems 493 I feel sure, my dear student, that you know that I am standing for you and E . . . , just so far as you stand for Principle. If you stumble and fall by the wayside, I will do my duty and pick you up and help you to your feet, if you desire to press on in the warfare against the claim of evil; but I cannot do your work for you. You must do your own self-abnegation, and both you and E. . . must conquer whatever there is in yoiu- mental that is unlike Christ. You comprehend my deep love for you, my dear H . . . , only so far as you love God and your brother and sister. I would do anything for you but wrong you, by not showing 3^ou the danger. I am happy to say that I have only love for those who have tempo- rarily taken my church, and have done all that can be done to destroy my influence. But when I say love for "those" I mean for the ideal man, God's man, back of flesh, blood, and bones, which are substanceless nothingness. I do not love error nor its embodiment, neither my own corporeality nor another's. I refuse to recognize it as any part of God and His spiritual universe — the only universe, since God is All. I am building on a "wholly spiritual foundation" {Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 390). There is no matter. The power is given to the Son, and you and I discern our sonship and reflect God, good. Love, Life, and Truth. I am strong in faith that, in some way, the wheat and tares will soon be separated in the entire Field. When we rise in divine Love we shall demonstrate a world or consciousness in which is no discord. There no arrow wounds the dove. Rise with those who are building on Christ. God bless and keep you and dear Mr. F . . . and all the dear members of that church, whose super- structure is Love. 494 Letters on Church Problems With deepest love for you, dear one, and prayers that in this late hour you and E . . .do not lose the chord of Christ but sing the song of unity in the bonds of the Spirit, I am, Your loving teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, November 3, 191 1. My dear Mr. J. . . : — Your letter requesting ''any pamphlets concerning your difference with the Board of Directors of The Mother Church, Boston, Massachusetts," is before me. I am sending to you, under separate cover, letters which at first I sent typewritten to my students and others who appealed to me throughout this country and from abroad. They were confused by the stand taken by the Directors which they declared was directly opposed to the teachings of Science and Health and our Leader's other writings. I soon found that many Christian Scientists through- out the Field were appealing to me as to what this strange reversal of Christian Science, by those in author- ity, meant, and I decided to print my letters in pamphlet form. I have unswervingly maintained my stand for present immortality, and for the correct disposition of the claim of malicious animal magnetism as I was taught by my revered Leader and Teacher, Mrs. Eddy. • The Board of Directors do not agree with me as to the question of immortality and the handling of error. It was, and is a matter of difference of interpretation of Mrs. Eddy's teachings. I am following the spiritual interpretation of the Bible and of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures as given me by Mrs. Eddy Letters on Church Problems 495 during twenty-five years of her personal teaching and in nearly four hundred letters to me in her own hand- writing. I have had photographed one hundred and eighteen of these bearing on the points for which I contended during my " trial " by the Directors. These letters confirm my position. The Directors were in authority. They were permitted to fulfil their mission. It was the beginning of a new era in the Science of Christianity. The " trial " through which I passed in the test of my fidelity to Principle, and to my Leader, Mrs. Eddy, has been recorded in history, as has been my emergence from material organization. When many who had answered to the call of our Leader to begin *' to build ... on a wholly spiritual foundation " {Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 390) were thrust out of material organization, and became pioneers for a "wholly spiritual " consciousness or char- acter, they met with the antagonism of the materialists. This revealed my position to all who were able to dis- cern the difference between materiality and spirituality. I contend for Mrs. Eddy's ability to make a demonstra- tion of her teachings of immortality as did Jesus. I know from my personal association with her, from her letters, and from my spiritual understanding of the Bible, that she is the anointed of God in this age, through whom Christ is to appear the second time in the fulfilment of the law of Love. The contemplation of a cemetery, tomb, grave, mon- ument, obituary notices, and unity with the League for Medical Freedom, which necessitates association with material systems and seeks protection under the so-called material law, — all this is contrary to Christ- ian Science, and is not in accordance with the teach- ings of Mary Baker Eddy as found in the text-book of 496 Letters on Church Problems Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and her other writings. Even at this eariy stage of building on a "wholly spiritual foundation, " I am armed with sufficient spirit- uality to know the truth of the scientific statement of being which has given me courage to defend Mrs. Eddy's teachings (as she charged me to do) until she manifests her "wholly spiritual" individuality and continues her leadership, as spiritual idea. Divine Science teaches the second coming of Christ, Truth, when the ideal man will reign forever among men, and will gather all who have on a "wedding garment " — all who have oil in their lamps (spiritual understanding), and will lead and guide them forever in the conscious- ness of eternal Life. I am not contending with the Board of Directors. I am defending the teachings of Christian Science as taught by Mrs. Eddy. If the Directors, or any feel that I am differing with them, this is an admission that they are opposing my stand for our Leader's teachings of present immortality, and her possible demonstration of Principle, eternal Life, Truth, and Love, expressed in the ideal man. My protection of her teachings can do no harm, and need not be opposed by any. They must uplift hope, faith, and understanding to the contemplation of some- thing more spiritual and more in accordance with the law of eternal Life, something which directs thought away from cemeteries, tombs, graves, monuments, obituary notices, and an alliance with osteopaths and patent medicine vendors. All are to-day called to choose whom they will serve. Our beloved Leader seems to be gone "into a far country," and the stewards seem to be beating the Letters on Church Problems 497 " menservants and maidens" (see Luke xii., 41-46). But the genuine Christian Scientists will ''occupy" the post of spiritual observation till Christ comes, and they hear the voice of the Christ-idea, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Loyalty to my Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, compels me to defend her teachings, and to demonstrate the power of spiritual thought-force to destroy all the efforts of so-called malicious animal magnetism in all the forms and phases which it assumes in its powerless attempt to silence the voice of the on-coming and re- appearing Christ-idea known to human sense as a woman — Mary Baker Eddy. Very sincerely yours, Augusta E. Stetson."''^ 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, November 5, 191 1. My dear Mr. T . . . : — There is a tone in your letter which touches a respon- sive chord in my thought, and indicates loyalty and affection for our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy. If, as I trust, you do see her, "as the revelator of Truth to this age, and the promulgator of the teaching of an endless life," you will recognize her mission, and the necessity of her demonstration over the claim of life in mortal mind and its embodiment — matter, the illu- sions or concepts which Truth must and will destroy. This understanding is life. It is the oil which fills our lamps, and lights the path of the genuine Christian Scientist. The evident determination of mortal mind, so-called, to hold our spiritual Leader in the grave, or as ever 32 49^ Letters on Church Problems having lived and died in matter, has been met by spiritual thought-force; and the retreating "enemy of good" {Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 910) can hardly be seen or heard to-day by those who are ris- ing into the light of spiritual illumination. The stone of belief has been rolled away by many a soldier of Christian Science. This glorious, glad resurrection hour finds us singing songs of praise to God for our beloved Leader, who has taught us how to love divinely, how to recognize the claim of malicious animal magnetism, as it works through its various channels or personalities, and how, finally to nullify its claim to power, by the Christ quali- ties of spiritual consciousness which we possess. You ask me if I am in favor with the Board of Directors . I remain in the same attitude as when they dropped my name from membership in The Mother Church. I cannot change my method of teaching and practice. I stand for absolute Christian Science, and present immortality. I teach this, always have taught it, and shall continue to teach as I was taught by Mary Baker Eddy. I demonstrate it as fast as I can, and teach all to do the same. I speak to impersonal error and its mouthpieces whenever I hear it voiced by persons. I have, from the beginning, done this. I meet every argument of the "enemy of good" with spiritual love — the only power which dissolves the adamant of suppo- sitional hatred, malice, envy, jealousy, and revenge — nothingness. Our Leader tells us that "The evil in human nature foams at the touch of good" {Message for iQOi, p. 45), and the struggler for the goal of immortal selfhood must meet the opposition of "sin's revenge on its destroyer" {Science a?id Health, p. 48). But the understanding of Letters on Church Problems 499 the impotence of the claim of mahcious animal magnet- ism when met by divine love gives courage and might to win a victory. I have spoken publicly during the past two years only when I have been accused of being disloyal to my Leader, Mrs. Eddy, or as not teaching Christian Science according to the text-book. Twenty-five years of close association with her in the mental, with no condemnation from her in regard to my interpretation of her teaching, and my application of it, and with letters to confirm my work, which are beyond a question, together with my demonstration of Principle both before and after the public crucifixion — all this has proved that I am a demonstrator of divine Science. I was exonerated by my own church, but later I resigned, lest my personal presence might cause the opposers to disturb the peace, and I faintly apprehended that I was ready to leave material organization and build wholly spiritually. I will send you the result of the investigation made by eight of the nine Trustees who served on the Committee of Inquiry,' some of whom had been Trustees for twenty-three years, others for fifteen, and others for ten years. These are with me now, stronger than ever in their spiritual interpreta- tion of Science and Health and our Leader's other writ- ings, and scientific mental practice. One woman Trustee felt that I was wrong in teaching the immortal- ity of man at the present hour, and my use of names. This is the only one of the nine Trustees who is not with me to-day. Eight of the old Board of Trustees are rising to see what this separation means, both in individual and universal thought. I, with all my students who have risen to spiritual apprehension and » This report immediately follows this letter. 500 Letters on Church Problems are following our Leader in her demonstration over all mortal mentality, am strong, through spiritual reflec- tion, to prove the impossibility of error to destroy our work, or to hush the voice and message of eternal Mind. Hundreds of my students have stood with me during all these tests. They attend church services every Sun- day morning, and while the Trustees resigned from office when several new members were elected (feeling they preferred not to work with those who entertained such opposite views), 3^et they have regularly attended the church which they built, and there is no evidence, to an outsider, that two conditions of thought are there. Indeed there are not; there is but one Mind, and this understanding enables my students (sixteen of whom were dropped from The Mother Church and from this church for loyalty to their conviction of Truth) to attend services and feel the power and presence of Love — ^the only consciousness. These demonstrators of Truth and Love are building on "a wholly spiritual foundation" {Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 390). They have only to do their own work. I have not been moved by influence or money to take my large body of students, and those who follow my teaching of Spirit as all, and form another church, nor have I permitted a schism in the church, but I have taught the Truth, and am demonstrating love, which must convince all that I am a Christian Scientist. I have always stood against false statements in regard to our beloved Leader, no matter who voiced these charges. Person is not in the problem. Principle must be demonstrated. I must "occupy" till she, who is to show us the proof of her teachings by demonstration, comes to her own. Then she, as idea — the fulfilment of the law of Love, the Letters on Church Problems 501 representative of the motherhood of God — will take her place in the world and lead on the armies of Israel. Christ will reign, and we must rise to reign with him. There is no scriptural record of the third appearing of Christ. This is the fulfilling of the law. The sickle has been thrust in. We are working, watching, and praying for the reappearing of the ideal man, the com- pound idea, to remain forever among men. Sincerely yours, Augusta E. Stetson. so?. REPORT OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OP, FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, OF NEW YORK CITY Containing that portion of said Report which was both read and approved at the Special Meeting, of Church Members and Regular Attendants, held in the Church Edifice, i West g6th Street, New York City, on Thursday, November 4, igog, at two o'clock in the afternoon. INTRODUCTION In the hope of removing whatever obstacles may lie in the way of the return of this church to the enjoyment of that peace and growth which belong to the children of God, the Board of Trustees begs leave to submit the results of its inquiry to a^ou, after more than a month of tireless labor in arriving at the facts and conclusions which are herewith set forth. During the last week of September, 1909, all the mem- bers of the Board of Trustees, of First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, except Airs. Augusta E. Stetson, were requested to confer with the Board of Directors of The Mother Church, on September 24th, at Boston. Mr. Edwin F. Hatfield and Mrs. Isabelle C. Dam were unavoidably prevented from complying with the re- quest. All the other members of the Board of Trustees 502 Report of Board of Trustees 503 of this branch church, who had been invited, appeared at the time appointed, and were received informally by the Board of Directors of The Mother Church. They found three other persons present, besides a stenographer; namely, Judge CHfford P. Smith, First Reader of The Mother Church; Mr. Virgil O. Strickler, and Miss Ella G. Young, First and Second Readers, respectively, of this branch church. It was stated, among other things, by Mr. Archibald McLellan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Mother Church : 1. That the Trustees of this branch church then present at Boston had been invited to the conference not in an official capacity, but as individuals; 2. That an investigation was in progress at Boston, and "was instituted because of the widespread impression obtained by all Christian Scientists throughout the Field, that there is something wrong with the teachings and practices in First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, and that these teachings and practices differ materi- ally from those which obtain in other places;" h 3. That no charge nor complaint was then pending against any particular person. A synopsis of the testimony, said to be before the Directors at that time, was then given orally to the Trustees of this branch church there present, by Judge CHfford P. Smith, First Reader of The Mother Church, on behalf and by request of the Board of Directors of The Mother Church. The synopsis contained allegations of a very grave char- acter. A copy of the entire evidence was therefore requested by the Trustees who were present, for the use of the Board of Trustees of this branch church. This request was not granted. Two days after this conference, the Acting Clerk of this branch church received the following letter from Mrs. Stetson: 504 Report of Board of Trustees 7 West 96th St. New York, September 26, iQog. Dr. John Franklin Crowell, Acting Clerk, First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. Dear Dr. Crowell: — To-day I received a letter signed "/. V. Dittemore, Secretary,'' containing enclosures which purport to be copies of Jifidings and orders by the Board of Directors of The First Church of Christ, Scie^itist, in Boston, Mass. As a member of the Board of Trustees of First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I request that you call a meeting of that Board at the earliest possible time, in order that the documents referred to may be laid before the Board for such action as may be proper. Faithfully yours, {Signed) Augusta E. Stetson. This request was complied with, and a meeting of the Board was held on October ist, 1909. Mr. Strickler and Miss Young were present, in addition to every member of the Board except Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson. At that meet- ing the following documents were laid before the Board of Trustees: September 28, 1909. To the Board of Triistees, First Church of Christy Scientist, New York City: I hand you herezvith a letter, and the enclosures therein referred to, dated Boston, Mass., Sept. 25, 1909, and purporting to be written on behalf of the Christian Science Board of Directors. About six weeks ago I was advised by those Directors that a charge then peruiing against me had been dismissed. Since which time I have had no direct communica- ti 071 from them, until the documents herewith handed Report of Board of Trustees 505 Mou were received by registered mail on Sunday morning, Sept. 26, igoQ. I immediately requested that a meeting of our Board he called to hear these documents read, and to take such action as may he proper. As the matter affects me individually, in a way that may make my presence undesirahle, if not improper, I am absenting myself from the meeting. I rest in the firm conviction that our Father- Mother God will guide your every action — eve^i that divine Mind which is now manifested in glory in our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, through whom I became acquainted with her God — Life, Truth, and Love. This God I have endeavored to present and to represent to you, even as I have heard and seen while following my forever Leader, Mary Baker Eddy. Let nothing separate you from divine Principle or from your Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, who will bring us all into the kingdom of our God and His Christ; ''But every man in his own order: Christ '■ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming' (j Cor. 15 :2j). (Signed) Augusta E. Stetson, C. S. D. The Christian Science Board of Directors THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, Norway, Falmouth & St. Paul Sts. Boston, Mass. Ofice of the Secretary September 25, igog. Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, 7 West g6th Street, New York, N. Y. Dear Mrs. Stetson: — By order of the Board of Directors I am sending you herewith a copy of the findings and orders concerning yourself this day made by them. 5o6 Report of Board of Trustees The copy of their action is sent yon in order to inform you thereof and in order to admofiish you concerning the errors on your part therein pointed out. The Board directs me to express the hope that you will accept this admonition and desist from a repetition of the errors which they have pointed out. Very sincerely, (Signed) J. V. Dittemore, Secretary for the Christian Science Board of Directors. Saturday, vSept. 25th, 1909 "The Board of Directors of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass., met pursuant to their adjournment of yesterday. Present; all of the Directors. **The Directors took up and considered the case of Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, a member of this Church and an authorized teacher of Christian Science, as presented by her statements recently made before the Directors and the testi- mony of twenty-five witnesses whose examination was concluded yesterday; namely, Richard P. Verrall Miss Marion Stephens Arnold Blome Miss Sarah Hathaway Miss Jessie Colton Mrs. Kate Rcmer Mrs. Margaret Beecher White Mrs. Mary Freshman Mrs. AmeHa Rowbotham Steuart C. Rowbotham Miss Ella Young Miss Sibyl Huse V. O. Strickler Mrs. A. Aikman Hayije Davis Harry Fink Miss Margaret Duncan Miss A. E. Ensworth Miss Ida Pope Arthur Overbury Miss Mary E. Pearson Mrs. Anna Holden Mrs. Letitia Greene Miss Mary Piniiey Mrs. Catherine B. Gillpatrick Report of Board of Trustees 507 "After having carefully considered the evidence, the Directors decided and unanimously agreed as follows: 1. That Mrs. Stetson teaches her students, or those with w^hom she has been holding daily meetings, that the branch Church of Christ, Scientist, of which she is a member is the only legitimate Christian Science Church in New York City; and she teaches her students, or said group of students, not to regard the other branches of The Mother Church which are in that city as Christian Science Churches. 2. That a considerable number of the witnesses w^hose testimony the Directors have heard, exhibit as Mrs. Stetson's teaching an erroneous sense of Christian Science, particularly in regard to the application of Chris- tian Science to human needs and conditions; the witnesses whom the Directors have heard being with one excep- tion her students and being a select body of students chosen by her, or a board of which she was a member, to be repre- sentative practitioners of Christian Science. 3. That Mrs. Stetson endeavors to exercise a control over her students which tends to hinder their moral and spiritual growth. 4. That Mrs. Stetson endeavors to obtrude herself upon the attention of her students in such manner as to turn their attention away from divine Principle. ,^,^, 5. That Mrs. Stetson practises and teaches pretended Christian Science contrary to the statement thereof in ** Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," par- ticularly by treating persons without their request or consent, and by teaching a select body of her students to do likewise. 6. That Mrs. Stetson attempts to control and to in- 5o8 Report of Board of Trustees jure persons by mental means; this being utterly contrary to the teachings of Christian Science. 7. That Mrs. Stetson has so strayed from the right way as not to be fit for the work of a teacher of Christian Science. "After having considered these facts in view of the By-laws of this Church applicable to them, the Directors unanimously determined and ordered as follows: I. — That the card of Airs. Stetson be removed from the Christian Science Journal, and that the trustees of the Publishing Society be directed not to advertise her as a teacher or practitioner of Christian Science without first obtaining the approval of the Directors. 2. — That Mrs. Stetson's license or authority to teach Christian Science be and it hereby is revoked, and that she be and hereby is forbidden to undertake the work of a teacher of Christian Science until her fitness for such work shall have been proved and decided according to Article xii, section i, of the By-Laws of this Church. 3. — That in order to infonn Mrs. Stetson of the action now taken by the Directors and to admonish her concerning the things now pointed out by them, the Sec- retary of the Board shall send to her by registered mail a copy of these findings and orders. " The Board of Trustees proceeded at once to the con- sideration of the communication from Mrs. Stetson, in the light of what had occurred at the Boston conference, held the week previous. It is proper to state, however, that no authenticated copy of the foregoing "Findings and Orders" was ever filed with the Board of Trustees of this branch church. Mrs. Stetson's communication to the Board contained the statement that she absented herself voluntarily from the Report of Board of Trustees 509 meeting. A member of the Board suggested the propriety of Mr. Strickler and Miss Young absenting themselves from the executive sessions of this Board, while the ques- tions submitted in these communications were under con- sideration. Mr. Strickler, replying thereto, stated that this proposal met with his entire approval and that he would stand ready to give any information at his command to aid the Board in dealing with the matters before it. Miss Young stated that she was willing to do what the Board of Trustees desired her to do in the matter of withdrawing. Mr. Strickler and Miss Young then withdrew from the meeting. At this same meeting (October ist) a resolution was approved by the Board that the Directors of The Mother Church be requested to supply a complete copy of the evidence taken in Boston, for the use of the Board of Trustees of this branch church in the conduct of this inquiry. This resolution was communicated to the Direc- tors of The Mother Church in a letter dated October i, 1909, which reads as follows: October i, iqoq. The Chairman of the Board of Directors, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Mass, Gentlemen: — On Friday last, when six of this Board of Trustees had the pleasure, upon your invitation, of meeting the Board of Directors of The Mother Church informally in Boston, it transpired that a great deal of testimony had been taken from some twenty-five of the practitioners who have been associated with this branch church. This testimony, as outlined by Judge Smith, appeared to be of a serious nature; but as a bare outline of only some of the testimonies was given by him, you will recall that a request was then made for a copy of ail the testi- monies. Judpe Smith said he would rather not let ,.- 5IO Report of Board of Trustees it be given out tintil further action was determined upon. Since then, action has been taken by your Board, involving one who is not only a member of this branch church, but a member of this Board of Trustees. Therefore, having in view our duty in the premises to properly consider this matter, we now make request that this Board be promptly furnished with copies of the examination of and testi- mony given {in any manner) by each and every member of this church who was called upon to appear before the Directors in the investigation relating to ^'the teachings and practices in First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City,'' or in any man- ner relating to the teachings and practices of any of its members. In view of your recent assurance that it is your desire, as it is surely ours, to come into closer under- standing with each other, we feel no doiibt but that you will see the wisdom and justice of granting this, under the circumstances, most reasonable request. Judge Smith said on Friday last, ''Let the pre- sent occasion be taken as an overture made on the part of the Directors of The Mother Church towards the branch church in New York City. Let nothing in the way of formality, or form, or anything of that sort, interfere with the endeavor to come into closer understanding.** Anticipating, therefore, an early and favorable response, we are, Sincerely yours, The Board of Trustees of First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. By (Signed) Edwin F. Hatfield, Chairman. John D. Higgins, Clerk. This request was not granted, as is shown by their reply of October 4th, which reads as follows: Report of Board of Trustees 511 The Christian Science Board of Directors OF THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST. SCIENTIST, Norway, Falmouth & St. Paul Sts. Boston, Mass. Office of the Secretary October 4, igog. The Board of Trustees of First Church of Christ, Scientist, of New York City, No. i West g6th Street, New York City. Gentlemen:— We are in receipt of your letter of the 1st inst. and regret the attitude which it reveals. Your letter seems to indicate that you think you have no duty to perform unless it he to review and pass upon the action of this Board. You have been informed of certain irregular practices of members in your church, disclosed by an investigation conducted by this Board, and these same facts are as open to you as they were to us; moreover, the lamentable conditions which exist and which have existed for a long time are within the personal knowledge of the Chairman of your Boards the two Readers, who are ex-officio members thereof ^ and many other persons whom we did not summon. What you should do is to obtain the testimony of these people and do your duty. Under the circumstances this Board calls upon you to wake up to the serious- ness of the situation, make your own investigation and act without fear or favor. Very respectfully, Christian Science Board of Directors. By (Signed) J. V. Dittemore, Secretary. On the same day that this letter was received, October 5th, the Committee appointed to prepare a plan of pro- cedure for the inquiry, made its report, based on the assump- tion that Mrs. Stetson, Mr. Strickler and Miss Young 512 Report of Board of Trustees would absent themselves from the meetings of the Board, in accordance with the action taken on the day the Com- mittee on Procedure was appointed. The Inquiry was accordingly commenced on this basis, and all the former Reading Room practitioners were requested to appear before the Board of Trustees, at the Board Room at 4 o'clock P.M. on October 12th. They all responded at the time and place appointed and were informed of the inquiry and of the wishes of the Board of Trustees in regard thereto, by the reading of the fol- lowing document: ANNOUNCEMENT. "Recent events have imposed upon this Board the duty of inquiring into the conditions and practices that have obtained in this branch of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Mass. "It is requested that during this inquiry you will not discuss with each other, or with any other persons, either the fact of the inquiry being in progress, the facts out of which it arises, or what would be proper evidence in such an inquiry. You are requested also not to discuss the proper action of the Board, but to keep constantly in mind the fact that there is only one Mind, manifested always in each and every idea of God, and that no other mind exists or can appear or express itself through any one connected with this inquiry. Also that each person concerned in this inquiry is a manifestation of that Mind and is governed by divine Principle. "Without prejudicing his testimony, any witness may "'declare the spiritual facts, even w^hen recounting the occur- rences under investigation, thus aiding the Board to ascer- tain the occurrences and to administer any discipline found just and proper, without unduly fixing in consciousness Report of Board of Trustees 513 any falsities that may have been beHeved and declared by any one heretofore. "You will be questioned, not only as to occurrences, but regarding the teachings of Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson and Reverend Mary Baker Eddy. "You will all await the further call of the Board, each in the room formerly occupied as a practitioner's office in the church. Miss Colton and Mr. Verrall using the rooms on the mezzanine floor which they formerly occupied. You will each be called to appear individually before the Board. While you await this call, the following books are commended to your careful consideration: The Bible, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science and the Manual of The Mother Church." Thereupon, Mr. Strickler protested in writing against the Board's proceeding with the inquiry in the absence from the meetings of both Readers. In order to get the benefit, at the outset, of all that Mr. Strickler might have to say, he was called as the first witness, on Tuesday, October 12th. Notwithstanding the protest previously made, Mr. Strickler appeared before the Board and began to give his testimony. Before the meeting of the following day, and before the conclusion of Mr. Strickler's testimony, a second written protest was made by Mr. Strickler against the further pro- gress of this inquiry, during the absence of both Readers from the meetings of the Board. In order that there might be no doubt whatever as to the regularity of the proceedings, it was deemed best to call a meeting of the Board of Trus- tees to consider this matter. Such a meeting was held on October 14th, all the members of the Board being present, including Mr. Strickler and Miss Young, the ex-officio members. Thereupon the Board of Trustees appointed a Committee of Inquiry composed of all the members of the Board except Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, and the two Read- 514 Report of Board of Trustees ers of this branch church who have no right to vote at Board meetings, even though present. The Committee thus appointed was composed of the following persons: Edwin F. Hatfield, Chairman John Franklin Crowell, Secretary Mrs. Suzanne S. Thomas Mrs. Isabelle C. Dam Joseph B. Whitney Adolph Rusch Wm. H. Taylor John D. Higgins Something should here be said regarding the legality, as well as the propriety of this course. As to the propriety, the members of the Board of Trustees were unanimous in desiring to conduct the inquiry, without either Mrs. Stetson, Mr. Strickler, or Miss Young being present during the ex- amination of the other witnesses, and yet so as to procure all testimony that would lead to a just and righteous judg-' ment. The course pursued accomplished both these pur- poses. Mrs. Stetson and Mr. Strickler were both fully heard at the beginning of the inquiry. The Committee then had the benefit of all Air. Strickler wished to say before proceeding with examination of the other witnesses. As to the legality; the By-Laws of this branch church vest in the Board of Trustees, and in the First Reader, co-ordinate rights (Article xi, Section i), in the adminis-.: tration of the church discipline. Either the First Reader or the Board of Trustees" may initiate the action with a view to discipHne. Air. Strickler had been in possession for many months of the chief alleged facts upon which this inquiry was initiated by the Board of Trustees on October ist, only a few days after the Board was officially informed of the things complained of. Having initiated the inquiry, the Board of Trustees had the right to prose- cute it according to its judgment. Mr. Strickler mentioned Report of Board of Trustees 515 some of the alleged facts to a member of the Board of Trustees in August. That member thereupon informed Mr. Strickler that the matter was a proper one for him (Mr. Strickler) to bring officially to the attention 'of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Strickler did not then bring the matter to the attention of the Board of Trustees of this branch church, though he attended two meetings of the Board after that conversation, prior to the time when the Directors of The Mother Church moved in the matter. Indeed Mr. Strickler has never brought the matter to the attention of the Board of Trustees officially. It came before the Board by Mrs. Stetson's initiative, taken Sep- tember 26th, the day she received the letter above referred to from the Secretary of the Christian Science Board of Directors. Before the appointment of the Committee of Inquiry, the Board of Trustees considered carefully a phase of the pending question which was of prime importance, though of a preliminary character, namely, the question of the re- spective jurisdictions of The Mother Church and of this branch church in respect to the matters under consideration. While the Board of Trustees was duly considering this grave question, not previously raised in the history of this branch church, accusations that the Board was derelict in or oblivious to its duty, were heard on various sides, and from sources which might have been expected to manifest a more scientific attitude. These accusations were voiced even from the witness chair by persons who are within the jurisdiction of this branch church, and who were at that time before the constituted authorities, sitting in their official character, and therefore representing our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, and responsible to her and to God for the righteousness of their conduct and judgment. The giving of due consideration to this question of jurisdiction, and to certain constitutional questions connected therewith has enabled the Board and the Committee of Inquiry to 5i6 Report of Board of Trustees see more clearly the way of duty and to walk therein, and thus to avoid trespassing upon the rights of the constituted authorities of The Mother Church, and of individual mem- bers of this branch church. This consideration was so helpful to the Board and to the Committee in prosecuting this inquiry, that a concise statement of this phase of the matter seems to be proper at this point. f In her unfailing and ever watchful wisdom, our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, has organized her Church so that The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, has complete and perfect authority in the jurisdiction defined for it in the Christian Science Manual. Branch churches are also perfectly self-govern- ing within the jurisdiction granted to them by the same Church Manual and by the same authority; namely, Mary Baker Eddy. It is as imperative that the branch churches protect their rights and perform their duties within the realm marked out in the Manual for them, as it is that The Mother Church officers protect the rights and perform the duties imposed upon them. In this way only can the kingdom of God and of His Christ be effectually established among men. For either of these authorities to neglect the proper performance of their respective duties, or to trespass upon the province of the other, would be diso- bedience to our beloved Leader on the part of Officers, Directors, Trustees, or Readers, whether of The Mother Church or of a branch church. The duty and the spiritual benefit of obedience are the same in both cases, and the consequences of disobeying are inevitable; whatever may seem to be the relative impor- tance of the duties imposed upon one or the other authority. As this is a branch church, the supreme question confronting its constituted authorities and also its members is, first, to gain a perfect understanding of, and then faithfully to per-;- Report of Board of Trustees 517 form its own duties irrespective of what other authorities or persons may or m.ay not do. Branch churches in their corporate capacity must pre- suppose the faithful performance of duty by The AI other Church officials in matters concerning only individual mem- bers of The Mother Church. Each church must do its own duty in the light of the facts laid before it, and of its own understanding of our beloved Leader's teaching and practice of Christian Science. The Directors of The Mother Church have no author- ity to review the action of a branch church in a matter falling within the jurisdiction of the branch church. The constituted authorities of the branch church have no right to review the action of the Directors of The Mother Church, in a matter falling within the jurisdiction of that church. Branch churches have no jurisdiction over teaching. Therefore, the question whether any person shall or shall not teach Christian Science cannot properly come before a branch church. The authorities of this branch church are bound to judge according to the evidence before them, and in accord- ance with the law as laid down in the Bible, the Manual, ** Science and Health," and in Mrs. Eddy's other writings. In the formation of this judgment, the findings and orders of the authorities of The Mother Church cannot properly be taken into account, for judging either in accordance therewith or contrary thereto. The authorities of The Mother Church have no right or power to interfere with the affairs falling within the jurisdiction of a branch church. Neither have the individuals who happen at the moment to be the authorities of The Mother Church any such right, either as individuals or as officials. This is clear from Article xxiii, Sections i, 3 and 10 of The Mother- Church Manual. 5i8 Report of Board of Trustees Article XXIII, Section i, on "Local Self-government," reads in part as follows: "The Mother Church of Christ, Scientist, shall assume no general official control of other churches, and it shall be controlled by none other. Each Church of Christ, Scientist, shall have its own form of government." Article XXIII, Section 3, forbids a branch church to adopt the Manual of The Mother Church, thus compelling them to adopt such By-Laws for their own self-government as may be necessary or desirable to supplement the pro- visions of The Mother Church Manual, applicable to branch churches. Article XXIII, Section 10, on "No Interference," says in part as follows : "In Christian Science each branch church shall be distinctly democratic in its government, and no individual, and no other church shall interfere with its affairs." Having in view these general principles regarding the respective jurisdictions of The Mother Church and of branch churches and the rules of the Manual applicable to the matters under consideration, the members of this branch church can more easily comprehend the report of the Com- mittee of Inquiry, now to be submitted as the Report of the Board of Trustees. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. This Committee was appointed by virtue of the reso- lutions approved by the Board of Trustees at a meeting held October 14, 1909, all the members of the Board being Report of Board of Trustees 519 present; also Mr. Virgil 0. Strickler and Miss Ella G. Young, First and Second Readers, respectively, of this branch church. The Committee organized on the day of its appointment, by electing Mr. Edwin F. Hatfield as Chairman, and Dr. John Franklin Crowell as Secretary. The Committee has not ceased since that day to devote itself to the duties that devolved upon it; though the members of the Committee were all preoccupied with their personal and business problems, it was found possible to hold two sessions daily except Sunday. Some sessions were held on Sunday, there being in all thirty-five sessions, during which over 1,000 pages of typewritten testimony were taken. Every member of the Committee was present at practically all the sessions, except Mrs. Suzanne S. Thomas, whose residence is not in New York City, and whose family ties imposed upon her certain duties of an imperative character during the progress of the inquiry, which made it impossible for Mrs. Thomas to attend the sessions regularly. The Committee is unanimous in the following state- ment of facts, deduced from the evidence before it: I. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, is a loyal branch of The Mother Church, and is an organic part of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, founded by Mary Baker Eddy, and of which she is the perpetual head. II. Error cannot work through any person to sep- arate this branch church from The Mother Church, or to separate loyal members of this branch church from our beloved Leader or from any one who is conquering error and manifesting the Christ-mind more and more. III. This branch church derives its existence and also its rights from the action of Mary Baker Eddy, and recognizes her as supreme in spiritual leadership. IV. This branch church has grown, in a little more 520 Report of Board of Trustees than two decades, from a small beginning to its present proportions, notwithstanding the fact that a number of Mrs. Eddy's students, who were members at its organiza- tion or in the early days of its existence, withdrew from its membership, and formed other branch churches in this city, while this branch church was still young in years, few in numbers, and apparently feeble in power. V. The same character of opposition which manifested itself toward this church through those who withdrew from its membership and fonned other branch churches in this city, subsequently manifested itself in other parts of the country and has widened and intensified itself up to this present time. Proof of this fact is in the possession of this branch church. VI. This opposition persistently formulated and assiduously circulated false reports regarding this branch church, Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, and other of its mem- bers. This circulation of falsehoods still continues. VII. These reports were given currency, even in Christian vScience circles. When directed against Mrs. Stetson they included charges of personal ambition, per- sonal control, malpractice, hypnotism, mesmerism, etc., even to the extent of disloyalty to the Cause and to Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, by entertaining the expectation of robbing Mrs. Eddy of her position as the Leader of Christian Science. When directed against this church, these reports were more vague, but were of a corresponding character, such as love of material wealth and power, ambition to over- shadow The Mother Church, subjection to personal control, mesmerism, h3qDnotism, etc. These reports periodically re-embodied themselves during the past two decades, varying from time to time, but never losing their false character of holding Mrs. Stetson, this branch church, or some of its members in error, more or less grave. Report of Board of Trustees 521 VIII. These false reports were engendered and developed by malicious animal magnetism, which is the opposite and the opponent of Christian Science, and they were circulated by persons who did not properly protect themselves against aggressive mental suggestion, as en- joined by our beloved Leader in The Mother Church Manual, Article viii, Section 6. IX. The widespread circulation of these unwar- ranted reports throughout the Christian Science Field, has kept many persons away from this branch church who would otherwise have come to its services and extended the right hand of Christian Science fellowship to its members. X. Loyal to our beloved Leader and to the truth of being, this branch church and its loyal members have fought the good fight of faith, and have not despaired of the day when the members of this branch church will all be recognized by their brothers of other Christian Science churches, as made in the image and likeness of God, and as manifesting the Christ-mind, instead of in subjection to error in its aggressive and hideous forms. XI. It is the purpose of this branch church to obey the By-Laws that have recently been promulgated, also all By-Laws that may hereafter be lawfully promulgated, even as it has heretofore obeyed the existing By-Laws, as under- stood by the constituted authorities of this branch church. XII. Although this inquiry included general con- ditions prevailing in this branch church, it soon became apparent that the conditions alleged in evidence taken were almost entirely confined to what had been done and said in practitioners' meetings, and to their effect upon the general body of the church. For this reason the hear- ings were preeminently occupied with the part played by the persons directly participating in these meetings. 522 Report of Board of Trustees XIII. This assemblage of practitioners appears never to have had any formal authorization. It simply grew up out of the common desire of persons similarly occupied to benefit by regular association for mutual improvement, and we find that there is quite general agreement among witnesses as to what took place in these meetings, but that there is a fundamiental difference in the attitude of witnesses toward statements made and occurrences that took place at said meetings. During the past year Mrs. Stetson made nimierous mental defenses against hostile manifestations toward this branch chturch, as well as toward herself. With regard to these defenses, practitioners appear to have grouped themselves into two classes. Nineteen practi- tioners consider them as justifiable, defensive declarations in handling error. Four or five now appear to have re- garded this kind of defense as amounting to malpractice upon persons whose names were mentioned. To the smaller group of witnesses the use of persons' names without knowl- edge or consent is the distinguishing mark of malpractice; the larger group insists that self-defense against mental aggression of known personal agency is a legitimate and indispensable method of maintaining their position against mental assassination and as efficient practitioners in Chris- tian Science. The evidence plainly discloses that Mrs. Stet- son's teaching and practice were clear on the fundamental differences between treatment and self-defense against aggressive mental malpractice. XIV. All practitioners agree that the treatment of a person in whose relations to them the aggressive men- tal attitude is wanting is always conditioned upon the person's knowledge or consent, and that unless this con- senting condition is present, the attempt is malpractice. This has been their uniform teaching. XV. This Committee finds, therefore, that there are these two conceptions extant in this church of what Report of Board of Trustees 523 constitutes proper self-defense in the handling of error. A large majority of the witnesses called are positive in their statements: — (i) That the use of names of absentees was con- fined to the handling of aggressive mental suggestion in the effort to defend this branch church organization and its members against malpractice from without its fold. (2) That in no case where mental aggression was wanting, were the names of persons ever used by Mrs. Stet- son in handling error in these meetings." Nor did she teach such uses. On the contrary, she taught that such use of names would be unwarranted invasions of the mentalities of innocent persons, and hence malpractice. Al- though one or two of the witnesses testified that the aggres- sive mental relation was wrongly assumed by Mrs. Stetson to exist, a majority of witnesses agreed that Mrs. Stetson had ample knowledge of aggressive mental suggestions, attacks or hostile acts on the part of persons where names were taken up by her in defense of this branch church and of herself. In view of the widespread hostility gen- erally pervading the Field, resulting from misrepresenta- tions regarding this branch church, and the activity of disaffected ex-members of the church, the fact of aggressive mental attitude was placed beyond dispute. XVI. We find that Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson has not manifested resentment nor malice toward any of the Directors or Officers of The Mother Church or the Publishing Society, or toward any other person. XVII. We find that Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson has manifested in a marked degree the divine love enjoined by Jesus Christ, and by our beloved Leader, which loves enemies, prays for those that despitefully use and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for Christ's sake. i- 524 Report of Board of Trustees XVIII. Personal control, as alleged in our hearings, appears in most complaints to amount to nothing more than advice given against or in favor of courses of conduct, acts or relations that were deemed prejudicial or otherwise to the individual's welfare. The habit had grown, upon the other hand, among some, of bringing to Mrs. Stetson such personal matters as had no reasonable ground for any proper claim to her attention. Practitioners are re- peatedly appealed to for advice in domestic and business affairs, and acting on such advice is sometimes characterized as "personal control." In the treatment of patients, such cases have been reported as advising persons to leave their employers, on the ground that the relation stood in the way of the person's spiritual safety or of the patient's recovery. In other cases, it was alleged of some that they were not entirely free in selecting their places of abode, because of being warned against associating with others who were opposed to the teachings of Christian Science, or were known to be disloyal to this church. Several objected to the rule which discouraged absences or lateness at practitioners* meetings as being personal control. There were a few complaints at not feeling free to visit other churches in this city during times of service in our own church. Finally, there was the allegation that undue influ- ence was attempted, altho^^gh the allegations are not wholly in accord with statements in other parts of testimony given. XIX. Practically all of the cases of alleged control were not regarded as objectionable at the time, but appear to have been so viewed later. The attitude of the com- plainer, in probably no individual case, amounted to an abdication of personal responsibility by reason of any attempt at control, of which the facts are known. On the contrary, the net weight of evidence is preeminently to the effect that so-called control by practitioners and by Mrs. Stetson was welcomed rather than resisted. To per- sons of spiritual discernment, the intuitive foresight of the Report of Board of Trustees 525 competent practitioner, balanced by common sense in re- gard to human matters, has undoubtedly had the effect in this church of developing the moral fibre and strength- ening the moral force of individual character. Instances of actual personal control are comparatively insignificant in proportion to the advantages derived from the mental and moral cooperation of practitioner and patient, or of teacher and student in this church. XX. This church has always borne its share of the burden of establishing and extending the Cause of Christian Science in this city and State. Whatever its shortcomings may have been or are now, it has not sulked in its tents when the enemies of the Truth made attack. It has neither been niggard with its energies nor its resources in defending its fellow workers under prosecution for exercising the rights and liberties of the sons of God in the healing ministry. Notably, as its official records show, it has contributed liberally to such' expensive prosecutions as the White Plains case, in which Mr. John C. Lathrop, of Second Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, was the defendant in one case, and John M. Goodwin in another; also more recently to expensive litigation in a neighboring portion of New Jersey, where the local membership was ill prepared to bear the burden alone. XXI. This defensive service extended to the halls of the State Legislature, to which, whenever occasion re- quired, men and women from among our membership were ready to give unsparing efforts to guarantee to Christian Scientists their Constitutional rights as God-fearing citizens of this State and nation. The battles fought in legislative committees by representatives of this branch church were fought in behalf of the entire Field, because of the lead which this State has long taken in legislative progress on new issues such as are raised by the advent of a new-old 526 Report of Board of Trustees religious power in the life of the people. Not boastingly, therefore, but rejoicing in the privilege of service, has this branch church caused public opinion to respect its voice in demanding the recognition of the rights of religious worship and spiritual workers in Christian Science. XXII. In the relations of the membership of this church with nearby churches in Christian Science, the measure of fellowship, according to evidence presented, has been somewhat limited by the fact that, to no incon- siderable extent has the membership of other local branch churches been made up of persons who, for reasons deemed sufficient to themselves, have withdrawn from this church. Where those reasons were of a protesting character, the conditions of further fellowship were not entirely favorable on account of the attitude of outgoing members. Finally, there is no doubt that estrangements of membership from this church have contributed a considerable contingent of disaffected brethen to the other branch churches of Greater New York and vicinity. Under the circumstances, what- ever the causes may have been, it is in evidence that the progress of Christian fellowship was from this particular source not generally strengthened. XXIII. Among the complaints alleged for with- drawals of disaffected persons, were criticisms of teaching, undue personal control, favoritism, and similar representa- tions of an unofficial character, which were never brought to the attention of the authorities by any one willing to vouch for them as charges. There is probably no large religious congregation where similar conditions are not constantly present. It must needs be that offences come, and where the standard of spiritual growth and the require- ments of individual effort are such as to demand little for self but much for the Cause, there is apt to be a fall- ing away where faith and strength are not vital enough to hold the members in unity of purpose and spiritual power. Report of Board of Trustees 527 XXIV. We find, therefore, that it has been always assumed that every member of this branch church has had ample work within the fold of its own body to occupy the attention of any one desiring to grow. For that reason, occasional visits to other church services were discouraged. Instead of being a fault to discourage fellowship of this particular character, general religious judgment would no doubt regard it as a proof of fidelity to the vows of membership. XXV. In more particular respects, one of the chief complaints is that the members of this church have been taught that this is the only legitimate Christian Science church in New York City. The denials of this allegation compare with the affirmations of it as about four to one. The actual relations likewise disprove the truth of the claim that such is the view accepted in general among our members. On the contrary, there could be no such measure of good will as actually exists, if such a view as that were current in the members' conception of relations with other churches. The Committee therefore finds that any such allegations affecting church relations have not been sus- tained. XXVI. In the testimony taken by this Committee a class of allegations occurs of a rather different character from those involving malpractice, personal control, and relations to other churches. These allege the existence of wrongful attitudes towards human relations, particularly the marriage relation, the parental relation, and the relations of the sexes generally. In teaching the spiritual precepts of the Christian Scriptures, emphasis has been laid upon certain aspects of the human relations with a disquieting effect upon some hearers. But it is impossible to teach Christian Science without some such attendant effects. Indeed, the rule in Christian Science which must govern the efforts of individuals to spiritualize their characters and purify their relations, requires that they emerge out of the 528 Report of Board of Trustees consciousness occupied with the minding of the flesh which leads to death, and into that minding of the spirit which demonstrates Life eternal. XXVII. We find that the teachings relating to the human relations, as such teaching has been given in practi- tioners' meetings, have not been in any essential respect different from those presented in the Chapter on Marriage in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, and in other writings of hers, in her books and periodical articles. There is no evidence presented that Mrs. Stetson's teaching to her classes, in her public addresses in the church, or in her associations with the congregation, has departed from Christian Science teachings, nor has her influence been anything other than an encouragement to the moral and spiritual improvement of men and women as individuals in their dutiful relations one with another under rightful human arrangement. And the Committee does so find. XXVIII. The effect of Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson's teaching and example upon persons who are now members of this branch church is proven to be as follows: (a) To promote in a marked degree the moral and spiritual progress of the members of this branch church, {h) To free great numbers of them from sickness and sin to which they were in bondage previous to their coming in touch with her. {c) To enable many of them to acquire such an understand- ing of Christian Science, such a love and loyalty to Mary Baker Eddy, and such consecration and obedience to God, divine Principle, that they too have been enabled to free many of their fellow men from sin and sickness in their various phases, {d) To secure for those who heeded her teaching and example, present liberation from previous personal contagion or control, and an ever increasing exer- cise of the freedom of the sons of God — those who realize that they are really made in the image and likeness of Report of Board of Trustees 529 Spirit; and are therefore not material, but spiritual; not mortal, but immortal. XXIX. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, is the outgrowth in the main of Mrs. Stetson's efforts toward the establishment of the Cause in this city, in cooperation with persons who have been turned by her influence and that of her students into the path of Christian Science. No words seem more appropriate than those in the two following letters, one addressed to Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson personally, for placing in the comer-stone of this building; the other addressed to Mrs. Stetson, Mr. Hatfield, and others, when the labors of building this church edifice were successfully ended, and the necessity for its proper protection had come: Pleasant View, Concord, N. H. To Mrs. A . E, Stetson: Beneath this corner-stone, in this silent, sacred sanctuary of earth's sweet songs, pceans oj praise and records of Omnipotence, I leave my name with thine . in unity and love. {Signed) Mary Baker G. Eddy. November J oth, i8gg. Pleasant View, Concord, N. H. December ^d, iQoj. Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, First Reader; Gentlemen, Edwin F. Hatfield, Adolph Rusch, William H. Taylor, Steuart C. Row- bo tham, John D. Higgiyis. Beloved Students: — Your telegram in which you present to me the princely gift of your magnificent church edifice in New York City is an unexpected token of your gratitude and love. I deeply appre- 530 Report of Board of Trustees date it, profoundly thank you for it, and gratefully accept the spirit of it; but I must decline to receive that for which you have sacrificed so much, and labored so long. May divine Love abundantly bless you, reward you according to your works, guide and guard you and your church through the depths; and may you " Who stood the storm when seas were rough, Ne'er in a sunny hour fall off. " Lovingly yours in Christ, {Signed) Mary Baker G. Eddy. In conclusion, your Board of Trustees desires to assure the congregation that at all times the interest of this branch church will be fully protected, and that all questions which have arisen in regard to the proper practice of Chris- tian Science in this branch church, will be finally and properly settled, in accordance with our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy's, teaching and practice of Christian Science, before the Board of Trustees of this branch church ceases to take every possible step for the accomplishment of this end. (Signed) Edwin F. Hatfield, Chairman. (Signed) John Franklin Crowell, Secretary. For Committee of Inquiry. The foregoing Report was submitted by said Com- mittee to the Board of Trustees on the 4th day of Novem- ber, 1909, and duly approved by said Board, and ordered presented to the meeting of the church held on said Novem- ber 4th, 1909. (Signed) Edwin F. Hatfield, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. (Signed) John D. Higgins, Clerk. CHAPTER XII THE FINDINGS AND ORDERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE MOTHER CHURCH EXPLAINED. There should be no schism in the body. — i Corinthians xii., 25. Adversary. An adversary is one who opposes, denies, disputes, not one who constructs and sustains reahty and Truth. — Science and Health, p. 580. THE controversy between the Directors of The Mother Church and myself and some of my stu- dents, resulted in the folio v^ing ''Findings and Orders" which the Directors made against me on September 25, 1909,' in an attempt to deprive me of my right to teach and practise Christian Science. I . That Mrs. Stetson teaches her students, or those with whom she has been holding daily meetings, that the branch Church of Christ, Scientist, of which she is a member, is the only legitimate Christian Science church in New York City ; and she teaches her students, or said group of students, not to regard the other branches of The Mother Church which are in that city as Christian Science churches. This is not a true statement of the facts. In reply to it I will explain: First Church of Christ, Scientist, ' A peculiar phenomenon occurred on this day, September 25, 1909. The newspapers reported that telegraphic and cable communications were cut off. For the space of half an hour a great silence reigned in all telegraph offices. 531 532 Findings and Orders of Mother Church New York City, over which I was placed b}^ Mrs. Eddy in 1887, and was later ordained as pastor, is the original Christian Science church in New York City. I remain as spiritual head of this church in all its history. Certain members went out from First Church and organized Second Church, when the membership of First Church was only about sixty, and we worshiped in a small hall. A short time afterward other members separated from First Church, while First Church was still few in numbers and holding services in a small hall. They organized Third Church. Members of Second Church separated very soon (less than a year) after Second Church was organized, and taking a part of the members of Second Church, organized Fourth Church. Those who started Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist, also separated themselves from Second Church during the building of Second Church edifice, and took with them a part of Second Church membership. Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist, was formed from members of Fourth Church, who separated while Fourth Church was worshiping in a hall. With the exception of First Church, only one of these churches has built an edifice. I have always deplored schisms. The members of a church should unite in building up a church-body until they provide their own church edifice, and should worship together in unity and love until, through growth in numbers and from lack of seating accommo- dation, they are compelled to form another branch of The Mother Church. This outgrowing branch should continue to increase in numbers until it in turn builds an edifice for its members. This is divine law and order. Multiplication of branches of The Mother Church is legitimate Christian Science demonstration. Findings and Orders of Mother Church 533 Division of branch churches is not Christian Science demonstration. In explaining this to my students, I had remarked that the churches in New York City should have fol- lowed this divine order. The several churches when chartered by the State were legal, from a material standpoint, but they were not legitimate from a spiritual standard, because they were schismatic. This I explained to the Directors during my " trial " in Boston, but they seemed incapable of understanding the differ- ence between a legitimate Christian Science Church, and a church founded by seceders, which St. Paul warned against when he said: ''There should be no schism in the body " (i Cor. xii., 25). Again he says: Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, . . . that there are contentions among you (i Cor. i., 10, II). The definition of ''Schism" given by the Standard Dictionary is: A division or splitting up of a church into factions or opposing bodies because of difference on questions of belief or administration. It was my duty to teach my students divine law and order, to live in unity and love with the brethren, and to discourage all schismatic tendencies in themselves and in others. I still adhere to my teaching on the subject of schisms, and condemn contention and lawlessness. I also contend that each branch church 534 Findings and Orders of Mother Church should make its own individual demonstration of a church edifice. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, remained together in unity and love, and made a true demonstration in building its edifice; its own members alone supplying the love, the labor, and the money. 2. That a considerable number of the witnesses whose testimony the Directors have heard, exhibit as Mrs. Stetson's teaching an erroneous sense of Christian Science, particu- larly in regard to the appHcation of Christian Science to human needs and conditions; the witnesses whom the Directors have heard being with one exception her students, and being a select body of students chosen by her, or a board of which she was a member, to be representative practition- ers of Christian Science. This "Finding," that my teaching of Christian Science was erroneous, was the opinion of the Directors of The Mother Church, by whose standard alone I was judged. Science and Health, and Mrs. Eddy's other writings corroborate my teaching. Her own words regarding my interpretation of Christian Science are to be found in her letters to me which I am prepared to produce. Students of Mrs. Eddy's books will event- ually decide as to the correctness of my teaching. The Directors of The Mother Church frequently charged that I regarded myself as God's idea and that I taught my students so to regard themselves. The Directors considered m.y affirmation that I was im- mortal as unscientific, and that it was not in accord with Mrs. Eddy's teachings. My students and I contended for immortality here and now. The Directors' con- tention was for mortality now, and the demonstration of immortality as a future possibility. They decided Findings and Orders of Mother Church 535 that because of our declaration of God's allness, and of our spiritual birthright, and immortal conscious- ness here, now, and forever, that we were not Christian Scientists. Our explanation that we had chosen to work out our problem of divine metaphysics according to the scien- tific facts of being — as found in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures and our beloved Leader's other writings — that divine Mind created all; that there is but one Mind, God, and that we are mental beings, spiritual ideas of God, had no effect upon the Directors, who persistently declared that we were mortal, and that they were mortal, that it was absurd for us to claim immortality now. We argued that we could not make a demonstration of Christian Science by admitting both mortality and immortality as real. They did not seem to understand that there is but one Mind — eternal Life — and that man is a spiritual, mental being proceeding from, and reflecting this one Mind or God; but to them there seemed to be two minds — evil and good. They contended for the reality of evil, and looked in the centuries to come for good, God, to be demonstrated through man. They could not understand that a Christian Scientist should use the Word of God now, as Jesus did, to destroy evil thought ; but considered that if one addressed a human mentality who was voicing impersonal evil it must be to injure. There appeared to be no understanding of metaphysics or the power of the God-thought, which destroys evil thoughts. The}^ would not admit the Christian Scientists' privilege to speak the Word of Truth to error which was working through an individual to injure another. It was useless to reason with them on the point of self-defence against malpractice. 53^ Findings and Orders of Mother Church The Directors have never been able to explain, nor have I ever understood their ''Finding" regarding my ''application of Christian Science to human needs and conditions, " and I do not now know what this means. My application of Christian Science "to human needs and conditions" has been proved in thousands of cases of physical healing of disease; in thousands of cases of moral healing, through the reformation of the sinner, and in the building up of First Church of Christ, Scien- tist, New York City, through twenty -five years of preaching, teaching, and the practice of Christian Science; and, finally, by safely sheltering my flock in a church edifice, which stands as a tribute of love and gratitude to our beloved Leader and Teacher, Mrs. Eddy. This church edifice was built at a cost of one million, two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and it was dedicated free of debt as soon as completed. 3. That Mrs. Stetson endeavors to exercise a control over her students which tends to hinder their moral and spiritual growth. I have never taken personal control of my students. As their teacher, I realized my responsibility when they seemed to need special help ; but I always directed them to Principle, and away from my physical personality. I have always faithfully carried out Mrs. Eddy's instruc- tions to her student-teachers, which may be found in the Manual of The Mother Church, Article xxvi, Section 2, which reads as follows: A teacher shall not assume personal control of, or attempt to dominate his pupils, but he shall hold himself morally obligated to promote their progress in the understanding of divine Principle, not only during the class term but after Findings and Orders of Mother Church 537 ^^5 it, and to watch well that they prove sound in sentiment and practical in Christian Science. He shall persistently and patiently counsel his pupils in conformity with the unerring laws of God, and shall enjoin them habitually to study the Scriptures and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures as a help thereto. Similar instructions are found in her other writings. The influence of my thought, spiritualized by con- stant communion with God in my healing work, in service to my church for many years, and in the over- coming of error in myself through the operation of Truth and Love in my consciousness, could not hinder the spiritual progress of my students. Again let me quote my Leader and Teacher, Mrs. Eddy, as authority for the care of my students. . . . we see Jesus ministering to the spiritual needs of all who placed themselves under his care, always leading them into the divine order, under the sway of his own perfect understanding. His power over others was spiritual, not corporeal. To the students whom he had chosen, his im- mortal teaching was the bread of Life {Retrospection and Introspection, p. 91). Upon using this quotation as authority for the care of my students, one of the Directors asked me : ''What has Jesus' work to do with you? Do you put yourself on the plane with Jesus?" I answered: ''No; but he is the Way-shower, and our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, urges us to follow him. I must emulate his example. If we are his disciples we must obey his words 'Follow me.' " So far as I have demonstrated wisdom, truth, and love, I have guided my students according to the teachings of the Master and my Leader, Mary Baker Eddy. Did Jesus take personal control of his students? Does a 538 Findings and Orders of Mother Church teacher of a college or institute take personal control of those who are under his personal instruction when he requires a demonstration of a problem which they are investigating? I have been the principal of the New York City Christian Science Institute for many years, and have conscientiously taught and spiritually guided those who placed themselves under my care. I obeyed, and continue to obey the teaching and example of my Teacher and Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, who has faithfully watched my development in Chris- tian Science, and by personal counsel and frequent letters to me, during twenty-five years, has been a faith- ful way-shower to immortality — eternal Life. Like the great Exemplar, Jesus the Christ, she has proved herself a watchful shepherd to her flock — a spiritual guide to health, happiness, and an endless life. 4. That Mrs. Stetson endeavors to obtrude herself upon the attention of her students in such manner as to turn their attention away from divine Principle. This "Finding" seems to be a repetition of the third, which I have already answered. Let the unprejudiced and the just who know of my life and my work during twenty-five years of preaching and teaching truth in New York City, decide whether my teaching, preaching, healing, and writings could turn the attention of any away from Principle — God. "Finding 4" was again only the opinion of the Directors. We differed in our interpretation of Christian Science. 5. That Mrs. Stetson practises and teaches pretended Christian Science contrary to the statement thereof in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, par- ticularly by treating persons without their request or Findings and Orders of Mother Church 539 'fc) consent, and by teaching a select body of her students to do Hkewise. The Standard Dictionary defines "Pretend" as follows : To put forth as an excuse or pretext, or put on as a dis- guise; assume a false appearance of, as with intent to deceive; appear to do without actually doing; make insin- cere display of ; simulate. I have not practised nor taught "pretended Christian Science." I have not put on Christian Science "as a disguise. " On the contrary, I have put on the armor of Truth and Love. I have stormed sin in its bulwarks by voicing the Word of God to error, and have aroused slumbering evil in personalities, in my efforts to cast out evil thoughts — the cause of all disease and discord. Thus have I healed the sick and the sinning. I have so far fearlessly and successfully met "sin's revenge on its destroyer" {Science and Health, p. 48). Every Christian Scientist should realize his mission, that he has enlisted in a mental warfare against sin, sickness, and death. Our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, says: I thunder His law to the sinner, and sharply lighten on the cloud of the intoxicated senses. I cannot help loathing the phenomena of drunkenness produced by animality. I rebuke it wherever I see it. The vision of the Revelator is before me. The wines of fornication, envy, and hatred are the distilled spirits of evil, and are the signs of these times; ... Error will hate more as it realizes more the presence of its tormentor. I shall fulfil my mission, fight the good fight, and keep the faith {Miscellaneous Writings, pp. 277, 278). I have not appeared to do the works of healing and of 5^o Findings and Orders of Mother Church building up the Cause of Christian Science in New York City, in erecting and dedicating a church edifice as a tribute of love and gratitude to our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, and in the healing of sin and its manifestation, disease. I have actually done these works through the application of spiritual thought-force. Hundreds of my loyal students (among them many representative people of New York City) testify of this to-day. As I have before stated, my teaching of Christian Science is in consonance with Mrs. Eddy's instruction in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and her approval of my understanding of divine metaphysics is set forth in her personal autograph letters to me, covering a period of twenty-five years. The ''Finding" that I teach Christian Science by "treating persons without their request or consent" is not true, but that I address persons in self-defense "without their request or consent," and that I teach "a select body of her [my] students to do likewise," is true. This is every one's inalienable right of men- tal spiritual defense against the mental robber and assassin. I have the documentary proof in Mrs. Eddy's own handwriting that this is what she has taught. I speak the Word of God to impersonal error whenever I see it personified, and through whomsoever it is voiced. I hesitate not to use the argument that God is All, and evil is powerless, whenever I see so-called malicious animal magnetism operating through persons. I quickly detect the touch of the mental malpractitioner, who ignorantly, innocently or maliciously becomes a mouthpiece for error, and sometimes I see the person. Mrs. Eddy tells us in the third edition of Science, a?id Health, volume ii., x^age 43: "We can even now plainly Findings and Orders of Mother Church 541 see the individual with the thought or evil intent that he sends forth." To this class of mental assassins Mrs. Eddy must have referred when she said, '' I thunder His lav/ to the sinner. ... I rebuke it wherever I see it." She docs not ask the human personality who is representing evil, error, if she shall rebuke it, error, whether present or absent; but like her Master she storm.s sin in its citadel — personal embodiments — for the incorporeal evil embodies itself in the corporeal — and she keeps peace with God. One of the complaints was, that I used the names of persons in my treatment of patients. I have always done this. I was taught to use, in my treatments, the names of my patients. I have never hesitated to speak the Word of God— the Truth— to any mental argument of sin, disease, and death operating through any person- ality, especially when I knew that my own mental pre- cincts were being invaded by the mental trespasser who argued to me for the reality of evil. Truth and Love have always been my mental defense. During my " trial " by the Directors of The Mother Church, I found my accustomed refuge in '* the secret place of the most High" — my spiritual consciousness — my only shelter from the false mental arguments which were sent out against me, at times threatening to overwhelm and destroy me. The mental, audible, and published argu- ments were the reverse of m.y words and works. I was infonned by one who knew the conditions in Boston, and have his letters to this effect, that there was a determination to take my church, appropriate my work, prejudice my students, destroy my influence, and expel m-e from The Mother Church. This con- firmed the necessity of spiritual mental defense against 542 Findings and Orders of Mother Church impersonal evil working through individuals. I was God-impelled to speak to my students at the noon-day meetings for the Bible Lesson, and tell them of the gravity of the situation. The mental arguments which came to me continually from the efforts which were being carried on, to find complaints against me from disloyal students, aroused me to the necessit}^ of using the ''sword of the Spirit" — the Word of God — in defense of my spiritual understanding, my health and my life. In regard to my right to hold the noon-day meetings, which was questioned, I will quote Mrs. Eddy's own words as authority: Teachers of Christian Science will find it advisable to band together their students into associations, to continue the organization of churches, and at present they can employ any other organic operative method that may com- mend itself as useful to the Cause and beneficial to mankind {Retrospection and Introspection, p. 85). After imparting to the practitioners at the noon-day meetings the effect which these mental arguments of the reality of evil would produce on us, if they were not met by Truth and Love and made unreal to us, I told them how I should defend myself, my students, our church and the Cause of Christian Science, and advised them to argue for the reality of God — good — and for the powerlessness of aggressive mental suggestion. That they might not make any mistake in regard to their method of defense (for this was the first time in my experience in Christian Science that I had ever felt the necessity of addressing, by name, the Directors of The Mother Church to protect them and our Cause from impersonal evil, which was operating through them Findings and Orders of Mother Church 543 to overthrow me), I then gave what I should use as the counter-argument of Truth to annul the arguments of error. I spoke to the practitioners as follows: " Before I allow myself to address the Directors and others by name, that they may hear the truth that I shall speak to them, I shall commune with God, and rise into my spiritual consciousness where God will utter His words of Truth through me. I shall remain in this silent sanctuary of prayer until I realize the allness of Truth and Love, before I declare to them the truth of being, the allness of good, and the nothingness of evil. Jesus said, * When ye come into an house [mental precinct], salute it.' " The only salutation that a true Christian Scientist can use when entering the consciousness of a patient to heal him, or to address a person in self-defense, is divine, efficacious Love and Truth. I spoke the names of the persons, and addressed each of them in substance as follows: "I come to you in love. There is no power nor presence but Truth and Love. God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. Eternal Life, Tmth, and Love fill all space, and there is no other power nor presence. God made you in His own image and likeness. You are spiritual, and reflect only good to me, for God is All-presence. You are God's child — perfect, immortal consciousness. I am God's child. I reflect Life, Truth, and Love to you. As God's children we cannot be separated. The false claim called malicious animal magnetism, mesmerism, hypnotism, envy, jealousy, hatred, evil, revenge, etc., has no power to influence you to think or act for error. Evil cannot use you, nor convince you that there is a power opposed to God. '' You reflect Life, Truth, and Love to me and to all. 544 Findings and Orders of Mother Church Nothing can come to me from your consciousness but what God sends me, for God — Spirit — governs and con- trols you and me, and mine and all. Malicious animal magnetism is a false claim ; it has no power and cannot personify itself through any one ; it cannot argue to me through you to discourage me, nor make me believe in its reality. It cannot cause me to resent nor grieve because of its mental suggestions. Evil is neither per- son, place, nor thing, and God never made it. There- fore it does not exist. Life, Love, and Truth govern you and me and all mankind. You cannot wrong me nor wrong yourself by thinking or voicing error. Sin has no power over you, it only annihilates itself, for the wages of sin is death. Error has no power to deceive you. The law of Truth to error is, ' Thou shalt surely die' {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 208). Error must be destroyed by Truth and Love. " My students offered, in substance, the same prayer and arguments of Truth daily, met the aggressive mental suggestions with Truth and Love, asking God to mani- fest His power to those whom we believed were being influenced to use every effort to discredit and destroy our spiritual influence for the emancipation of humanity from the evil thoughts which result in sin, disease, and death. 6. That Mrs. Stetson attempts to control and to injure persons by mental means; this being utterly contrary to the teachings of Christian Science. This is a false statement and the reverse of my teach- ing and practice which is founded on the premise that God — good — is All, and that there is no other power or presence. No genuine Christian Scientist sends out evil thoughts to injure any one. He would not be a Findings and Orders of Mother Church 545 Christian Scientist if he did. A Christian Scientist makes evil unreal. I have always been radical in my statement of divine metaphysics, that evil has only the power which one gives its false claims. Our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, says of mortals: Again: mortals are the embodiments (or bodies, if you please) of error, not of Truth; of sickness, sin, and death. Naming these His embodiment, can neither make them so nor overthrow the logic that man is God's likeness. . . . Holding the right idea of man in my mind, I can im- prove my own, and other people's individuality, health, and morals {Miscella7ieous Writings, pp. 61, 62). I hold the right idea of man, the spiritual thought, in mind, and send out the truth of being to all; namely, that man is spiritual, perfect, an idea of God. These thoughts which reflect Principle, Life, Truth, Love, are a law of annihilation to evil, and can never injure any- one upon whom they rest. Therefore the rule is, to "take up arms against error at home and abroad *' (Science and Health, p. 29), wherever it is manifested, deny it as having power to injure, and save yourself and the victims of the mental assassin. Evil thoughts are mental assassins, and they must be met by spiritual thought which destroys their influence to injure. Mrs. Eddy says on this subject: The teacher in Christian Science who does not specially instruct his pupils how to guard against evil and its silent modes, and to be able, through Christ, the living Truth, to protect themselves therefrom, is committing an offense against God and humanity. AYith Science and Health for their textbook, I am astounded at the apathy of some 35 54^ Findings and Orders of Mother Church students on the subject of sin and mental malpractice, and their culpable ignorance of the workings of these — and even the teacher's own deficiency in this department. I can account for this state of mind in the teacher only as the result of sin ; otherwise, his own guilt as a mental malpracti- tioner, and fear of being found out (Miscellaneous Writ- ings, pp. 114, 115). I have endeavored to be faithful as a teacher in observing this instruction, and have taught my students to detect, uncover, and rebuke sin in themselves, and in others, in whatever form it presents itself. I have striven to attain the Mind of Christ and the spiritual power of the Word which destroys the foundation of sin, belief of life in matter, hypnotism, mesmerism, malicious animal magnetism. Again Mrs. Eddy says: Whoever reaches this point of moral culture and goodness cannot injure others, and must do them good. The greater or lesser ability of a Christian Scientist to discern thought scientifically, depends upon his genuine spirituality. This kind of mind-reading is not clairvoyance, but it is important to success in healing, and is one of the special characteristics thereof (Science and Health, p. 95). Obeying spiritual intuitions, a Christian Scientist is morally obligated to use "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God," whenever error mentally or audibly is externalized or embodies itself in physical personality. Mrs. Eddy further says: The superiority of spiritual power over sensuous is the central point of Christian Science, No person can misuse this mental power, if he is taught of God to discern it. Findings and Orders of Mother Church 547 This strong point in Christian Science is not to be over- looked,— that the same fountain cannot send forth both sweet waters and bitter. The higher your attainment in the Science of mental healing and teaching, the more impos- sible it will become for you intentionally to influence man- kind adverse to its highest hope and achievement {Science and Health, pp. 454, 455). One of the accusations against me was, that I made the statement: "Evil, error, go to your place and take your embodiment with you." Adam, mortal man, the false mortal thought which Jesus called the "lie" came from dust, nothingness, and returns to dust, nothingness. Error, miortal thought, is no part of man. God, Truth, never made so-called mortal man. This false Adam was conceived in lust and brought forth in iniquity. When a Christian Scientist detects the argu- ments of error, it is his duty to rebtike it, error, under every mask, and thus free the mortal from impersonal evil, if possible, by driving error to its place, nothingness. If error resists Truth it always takes its embodiment with it. Mrs. Eddy says: "Error tills its own barren soil and buries itseh' in the ground, since grotmd and dust stand for nothingness " [Science and Healthy p. 537)- For centuries Truth has remanded mortal man — the illusion — and his embodiment — or the body of sin — to dust, nothingness. This reveals the real man, Truth's representative, the ideal child of God. Mrs. Eddy afBrms: This is the law of Truth to error. "Thou shalt surely die. " This law is a di\4ne energ3^ Mortals cannot prevent the fulfilment of this law; it covers all sin and its effects (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 208). The law of God, eternal Life, Truth, and Love, 54^ Findings and Orders of Mother Church destroys all evil thoughts, and their embodiments must finally go to their place, and reveal the real man in God's image and likeness. As a shadow disappears before the light, so error and its fleshly embodiments must finally go to their place, nothingness. All [mortals] go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again (Eccles. iii., 20). Also we read: That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place (Acts i., 25). In using the argument of Truth to destroy evil in others, the Christian Scientist benefits himself most, for Truth is thereby operating in his own consciousness and thus eliminating error in himself. ^■"^^I have always understood that each individual makes his own place from his reflection of good or evil. Our environments as well as our personalities express our thought. As we defend our Christ-consciousness, so must we defend our mental environment, the place that we have made for ourselves. Another cannot take our place and retain it, and he can only temporarily hold our possessions. The spiritual power which enables the Christian Scientist to demonstrate his place, increases as he builds wholly spiritually on the rock, Christ, and he cannot lose his place in divine Mind nor can he lose the objects of his spiritual thought. . Let us hear what Mrs. Eddy says in regard to place : No person can take the individual place of the Virgin Mary. No person can compass or fulfil the individual mission of Jesus of Nazareth. No person can take the Findings and Orders of Mother Church 549 place of the author of Science and Health, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science. Each individual must fill his own niche in time and eternity {Retrospection and Introspection, p. 70). There is no robbery in divine Mind. Mrs. Eddy emphatically teaches as follows: The right teacher of Christian Science lives the truth he teaches. Preeminent among men, he virtually stands at the' head of all sanitary, civil, moral, and religious reform. Such a post of duty, unpierced by vanity, exalts a mortal beyond human praise, or monuments which weigh dust, and humbles him with the tax it raises on calamity to open the gates of heaven. It is not the forager on others' wisdom that God thus crowns, but he who is obedient to the divine command, " Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" {Retrospection and Introspection, pp. 70, 71). We therefore render to Caesar (mortal mind and its embodiment), the flesh, sin, sickness, and death; and we render to God and His spiritual man the fruits of the Spirit — love, peace and joy, health, holiness and immortality. Another charge was brought against me — that I used the expression "six feet under ground. " One day after we had finished reading the Bible Lesson, a student asked about the earthquake which had just occurred in Messina, Italy, where so many innocent people were buried in the debris. I answered, "God's people were never buried in debris. " I explained that these people belonged to the race of Adam, and came from the ground. That Adam was the false man, not the man of God's creating. I repeated the history of the false creation as found in the second chapter of Genesis, 550 Findings and Orders of Mother Church which is the opposite of the record of the spiritual creation found in the first chapter of Genesis — when God made man in His own image and Hkeness, blessed him, and gave him dominion over all things. Adam came from the ground — nothingness. He earns his bread " In the sweat of thy [his] face. " He has a short span of existence as a mortal, labors throughout this existence to provide for his temporal necessities, brings out thorns and thistles, maturity and decay, and finally returns to dust and buries himself, according to mortal mind measurements, — six feet under ground. I explained to my students that the forces and gases of so-called mortal mind, its pent up malice, envy, hatred, revenge, greed, lust, hypocrisy, avarice, etc., found those qualities of mortal thought in that location the point of least resistance. The people were under the belief of life in matter — wxre governed more or less by evil propensities, and were unprotected by spiritual thought-force. They would doubtless have eventually gone the way of Adam, and would have been buried under debris or ground — illusion, belief, nothing- ness. Let me quote Mrs. Eddy on this subject: Incorporeal evil embodies itself in the so-called corporeal, and thus is manifest in the flesh. Evil is neither quality nor quantity : it is not intelligence, a person or a principle, a man or a woman, a place or a thing, and God never made it. The outcome of evil, called sin, is another nonentity that belittles itself until it annihilates its own embodiment: this is the only annihilation {Message for igoi, pp. 48, 49). Mrs. Eddy further says on this subject: Matter and mortal mind are but different strata of human beHef. The grosser substratum is named matter or body; Findings and Orders of Mother Church 551 the more ethereal is called mind. This so-called mind and body is the illusion called a mortal, a mind in matter. In reality and in Science, both strata, mortal mind and mortal body, are false representatives of man. The material so-called gases and forces are counterfeits of the spiritual forces of divine Mind, whose potency is Truth, whose attraction is Love, whose adhesion and cohe- sion are Life, perpetuating the eternal facts of being {Science and Health, p. 293). Continuing Mrs. Eddy's instruction in regard to the application of Truth or the Word of God to error, I quote her words as follows: We attack the sinner's belief in the pleasure of sin, alias the reality of sin, which makes him a sinner, in order to destroy this belief and save him from sin ; and we attack the belief of the sick in the reaHty of sickness, in order to heal them. When we deny the authority of sin, we be- gin to sap it; for this denunciation must precede its destruction. Sin ultimates in sinner, and in this sense they are one. You cannot separate sin from the sinner, nor the sinner from his sin. The sin is the sinner, and vice versa, for such is the unity of evil; and together both sinner and sin will be destroyed by the supremacy of good. This, however, does not annihilate man, for to efface sin, alias the sinner, brings to light, makes apparent, the real man, even God's ''image and likeness" (Retrospection and Introspection, pp. 63, 64). Referring again to the earthquake and its claim to destructive forces, Mrs. Eddy contradicts the power inherent in mortal mind. She scientifically opposes and destroys (with Truth) this false claim in the follow^ing words : 55^ Findings and Orders of Mother Church There is no vapid fury of mortal mind — expressed in earthquake, wind, wave, lightning, fire, bestial ferocity — and this so-called mind is self-destroyed. The manifesta- tions of evil, which counterfeit divine justice, are called in the Scriptures, "The anger of the Lord." In reality, they show the self-destruction of error or matter and point to matter's opposite, the strength and permanency of Spirit. Christian Science brings to light Truth and its supremacy, universal harmony, the entireness of God, good, and the nothingness of evil {Science and Health, p. 293). Jesus cast out devils, healed the sick, and raised the so-called dead, through the power of the Word, his Christ-mind. Jesus, at the grave of Lazarus, "cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead [in belief] came forth, botmd hand and foot with graveclothes .... Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go" (John xi., 43, 44). And he that was apparently dead came forth. To whom did Jesus speak the word, "Loose him, and let him go"? To the evil thought which held the human Lazarus to the belief that he lived in matter. When the devils — evil thoughts — had left him, Lazarus was in his right mind and knew that he had not died. Let us hear what Mrs. Eddy sa^^s on this subject: Jesus said of Lazarus: "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep." Jesus re- stored Lazarus by the understanding that Lazarus had never died, not by an admission that his body had died and then lived again. Had Jesus believed that Lazarus had lived or died in his body, the Master would have stood on the same plane of belief as those who buried the body, and he could not have resuscitated it (Science and Healthy P- 75)- Findings and Orders of Mother Church 553 The potency of the Word — the spiritual thought — the Christ-mind — was thus demonstrated, proving that man, when governed by God, has dominion over all things. ''Jesus . . . stilled the tempest, healed the sick, walked on the water. There is divine authority for believing in the superiority of spiritual povv^er over material resistance" {Science and Health, p. 134). Jesus spoke the Word to evil (so-called mortal thought), which was expressed in personalities. Jesus met two men coming out of the tombs, possessed with devils — evil thoughts. These men felt the force of Jesus' spiritual thought. It rebuked them (the devils) and they asked why he came hither to destroy them. They instinctively recognized the Christ ideal-man, and knew that he would cast them out. The devils said to Jesus, '' If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. And he said unto them, Go, " and they departed from the men, and "ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. " The power of Truth and Love destroyed the evil thoughts and sa,ved the men. Christian Scientists follow Christ; they cast out devils, evil thoughts, with the Word, and deliver men from their tormentors — carnal thoughts. The account of this healing is found in the 8th chapter of Matthew, 28th to 32nd verses. Let me recall another instance of the superiority of spiritual thought over material resistance. The po- tency of the Word, as used by Jesus, is shown in the healing of the epileptic boy, whose father brought him to the Master. The boy, when he saw the Master, even before Jesus spoke to him, resisted the spiritual power which radiated from Jesus: '' When he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him ; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming." A chemicalization 554 Findings and Orders of Mother Church was produced before Jesus spoke the Word. Then Jesus spoke the Word and rebuked the foul spirit which possessed the child, with these words: Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him; and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. Jesus was not intimidated by the appearance of death in his patient, as many disciples of the present day might be at this severe chemicalization, but '' took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose." Had not Jesus possessed sufBcient spiritual power the epileptic boy would not have been raised, but he would have yielded to the claim of death, and the father would have obeyed the laws of Adam, and would have buried the embodiment of error. Lazarus, the two men from the tombs, and the epileptic boy responded to the mighty power of the Christ-mind, and were restored to their normal condition. The story of the epileptic boy is taken from Mark ix., 14-29. Jesus said to the disciples of that day, "The works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do" (John xiv., 12). His disciples of that age were not able to effect greater works. His disciples of this age must rise to possess the Christ-mind, if they would obey his commands and do the work of casting out evils and restoring humanity to a normal condition of health and harmony. r Mrs. Eddy says: Jesus taught us to walk over, not hito or with, the currents of matter, or mortal mind .... He annulled the laws of matter, showing them to be laws of mortal mind, not of Findings and Orders of Mother Church 555 God. He showed the need of changing this mind and its abortive laws. He demanded a change of consciousness and evidence, and effected this change through the higher laws of God. The palsied hand moved, despite the boast- ful sense of physical law and order. Jesus stooped not to human consciousness, nor to the evidence of the senses. He heeded not the taunt, "That withered hand looks very real and feels very real;" but he cut off this vain boasting and destroyed human pride by taking away the material evi- dence. . . . Jesus required neither cycles of time nor thought in order to mature fitness for perfection and its possibiHties. He said that the kingdom of heaven is here, and is included in Mind; that while ye say. There are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest, I say, Look up, not down, for your fields are already white for the harvest; and gather the harvest by mental, not material processes (Unity of Good, pp. 11, 12). During the latter part of the year 1908, Mr. Archibald McLellan, editor of the Christian Science periodicals, had published in the Christian Science Sentinel an editorial based on a news item in a New York City newspaper. The newspaper gave a distorted and erron- eous account of the purchased property for a new church. The editorial w^as misleading, and woiild have prejudiced all, who were not conversant with the facts,, against First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. I was "aware" (Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 910) of the insidious attempt of the "enemy of good," through human personalities, mentally to manipulate me and my students, and to misrepresent my w^ork, and I used the counter-argument of Truth to protect myself and my students, and in defense of my church and of the Cause of Christian Science. Mrs. Eddy advises us in these words: "strengthen 556 Findings and Orders of Mother Church your citadel by every means in your power, and remain within the walls for its defense" {Pulpit and Press, p. 2). The "secret place of the most High" — my spiritual consciousness — is the temple of the living God. In this temple I found refuge from the stormi and tempest of mortal mind. Behind this omnipotent bulwark of Truth and Love I was safe, and spoke the Word of God to the claim of evil. Mrs. Eddy says: Likewise should we do as metaphysicians and Christian Scientists. The real house in which "we live, and move, and have our being" is Spirit, God, eternal harmony of infinite Soul. The enemy we confront would overthrow this sub- lime fortress, and it behooves us to defend our heritage {Pulpit and Press, p. 2). 7. That Mrs. Stetson has so strayed from the right way as not to be fit for the work of a teacher of Christian Science. Again, this was only the opinion of the Directors. I was not judged by divine metaphysicians. The right- eous Judge — my Father-Mother God — will judge me, my motives, words, and works, in His own time. Eight of the Board of nine Trustees of my church, some of whom have been with me for over twenty-four years, agreed with me from the beginning of this controversy, and continue to express their convictions of the truth of Christian Science as taught me by Mary Baker Eddy, and by the demonstrations which we have made of the power of Truth and Love, and which have sustained us and have delivered us from the power of the adversary. They agree with me in my interpretation of Mrs. Eddy's instructions, as contained in the text-book. Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and in her other writ- Findings and Orders of Mother Church 557 ings, and they have continued with me up to the present time. Nineteen of the twenty-five practitioners also sus- tained my teachings and a majority of the students and church members who for many years had aided me in building up the Cause of Christian Science, and the church edifice. I would state here, that a few years ago there was circulated throughout the Field of Christian Science the report that the mention of names, or even holding the name in thought in Christian Science was to be dropped. The question arose. How is it possible to avoid thinking the name of the patient, and what is the objection to thinking or speaking the person's name when you address his thought to reflect Truth to sin or disease? Who has instituted this change in treatmient? Nowhere in Mrs. Eddy's letters to me, nor in her written works, nor in her personal advice, do I find her authority for the avoidance of names. On the contrary, I have in my possession her specific written instruc- tions to use names. After thorough investigation of the subject, I scientifically detected the subtle ef- fort of malicious animal magnetism — impersonal evil through its actors and mouthpieces — physical person- alities— to escape detection by disarming the Christian Scientist with the suggestion, ''not to use names." Throughout the Scriptures we find that names occupy a most important part in the history of man and the universe, in which the fact that no person or object is without a name is described in the following words of our Leader: Spirit names and blesses all. Without natures particu- larly defined, objects and subjects would be obscure, and 558 Findings and Orders of Mother Church creation would be full of nameless offspring, — wanderers from the parent Mind, strangers in a tangled wilderness {Science and Health, p. 507). Each man is identified by his name; each town, city, state, and country is distinguished by a name. Each object, from the infinitesimal to the infinite, is individ- ualized and has a name. I detected this last subtle attempt of the evil one — the so-called dragon — to deprive man of his identification, by effacing his name from consciousness. Those who fell under this sug- gestion had never been personally taught by Mrs. Eddy ; or if, having had the privilege of elass instruction, they had not grasped her teaching — that evil thoughts must be overcome by good thoughts; that whatever you would say to a person audibly to benefit him, and would have him say to you, you have a perfect right to say mentally. "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them'* (Matthew vii., 12). This is not mental malpractice, but is true Christian Science Mind-healing, or divine metaphysics. Christian Scientists have a mission, which is to reflect the Mind of Christ, — as did the Master — men- tally and audibly, and to demonstrate the power of good thoughts over evil thoughts and evil thinkers. All should be glad to have any one send them thoughts of Truth and Love. Spiritual understanding or the mental Messiah, has revealed the insidious attempt of malicious animal magnetism to deprive man of his divine birthright — his individuality — which would leave him nameless — nothing. As Truth is understood and demonstrated, and as the Christian Scientist assimilates himself to God, he Findings and Orders of Mother Church 559 reflects Truth and Love. As of old, the evil thinker and doer feels the mental influence of "troublesome Truth" {Science and Health, p. 542), and inquires, ''Art thou come to destroy us?" Error does not wish to be known or identified, nor to have its deadly work uncovered, therefore the suggestion that the names of persons be dropped. This was quickly detected by the spiritually minded — the Christian Scientist — who was wielding his sword in the defense of Truth and Her ideas. As the soldier of Christ is attacked by the false claims — envy, jealousy, hatred, impersonal evil, through a human personality, he must address the person. With divine Love he must forbid error to voice itself through a physical personal- ity. In this way, Jesus used his mental sword to defend himself as well as the sick and the sinner from impersonal evil. He cast out devils, evil thoughts, and this healed the patient. Let me quote Scriptural authority for the use of names. Throughout the Bible, names are significant and of great import. Jesus called Lazarus by name when he bade him come forth. He also used Peter's name when he said, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church" (Matthew xvi., 18). He also said to Peter, "Get thee behind me, Satan." Mrs. Eddy evidently saw in the latter days, — which are upon us — that attempts of impersonal evil, through its avenues and agents — physical, finite personalities — would be to deprive man of his name. Wisdom bade her protect her name by demanding that it be an- nounced as author of her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptiires, at every church service. She always requires that her name be given as the author of her poems when sung as hymns or solos in the church 56o Findings and Orders of Mother Church services. Thus she keeps her name before the public, "lest we forget/' that in this age she is the messenger of God to mankind to awaken humanity from sin, sickness, and death, to the spiritual fact of being, health, holiness, and immortality. In a letter from Mrs. Eddy, addressed to me at the laying of the comer-stone of my church, are the following words: Beneath this comer-stone, in this silent, sacred sanctuary of earth's sweet songs, paeans of praise and records of Omnipotence, I leave my name with thine in unity and love. Yet this word went forth throughout the Christian Science Field, by those in authority, to discontinue the use of names of patients. One of the Boston Church officials went so far as to declare: *'One should not even think the patient's name." In the light of divine Science, and with a knowledge of Holy Writ, this would mean total annihilation, and condemnation of all man- kind as having incurred the penalty of sin, as indicated in these words : " Thou hast rebuked the heathen, Thou hast destroyed the wicked, Thou hast put out their name forever and ever " (Psalm ix., 5). We have Scriptural authority for defending our names, and the promise that if we love, serve, and obey the law of God, our names shall be written in the Lamb's book of life, **He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before His angels" (Revela- tion iii., 5). The Christian Scientist should make a study of the use of names found in the Holy Bible from Gen- esis to Revelation, and decide for himself whether Findings and Orders of Mother Church 561 Mrs. Eddy understood and taught the value and use of names. When the angel Gabriel announced to Zacharias that a child should be bom to Elizabeth, he said: "Thou shalt call his name John." Elizabeth also accepted the name John. At the time of the child's circumcision others thought that he should be named for his father, as there was no one by the name of John in the family. His mother insisted that his name should be John, and when they appealed to his father, who had been speech- less many months because he doubted God's promise, Zacharias "asked for a writing table and wrote, say- ing, His name is John. " Immediately his speech was restored and he praised God. The account of this story is found in the First Chapter of Luke. The law of God is imperative, — it must be obeyed. The angel, who gave the name to the child, reflected or m.anifested the word of God, divine authority, over Zacharias, who could not speak until he had yielded to divine Principle— Mind, Spirit — and named the child, John. Again a message came from God to Mary through the angel Gabriel. Mrs. Eddy says of this angel Gabriel, that he imparts "a sense of the ever-presence of ministering Love" [Science and Health, p. 567). His message to Mary was, " Behold, thou shalt conceive . . . and bring forth a son, and shalt call- his name Jesus" (Luke i., 31). Thus, throughout the ages, unto all who have been divinely anointed and appointed, in- cluding Mary Baker Eddy, God has voiced Himself to the world. Jacob's name was changed to Israel, after he had fought a good fight. Saul received the name of Paul after he had struggled out of the material darkness of 36 562 Findings and Orders of Mother Church belief into the light of understanding, and unto all those who strive for immortality will be given a new name — **the seal of God in their foreheads" — spiritual understanding. Another Mary's recognition of Jesus at the tomb confirms the significance of names, and the importance of the use and defense of names. Mary knew not her Master, but thought him the gardener, although she saw him and heard his voice as he talked with her ; but she did not know him until he spoke her name, "Mary. " Quickly she then responded, and gave him his name; "Rabboni . . . Master" (Teacher). It is apparent to the spiritually illumined that the insidious attempt of impersonal evil, which found expression through finite personalities who were not awake to the suggestions of malicious animal magnetism, was thwarted by the divine metaphysicians or Chris- tian Scientists who reflected and still continue to reflect Truth, thus fulfilling the law of Love which is the law of annihilation to sin, sickness, and death, and not the law of annihilation to man. Let me refer to the language of St. Paul in his defense before Agrippa: I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers; Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. . . . Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: That Christ . . . should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles (Acts xxvi., 6, 7, 22, 23). Findings and Orders of Mother Church 563 Also in his defense before Felix: Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me. But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets : And have hope toward God . . . that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust . . . Touching the resurrection of the dead I am called in question (Acts xxiv., 13-15, 21). I will conclude, with the words of our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, in Retrospection and Introspection^ in the Chapter entitled "Waymarks": St. Paul said to the Athenians, " For in Him we live, and move, and have our being." This statement is in substance identical with my own: "There is no life, truth, substance, nor intelligence in matter." It is quite clear that as yet this grandest verity has not been fully demonstrated, but it is nevertheless true. . . . Having perceived, in advance of others, this scientific fact, we owe to ourselves and to the world a struggle for its demonstration. Ask God to give thee skill In comfort's art: That thou may'st consecrated be And set apart Unto a life of sympathy. For heavy is the weight of ill In every heart; And comforters are needed much Of Christlike touch. — A. E. Hamilton. 564 Findings and Orders of Mother Church The following is my authority for standing for absolute Christian Science. THE WAY OF WISDOM MARY BAKER EDDY No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. — Matthew 6: 24. The infinite is One, and this One is Spirit; Spirit is God, and this God is infinite good. This simple statement of oneness is the only possible correct version of Christian Science. God being infinite, He is the only basis of Science ; hence materiality is wholly apart from Christian Science, and is only a "suffer it to be so now" until we arrive at the spiritual fulness of God, Spirit, even the divine idea of Christian Science, — Christ, — ■ bom of God, — the offspring of Spirit, — wherein matter has neither part nor portion, because matter is the absolute opposite of spiritual means, manifestation, and demonstra- tion. The only incentive of a mistaken sense is malicious animal magnetism, — the name of all evil, — and this must be understood. I have crowned The Mother Church building with the spiritual modesty of Christian Science, which is its jewel. When my dear brethren in New York desire to build higher, — to enlarge their phylacteries and demonstrate Christian Science to a higher extent, — they must begin on a wholly spiritual foundation, than which there is no other, and proportionably estimate their success and glory of achievement only as they build upon the rock of Christ, the spiritual foundation. This will open the way, widely and impartially, to their never-ending success, — to salvation and eternal Christian Science. Spirit is infinite; therefore Spirit is all. "There is no matter" is not only the axiom of true Christian Science, Findinors and Orders of Mother Church 565 o but it is the only basis upon which this Science can be demonstrated. Christian Science Journal, vol. xxvi., p. 696. ''where shall wisdom be found?" New York, N. Y., January 17, 1909. Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy, Chestnut Hill, Brookline, Mass. Revered Leader: — When searching for the answer to Job's question, "Where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of under- standing?" we found it in you, our beloved Leader, who are wisdom's mouthpiece to this age. The demonstration of our church is the direct result of your instructions obeyed, and we shall continue to follow as you forever lead on in ''The Way of Wisdom." You are continually pouring into our lamps the oil of consecra- tion, and we are drinking of the wine of inspiration which you provide. The word has gone forth, "Hurt not the oil and the wine." In grateful acknowledgment of the redemption of the first-born, mindful of the ever-present protection of divine Love, we will enlarge our spiritual phylacteries, binding them as frontlets between our eyes, that we may "demon- strate Christian Science to a higher extent. " Having com- pleted our demonstration of the church militant, we will strive more earnestly to attain the higher understanding which will reveal the Church Triumphant, where "Spirit is infinite; therefore Spirit is all. " No mistaken sense whose incentive is in malicious animal magnetism can prevent this unfolding. The "spiritual modesty" with which you have "crowned The Mother Church building" has been and ever will be our abiding inspiration in building upon " a wholly spiritual foundation." Glorious, indeed, is it to have the horizon 566 Findings and Orders of Mother Church of our spiritual \-ision thus widened by \-irtue of your vigils on the watch-tower of Zion. Loyally yovirs, The Board of Trustees of First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. E. F. Hatfield, Chairman. John D. Higgins, Clerk. Christum Science Journal, vol. xxvi., p. 697. In this reply to Mrs. Eddy's "The Way of Wisdom" some of the members of First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, pledged themselves to the upbuilding of the Cause of Christian Science on " a wholly spiritual foundation." As teacher and practitioners we were obliged to declare for our "wholly spiritual" arguments. We knew that spiritualized thought wotild heal much more effectively and instantaneously than the former state of consciousness, which admitted more or less of the htmian. In Riidimeyital Divine Science, page 9, Mrs. Eddy says: The teacher of Mind-healing who is not a Christian, in the highest sense, is constantly sowing the seeds of discord and disease. Even the truth he speaks is more or less blended with error; and this error will spring up in the mind of his pupil. The pupil's imperfect knowledge will lead to weakness in practice, and he will be a poor prac- titioner, if not a malpractitioner. '; The thoughts of the practitioner should be imbued with a clear conviction of the omnipotence and omnipresence of God; that He is All, and that there can be none beside Him. Findings and Orders of Mother Church 567 As teacher and Christian Science practitioners we had come to the point in our spiritual growth v^'hen Mrs. Eddy saw that we must accept, and rise to the absolute. I observed that disease and sin offered greater resistance to the imperative demands of Truth and Love as we rose higher in the apprehension of the allness of Spirit, and that error would not yield to both the human and the divine state of thought. Therefore we were ready to follow our Leader's advice and work from a ''wholly spiritual" vantage ground. Christian Science must be spiritually discerned. "Its Science must be apprehended by as many as beHeve on Christ and spiritually tmderstand Truth" {Science and Health, p. no). Thus we see that the failure of so many is due to their lack of spiritual appre- hension of Truth, and their almost wholly material conception of divine metaphysics or Christian Science. Of the twenty-five practitioners, sk seemed incapable of comprehending "wholly spiritual" teaching, and resisted the statement of positive Truth. The carnal mind always resists the imperative demands of divine Science. Jesus met this resistance — Mrs. Eddy met it. I encountered it. The Directors of The Mother Church called me to account for teaching absolute Truth, namely, that man is "wholly spiritual" here, now, and forever. They contended for the material belief of hfe and intelligence in matter, and argued from a material basis, mingling good and evil, mind and matter, flesh and Spirit, and to me their arguments weighed heavily on the side of materiality. During the "trial " in Boston, before the Directors, every argument was used by them to prevent us from following our Leader's instruction to build " on a wholly 568 Findings and Orders of Mother Church spiritual foundation" (consciousness). They repudi- ated our claims that we are immortal now, and de- nounced our efforts to demonstrate the ever-presence of Truth and Love. They declared that they were mortals and they used every argument to convince us that our teaching was not in accordance with Science and Health. They insisted that we had no right tc regard ourselves as ideas of God now, nor to speak the Word of God, absolute Truth, as God's mouthpiece to mankind. They denied our prerogative to use a. per- son's name without his knowledge and consent, either to protect the person from impersonal evil which he was personifying, or to defend ourselves from the arguments of the mental assassin. "They would have prevented us (had we not stood firmly for the scientific statements of our Leader's teachings) from rising higher in our demonstration of absolute Christian Science, and from obeying our Leader's injunction: ''Christian Scientists, be a law to yourselves that mental malpractice cannot harm you either when asleep or when awake" (Science and Health, p. 442). The following question and Mrs. Eddy's reply to it may be found in the Christian Science Sentijiel of September 3, 19 10, which confirm our scientific in- terpretation and teaching of Science and Health. '' Last evening I was catechized by a Christian Science practitioner because I referred to myself as an immortal idea of the one divine Mind. The practitioner said that my statement was wrong, because I still lived in my flesh. I replied that I did not live in my flesh, that my flesh lived or died according to the beliefs I entertained about it; but that, after coming to the light of Truth, I had found that I lived and moved and had my being in God, and to Findings and Orders of Mother Church 569 obey Christ was not to know as real the beHefs of an earthly mortal. Please give the truth in the Sentinel, so that all may know it." Mrs. Eddy's Reply You are scientifically correct in your statement about yourself. You can never demonstrate spirituality until you declare yourself to be immortal and understand that you are so. Christian Science is absolute ; it is neither behind the point of perfection nor advancing toward it; it is at this point and must be practised therefrom. Unless you fully perceive that you are the child of God, hence perfect, you have no Principle to demonstrate and no rule for its demonstration. By this I do not mean that mortals are the children of God, — far from it. In practising Christian Science you must state its Principle correctly, or you forfeit your ability to demonstrate it. Mary Baker Eddy. Nothing that was said or done during the terrible test of our faith could swerve us from our conviction that obedience to our Leader's call to build on a ''wholly spiritual foundation" would insure spiritual power over the material world, the flesh and all the suppositional claims of evil, — the illusions, dreams, hallucinations of so-called material sense. We know that this spiritual power alone will meet the human needs of all mankind. I give excerpts from two letters between the Board of Directors of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Massachusetts, and the Trustees of First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. These letters were published in the Christian Science Sentinel, volume xii., pages 190, 191. (Letter from New York Trustees, dated, New York, October 29, 1909.) Furthermore, the text-book of Christian Science, Science Sjo Findings and Orders of Mother Church and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, imposes permanently upon all persons concerned the duty of realiz- ing and declaring that every one charged with a duty in the conduct of the church's business, and in the administration of its By-Laws, is an individual manifestation or reflection of the divine Mind, and is governed by that Mind. (Letter in reply from the Directors of The Mother Church, dated Boston, Mass., November 3, 1909). We must, in Christian fellowship, call your attention to the fact that your concept of Christian Science as expressed in your letter is erroneous, and of itself shows the difficulty under which you are laboring. Your statement that you call upon the members of this Board "to know that every one connected with this inquiry, or with the constituted authority of this branch church, is a reflection of and is subject only to the one infinite Mind, and is faithfully ful- filling the action which this fact makes possible, " etc., etc., is nothing more nor less than a claim on your part that mortals are the reflection of infinite Mind. Of such a claim Mrs. Eddy writes, on page 572 of Science and Health, "In Science we are children of God; but whatever is of material sense, or mortal, belongs not to His children, for materiality is the inverted image of spirituality ; " and again, on page 27 of "No and Yes," " Mortal man is the antipode of immortal man, and the two should not be confounded. " The logical effect of your demand is to require us to attribute to you, as mxortals, the infallibility of divine Mind. I quote Mrs. Eddy's reference to mortals: "There is no such thing as mortality, nor are there properly any mortal beings, because being is immortal, like Deity, — or, rather, being and Deity are inseparable" {Science and Health, p. 554). The Directors seemed unable to grasp Mrs. Eddy's higher metaphysical instruction. There was nothing Findings and Orders of Mother Church 571 left for us to do but to stand for her teachings against their declaration that they were mortal and that we were mortal, and wait on God to prove, in His own way and in His ow^n time, that ''Spirit is infinite; there- fore Spirit is all*' — that there is but one God, one Mind, one Christ, one Man, — the manifestation or Body of infinite Life, Truth, and Love; and that individual man - — spiritual man — not the false mortal so-called man — is a member of the body of Christ. Mrs. Eddy says : "God forms and peoples the universe" (Science and Health, p. 509). As God is All, there is, in reality, no material man, no material imi verse. *' . . .. infinite space is peopled with God's ideas, reflecting Him in countless spiritual forms" (Science and Health, p. 503). On this spiritual fact of being I stand, declaring for and demonstrating absolute Christian Science. Neither persecution nor ostracism can move me from my spirit- ual imderstanding of God's allness and man's oneness with his creator, infinite Mind, Spirit, God. Absolute Christian Science is comprehended to-day by the spirit- ually developed, and all the suppositional claims of suppositional evil are powerless to sink the world again into the darkness of belief of life in matter. Christian Science cannot be overthrown. Mary Baker Eddy's labor of love for God and man has not been in vain. It has stood the test of the ''enemy of good, " evil and its agents, and has won a signal victory by defending Truth, Principle. Henceforth the gates of hell cannot prevail against absolute Christian Science as taught by Mary Baker Eddy, and accepted and demonstrated by her loyal students, who are willing and ready to build on a "wholly spiritual foundation," namely, that "Spirit is infinite; therefore Spirit is all, 'There is no matter.'" 572 Findings and Orders of Mother Church Let me conclude with the words of our revered Leader, Mary Baker Eddy: The last appearing of Truth will be a wholly spiritual idea of God and of man, without the fetters of the flesh, or corporeality. This infinite idea of infinity will be, is, as eternal as its divine Principle. The daystar of this appear- ing is the light of Christian Science — the Science which rends the veil of the flesh from top to bottom. The light of this revelation leaves nothing that is material; neither darkness, doubt, disease, nor death. The material cor- poreality disappears; and individual spirituality, perfect and eternal, appears — ^never to disappear {Miscellaneous Writings J p. 165). Mary Baker Eddy will demonstrate her teachings and will reappear as individual, spiritual idea never to dis- appear, to those who have spiritual sight. CHAPTER XIII LETTERS TO CHURCH OFFICIALS He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. — Revelation iii., 22. r Drifting into intellectual wrestlings, we should agree to disagree; and this harmony would anchor the Church in more spiritual latitudes, and so fulfil her destiny. — No and Yes, p. 45. 143 West 48TH Street, New York City, May 12, 1899. My dear Brother: — Your letter has been read and contents considered. I agree with you that there should be scientific unity between the churches in this city. I have always regretted the divisions which have resulted from diso- bedience to the divine law and order, as laid down in the writings of our Leader, Mrs. Eddy. It is a late hour, and all who have swerved from the direct line should quickly retrace and traverse ''anew the path from sin to holiness" {Science and Health, p. 20). "The divine method of paying sin's wages involves unwinding one's snarls" {Science and Health, p. 240). In regard to the proposed Conference Committee, I can see no necessity for any such organization. If there were such a need it would be indicated by our Leader. Committees, like By-Laws, are the outgrowth of necessity in each church (read first page of Manual). Our Leader can call an individual branch church to account, but where would be her authority if all the 573 574 Letters to Church Officials churches formed themselves into committees to dis- cuss and decide upon what they may consider vital questions of the hour? As it appears to me, each must do his and her individual work alone with God, and when the necessity of subjugating self \s>Jelt and realized, and the desire for place and power has been seen and overcome ; when all are willing to occupy only the niches which they have demonstrated, and cease trying to dis- place and destroy others; when, through spiritual understanding, all are able to discern the false from the true brethren, then unity will have been attained on the true basis, and nothing can prevent the loving intercourse and happy social relations of true Christian Scientists. In your suggestion that the Conference shall not interfere with our or any other of the churches, but shall "date only from the time of its formation, and shall know nothing of the past history of any of the churches," you surely do not mean to propose that we throw over or erase from memory the history or founda- tion stones of our church, the first-bom branch in this city? Our church history is the record of victories won at the point of the sword of Truth — of experiences, defeats, and trials, which lifted us to see the substance of Spirit, and the allness of Love. This history is the church, and the members are rocks in its foundation and super- structure. It is a spiritual manifestation, composed of those who have carried the cross, endured persecution, and have come up thus far "out of great tribulation.'* When you propose to blot out this history, you have nothing left upon which to build — not even a "Confer- ence." "Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid" (i Cor. iii., ii). This we hold sacred, and Letters to Church Officials 575 we have no desire to forget, and build anew. ''Thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee ... in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no" (Deut. viii., 2). The history of each church is already written, and each must be weighed by its past, for the past is its history, and the "now" will to-morrow be the past. We must build character which will be tested by the rod of Love. Again I repeat, I desire above all things unity between the churches, and I am patiently waiting upon Love to perfect Her work with each and all. I have only love for all, for Love is all^nothing else is, and in God's own time each will love the other. In the meantime I must take heed unto myself, and *'to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you [me] over- seers" (Acts XX., 2^). I pray for the unity of the brethren in the bonds of Spirit. Your sister in Truth and Love, Augusta E. Stetson. 143 West 48TH Street, New York City, November 6, 1900. My beloved Sister L. . . : — This is my first opportunity to reply to your letter. Error cannot move me, and cause a separation. You ought to remember the long years of steadfast, unflinch- ing fidelity to the trust reposed in me by our Leader, when she sent me into this city, with only a little under- standing of Christian Science, and with the Field already occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Campbell and yourself. How, when the cross of pioneer preacher in this First 576 Letters to Church Officials Church was given to me, I carried it patiently, and since then have stood Hke Casabianca, when every student of our Leader's left me, and condemned and denounced me and this church. If I have not been removed from my appointed post by the desertion of all save my loyal students, and if error has not disheartened and discouraged me, by seeing old staunch friends prejudiced by those who, from time to time have left this church, you may be sure, dear sister, that I have clung to, and have been guided by Principle, and that you can always find me demon- strating Love and Truth — the only power which unites Christian Scientists in the bonds of Spirit. I have prayed for years for unity, but Mrs. Eddy's students here held me in error, so I have stood alone, waiting for a higher realization of Love among the brethren. I feel a greater responsibility than ever before to defend this first-bom branch in New York City against schisms, and against those who do not recognize divine law and order, but see only personal control and physical personality ; who mistake spiritual energy for personal ambition. They consider that anybody offer- ing resistance to malpractitioners who are seeking to displace the true Christian Scientists, and to replace them with those whom they can manipulate, are governed by self-love, self-will, and self -justification. In regard to the Committee which was proposed, I feel the time has not yet come for this step. I am ready, as I have ever been, to meet all those who will fellowship with me and my people, but how can we meet when I have no evidence that they have changed their opinion of me and of my spiritual interpretation of Christian Science? You and your son expressed your desire to meet us on the basis of the unity of good. We Letters to Church Officials 577 have made our demonstration, and can work together for the good of the Cause, and of our dear churches, until through individual growth, the others express a desire to unite with us. If we meet as a body in com- mittee, while some still are struggling with a personal sense of me and my methods, we should have only a repetition of past experiences, for I cannot yield miy individual concept of church government, which has resulted in an ideal church that is phenomenal in pros- perity in truth and love, the fruit of the Spirit. The Chicago church was referred to as a reason for this Committee, but the cases are not parallel. Our Leader's students united and built the First Church there, then they together built the Second, Third, etc., so their committee is really one body, and, as Mr. Kim- ball says, is the result of multiplication, not division. . I would not influence any one to unite with us without his having expressed the desire so to do, but would leave him free to grow to the demands of Truth and Love. Let us work together, guided by Principle, and our beloved Leader, Teacher, and Mother, till our radiation of Love is sufficient to convince all that there is but one body, and that all are members one of another. Love will do Her perfect work, and human desire for seeming unity must not hinder the manifesta- tion of the real and spiritual oneness in Christ. When we come more together in our work in this great city, you will learn the breadth and depth of my love. I have only love to give to all, and have already, in a letter to you, before all those congregated, asked for- giveness for any imchristian thought or word which I may have uttered during the past. Your sister in Truth and Love, Augusta E. Stetson. 57^ Letters to Church Officials 143 West 48TH Street, New York City. To First Church of Christ, Scientist, Jersey City, New Jersey. My beloved Students, And the Brethren who constitute this branch of our Mother Vine, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Massachusetts: — A Httle over a year ago I heard a voice calHng fre- quently, ''Come over into Macedonia, and help us.'* I asked, ''Where, Lord, shall I go?" Soon I felt the divine leading and knew the cry came from your city, and from the earnest prayers of those who had personally and persistently appealed to me and had long and patiently waited for some one to help them establish their church, and verify the promise, "Lo, I am with you alway. " I waited until I felt confident that Principle was directing me, and was then moved to select two from the many loyal, earnest students of the New York City Christian Science Institute who were practising in your city, to act as Readers, and with others, who comprise the Charter Members, First Church of Christ, Scientist, Jersey City, was established — founded upon the rock, Christ, and designed to heal the sick and reform the sinner. For one year, this little band of workers has stood firm at its post of duty, and with the invincible armor of divine Love has withstood all the fiery darts of evil. The attack has been made by impersonal error, through personal avenues, to hush the voice of Truth and Love, as the brave standard-bearers declare the omnipotence of Truth, and the nothingness of fear, the allness of God and the nothingness of evil. The watchful eye of our Father-Mother Love, keeps silent vigil, and Letters to Church Officials 579 the ear of the infinite hears always the piteous cry of the sick or straying mountain lambs, and at the sHghtest call gathers them in Her arms and tenderly soothes every fear. The impersonal Pastor — the Bible, and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy — has been voiced by these Readers, whose prayers, devotion, and fidelity to Truth have given a spiritual animus to the "Word" which is sweeping the harp of human consciousness, attuning it to Love's sweet har- monies. Thus the church has constantly increased in numbers and realization, and will continue to win the weary and heavenly homesick to the imderstanding of the Science of being, if it rises to the spiritual interpre- tation of the Holy Bible and Mrs. Eddy's teachings. Our beloved Leader and Teacher, Mary Baker Eddy, is our Mother in Israel, the anointed of God, who is drawing us all into the one fold and to the one Shepherd. She has lovingly led us through the wilderness to the present hour, and her dear voice is ever calling to her children and to the world to come up higher. From her mount of spiritual vision, she espies the Land of Promise *' flowing with milk and honey'* (health, holiness, and immortality), and she urges us to fear not the foe in the valley, nor tremble at the mental serpents upon which we must tread in our ascent up the Mount of Holiness, but to press forward, conquer sin and self, and fulfil Christ's commission to "preach . . .the kingdom of heaven .... Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils." At last, if we endure unto the end, we shall hear the *'Well done," and receive our reward. Strive for self- lessness each day — grow into the impersonal good, and rise to resist and destroy the claim of impersonal evil. 580 Letters to Church Officials You declare that God, good, is omnipotent, and that evil is impotent. Then, as you meet the foe, as a church or as individuals, know that you are to wrestle with ''the prince of this world" in its subtle suggestions, and defend this branch of The Mother Church and your- selves, your homes, and your people, from the merciless invader, who would tear up your landmarks, enter your consciousness with physical and mental discord, and scatter you. Error tries to cut off the remnant of our Leader's seed, her apostles, disciples, and followers. I pray for this dear church, that her watchmen may be vigilant and demand of all, ''Who comes there?" Let all be quick to discern between good and evil — between the sheep and the wolves. Rise into divine Love so far that Love will separate you from error, and will give you divine power to bring all who are ready into the fold. But "Cast not pearls before the unprepared thought" {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 307), nor before those who have not the true spirit. The Holy Bible and our Leader's works will teach you all Truth. Go to Principle always, and if, young in faith and understanding, you need any help, God will give it to you through His reflectors. I, as your teacher, am ready to aid 3^ou, when there is need, but I must not take too much personal care for students or they will not turn to Principle and make their own demonstrations. This is the strength of my work. ' God bless you each and all, and keep you from evil, as you toil on in this glorious warfare. Look daily for the joy of the Spirit. Love, peace, health, and an immortal consciousness are your sure reward. Ever your faithful sister, teacher, and friend, Augusta E. Stetson. Letters to Church Officials 581 First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, Salutes First Church of Christ, Scientist, Brooklyn, N. Y., and sends — " All hail! " to Mrs. L. . . and the Brethren. October 9, 1897. , With what unspeakable gratitude to our Father- Mother God do we behold another branch of the " Vine '* which our heavenly Father hath planted, revealing its protecting shelter to the wanderers in the desert of human sorrows, and verifying the promises of the Father, "My people shall dwell in a peaceable habita- tion, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places'* (Isaiah xxxii., 18). Truly God is good to Israel. Indeed *'The night is far spent, the day is at hand. " Christian Scientists in this vineyard of our Lord, you who have been watching, praying, and demonstrating the healing power of Truth and Love in the destruction of sickness and sin in your- selves, and for others; who have held the banner of Christian Science above the shot and shell of error,. ever gazing on the white Christ through tears, trials, toils, tribulations, and persecutions, for "without were fightings, within were fears,'* you are now waking to sing the song of "Home, Sweet Home" and are rejoicing in the harvest hour. To-night our hearts* deep gratitude ascends to our God, who is manifesting Himself to the children of men through the teachings of our beloved Leader, Teacher, and Mother, Mary Baker Eddy. Through her illumined spiritual vision, in the dis- covery of Christian Science, the precious Word of God has been revealed to us, and the Key which imlocks its heretofore hidden treasures has been given to us in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, the "little book" spoken of in the Apocalypse. 582 Letters to Church Officials Through her works and words, we have been led to understand the works and words of the Master and his disciples ; and to demonstrate in some degree the power of the Christ-mind. As we follow our Way-shower up the mount of Christian Science, divine Love reveals the kingdom of heaven on earth, as a state of sinless consciousness, and discloses the many mansions of our Father's house. Our beloved Leader and Mother has taught us to worship God in spirit and in truth. She has brought to remembrance Jesus* commission to his disciples, ''preach . . . the kingdom of heaven . . . Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead." She has opened the door to health, holiness, and immortality; and, as she stands on the Horeb height of spiritual vision, she calls earth's weary mortals to rise from the dream of Adam, in which all die, to behold the Christ- man who is the image of eternal Life, and in whom all are made alive. To-night they who have apprehended the risen Christ, cry out to the dreamers in matter, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John i., 29). "Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars." She bids us "Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding " (Prov. ix., i, 5, 6). Dear Brethren, we are one in Christ, one in faith and hope, and one in love. We are rising with Christ to see the real man, and the real universe, governed by the one Mind. Our Leader has commissioned us to go into all the world and preach the glad tidings of the omni- potence of good. We are to call the sinner and the sufferer to awake from the illusion of matter as sentient Letters to Church Officials 583 substance, and to claim his dominion, his God-given heritage, health, holiness, and immortality. We are to follow our Way-shower in the demonstration of divine Love — which heals all our sorrow, sickness, and sin. All honor, praise, and gratitude, and a deeper love than words can express to her whose faithful watch- care, loving admonitions, and patient forbearance, have brought us to our present realization of the affluence of Love, which has revealed this sure, "dwelling place," this branch Church of Christ, the type of the Church Triumphant. Love is leading us all to the one fold and the one Shepherd. Hear ye Her voice ! -b ^ \ Augusta E. Stetson. 143 West 48TH Street, New York City, July 28, 1902. To Mr. Archibald McLellan, Editor Christian Science Periodicals. Dear Brother: — In compliance with the By-Laws relating to a term of three years' Readership in The Mother Church, and including the branch churches which desire to adopt the same, I beg to inform you that I at once cheerfully responded to the call of wisdom and Love through our wise Leader and Teacher, Mary Baker Eddy, and resigned my office as First Reader of First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, at a meeting of Trustees held on Sunday, July 20th. On the following Sunday, at a meeting of the members of the church, which was called to ratify the action of the Trustees, my formal resignation was tendered and unanimously accepted by the church. As always, from the beginning of its history, First Church of Christ, 584 Letters to Church Officials Scientist, New York City, has welcomed every oppor- tunity to aid in advancing the Cause of Christian Science, even to leaving all for Christ, that we may be finally endued with power over all evil, sin, and sickness. Faithfully, in Truth and Love, Augusta E. Stetson. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I West 96TH Street, January 27, 1909. Dear Mr. F. . . : — Your letter, requesting me to assist in raising money to pay a debt of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, at C. . . , was received this morning. It appears that this fact is of such a character that it would have pre- vented the dedication of that church imtil the matter was properly met. Neither the origmal, nor the continued concealment of this condition, from those entitled to know it, could have come from aught but error. Participation in the concealment of this fact is unwarranted in Christian Sci- ence, which is a law reading, "There is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed" (Luke xii., 2). This law reveals things that are false and evil, and things that are true and good. It is impossible, therefore, for me to contribute suh rosa to the cancellation of a debt upon the church, which existed when the edifice was dedicated. Taking any other course than this, regarding an error, whether manifested through an individual or through a church- body, is contrary to the principles of Christian Science, and constitutes disobedience to our Leader, and to the Cause which she is commissioned by God to carry to a complete, scientific, and universal triimiph. Letters to Church Officials 585 It was, and ever will be a joy to contribute of our love expressed in money to any Christian Science church, in the hour, and "The Way of Wisdom, " but for me to ask my students or church-members to aid in the way you suggest, would violate my teachings and practice among them. I have never asked nor received a dollar outside of my students and church -members, and regu- lar attendants, in the building of our church edifice, nor would I have accepted a dollar had it been offered. I felt that I was standing before the world at the black- board of Christian Science and must make my individual demonstration with those whom God had given me, by following the instructions and written advice sent to me by my Leader, Mrs. Eddy. This has been my understanding of Christian Science, and on this con- viction I had to stand. Few realized this as I did, except those who are now with me in this church, as students and church-members. Upon careful reading of your letter, there seems to be another point. This call for aid is not for support from divine Love, in demonstration of Christian Science and its truth. The request is based upon alleged inabil- ity of the church to demonstrate Christian Science. Fidelity to the teachings of our dear Leader will enable any one, individual or chtirch, to make a complete de- monstration regarding stipply, as well as that of over- coming sin, sickness, and death. The omnipotent power of Principle, the inexhaustible resources of Mind, are at hand for the faithful every- where. Individual Christian Scientists, as well as Christian Science churches must sooner or later pro- vide oil for their own lamps. They cannot always travel by another's light, nor maintain themselves by the fruit of another's demonstration. Again I must 586 Letters to Church Officials repeat, that it would be pleasant, and an easy thing to do, to send the money to the church; but in this case *' I must be cruel only to be kind. " You mistake, dear Mr. F . . . , when you call our church a wealthy body. We are rich in love for God, for our beloved Leader and for all who do the will of our Father, but we are not rich in material possessions. I believe that each church, rich in love and in the under- standing of Truth, can prove the promises, and find God able to supply all human needs. If a church- body has not vitality enough to furnish this small amount of money to which you refer, to care for its own needs, the testing time has comic. In this generation not only chiu-ches but individuals are being weighed. The hour has struck when those who have built on the rock — Christ — must rise still higher. Leaving our ' ' low- vaulted roof, " our present attainment, we must unfold our diviner possibilities, merge finally into heaven's vast dome of Spirit, and ultimately rejoice in a perfect demonstration over the material world and the belief of a limited mind and a false, finite universe. I trust that all will end in strict accordance with Principle. Sincerely yours, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, October i, 1909. My dear Mr. W. . . : — I cannot refrain from expressing my deep appreciation of your editorial in our Christian Science Journal for October. It is manifest, in that article, that the omnipotent power of Truth and Love is cleaving asunder the false from the true teaching of Christian Letters to Church Officials 587 Science, and is separating the claim of a material man and a material universe, the phenomena of the claim of evil, from the spiritual man and the spiritual uni- verse, the phenomena of Spirit, the real and eternal. The teachings of our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, in our text-book, Science and Health with Key to the Scrip- tures, and in her other writings, when understood, will feed the hungry multitude with the bread of Life, and will reveal here and now man's oneness with Spirit, his creator. Thus will Truth and Love destroy the illusions of corporeal sense, and forever establish man in the image and likeness of his Maker. Immortal man must — will be demonstrated. Most sincerely, Your co-worker in the revelation of Christ's kingdom on earth, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, October 5, 1909. Trustees of First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. My trusted, faithfid Students: — ' The Word of God shall ''have free course, and be glori- fied.'' ''Pray for us . . . that we may be delivered from unreasonable . . . men" (2 Thess. iii., i, 2). You are the Word manifest. You are God's mouth- pieces,— spiritual ideas. You must speak, and never cease speaking the Word, until you have expressed what God desires the people to know. God has given you this knowledge of the enemies' fear. Do not let ^Written to the Board of Trustees of First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, during the investigation of the Committee of Inquiry as to my teaching of Christian Science. 588 Letters to Church Officials the false claim of malicious animal magnetism handle you, but declare for divine democracy and for your liberty as the sons of God. Let each declare repeatedly for his loyalty to Mrs. Eddy, and to The Mother Church — "The structure of Truth and Love" {Science and Health, p. 583). Keep realizing and repeating the spiritual fact of being, that your voices may drown the false mental argument that has been put into conscious- ness. Defend your divine birthright, your oneness with God. You cannot lose any object in divine Mind, and there is no other mind. The church is composed of the people of God. Its members are not in belief, nor in matter forms of belief. God is there in His church with His people. Love is there ; evil has neither place, presence, nor power. You can stand in the Christ-consciousness knowing that God is there, and God is All. Belief, and its manifestation, a material man and material universe, is illusion, and its claim to a voice is not to be heard nor believed. It is neither person, man, woman, nor child. It is mortality, in all its manifested shadows, which must disappear as man appears and voices God, the ever-present I am. Realize your immortal consciousness, and let God raise His own witnesses to fight the '' beasts at Ephesus. '* Let each dare to be a Paul, and prove the power of Truth and Love. You are called, chosen, and faithful. You are God's voice expressed in individual man. He will reflect through each of you His intelligence, His wisdom and His love — which are able to dispel beliefs which have no Principle, no substance, therefore no reality. Let Lovers rod and Love's staff sustain you. The "great red dragon," the Adam-dream, or lie, never was, and never will be able to stand before the Letters to Church Officials 589 Christ in you, and in those who reflect Christ. There is no presence but the one God and His ideas. Let ''the word of the Lord . . . have free course, and be glorified" (2 Thess. iii., i). Man is God's glory. Faithfully, lovingly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, October 6, 1909. My dear Mr. D. . . : — Your communication of yesterday was a great relief to me. After I had sent my letter directly to our beloved Leader, I feared that I might have disobeyed her, and that I ought to have sent it to you to decide whether she would care to hear it. The rumor is false that I am ''exhibiting a letter pur- porting to have come from Mrs. Eddy, in which she is reported to have said, 'I am allowing the Board of Directors to continue their persecution of you, because if I would call them off, their malice towards you would be so great that it would probably kill you.' " I must say I never received such a letter. I have never said nor intimated that I had received any such letter. It would be impossible for my Leader to make such an imscien- tific statement without denying me before the Father- Mother God. She has ever taught me to claim my immortality. I know she claims it for me always. I claim it for myself, and no such report could emanate from her or from me or circulate among those who heed my teaching. a yaj 101 Da^i t I rest in the conviction that I am immortal, and that nothing can prevent my following my beloved Leader in the demonstration of this supreme fact, a demon- stration of such importance to all mankind, and neces- 590 Letters to Church Officials sary to prove the truth of what is declared in Science and Health and in our beloved Leader's other writings. The report that I can be killed denies the fundamental fact in divine Science that man is immortal. I see no press representatives. Many of my dear students have not risen to where they can read the signs of the times, and some ask me why our beloved Leader does not speak on my behalf. I tell them never to question her actions, her wisdom, nor her love for me, for mine, and for all. I ask them whether any one can demonstrate another's problem, and I assure them that the divine Principle which amply sustained Jesus and our Leader, sustains me and each one in proportion to his fidelity to Principle and its idea. I refer them to our Leader's letter in the Sentinel, where she warns me to watch and pray that I be not separated from her, my Leader, "and best earthly friend" {Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 910), therefore they, too, must watch, work, and pray, keep- ing the Bible, Science and Health, and the Manual of The Mother Church ever before them, as guides in demonstrating Christian Science as taught by our dear Leader. I send some letters to show you the methods of malicious animal magnetism at this hour. All the seeming powers of a suppositional hell can not separate me from my Leader, nor prevent me from following her to the height of final demonstration. For her sake and for the brethren ''I sanctify myself. " Faithfully, gratefully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. To Mr. A ... H ... D ... , Chestnut Hill, Brookline, Mass. Letters to Church Officials 591 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, October 8, 1909. My dear Mr. D. . . \ — I had not intended to intrude upon you the problem which now confronts me, but as false reports regarding my action are reaching your ears, as is proven by your letter of the fourth inst., I think it my duty to tell you the following facts. On the day that I received notice of the action of the Christian Science Board of Directors, September 26th, I requested the Clerk of my church to call a meeting of the Trustees. This meeting took place October ist. I send you herein copy of the communication ^ which I sent to the Board on that day. I did not attend. A Committee was appointed at that meeting to con- sider and report what action would seem appropriate. This Committee made its report to-day, and the Board of Trustees decided to proceed with an investigation in conformity with this report. One word more I venture to say. The Master said, *'Let the dead bury their dead." ''Follow me." In *'The Way of Wisdom," published in the Christian Science Journal of February, 1909, our beloved Leader says, among other things, "When my dear brethren in New York desire to build higher, — to enlarge their phylacteries and demonstrate Christian Science to a higher extent, — they must begin on a wholly spiritual foundation, than which there is no other, and propor- tionably estimate their success and glory of achievement only as they build upon the rock of Christ, the spiritual foundation. " Therefore, I concern myself primarily with the *' wholly spiritual" building, thus enjoined upon me by our spiritual Leader, in order that the ''house not made ^ This communication appears on page 504. 592 Letters to Church Officials with hands, eternal in the heavens," may appear. Thus only can I continue my labors for Christ and for the brethren, which labors of love have hitherto brought me peace and joy in the midst of error's increasing rage. Faithfully, gratefully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. P. S. I enclose also a letter which is self-explanatory, and shall be glad if you will return it to me when you have finished with it. To Mr. A ... H ... D ... , Chestnut Hill, Brookline, Mass. loJ i\ 7 West 96TH Street, New York City^ October 16, 1909. The Board of Trustees, First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. Beloved Brethren: — I hand you herewith copy of my letter of this day^ to our revered Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, which is self-explanatory. I hand you also my resignation as a member of your Board. I desire to repeat here what I said yesterday to the Committee which you have appointed to make an investigation regarding conditions, practices, and teach- ings in this church. I depend upon no one but God and my Leader. I desire no human sympathy. I do not need it. Hold to your fidelity to God and to our Leader, as I have taught you, and follow me only so far as I follow my Teacher, Mary Baker Eddy. *'Upon the rock, » The letter referred to appears on page 230. Letters to Church Officials 593 Christ" {Science and Health, P- 4^4) » spiritual under- standing, I have built this church, with the aid of your steadfast, loyal devotion to Principle and to our dear Leader, ''and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Rise to the height of "wholly spiritual" building {Christian Science Sefitinel, vol. xi., p. 390), and wait for the glory prepared for those who love God. My love is ever flowing to you. Your faithful co-worker, Augusta E. Stetson, C.S.D. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City». November 3, 1909. Committee of Inquiry, of the Board of Trustees, of First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. Beloved Brethren: — You are aware that I immediately complied with the orders of the Directors of The Mother Church, in Boston, Massachusetts, and I shall continue to watch, work, pray, and love God and humanity, as I have done day and night for many years. I am, therefore, not questioning them, nor referring to them in any of my statements, but shall confine myself to the work of this local branch church, and to the conditions which have been existing here. The privilege of talking with a few of my advanced students, who were practitioners in the Reading Room, and who were daily engaged in doing the healing work, was sanctioned by the following words of our Leader, in Retrospection and Introspection, page 85 : Teachers of Christian Science will find it advisable to band together their students into associations, to continue 38 594 Letters to Church Officials the organization of churches, and at present they can employ any other organic operative method that may commend itself as useful to the Cause and beneficial to mankind. Therefore I had visited with these workers and shown them the necessity of being awake to the subtler forms of evil, the powerlessness of occultism when met with Truth and Love, and also the claim of evil, "deceived and deceiving" {Science and Health, p. 451). I realized the solemn responsibility of handling malicious animal magnetism for the defense and pro- tection of one's self and for humanity. In Miscellaneous Writings, pages 114 and 115, our Leader says: The teacher in Christian Science who does not specially instruct his pupils how to guard against evil and its silent modes, and to be able, through Christ, the living; Truth, to protect themselves therefrom, is committing an offense against God and humanity. It is always painful to recall the treachery and be- trayal which are the qualities of the carnal man. But, unless we are willing to sacrifice self, and incur "the exalting ordeal of sin's revenge on its destroyer" {Science and Health, p. 48), we are disobedient to the command of our revered Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, who says: "When error confronts you, withhold not the rebuke or the explanation which destroys error" {Scie7ice ajid Health, p. 452). And again our dear Leader says: "Truth, through her eternal laws, unveils error. . . . Even the disposition to excuse guilt or to conceal it is punished" {Science and Health, p. 542). And from Miscellaneous Writings, page 118, we read: "However keenly the human affections yearn to for- Letters to Church Officials 595 give a mistake, and pass a friend over it smoothly, one's sympathy can neither atone for error, advance individ- ual growth, nor change this immutable decree of Love: 'Keep My commandments.'" Here I must refer to some of the statements which have been made. One is, that I treat people to injure them without their knowledge or consent, which in Christian Science is designated as malpractice. I have never, knowingly nor intentionally, treated a person without his knowledge or consent, to control him or to injure him, or to deprive him of his self-government. I have always taught my students so to spiritualize their thought that the influence of their treatment would be always to bless and to heal. In Science and Health, page 94, we read: **Our Master easily read the thoughts of mankind, and this insight better enabled him to direct those thoughts aright." Disciples of Christ to-day, as taught by our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, are striving to possess the Mind of Christ, and thus to be able to heal all manner of sin and disease through the power of Truth. Our beloved Leader has followed his example, and has personally done the mighty works which he did. She is now leavening universal consciousness through the power of Spirit, which she reflects. Humanity must be educated to discern and distin- guish the difference between Christian Science Mind- healing and mental malpractice, whether innocent, ignorant, or malicious. A true Christian Science practi- tioner consecrates himself to the service of God, to the healing of the sick and the reforming of the sinner. He constantly turns away from the contemplation of the material world, the flesh and evil, to imbibe more of the spirit of Christ, that he m.ay gain power on the 596 Letters to Church Officials side of divine Mind-healing. Our Leader says, "His thoughts can only reflect peace, good will towards men, health, and holiness" {Christian Science Se?ttinel, vol. ix., p. 88). He never directs his thought to any one, save to bless and to protect that one from the evil mental forces which threaten to injure him, or to harm others through him. The keen intuitions of the advanced Christian Scientist detect the operation of malicious forces. A scientific, spiritual thought blesses all and injures none. The Christian Scientist enlists to destroy evil, sickness, and death. The activities of Truth do not destroy man; they efface sin, and finally its embodiment, and reveal the real man, God's image and likeness. Mrs. Eddy defines malpractice in Miscellaneous Writings, page 31 : Mental malpractice is a bland denial of Truth, and is the antipode of Christian Science. To mentally argue in a manner that can disastrously affect the happiness of a fel- low-being— harm him morally, physically, or spiritually — breaks the Golden Rule and subverts the scientific laws of being. To think a name, or speak aloud a name in a treat- ment, reaches the patient, and a Christian Scientist reflecting only Truth and Love or voicing God, good, can only bless the patient or friend. To address a person whom you know to be innocently, ignorantly, or maliciously working to hinder your progress in Chris- tian Science, or who is invading your field of labor, or manipulating your students or patients and endeavoring to remove your landmarks, — to address the person by name with the arguments of Truth, the omnipotence Letters to Church Officials 597 of good and the powerlessness of evil, is requisite in self-defense. Unless a Christian Scientist is armed with the quali- ties of the Christ-mind, he cannot successfully cope with a malicious mortal mind. His only work is to convince himself, and this patient or person who is an avenue for error, that error is powerless to harm, and that malicious mortal mind in all its forms is futile to injure or to destroy good. Our Leader says, "You command the situation if you understand that mortal existence is a state of self-deception and not the truth of being" {Science and Health, p. 403). The Christian Scientist should be governed by Principle, by the unerring law of God. A true teacher in Christian Science turns his students to Principle, and away from physical personality and conforms strictly wdth the requirements of Article xxvi, Section 2, of the Manual of The Mother Church, which reads: Care of Pupils. Sect. 2. Christian Scientists who are teachers shall carefully select for pupils such only as have good past records and promising proclivities toward Chris- tian Science. A teacher shall not assume personal control of, or attempt to dominate his pupils, but he shall hold him- self morally obligated to promote their progress in the under- standing of divine Principle, not only during the class term but after it, and to watch well that they prove sound in sentiment and practical in Christian Science. He shall persistently and patiently counsel his pupils in conformity with the unerring laws of God, and shall enjoin them habit- ually to study the Scriptures and Science and Health WITH Key to the Scriptures as a help thereto. The Mother Church is very dear to every Christian Scientist, and when thinking or speaking of it we are 59^ Letters to Church Officials mentally in it. The Mother Church edifice is a sym- bol of Mind. As we rise into "wholly spiritual" consciousness, the symbol disappears, revealing the Church Triumphant, the ''house not made with hands." The Master said, "The kingdom of God is within you." This branch of The Mother Church contributed one hundred and eighteen thousand dollars to The Mother Church Extension, which evidences its love for, and part in the possession of this symbol of the Church Triumphant. The Publishing House is another type of Mind, and belongs to all Christian Scientists who contributed toward it, and who love the message it is designed to publish. We possess our part in its mental structure, and we go in and out reflecting Truth and^ Love which guard and protect its interests. . For twenty-five years I have practised Christian Science Mind-healing. I am a Christian Science Doctor, with the degree of C. S. D. I have healed all manner of diseases through understanding the illusion of material phenomena and the demonstration of spiritual thought-force. My practising students ar& mental metaphysicians. I w^as shocked at the develops ment of the claim of cancer, tumor, and other diseases, which seemed to be increasing and which the practi- tioners were not healing satisfactorily. I detected in the students this, that while they admitted that there was "no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter " {Science and Health, p. 468), they had not made unreal their belief in the organs of a material body. I saw that beliefs, false thoughts, floating in the mental atmosphere, such as malice, fear, envy, jealousy, revenge, lust, and hypocrisy found "unsuspected lodg- ment" {Science and Health, p. 235) in different organs Letters to Church Officials 599 of the human anatomy or body. To point out these receptacles for diseased beHefs, to talk them up, in order to talk them down and out, and make them unreal as matter, was my object. I therefore began to take up the names that Adam gave to his mechanism, and to rob mortal mind of its hidden lodging-places for propagating and bringing forth disease and the creations of material sense. I attacked these false concepts as unreal and showed that, in their places, were qualities of God. I declared for the nothingness, the falsity of material generation and the greatness, allness of the spiritual man and spiritual generation and universe. This attack upon Adam, or the carnal man, was necessary. My object was to destroy these time- honored gods of material generation, and to Hft the students' thought to the spiritual idea and spiritual generation, which is the substance-idea back of the false consciousness which is embodied in organic matter. The words of our Master, " For which of those [my good] works do ye stone me?" apply to this experi- ence. I desire to note here, that the students who com- prehended these lessons have been greatly exalted and have done quicker and better healing since. From this higher realization we shall fulfil our Leader's injunction and build ''on a wholly spiritual foundation, than which there is no other." We shall reveal our spiritual individuality in God's image and likeness. We have already had glorious glimpses of the "new heaven" and the ''new earth," and have heard a great voice out of heaven saying : The tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself . shall be with them, and be their God. 6oo Letters to Church Officials And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain : for the former things [thoughts] are passed away (Rev. xxi., 3, 4). Our Leader says : Then thought gently whispers: "Come hither! Arise from your false consciousness into the true sense of Love, and behold the Lamb's wife, — Love wedded to its own spiritual idea." Then cometh the marriage feast, for this revelation will destroy forever the physical plagues imposed by material sense (Science and Health, pp. 574, 575). Faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, November 6, 1909. To the Christian Science Board of Directors, of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Mass. Dear Brethren : — ' In reply to your letter of November 3rd, I must repeat that I have complied strictly with your orders not to teach Christian Science nor to convene nor attend my Students' Association. I have dropped all my practice and have avoided seeing students, as far as I could without being discourteous and rude, in this hour. During the services in the church I have fre- quently taken my car and kept out until the hour was past when students might call to see me, or the inmates of my home. My time is spent in reading and studying the Bible, Science and Health, and our beloved Leader's other works, and the Church Manual. As I wrote you I ^ I obeyed, to the letter, constituted authority, well knowing that God would deliver me if I offered no resistance. Letters to Church Officials 6oi should continue to pray, so I do. I am obedient to your orders to the extreme, as m}^ household will testify. I would be glad if you would explain to me what, in my letter, appears to you to indicate disobedience. Yours very truly, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, November 13, 1909. My dear Mr. D . . . : — ' I go to Boston to-morrow to appear before the Board of Directors on Monday morning at nine o'clock. I have hesitated to intrude upon your time even for a moment, but the seriousness of the hour impels m.e to write you. The enclosed letter from one of the teachers of a well-known girls' school in Massachusetts, is self-explanatory. If I did not know that the "enem_y of good" {Chris- Han Science Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 910) reverses Truth, and that its lies are too evil to do anything but to destroy evil, I should never attempt to cross swords with the "dragon." Our beloved Leader's words, "But why should we stand aghast at nothingness?" {Science and Health, p. 563) give me courage. My love and loyalty for my Leader, and my under- standing of her teachings is all that is on trial. I can go "to the dungeon or to the scaffold" {Miscellaiieous Writings, p. 99) in demonstration of the ever-present Christ, but I can never be separated from my beloved Leader and Teacher, Mary Baker Eddy. She has put in my hands all that I need, in order to contradict the statement of the adversary; that she repudiates me as a loyal student and my interpretation of Christian ^ To Mr. A...H...D..., Chestnut Hill, Brookline, Mass. 6o2 Letters to Church Officials Science. I have numerous letters from my Teacher and Leader, letters of counsel, of advice, of commenda- tion. These letters are my joy and consolation at this hour. I have never shown them even to our Com- mittee of Inquiry, because each member knows that I am loving, loyal, and obedient to my Leader. But, in laying certain of these letters before the Directors of The Mother Church, I do not feel that I am making them public or transgressing Article xxii., Section 8 of the Manual, for as only the members of this Board are permitted to be present, according to Article xi., Section 5, the privacy of these letters is assured.^ I shall be at the Touraine Monday should you wish to communicate with me. Sincerely yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, November 22, 1909. Mr. J. V. DiTTEMORE, Secretary, The Christian Science Board of Directors, Boston, Mass. Dear Sir: — I have received your favor of the i8th instant, advis- ing me that my name has been dropped from the roll of membership of The Mother Church. I note with due appreciation the hope expressed in the concluding words, "that your future course of action may show your desire to again become eligible for membership in this Church. " I assure you that I shall not neglect any opportunity » These letters from Mrs. Eddy to me were not exhibited, because there were others present at the " trial " besides the Directors. Letters to Church Officials 603 to draw nearer to God, and to follow my Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, into the ''full understanding of the divine Principle which triumphs over death" {Science and Health, p. 31)- Kindly convey to each of the Directors my sincere wish that we may all assist and rejoice her, by rising to this height of realization and demonstration. In such case there will be no possibihty of continued separation. The "unity of good" will have destroyed the error that has occasioned the present action. Meanwhile I wish for each member of the Board of Directors a continued increase of fidelity and fruitful service to our beloved Leader, and to the Cause of Christian Science, of which she is the Discoverer, Founder, and perpetual Head. Very sincerel}^ yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, November 22, 1909. The Board of Trustees, First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City. Dear Brethren: — You concluded recently a comprehensive inquiry, and your report made my continued membership in this branch church seem suitable and proper. Since then I have been advised that my nam^e has been dropped from the m.embership roll of The Mother Church. As this may place the members of your Board, of which I am a member, in an embarrassing position, I have decided to resign from membership in First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, and I now request that my name be dropped from the membership roll. I shall continue to make it my sole effort to obey 6o4 Letters to Church Officials Principle and to follow our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy. In taking this step, I desire to thank the members of the Board of Trustees for all they have done, during past years, to serve God and our Leader, through the upbuilding of this church. There is no robbery in divine Mind. Goodness is its own paymaster. There- fore you are already abundantly recompensed for past services, and can never lose the reward of well doing. I am informed that some objection was made, during the recent inquiry, to the continued payment of the annual sum voted to me in recognition of my services to this church. Money is neither useful nor desirable to m^e unless it comes as a grateful recognition of services rendered to those from whom it comes. It was my purpose, therefore, at a suitable time, to suggest the discontinuance of this payment. In view of the recent action by the Directors of The Mother Church, it would seem undesirable that this payment be continued ; even though all the members of this branch church were united, as in former years, in giving this proof of gratitude for what I have done, and am doing for them and for this church. For establishing this branch church more securely as a part of the Mother Vine, and for making it even more fruitful than in the past, greater consecration on the part of all the members is necessary. This greater consecration will be manifested in higher realization and demonstration of Truth and Love. In this work, the Bible, Science and Health, The Mother Church Manual, and other writings of our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, are a ''sufficient guide to eternal Life" {Science and Health, p. 497). I make this simple request, that the Trustees, and Letters to Church Officials^ 605 also the members of this church, will constantly listen for our Leader's voice, impersonally, through devout prayer and through the proper study of her writings. Following her "as she follows Christ" {Message for IQOI, p. 70), you cannot lose the way to heaven, har- mony, eternal oneness with God. Faithfully in Truth and Love, !..» J-,; Augusta E. Stetson. RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST, NEW YORK CITY, November 24, 1909 Resolved, That we accept with unfeigned regret, and only at her urgent request, the resignation of Mrs. Augusta E. Stetson, C. S. D., as a member of this Board of Trustees. In her official relations, Mrs. Stetson has given us service for nearly a quarter of a century in the effort to further the Cause of Christian Science in this community. Whoever knows anything of the progress of the movement, in the period covered by these years, is aware that, so far as this branch church is concerned, she has been beyond all com- parison the foremost contributor to the labors required for the results accomplished, and that the cardinal precept of her teaching and example has always been, as it is now, that of unswerving loyalty to our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, and to her teachings. Both from the standpoint of material achievement, as well as from that of spiritual attainment, she has left the evidence of her untiring devotion, in the structure which houses this congregation, in the large body of adherents 6o6 Letters to Church Officials which assembles here regularly for worship, and above all in the spiritual growth of the membership of this church. But for the inspiration of her faith and the stimulus of her high and earnest purpose, none of these results would have been attained in any such measure. For ourselves, there- fore, as Trustees, we rejoice in the work which she has done, we are grateful in that we have been permitted to share the work with her as co-laborers, and we desire to record our recognition of the great spiritual blessings which have come to us in official association with her. E. F. Hatfield, Chairman, John D. Higgins, Clerk, CHAPTER XIV LETTERS TO FRIENDS, FELLOW- WORKERS, AND STUDENTS If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing. I Corinthians, xiii., i, 3. (Revised Version.) Understanding the control which Love held over all, Daniel felt safe in the lions' den, and Paul proved the viper to be harmless. — Science and Health, p. SH- Winter Hill, Somerville, Mass., January 12, 1888. My dear Student: — Your good letter is before me. I needed no assur- ance of your love for me, for I feel it always. You are God's child and He is Love— therefore you reflect love to me and to all. Truth has anchored you to the rock, Christ, and though the waves of error may surge below, you are safe on the eternal foundation. I was obliged to come home to Boston on business. . It was peremp- tory, but I had no idea of not returning sooner, though I felt I could not go back to New York, for I had not enough practice to warrant the expense there, and I am too independent to occupy those lovely rooms and allow Mrs. K ... to pay for them. 607 6o8 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers My Leader, Mrs. Eddy, says that I must take the pulpit when I return, so I must be economical and help pay for the hall in which we will hold services. I hope I will have practice enough to defray my expenses in that city of great demands. I shall find something small and reasonable, and go out to my patients until I can afford an office. I do not think Mrs K. . . feels any worse about my leaving her home, than I do to leave it, for I have been very happy with her and Mrs. Z. . . . I shall go right there when I return — then look about for a modest room. It really makes me lonely to think of going elsewhere, but I must not mur- mur. I must not have such a beautiful home, until Love gives it to me for my services to sick and sinning humanity. I am very happy. My home here in Winter Hill, with all my dear ones, is delightful, but my Leader desires me to work in New York City, and I shall do the best I can. In some way, I will be able to preach as Mrs. Eddy desires me to do, and to remain in New York this winter, even though without salary and perhaps with few patients. God will provide for me she says, and I must trust. Pioneers must labor and wait. ■ Give my love to Mrs. K. . . , and tell her that I will soon be with her. Remember me to Mrs. Z . . . , and for your own dear self accept much love. It is over- flowing to all the faithful, and for you in particular, because you love and serve God?-'^^^ ^^ ornori Do not mind your indebtedness, I know that will be all right. Send me strong thoughts of Truth and Love. Lovingly in Truth, Yours always, Augusta E. Stetson. Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 609 96 Fifth Avenue, New York City, January 24, 1893. My dear Sister: — You are indeed sowing the seed of Truth and Love and you will reap a plentiful harvest. All that we sow, we reap. So look to it well, dear heart, that your thoughts reflect the divine Mind. We all have to watch lest the adversary enter and sow tares. We have to stand before the Lord, and there alone will we find the angel, who will remove our iniquity, our nothingness, and take away our filthy garments, mortal thoughts. Stand in the consuming fire of His love, and let it destroy all the chaff, or carnal sense — the sin of the belief of matter as substance, or as anything but error, illusion — the "talking, lying serpent" (Science and Health, p. 529), the carnal, so-called mind. We want only the true consciousness, the image and likeness of our Father- Mother God. We must know but one Mind, and one body — the body of Christ, of which we are all members. We want to see the spiritual universe, which expresses God, and His idea, — man. In this understanding how close is our relation to God! To let Him guide and govern is to rest and reflect His omnipotence and omnipresence. Worry and anxious care come from our false sense, and should cease. I am sure that you will do good work wherever you are, dear. Think and express only the true and real. Do not rehearse unpleasant experiences, imless you desire to suffer a little more. Let the ''old man" die. Put on the ''new man, " Mind of Christ. All goes well here. Our article is finished. It is the grandest work of the kind ever done for our Leader, tip to the present time, and I am so happy to have done it. Thank God I have suffered out of the flesh far enough to be a transparency for God, to reflect His 6io Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers Word, and place His anointed in human consciousness, in this Encyclopaedia published by James T. White & Co. Every effort of the enemy proved powerless to pre- vent this biographical sketch of our Leader from appear-, ing in this book. The sword of Truth and Love was wielded and Truth and Love have won. Every point was conceded, and at last Truth vanquished every objection, and prevailed. It seemed to cost me much, but like the mother who has been "delivered of her sweet promise" {Science and Health, p. 562), I rejoice and forget the pangs of travail. -^ I am glad to hear that you are coming, if the dear Love is bringing you. Dear, Mr. F. . . , your hus- band, will some day be drawn to Christ by divine Love. Be faithful to him in giving him Truth. Do not force it upon him. He must be allowed to take it as he can assimilate it. Milk for babes — strong meat for men. All would send love if they were here. I go home to Boston, and to Concord next week. Give my kind regards to Mr. F. . . , and believe me, Ever yours faithfully, Augusta E. Stetson. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, 143 West 48TH Street, June 7, 1897. My dear Student: — Your letter gives the true tone. Love is leading you. You are doing the Father's work, and He will give you wisdom and strength for every hour and every demand. I have so many students that I rejoice that I am able to reach them impersonally. I cannot write them Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 6ii personal letters unless I work during all my vacation (which I always take for study), therefore I cannot give each even a hurried note. I shall read and demonstrate and commune with God, and gain more realization of divine Principle — Love — that I may do more and better spiritual healing next year, and also that I may reflect spiritual power from day to day to my dear lambkins and to poor suffering humanity as I go in and out with them. I know that you are faithful. I trust you implicitly. Christ is guiding you, and you are subordinating your human self to the divine. The world will soon cry out for the living God, and himianity will find health and joy in Christ's Christianity. How I yearn to bring humanity in from feeding on the husks which the swine refuse, and to feed all on the milk of Truth and Love — Life eternal. Be meek, dear. You do nothing except by reflection. God and you cooperate as Principle and idea. You reflect eternal Life and Love. Read and demonstrate. Do not neglect study and communion with God. Get your Bible Lessons faithfully. They cover the hour and show you the demands. I shall expect to see you in the early fall. We will resume the work after a month's close application to study of the Bible and Science and Health, with a more invulnerable armor than ever before. God be praised for Christian Science, and for our God- anointed Leader, Mrs. Eddy. Christian Science will be more and more to the world as the light of Truth grows more effulgent. My love to the darling children. Kindly remember me to Mr. R. . . , and believe me, Ever yours in Christ, Augusta E. Stetson. 6i2 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers Hotel Touraine, Boston, Mass., July 22, 1897. My beloved Student: — While reading your letter I had a good laugh at your expense. I am glad that error tripped you, for nothing makes us so indignant at false material belief, and so humble as to find we have been an avenue for erring thoughts. I have been tripped once since I came from Concord, and have rebuked myself every hour since. We should grow self-righteous if we did not make an occasional mistake. You never made trouble, dear, and you never will. I have no fear for you. The hour has struck when we are stirred to the depths by Truth and Love, and are being tested. See that you guard yourself against a tendency to personal idolatry, and human pride. Labor to destroy self-love, and self- will. Jealousy seems to be in the air, and many are meeting its claims. Watch, for the hour is near when the bridegroom will call. We must get our dominion over the material world, the fleshly mind, and all evil. I know that you will crush out the material self that is trying to hold you to this dream, and would, if it could, deprive you of your divine birthright, eternal Life, divine consciousness. I am constantly on guard. The lie is active, but God guards me and I shall win. Love to all. All send you much love. Faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 24 West 72ND Street, New York City, September 22, 1899. My dear Sister: — Your sweet loving note seemed to me a tone from the great heart of Love, whose divine pulsation reached Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 613 me and gave the sense of Love's peaceful harmony. I wonder if your eyes are open to the necessities of the hour. Error is playing its final losing game, and Truth is proving Her immutable strength and firm foundation. The good are opposed by evil in this crucial hour, and the evil-doers are going on to final self-destruction — • materiality. We, who are in the front ranks and have stood for years as standard-bearers, know the hour, and stand with eyes to the heavens and face invulnerable to the storm, waiting for Love to deliver Her own, and for evil to destroy itself and its own. There is need of much wisdom and love, and pitiful patience and forbearance with those who have some of the letter of Christian Science, but scarcely an iota of the spirit, which to-day is more necessary than ever. I grieve when I see ''fools rush in" to decapitate the sinner, where angels would wait with tears and prayers, to destroy the sin and to save the sinner. I find that error is trying to blind some to the fact that they are taking personal control of others' students, by attempt- ing to terrify them in regard to their teachers, and the influence thus gained separates them from their teachers, and turns them to others whose "sheep" they are not. It is a test for students, and if they lose their teacher's voice and find that they are following an ''hireling," who does not know their need and who has not enough spiritual discernment to see the wolf approaching, then, by bitter experience, they will have to learn divine order, and loyalty to Principle and idea. I am leaving my dear students in A. . . to demon- strate for themselves the teachings of the Holy Bible, and Science and Health. By this I mean that I think of them as Love's ideas and leave them to God, since 6i4 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers they must meet this test, and must learn to perceive the personal control which is being held over them by those who, by making them afraid of their teacher, try to turn them. I know this is only the influence of error working through Mrs. D. . . and her students, to injure. My students must work it out with Principle for I shall not interfere till they are tested; then, if I find they have done their best to stand and be loyal to Principle, to their great Leader, Mrs. Eddy, and to me, as their teacher, I shall come, and with spiritual power defend them from those who would destroy them. I know that God will do His work and will move me to act when error is ripe for destruction. I am sure my dear H. . .is safe. There are some who cannot be moved. I saw when I was there that Mrs. D. . . was not handling error with Truth and Love — - therefore it was overcoming her and she did not know it. Oh, my dear student, watch as never before. The battle will not be long. It is nearing its end. Let us see the divine order which our Leader has established, and follow her example. I had two long, lovely visits with her in Concord in August. I felt that I would be more patient and long-suffering than ever with my students when I heard how she had tried and tried to save hers. She has given them every chance to reform, picking them up when they fell, and standing them on their feet, only to see them overcome again by the sam.e sin. At length some have been saved by overcoming sin, while others, who could not be aroused, went back to the flesh-pots of Egypt. I have done the same for my students, but Mother's long-suffering and forbear- ance are beyond all I ever dreamed. God help me to do my whole duty to those whom God has given me : never to leave one struggling student, but to watch and pray Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 615 till he is either saved, or leaves me because he cannot endure Love's rebuke and rod. I know that your sweet, pure nature will repel any mental suggestion, or lying argument, or claim of hate and envy from the malpractitioners. God will bring my dear straying student to Himself in His time. Mrs. D . . .did not conquer sin, and she must suffer till she turns from it. I love her but I hate the sin. Jesus loved good and hated iniquity, therefore we must deny and destroy it with love. I must leave Mrs. D. ... to work out her problem, while I close my mental avenues to the error and thereby prevent it from enter- ing my consciousness. I beg you will pardon this scrawl. I am writing in such a hurry. I want to get just a word to you immediately. Now know that the evil, which many are making real, is powerless if you meet it with truth and love. God is supreme— is All— and evil cannot reverse Truth. You uncover error to make it unreal. Many uncover it and then continue to make it real. Thus they are self -mesmerized. I hope all will see how no one can rise into an immortal consciousness while holding sin as real over any one, or beheving that one is both mortal and immortal. We must regard evil as impersonal, then, if we live in impersonal good, we shall have no attraction for impersonal evil, and thus shall separate ourselves from all who are avenues for so-called evil, the lie of the Adam-dream. This is to "come out from among them, and be . . . separate.' I hope I may see you here with H. . . this winter. If you desire, come to my Quarterly Students' Meeting in October. Ever lovingly yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 6i6 Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers MESSAGE^ Thy Christmas tree hangs heavy laden With gifts far more precious than gold; Aye, even with good deeds resplendent, Whose numbers will never be told. How blessed to know that thy mission Is to minister daily to those. Who, in the swift march of existence. Sink down 'neath the weight of their woes. Full many a faint, weary flower Hath been with new vigor supplied, Which, but for thy sweet ministration, Might long since have faded and died. I never have sought thee, and found thee Too busy to lend me thine ear ; . . Or, to beam with a sweet smile of welcome, Which could not but fill me with cheer. These flowers, so seemingly fragile, Are yet burden-bearers for me; Consenting to carry a message Of love, from thy student to thee. D. F. REPLY TO THE CHRISTMAS POEM Yes, my Christmas tree hangs heavy laden With treasures more precious than gold ; And the angels unite in my vespers. As I ponder their value untold. Its branches are weighted with pure thoughts^ Which I hung one by one on Life's tree; Till the sunshine of love-light revealM These jewels of Spirit to me. •Verses by a Student sent with roses on Christmas Day, 1899. Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 617 It is blessed to know that our Saviour Has called me to gather his own; To watch, and to guide, and present them Each a perfect, a tried living stone. As I, faint and weary, have listened For the Shepherd's voice, far on the height, I have heard the lone mountain lamb bleating, And have tarried to give it Love's light. I have oft heard the voice of the Master, Calling, "Lovest thou me — Feed my sheep,' And I quickened my earnest endeavor Up the mountain path, rugged and steep. Not the wealth of the Indies, if offered. Could purchase one jewel from me. Which I found in the rough, and have polished. Till its prism hues flash from my tree. There is one minor chord in my anthem, But which Love is attuning each day, As I think of the gems that have fallen, Ere Love's minstrel had finished her lay. Yes, my Christmas tree is heavy laden, But its branches are mighty to hold Every gem, which the dear Love has given. Every wanderer once in my fold. 6i8 Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers The flowers so pure and so fragrant, Brought quickly your message to me, And I forward my love, on the wings of a dove, My dear faithful student to thee. A. E. S. December 27, 1899. Hotel Touraine, Boston, Mass., June 3, 1900. My dear Student: — Just a line to tell you that I have sat as still as a mouse in your dress for two days, and have not let it drop in the dust. I have taken the very best care of it, while feeling so satisfied wdth my elegant costume, that I forget it is not mine. Really I consider this one of the greatest boons I ever received. Error would have sent me to the Communion service a reproach to the Cause for lack of harmony in my wardrobe, but Love reflected Herself in you, dear H. . . , and I am all right. It is wonderful how w^ell your gown fits me. Now dear, so much for my externals. My thoughts fly to you and yours in your home. I feel I have been a long time from my flock. I shall not get home till Saturday. Be strong in your understanding that Love rules, and that all dominion is yours. I feel meek and humble when I think of my blessed students whom God has given me. I rejoice that I can w^ork day and night for them, even though I have no time to clothe properly my corporeality and had to borrow^ your gown to go to Communion. I shall work more for my church than ever instead of less, for this has made my students faithful and strong. Give much love to 3^our dear mother and A. . . ^ Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 619 and to your husband and children, and with devoted love to you, I am, Your faithful teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. 24 West 72 nd Street, New York City, July 24, 1900. Beloved Student: — You are "wise unto salvation." "My son [daugh- ter], give me thine heart" is God's imperative demand. "Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine," is the assurance of our loving Father-Mother God. God gives us all that we have, and when He says "build Me an house," we have the work to do for Him. "Thy silver and thy gold is Mine, " saith the Lord. Oh ! if the world only knew the rich mines of hidden treasure in spiritual consciousness, and how it evolves things for our use, w^hich we must richly enjoy, there would be great investments in the stocks and bonds of creative Mind. We have all answered to God's call, and His temple, in symbol, First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, will be built. Thousands will enter its gates and learn of immortality here on earth. What a rich reward will be yours, dearest! Dear M . . . will continue to be seen, and heard, and felt in the church as the days go by, as we lose the finite in the infinite. Love and gratitude inexpressible to you and yours. ; Your faithful teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. 24 West 72 nd Street, New York City, September 14, 1900. My dear Friend: — I am unable to give you the desired information. I know nothing of the Field there, and I regard your cau- 620 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers tion as most wise. I find great pleasure in the fact that Love and Truth are omnipotent, and that if we trust in divine Mind, we shall be saved from our would- be destroyers — evil, evil thinkers and doers. My work is to conquer all sin in myself and to aid others, who appeal to me, so far as I can. God takes care of the evil-doer, or more scientifically. Truth, like the light, puts darkness, or evil, to flight and thus error destroys itself. ^^ I discern, through spiritual sense, the future of Christian Science — "the survival of the fittest *' — and I behold the evil thinker and doer reaping the result of false thinking. Through spiritual sense I perceive those churches disappear, whose shepherds could not quench the thirst of their flocks, when the demand for pure water (true Christian Science) , was made. Those who were led to the fountain of living waters by their shepherds, teachers, are safe in the ark of spiritual understanding, and are awaiting the reappearing of Christ through woman — our beloved Leader. Thus we must work and wait God's time of sifting the wheat from the tares, and we must be careful not to attempt to steady the ark of spiritual progress. I am glad that Love spoke through me to you. I love divinely. This I know. I must fulfil the law of Love. Yours in Christ, Augusta E. Stetson. 24 West 72ND Street, New York City, February 14, 1901. My beloved Valentine, Individual and Collective: — ' How can I choose my Valentine when each dear one ^ Written for a Valentine party of young people, Christian Scientists, at Brooklyn, and sent by me in lieu of my presence. Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 621 is to me "altogether lovely" and the aggregate is God's own body or Christ, and we are all "members in particu- lar"? How can I find sufficient reflection of the heart of Love to reflect to each of you a share, to unite each in the unity of the Spirit, and bind you together in the bonds of Mind, till you all respond to the pulsation of the ever-present Father- Mother Love? I hold you to-night in the unity of good. You unite with me in the love of Christian Science, and in the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit which is ever with all who love and obey God. Let each strive to see the other as spiritual, the mani- festation of God, and listen to our beloved Leader's latest words. Shut the door of your thought on all that is not Truth and Love. Love is God, and God is good. We are good and true and loving — because God is the only source of our being. Be ye perfect. Be happy, sinless, and harmless, and Christ will dwell in your midst to-night and will fill your dear hearts with innocent pleasures and heavenly unity. Legions of angels fill your environment and could your spiritual eyes be opened, you would see the heavenly hosts which con- stitute the spiritual universe. There is no other uni- verse. Your ears would hear the grand Te Deum of rejoicing, because so many of you have turned your faces to Christ, and are coming into the boundless bliss and immortality which Love has prepared for you. Please sing for me "Shepherd, show me how to go" {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 397), and realize that in those w^ords our dear Leader, Mrs. Eddy, speaks, and let her be our precious Valentine. Lovingly, ever yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 622 Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 143 West 48TH Street, New York City, March 5, 1901. My dear Miss C . . . : — Your letters should have been answered sooner — but you know something of my work, and will excuse me. I have carefully considered your request in regard to your church membership, and I think it is best for you to be a member where you reside. You will feel that you belong to the body there, and it is right for you to tender your resignation from this church. The Clerk will send you a letter, and I am sure that 3^ou will do a great work for the Master in that field. We are getting on in a w^onderful way. It is seemingly a very straight and narrow one, but the dear ones are walking in it bravely and fearlessly, and the growth in realization is marked. Good is our God, and Love enfolds us. We just reflect and reflect and reflect divine Love, but what a rod Love is to the error in ourselves and in others. Nevertheless we rejoice in it, and work, and some day we shall hear, "Come, ye blessed of my Father." I send you much love, and will always be glad to see you. Stand for Truth and Love, but stand in meek- ness, looking always to the source of all things — God, our Father- Mother Love. ■ I am ever your sister in the bonds of Christ, 2^ Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, July 31, 1903. My beloved Student: — Just a few lines to you. I am battling with the in- tense heat, and the church problem, — ^in fact, striving against material sense testimony — looking for deHver- Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 623 ance, and the fruition of the long, weary pilgrimage from sense to Soul, from matter to Mind, and the completion of our dear church edifice. I think your daughter should wait until the fall months to be treated. All are now resting from the active work of treating patients; they have to refresh themselves by reading and self-examination and quiet communion with God. I can do nothing now for you as my whole time is employed for the church. Strikes and other discordant phenomena show that the birth is prolonged — a test of our faith and* understanding. The strikes have not arrested the work on our church, though delegates are in and out constantly. I shall know that God governs these delegates, and that there is no other power, and no other presence but God's delegates. ^ ->^^ I know that you are working mentally, dear, and that yoiu* good thoughts help me and all. I will do all I can for your daughter, if she decides later that she wants treatment. Love untold to you, my dear, dear student. QY Y- Faithfully yours, rr'^ Augusta E. Stetson. i6Dnow I West 96TH Street, New York City, October 8, 1903. My dear Dr. A . . . : — ' If all who have enlisted in the Master's service could give proof of holy ministration and consecrated lives, during long years of warfare with the flesh, when the Spirit contended for supremacy, and conquered, we should have many such "living epistles" as you, whose » Reply to a letter from a Presbylerian clergyman. 624 Letters to Friends and Feilow-Workers Christ would be manifest on the face and in the Christly mental touch. I thank you for your kind note. It was a cup of cold water, and I drank it with an Amen. I was glad to know that you recognized the earnest conviction of my faith, and that Truth and Love as understood in Chris- tian Science, is Light, which leads into the way the Master pointed out, and in which he walked. I thank you again, and appreciate your approval. Please give my love to dear Mrs. A . . . . I am indebted to you both for my beloved student A . . . , and my heart goes out to the father and mother in the flesh, who taught her hoiv to Hve, that God might be honored and obeyed. Together we all will continue our march towards the city of our God. Tenderly your friend, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, March 27, 1904. My dear Mr. S . . . : — You are most appreciative of my efforts to help you in your problems of Truth over the fleshly ills. I am embarrassed with such an expression of gratitude, and wonder what I can do to merit your kindness. Please do not think that I am tmmindful of the awakened Christ in your consciousness. I am rejoiced to see in you the irresistible conflict between the human and the divine, or mental chemicaHzation. It appears to our material sense to be physical discord, but it is the Master's hand sweeping across the harp-strings, attun- ing your being to health, harmony, and immortality. The jarring and twanging, which are restoring you to your dominion over all things, do not seem pleasant now, Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 625 and sometimes we become weary of the struggle to overcome the evidence of the false senses, but Love never fails us, and we triumph if we cling steadfastly to Truth. You are immortal and perfect, for there is but one creator, eternal Life, whom you reflect. Error is powerless when you know this, and the false claim called mortal mind and its matter body cannot deceive and hold you in discord or disease. The false and untrue must disappear before the Christ-man who stands with his eyes fixed on Truth, his face to the heaven of Soul. The strong swimmer for the shore of eternal Life increases in strength and reaches his goal. May the dear Father- Mother God be found by you in every trial of your faith, so near and omnipotent that you will never fear, but will know the nothingness of matter, the allness of divine Mind, and your eternal oneness with Principle or divine consciousness. I am always ready to help you when you cannot put to flight the lie of disease. I am sure you will use the Word of God, try your own sword, and never let it trail in the dust. Sincerely and faithfully your friend, Augusta E. Stetson. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I West 96TH Street, May 10, 1905. My beloved Student: — Your letter of explanation gives me joy. "Whoso- ever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matt, xvi., 25). You and dear L. . . have chosen wisely. You will find all that you require in the college to which you are directed. "God loveth a cheerful giver." You have given up your false sense for your true sense, 4 626 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers and Love will supply your present need. The dear Christ is guiding us wisely in this hour, giving us material food and clothing, until we shall be fed and clothed spiritually or mentally. "Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. " Christ Jesus said that we should eat of the bread of heaven and live. The Word of God, or the substance-thought of Life, supports our being, and feeds and satisfies our immortal cravings. The material bread satisfies the mortal desires, or material belief. Let us renew our deter- mination to rise above all sensuous desires or appetites, and continue to denounce the claim of pain or pleasure in matter, until we are finally freed from it. This aids the ejection of error, and in time we shall all gain domin- ion over the flesh and evil. The fleshly mind must be put off. The "old man" with his deeds must be repudiated. I am very happy about you, dear E . . . . I wish I had more students like you. Your church is warmed by your love and L . . . *s. Let this letter be for you both. I have so little time in which to write. I shall be in your church when the organ is set up, to give a blessing and to receive one from my dear students. With much love to you and the dear flock, I am, Yours faithfully, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, June 6, 1905. My dear Student: — I wonder if you sent me the tuition for class instruc- tion, with a sense of the terms of the past, or if you con- sider that you have received more than the amount of the present term. The tuition formerly was one Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 627 hundred dollars, but at present it is fifty dollars. Shall I return the fifty dollars? I have two students in this class who "love much," and I feel that I am responsible for giving much, as I walk "the way" with them. I shall be faithful to my obligations, and you will witness the example of fidelity to Principle, and to those who stand for good in their respective order. I know where the faithful are to be found, and I know their rich reward is sure. Our journey is through the tangled wilderness of fear and doubt. Mental robbers are on every hand ready to rob us of our inheritance; mental thieves are in the road that winds upward, to steal our passport to spiritual consciousness, the city of God, and Cain is always in ambush to spring upon Abel unawares, and to deprive him of his power to press on, or to take his life. This is the false belief which the Christian Scientist must render powerless. God is our strength and refuge. Love is our invincible armor. Panoplied in Truth and Love, we are impregnable and "only with thine [our] eyes" will we behold the reward of the wicked. I have perfect trust that the good we embody will deliver us from the merciless foe. With our unde- stroyed errors constantly lessening, we shall keep up our march away from sin and death, towards Life eternal, Love, and Truth. Let our thoughts blend with those of our creator, and let God govern our every thought. Then we will rise to know that there is no power and no presence but Love and Her ideas, — a perfect God and perfect man, or universe, of which we ^are members, and which we occupy and enjoy. I thank you for all that you have done for m.e and for our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, and for the Cause 628 Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers of Christian Science. I hope I may ever be grateful for such a student. Ever most faithfully and lovingly your teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, November 7, 1905. My dear sister in Truth: — I received your kind letter and thank you for your appreciation of my efforts to show you "the way.'' I pray you may always walk in it, and that you will watch that you do not lose the chord of Christ by listen- ing to the fooHsh virgins, who are letting their lamps go out by listening to and obeying the lulling jargon of the malicious mental malpractitioners who argue "No personality," "Personal control," etc., the most subtle of all the methods ever argued by error. I am strong and courageous in the warfare against evil. My efforts are put forth to grapple with, and master in myself (and for all who are ready to receive the Truth), the one evil, sensuous mesmerism, whether in the pains or the pleasures of mortal mind, physical or mental. Gustatory pleasures darken many, and prevent the healing of disease. God is coming nearer to us than ever, and the hour has struck when the faith- ful are reaping a rich reward. We have had a sifting in our ranks. About fourteen followed L . . . but none of them were ever true Scientists. They were very material, and always a care to me. The relief is great since the dead wood is removed. We are so happy in our work, and the church is so grandly strong, so mighty in meekness, unity, and love. I believe that, for one year, they who have gone out have suffered from the force of divine Love which Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 629 their error resisted. They simply could not endure the purifying fires of Truth and Love. They could not rise with us to the demands of Christ. But God will continue His work, and, sooner or later, they will have to endure the heat of the furnace, seven times heated, which will purify even the gold of human character. I rejoice that I have loved all, and still love the good and hate (resist) the evil wherever I see it. This is our salvation — to hate evil as the Master did and to rebuke it under every form. I hope to see you here in the near future. Please give my love to H. . . and Mr. A. . . . Yours lovingly ever, Augusta E. Stetson. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I West 96TH Street, May 10, 1908. My beloved Student: — Just a bon voyage and safe return to your loved ones here. I have much to do, but I am determined to get this letter off to you, and no one shall prevent me from telling you that I shall miss you in our church. You will work faithfully, I am sure, to reflect without ceas- ing, the God-thought. This is sure to be felt in human consciousness, and thus you do much mental, impersonal universal work. Both you and dear C . . . , I know, are standing firm at your mental posts. I shall be glad when you return and are active in your teacher's field. I am always in my place of spiritual observation, dear L. . . , so you will know that everything is prosperous during your absence. I would be so happy if, during the summer months, my people would settle down to work in the healing of the sick, and demonstra- 630 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers tion of Truth. This will eventually be done by all, and all will find joy in bringing the world to Christ. I have no other purpose, no other joy, and shall not have until I awake in His likeness, wherein is fulness of joy. Be happy, and work in your Bible and Science and Health, and rise into newness of life with our beloved Leader. Lovingly, faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City,. July 23, 1908. My dear Mrs. S. . . : — Please pardon my delay in replying to your letter. I am so pressed with work I cannot do as I would. I am sure that in Chicago there are many Scientists who could answer your question as well as I, because there is but one reason for failure to verify Jesus' promises, viz. : lack of conformity to God's law. "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" sets one free from the law of sin, and limitation which you say binds you. We all should demonstrate more of the affluence of the love which is divine, which sees matter as the "material pigment" {Retrospection and Introspection, p. 79), or manifestation of so-called mortal mind, and, through the lens of spiritual sense, discerns that man is immortal, ■ — the idea of God, our brother man. |^ The condition to which you refer — limitation — seems to be the result of the letter of Christian Science, and not enough of the spirit. We may make the demand on Principle, but it can be demonstrated only so far as we possess the Mind of Christ. If we ask for under- standing and love, and conform to the law of God, Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 631 and desire to leave all false material sense and false appetites, the pleasures as well as the pains of sense; if we pray to become one with God consciously, for, of course, we are, and always have been God's ideas, we shall gain the ear of the infinite, and the forces of divine intelligence will operate on the false material senses, Hke light upon darkness, and will gradually dis- pel fear and doubt. Love will chase away the clouds of so-called self-love, self-will, hatred, envy, jealousy, revenge, lust, and self-deception, which in greater or lesser degree compose the carnal mind, which is opposed to Christ. There is not, and there never was, a good mortal man. All mortals are composed of belief — sin and death — the lie. Further w^e learn in Christian Science that there never was a creative lie which created a universe. God is the only creator of the universe, including man,, and God is Truth. God is your loving Father, who ever guides and governs His own ideas in perpetual harmony. He supplies His own universe with life, for He is Life eternal. You are a member of His body, or universe, and if you abide in Love you cannot want. Love abounds in beauty and affluence. We, to-day, even at our best, have but a faint com- prehension of our divine possibilities. We must strive to be transparencies for Love and Truth. We must come out from the world of material worshipers, and be separate. We "cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils;" we cannot contem- plate the false and illusive material creation, or linger mentally in the pleasures of physical sense, and ex- pect to bring out the effect of Spirit — health, strength, peace, and love for God and man. A Christian Scientist must be single-eyed. Immor- 632 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers tality — eternal Life must be his goal. He must find and partake of the bread of Truth, and drink of the water of life — spiritual thoughts, which sustain and reconstruct the body; he must eat (think) less of material food, which at best merely satisfies belief, and has no life abiding in it. As we rise God-ward, we lose our material appetites, and hunger and thirst after righteousness. Then Love appears, and the words of our beloved Leader are remembered : Fed by Thy love divine we live, For Love alone is Life. (^Miscellaneous Writings, p. 388.) I hope, dear Mrs. S . . . , that I have not written beyond your comprehension, nor forgotten to give **milk to babes. " You know I do not understand just where you are in Christian Science. I am sure that you will deny error or evil as power, and will refuse to admit limitations, but, dear fellow pilgrim, you can demonstrate only so far as you have attained the divine elements of Truth and Love. Then work, watch, and pray to be like Christ and our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy — the meek, loving, compassionate, tender, and true representative of Christ. You will do this, for God will eventually force you to obey His law of perfect love. Faithfully your friend, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, November 22, 1909. Beloved Student: — You are learning of God His "hidden mystery" — that "wisdom" is better "than fine gold." "She is more precious than rubies : and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. " I am strong Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 633 in faith and in love for God, for my beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, for my beloved students whose under- standing of Truth and Love, as taught by Mrs. Eddy, is now being tested, and for poor humanity who needs the love which is spiritual, to be freed from bondage to sin and the belief of a power opposed to God. If all my dear students had your spiritual intuition, I would have less to meet in this hour. I am demonstrating for myself, with wonderful peace and strength, but I pray for my dear students that their faith fail not. I kiss the cross, knowing that this cup must come sooner or later to every follower of Christ. It is a joy to know that so many are learning to love divinely, and to obey our blessed Leader, Mrs. Eddy, in her watch-care of our dear church. I was on the witness stand in Boston when danger threatened my students and church. God, through His mouthpiece, Mary Baker Eddy, spake peace to the troubled sea of human concepts and calmed the waters. How good is our God, and His spiritual idea, our holy Leader. I send 3^ou deathless love, my dear student. I am grateful for your protecting care, and when God comes to you with a message, will you send it to me? I am glad in my retirement to hear from you, and from all who discern the path I am treading. How often the words of our Leader have come to me — "Would existence without personal friends be to you a blank?" {Science and Health, p. 266.) God bless you and yours. Remember me to Mr. W. . . and kiss dear little R. . .for me. Some day we shall awake in God's likeness. Love untold, Faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 634 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers TO MY DEAR STUDENTS AND CHURCH MEMBERS "Fear not, little flock, 't is your Father's good pleasure, To give you the kingdom," the robe and the ring. Fear not the mad foe, who beholding your triumph, Pursues to destroy with the merciless sting. Take heart, the avenger can not overthrow you; The Cause is the Lord's, and the victory sure; Press on in the race for immortal dominion, Nor turn back to idols — resist and endure. Then raise high the standard of Truth, as you follow Your Shepherd, who leads to life's pastures immense; He folds, and protects from the wolf, and the fowler. Who lure to o'erthrow in the valley of sense. Awake to your birthright! And, guided by wisdom, Communing with Spirit, the quickening dove, You will soar, as a bird, beyond each sin-barbed arrow. And rest, safe in joyous omnipotent Love. A. E. S. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, January 12, 1912. Dear Mr. L . . . : — Your letter is evidence that you discern the signs of the times and are awake to the demands of the hour. You will remember that I was rebuked for declaring for immortality as a present possession, and, for my defense against mental malpractice, I was denounced as making myself as God.' It was stated, at that time, that this was done in the composite letter, in ^John X., 33. Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 635 which my students endeavored to see me and all as ideas through the spiritual concept. They declared, however, that they had not made this concept perma- nent, or a "conscious, constant capacity" {Science and Health, p. 209), to see God in the face of man, yet that they must stand for spiritual being as the only reality if they would destroy mortal belief. We all were mocked. One asked if we ate; another what we had for breakfast, and if immortals ate food. You can imagine the confusion. To-day my articles have been accepted by thousands as true Christian Science, as found in our text-book. Science arid Healthy and in our beloved Leader's other writings. Our opponents contradict their profession. The tomb with electric lights and telephone, — remov- ing our beloved Leader's name from her Manual in a few weeks after she entered upon her final demonstration — the twelve feet of concrete, steel, iron, and sod under which the Directors placed a mxaterial belief — an illusion — the circulation of obituary notices in book form and the Directors' alliance with the League for Medical Freedom — all show the effort of malicious animal magnetism to advertise the seeming death of our Leader and hold the Field to mortality. It was told me that one in First Church here said that I was ahead of the times ; that it would be centuries before any one could demonstrate immortality. There never was such mental darkness on the earth as in these days, and on the other hand there was never so much spiritual light. This spiritual force is the on-coming Christ, and is driving evil, so-called, to the surface where the claim to evil will be self-destroyed. Very sincerely yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 636 Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, March 6, 19 10. My dearly beloved Student: — I am sending you a booklet — the poem^ which I sent to Mrs. Eddy with the loveUest canary — the sweetest ginger. The poem will speak for itself. The cage and bird were returned to me, with a reply in verse from our beloved Leader. You will remember, dear, her words to me in that poem, "Tell her I have kept her heart. " She kept my heart, therefore she can never lose it. Oh! my dear student, never doubt her wisdom and divine love. No matter what I have to meet, I know that she is an individual idea of God, His voice to humanity in this age, and I am willing to drink my cup for her dear sake, as well as for my own. She cannot lose me. I am ever watching with her, and rising above material sense to the spiritual. I know the enemy is foaming out its venom at Truth and Love which I reflect, but I do not believe in a power opposed to eternal Mind, therefore persecu- tion has no terror for me. I am striving to see man in God's image. The enemy is striving to see evil and sin in man, and evil and sin will soon be self- destroyed. I am thinking God's thoughts to you, as you sail over the sea of human concepts. You will reach your desired haven and enjoy your travel. Remember, you are always one with God. Love is ever-present, and you can never be separated from Her — your source and supply of life and peace, joy and power. Our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, says, "There is no pleasure, no bliss in mortal things. However dear they may seem to mortal sense, to Soul they are not permitted." Dwell then, dear, in your Soul-sense, and find your joy in contemplating the eternal real. »See pages 1 59-161. Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 637 I shall often think of you, and you will feel the truth of divine reflection. God bless and keep you. No material selfhood — only the divine self, must be at last demonstrated. Love is unfailing. Your faithful teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, April 19, 1910. My dear Mr. L . . . : — Your letter and favor are before me. I thank you for both. It is not necessary for me to inquire in regard to your character. I shall depend upon my intuition and judge by the mental impression which your letter conveys. You would better understand me if you were a Christian Scientist, or a divine metaphysician; but I am sure that you discern, in this hour, a religious, personal conflict, which is the result of two mental forces — the so-called mortal mind, and the immortal or Christ-mind. It is an irresistible warfare, both in individual and in universal consciousness. The world is awaking to the truth that Mind, God, is power, and expresses and governs all phenomiena. May I beg your indulgence while I preface my letter with a few metaphysical postulates which will enable you to discern my position? Christian Science teaches that there is but one Mind— one God; there- fore "All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all" {Scierice and Health, p. 468). The great creative Principle is Spirit, Mind, intelli- gence. Man is God's idea or child, made in the image and likeness of his creator, God. There is but one God, one creator, and one man — which is the universe 638 Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers or manifestation of God, or God and His Christ, eternal Life, Love, and Truth. Individual man is a member of the body of Christ. There is but one primal cause — one Mind; therefore man is a mental being, emanating from God, the source of all life. Man reflects Mind, as the ray- reflects the sun. All the rays proceed from the sun and compose the sun. Thus we see in divine meta- physics that man cannot be separated from God. He cannot be detached from his source, neither can God be deprived of His ideas or thoughts. This is absolute Christian Science as taught in our text-book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, our revered and beloved Leader. We have Scriptural authority for spiritual creation in the first chapter of Genesis, where w^e read that "God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him. . . And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.'* And God gave man dominion over all the earth. I stand immovable in this conviction, unflinchingly defending my true consciousness, my divine selfhood. I admit but one Power, one Presence — omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent Mind as real, and I declare my oneness with this great and only source of being — our Father-Mother God. The opposite, so-called mortal mind, or Adam, is not the real man, but is the mortal so-called mind which is always opposed to the Christ-mind. One is Truth, the other is error — a false mentality that expresses itself in a material embodiment, that manifests sin, sickness, and death. These two opposing mental forces have always been antagonistic. The great master Metaphysician, Jesus the Christ, Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 639 gained a sublime victory over the material senses, the world, the flesh, and evil. He is our example. Our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, discovered and founded Christian Science through her apprehension of the superiority of Spirit over matter, or the divine con- sciousness over the material senses. She learned, through a highly developed spiritual sense, and by constant communion with God, and study of His Word, how Jesus performed his mighty works of heal- ing the sick and destroying sin. She is following the example of Christ, and has established this great religious truth in the hearts of those who have spiritual discernment to comprehend it. Progress is the law of the infinite. As Truth urges Her claim upon mortals. She meets resistance from the carnal mind. Only the dauntlessly brave, who have enlisted in this warfare, dare to encounter the hostility of the relentless foe to Christ — the carnal mind. The battle is on for the supremacy of immortal Mind over the mortal, material senses. I have no fear for the result. Truth is always the victor. My opponents declare that my teaching is erroneous because it conflicts with their interpretation of Science and Health from their standpoint, which is that they are mortal now, but that in the hereafter they will gain immortality. / declare that *' Now are we the sons of God; " that now is man a divine emanation of Spirit, and in the words of Jesus, ''Whosoever believeth in him should . . . have everlasting life." This imder- standing will destroy the belief in a power opposed to God — called mortal mind. Thought is force. It must be apparent to the twentieth century thinker that man*s real conscious- ness, which proceeds from God, must carry with it 640 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers the power of God, with which He endowed man. This is the truth of being and must be demonstrated by humanity, either here or hereafter. Paul says: "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace" (Romans viii., 6). To be a follower of Christ, a true Christian Scientist, demands not alone profession, but demonstration. Many enlist in this race for immortality, but, because of the price which Truth requires (the sacrifice of per- sonal self, self-will, personal ambition, and the belief of life and intelligence in matter), few continue to press onward to the goal. Many fall by the wayside through lack of moral courage; others through lack of compre- hension of the deep things of God ; and many because of self-love, self-will, and desire for worldly popularity. They are slaves who will not choose Hatred, scoffing, and abuse. Rather than in silence shrink From the truth they needs must think; They are slaves who dare not be In the right with two or three. ^ The true Christian Scientist sings with the spirit and with the understanding, "In the cross of Christ I glory, " because the cross is illumined by the presence of the invisible Christ. The cup my Father has given me to drink has within it no redundant drop. "[love's] rod and [love's] staff they comfort me."^ St. Paul says: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Gal. v., 22, 23). This I have proved, amid the most crucial experiences which any one was ever compelled to endure. I have never ^Lowell. ^Science and Health, p. 578. Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 641 for a moment, during twenty-five years, wavered in my allegiance to my Leader and Teacher, Mrs. Eddy. I have never doubted her wisdom, nor permitted a criticism of her words or works. I have always been profoundly grateful for her unselfed love for humanity and for me. I have deeply appreciated her gentle guidance and her stern, loving rebuke; her forbearing patience, and her watchful care of my feeble efforts to follow Christ, and to demonstrate the power and presence of Truth and Love. I would be an ingrate should I fail to appreciate all that I have received from my beloved Leader. Could she, for twenty- five years, have walked with me, and commended me as a faithful, obedient student, and then forsake me in the crucial hour, when I was standing for spiritual reality as I promised her that I would do? No, she knew that my hour for emergence from material organization had come and that I must make my own demonstration . : :- I believe that I am demonstrating the spiritual law, or power of omnipotent Love against opposing forces in the realm of mortal mind. I believe that I am obedient to the law of divine Mind, because I have demonstrated the potency of the Christ-mind over nearly every disease to which flesh is heir. During twenty-four years in this city, as a demonstrator of the power of divine Mind, I have risen above seemingly insurmountable obstacles in building a church edifice, and in building characters on the rock of spiritual understanding of the allness of God and the nothing- ness of a suppositional power opposed to God — called mortal mind or evil. I have proved the Principle of being in perfect physical health, a perfectly harmonious environment, and calm peace w^hich is inexpressible — 41 642 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers a trust in ever-present, omnipotent Love, which must be unity with the source of my being. I have not yet attained to the ultimate heights of spiritual power, but I have gained sufficient realization to meet this hour. There is a problem before the world that has never been solved. The Bible has been a sealed book. Mrs. Eddy has opened this seal and given to the world the Key to the hidden treasures of the Word of God, and man's tmity with his Maker. She has unmasked the forces of so-called evil which compose the carnal mind, namely — belief of life in matter, which is so-called sin, fear, malice, hatred, revenge, envy, hypocrisy, etc., that have deceived the whole world. With the power of the Word of God (our spiritual consciousness), we are freeing ourselves and humanity from these false forces, and are teaching the Truth which sets free from sin, sickness, and death. The human contest is for spiritual dominion which God has given to the Christ-man. The materially minded do not compre- hend spiritual facts. Paul says: "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (I Cor. ii., 14). '""'^^^ One would not expect a pupil in addition to compre- hend the terms used in algebra ; so in Christian Science, only those who strive manfully keep abreast with Truth; but these are one with God, therefore they are the majority. To-day it is a question of ecclesiastical control or despotism — official domination or material sense, as opposed to individual understanding and spiritual sense. Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 643 In my teaching and practice I am closely following the text-book of Christian Science, as I have done for twenty-five years. This book is continually unfolding to me the wonders in the law of God hidden from the foundation of the world, but now made manifest, in the operation of that law or Mind-force to those who can discern it, who work for it and utilize it in gaining their freedom from the bondage of sin, sickness, and death. Only the works will prove whether it is / or the Directors of The Mother Church who understand this law sufficiently to demonstrate it. There is no evidence as yet, that the Directors are the demonstrators of the teachings of Science and Health in the abasement of material selfhood, or that their judgment of divine metaphysics, or Christian Science, is infallible. ^r: They have, up to this time, been good business men, who have conducted the temporal affairs of the material organization in a thoroughly satisfactory manner. Now they are called upon to show their understanding of divine metaphysics and to judge me, one of Mrs. Eddy's oldest students, with whom she has walked in close association and with devoted love for twenty-five years. During those years, I have given all my time to the study and demonstration of Christian Science, and thousands have been healed through my min- istry and have accepted Christianity according to Christian Science. The Directors are acting in their capacity of "the highest ecclesiastical tribunal" of a material organization. Mrs. Eddy says in regard to organization : Despite the prosperity of my church, it was learned that material" organization has its value and peril, and that organization is requisite only in the earliest periods 644 Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers in Christian history. After this material form of cohesion and fellowship has accomplished its end, continued organ- ization retards spiritual growth, and should be laid off, — even as the corporeal organization deemed requisite in the first stages of mortal existence is finally laid off, in order to gain spiritual freedom and supremacy {Retro- spection and Introspection, p. 45). Mrs. Eddy wrote to the New York field one year ago: When my dear brethren in New York desire to build higher, — to enlarge their phylacteries and demonstrate Christian Science to a higher extent, — they must begin on a wholly spiritual foundation, than which there is no other, and proportionably estimate their success and glory of achievement only as they build upon the rock of Christ, the spiritual foundation. This will open the way, widely and impartially, to their never-ending success, — to salva- tion and eternal Christian Science. Spirit is infinite; therefore Spirit is all. "There is no matter" is not only the axiom of true Christian Science, but it is the only basis upon which this Science can be demonstrated {Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 390). Those who had risen to discern the spiritual facts of being were ready to begin striving to possess a ' ' wholly spiritual" consciousness, and thus to reflect more of the power of omnipotent Life, Truth, and Love. When error felt the increased power of Truth, urging its claims for recognition and obedience, there was resist- ance in human consciousness, and the battle of error against Truth was evident. Progress is the law of divine Mind, God. Those who are ready rally to Truth's standard'. They heed not the overturning and upheaval of false theories Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 645 and erroneous material interpretations of Truth and Her laws. Mortals cannot arrest the onward march of divine Science, which seems to human sense at the present hour to be "on the scaffold;" nor can it terrify Her standard-bearers by threats and invectives. I cannot wrong my intelligence by accepting another's interpretation of the Bible and Science and Health when that interpretation is directly opposed to my u^iderstanding of my Leader's teachings. I have solved many perplexing problems in this most material and active of cities, and have proved the power of good over the claim of evil, of love over the claim of so-called hate, malice, jealousy, etc. Great demands have been made upon me by a large body of students from every walk of life, which have forced me to gain an understanding of the Science of Mind, that has uncovered to me the subtle and false claims of the working of the carnal mind, or malicious animal magnetism. While I see this as a false claim, I wrestle with it, and, through the power of the Christ -con- sciousness, make it unreal. I know, by spiritual intuition, when I am attacked by malicious mental malpractice in its efforts to destroy my usefulness and intimidate or discourage me. My defense is in the sword of the Spirit — the Word of God ; the declaration that God is the only power and the only presence; that divine Love fills all space; that there is no power nor presence opposed to God, nor to man who reflects Him. Evil in all its forms is powerless to overcome good, and must disappear and leave the field to Love, who fills all space. This is the mental defense of a Christian Scientist, and is not malpractice. Malpractice is the effort of one mortal to injure another, or to intimidate or discourage or wrong another. 646 Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers You can readily see that anybody occupying a promi- nent position, wielding the sword of Truth, which destroys error — thereby arousing more or less of the mortal within and without — must have his defense behind the breastwork of omnipotence. He must dwell in spiritual consciousness. He must abide '4n the secret place of the most High," where no poison-barbed arrow wounds the dove. Mrs. Eddy, herself, is above and beyond this mental battle which must be worked out by me as a metaphysical problem. I am like a mathematician who stands before the blackboard working out a mathematical conclusion. The audience is the world, interested only in the solution. I am not looking for my beloved Leader to spare me humiliation or shorten the process by coming forward and showing me where I should add and where divide. I have been a member of three classes which were personally instructed by her in the Massachusetts Metaphysical College, and, during twenty-five years, have received her further personal instruction in interviews and in frequent letters from her up to the 30th of August, 1909. If I have not attained sufficient spiritual understanding by years of watching, working, prayer, and demonstration, to meet this hour alone with God, I merit defeat. Jesus met his test of the power of his Christ -consciousness over the material world alone with God. He was tempted with doubt as to his ability to conquer the malice of the world when he cried out, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" While in Boston, under the greatest stress, for one moment I said, "I may have been wrong, but I thought I was absolutely right." Instantly I recognized that Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 647 I was meeting doubt, which was immediately dispelled, and I knew that my teachings and interpretations of Science and Health were, and had been, absolutely correct. Therefore I could not be induced to admit that I was wrong, although excommunication was threatened. I knew that my students and my church would have to meet the test of my excommunication, which would tax their faith and understanding. They had always been taught by me to love and obey our revered Leader, Mrs. Eddy, and the consti- tuted authorities (the Directors) although some mem- bers of this Board had been but a short time in office. Yet seeing all this before me, I stood unswervingly for my Christ-consciousness and for my beloved Leader, whose every word has been to me the voice of wis- dom and Love. She has never, during this crisis in the warfare between Truth and error, condemned my teaching or practice. I am her loyal, loving, obedient student. If she considered my interpreta- tion of her teaching erroneous, she would inform me. Until she does, I shall defend my position, and, from the vantage ground of divine Love, I shall strive to make the claim of evil unreal, and wait on God for the result. This battle is inevitable. Christ's king- dom must be established on earth. He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat ; He is sifting out the hearts of men before his judgment seat.^ The conflict will not cease until victory rests on the side of immutable Truth. Man is immortal. Mortal man is a myth, which will disappear when man awakes ^ Julia Ward Howe. 648 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers to the truth of his being — that he is not material, but spiritual, an emanation of divine Mind. For this mental Messiah I am contending. I trust that you will pardon me if I have intruded too long upon your time or exhausted your patience with metaphysical statements. Yours very sincerely, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, May 7, 1910. My dear Mr. M. . . :^^^ This is the first opportunity I have found to reply to your favor. It may be presumptuous for me to assume that you expect an acknowledgment, but there appears in your letter a misapprehension of a scientific point which I must correct. You write, "man's self is formed by his own mind." God, Mind, Spirit, or Principle, is the only cause or creator, there- fore man reflects God — Mind, and has no mind apart from God. The one omnipotent, omnipresent Mind is man's source of life and intelligence. God and man (the spiritual universe) are one, or God and His Christ. Individual man is a member of the body of Christ. God governs His manifestation or Christ, and thus every man is held by the law or power of Spirit, Mind. This is absolute Christian Science, and, sooner or later, we must demonstrate eternal Life, or spiritual consciousness. I did not intend to convey the impression that the Directors alone were my opponents. Six disloyal students among the twenty-five practitioners failed to understand my metaphysical teachings and per- sisted in misrepresenting my words. Nineteen of the Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 649 twenty-five, who understood my terms from a meta- physical standpoint, are with me. The six reversed and garbled what I said, and carried these false reports to the Directors. "If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or un- believers, will they not say that ye are mad?'* (i Cor. xiv., 23.) One of my students, disloyal to Principle and idea, seemed unable to grasp divine metaphysics, and gave me much trouble while she was with me. I have a letter in her own handwriting, in which she denounced Mrs. Eddy and her teachings. I replied to her, telling her she could no longer be a student of mine. After a while she took up theosophy, of which she is said to be an ardent follower. This woman was before the Board of Directors in July and made charges which I denied, until I saw that it was useless to try to defend myself, and I let her go on. In a few days these charges were officially withdrawn. ^^'^c^iiw S£il vi3L.; After returning home, I foimd Mrs. B . . . *s letter to which I have referred in which she had denounced Mrs. Eddy, and I sent it to the Directors. This was the only witness who confronted me personally, and I had long since repudiated her as a student. Since then, this woman has used the press to publish the most absurd statements about me. They are false in every particular, and so ridiculous that they have made many friends for me among the best people in this city. We have a man at the head of the Publication Committees whose duty it is to correct false statements against Christian Scientists and to defend the Cause of Christian Science — towards whose salary our church 650 Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers pays nearly three hundred dollars a month. He works with our present Board of Trustees, eight of the former Trustees who stand with me having withdrawn from the Board. This man has never corrected an erroneous report concerning me, but has permitted any one to testify without contradiction as he or she may be moved by ignorance or animosity. This explanation may cover the question of malicious malpractice. If I seem, as you say, to argue "on a minor issue, letting serious charges go by default," it is because I feel that it is not possible to explain them to one not versed in the workings of mental malpractice. Referring to my statement that Mrs. Eddy never told me my teaching and practice were wrong, I will say: she is my Leader and Teacher. She has always admonished and advised, counselled and comforted, corrected and reproved me when I needed her wisdom and experience. In this hour of supreme test, Mrs. Eddy has written me, ''The Holy Bible, Science and Health, and The Mother Church Manual are your safe guides. Follow them." I infer that she is letting me make my own demonstration and prove my spiritual armor. I am, and have been, confident that she keeps a watchful eye on these proceedings. I am sure her hand is on the helm of Christian Science, as it has always been. Mrs. Eddy is wisdom's mouthpiece. Her word is law to me. As I have a Leader who has always faithfully fulfilled the sacred ofhce of human mediator, leading me by her spiritual discernment to Christ, through Christian Science, I should be dis- loyal to this Leader if I accepted views contrary to my understanding of her teachings, which she has Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 651 publicly and privately endorsed. For twenty-five years I have proved the Truth of these teachings in health, divine love, peace, and a sweet and certain sense of God's allness and the true brotherhood of man. •Your advice in regard to my future work would be right from your view-point, but not from mine. I have built one church edifice, and I do not need to remain in that mental stage of material organization and build another church militant. I have made a perfect demonstration of a perfect material church edifice, and perfect organization of its members and its work. Now, I must rise and further spirituaHze my thought. I cannot return to material organization, but must begin to build on a "wholly spiritual" consciousness— a wholly spiritual character, which will reveal the Church Triumphant, the superstructure of Truth and Love "whose builder and maker is God." Oliver Wendell Holmes had a faint conception of this spiritual building when he wrote: Build thee more stately mansions, 0 my Soul, As the swift seasons roll ! Till thou at length art free, Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea ! My students and the practitioners, who are devot- ing their entire time to the service of God in healing the sick and teaching the truth of Christian Science, besides hundreds of other students of mine who are not giving their entire time to the healing, are stead- fast in their purpose to possess the Mind of Christ and to demonstrate the allness of God— good— and the nothingness of matter — evil. 652 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers We continue to protest that now we are immortal, although we concede that so-called mortal thought and its embodiment, the matter body, are still in evidence. Two bodies cannot occupy the same space at the same time, neither can the mortal and the immortal thought be simultaneously entertained. We must choose which we will adopt. Having chosen the immortal thought, we repudiate the mortal, material senses. I was rebuked for claiming my present im- mortality— several of the Directors stating that they were mortals now but would finally merge into im- mortality. From that premise they cannot demon- strate immortality. Accepting and working from a material premise will never result in a spiritual conclusion. The sixteen practitioners, who were dropped from the local church, continue to attend services regularly in the church which they built. In meekness and love, they "worship Him [the Father] in spirit and in truth." They make the claim of evil unreal and see only the perfect man in the brethren and are leading humanity to know God, "w^hom to know aright is Life eternal." They heal the sick, and give the hand of compassionate forgiveness to the penitent sinner, for, through the veil of matter, spiritual sense discerns God's child. They are not clinging to my physical personality, but to Principle and idea, and to the teaching which has brought them health, happiness, and love for God and man. Thus we walk side by side in unity and spiritual love. I thank you for the kind interest you have taken in me, and assure you that I am sitting at the feet of the impersonal Christ, obeying the leadings of Truth and Love — our Father- Mother God. I am not idly Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 653 waiting, but am actively employed in the study of the Bible, Science and Health, and our Leader's other writings, and in attending to my correspondence. I am constantly working for the Cause, for my students, and for all mankind. My life is one pasan of praise to God for His greatest gift to me, my revered Leader and Teacher, Mary Baker Eddy, who has led us to Christ, who has given us Christian Science, the key to immortality, health, holiness, heaven — here and now. Yours very sincerely, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, July 19, 1910. My dear Student: — I am enclosing some lines' which came to me last week, and which apply to you first, last, and always. Mr. and Mrs. H. . . gathered the large sheaf of wheat from their farm, and sent it by Mrs. R. . . . I am speechless in my effort to convey to my faithful students the wonderful spiritual sense which has come to me since some of my dear students were ready to emerge from material organization. I seemed to be held somewhat to the temporal sense of persons and things, but, when some of the members of the student- body were detached from their anchorage to a material organization, and many others were ready to begin to build on a "wholly spiritual" consciousness {Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 390), I felt that I could rise more joyously with Christ, and lay my jewels in his hands. I have no words which will even faintly express my peace, and power, and joy, and my sacred sense of my oneness with God and with my blessed Leader. « See page 366. 654 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers I know that I feel her encircling arms, and no power nor claim of a power opposed to God can make me believe that she is not with me, an invisible spiritual presence waiting for me to open my spiritual eyes, and behold her. I know that material sense is dis- appearing, and that spiritual sense will reveal God, man, and the imiverse to me. I trust that you are enjoying your vacation and will improve the time in spiritualizing your thought. Give much love to dear Mrs. H. . . . Faithfully, affectionately your teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. Note — The poem referred to appears on page 366. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, August 16, iqio. Dear Mr. I. . . ; — Your letter surprises me. I must state my position in regard to my beloved Leader and Teacher, Mrs. Eddy, as evidently you do not understand it, or you would not condemn me for defending her and her teaching. To me she is the highest manifestation of good, of Love, on earth to-day. I have walked the thorn-road for many years, and have been encouraged and strength- ened always by her Christly life, her holy example, and her demonstration of her teachings. Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures and her other writings were God-inspired. I study them day and night, together with the Holy Bible and The Mother Church Manual, and they are leading me to imderstand the deep things of God, and to demonstrate the Truth, so far as I understand it. I find myself continually thanking God for Christ Jesus and for my revered Leader, Mrs. Eddy, who has led me to see Letters to Friends and Fellov/- Workers 655 how the ■ deeds of Christ were wrought, and how to love as he loved. In the words of Paul, I declare that "neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to sep- arate us [me] from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord," nor from Mary Baker Eddy, who in this age shows us the Christ-principle, and leads us out of the belief of life in matter into the imder- standing of life in Mind, God. Human language is inadequate to express my love for God, for His Christ, and for my precious Leader, Mrs. Eddy. Please read the 6th Chapter of 2 Corinthians. I am following Truth, and am bringing every thought into obedience to Christ, as fast as I can demonstrate. I rejoice that I am walking in the way our Master and our beloved Leader have trod. She is following Christ, and I follow as she leads. I do not see the distant path, nor can I always understand the present footsteps which lead me out of material sense into Soul, until I have obeyed the teaching of the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Then my spiritual sense illumines the way, and I press forward to the mark of the prize — immortality. Through material sense no one can understand either the Bible or Science and Health. This is why I work so continuously in my Leader's writings, that Christ, Truth, may unfold my spiritual sense, and reveal the eternal verities of God and His spiritual universe. Finite mortal man, so-called, evolves sickness, sin, and death — a universe composed of beliefs — illusions, in which is no life, intelligence, nor substance. Jesus de- nounced this material man as a liar from the begin- 656 Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers ning. How often I exclaim with Paul: "Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Truth, as taught first by Jesus, and to-day by Mary Baker Eddy, will set us free, if we endure unto the end of all belief of a power opposed to God. I am not in a material organization, but I never have refused to obey constituted authority — the Directors of The Mother Church — even though I felt they were wrong. My interpretation of Science and Health differed from theirs. I accepted their verdict — to be dropped from The Mother Church membership — with no sense of resentment or retaliation. I could not resign my convictions and my spiritual interpre- tation of the Bible and of our Leader's writings. They acted according to their interpretation of Science and Health. My explanation of divine metaphysics was apparently imintelligible to them. I was perfectly content to leave the question with God, the just Judge, whose decision will be rendered in His own time. Sooner or later all must begin to ''build ... on a wholly spiritual foimdation " {Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 390). My students and I are striving to worship God in spirit and in truth. We are waiting on divine Love to lead us to the true fold, and to the one Shepherd — Christ. Love will form Her perfect concept, and we shall finally see the perfect man in our brother and sister. Very sincerely, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, September 3, 1910. My beloved Student: — I aver that I am trusting divine Love to provide for my every need through Her own avenues, and Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 657 then I seem so surprised when She finds channels, and my needs are met in the affluence of Her love. We are so used to the cruel taskmaster, mortal mind (so-called), with its selfishness and greed, its envy and limitations, that we find ourselves slow to grasp the selfless love that "seeketh not her own," but another's good, and sacrifices to cheer another's way. I find more and more evidence of the great unfolding of Love in myself and in my beloved students, as we strive against material sense-testimony. I have so long fought for my immortal, conscious selfhood — my oneness with Principle — and have had to suffer so publicly for the stand I have taken for immortality, and mental practice in Christian Science, as taught me by Mrs. Eddy, that I rejoice to see our beloved Leader's article in to-day's Sentinel. I feared lest some would be led astray by the false teaching which seems to prevail at present ; but my Leader has Vv^aited until all are sifted, and then has spoken. The wheat and tares have been separated by the fan of Christian Science. Her words confirm our position: "You can never demonstrate spirituality until you declare your- self to be immortal and understand that you are so. . . . In practising Christian Science you must state its Principle correctly, or you forfeit your ability to demonstrate it" {Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xiii., p. 10). I thank you, dear, for yoiu* strong reflection of spiritual sense, which supports me through the crucifix- ion of my human selfhood and my hourly resiirrection. God bless you forevero Lovingly yours, Augusta E. Stetson, 658 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, December 21, 19 10. Dear Mr, W. . . ; — The tribute to our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, which appears in your magazine, was evidently written by one who "knew her but to love her. " Any eulogy that could be written of her would be "to gild refined gold. " But the great moral and spiritual work which she did for herself and for humanity, the mighty wrestlings to overcome and rise superior to the false belief of mind in matter, the constant persecution which followed her spiritual unfolding as she met the enmity of the carnal mind, which is opposed to Spirit — all this battle between Truth and error, or the conflict between Spirit and flesh, impelled her to rise to the zenith of demonstration of the law of God — eternal Life, Truth, and Love. The great spiritual blessings which flow from the life, example, and teachings of Mary Baker Eddy, if fully comprehended, would place her in the very heart of hearts of mankind, as the loving friend and emanci- pator from the ills of the fleshly mind, and would endear her to the entire world as a universal benefactor, who still lives, and reflects the omnipotence and omni- presence of infinite Love. Those who have spiritual vision will emulate her holy life, will follow her Christly example, and will patiently work, watch, and pray for spiritual illumina- tion with which to demonstrate and behold man in God's image and likeness. I take exception, however, to your writer's inter- pretation of Christian Science, because it seems to withhold from our Leader the credit due her for her unfaltering faith in God; her dauntless courage in crossing swords with the enemy, the claim of mortal Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 659 mind; and her willingness to lay her all on the altar of materialism that she might ascend to her spiritual selfhood in divine Mind and, by reviving the waning faith of humanity in the words, works, and demon- stration of Jesus, might restore to the world the lost chord of Christ. Christian Science does not teach vicarious atone- ment. In Christian Science man must work out his own salvation, and by putting off "the old man [human will] with his deeds," and putting on the new man in Christ Jesus, make his atonement with Mind, God. This necessitates constant communion with God. The spiritual animus, or will of God, stirs the so-called mortal will, or belief, to resistance, which compels the strife between the human and the divine, until error, driven to its utmost limits, destroys itself, and the ideal man, spiritual and perfect, is revealed in the image and likeness of God, perfect Principle and perfect idea, perfect cause and perfect effect — man. Let me quote the words of the writer: "The Principle which Mrs. Eddy discovered in 1866 has sustained her for forty-five years." The Principle which Mrs. Eddy discovered in 1866 is God, and He sustains His own idea, His reflection, throughout eternity. Mrs. Eddy says, referring to Jesus, "Out of reach of the barbarity of his enemies, he was acting under spiritual law in defiance of matter and mortality, and that spiritual law sustained him" {Science and Health, p. 43). Again Mrs. Eddy says, "man, di- vorced from Spirit, would lose his entity. But there is, there can be, no such division, for man is co- existent with God" {Science and Health, pp. 477, 478). Christian Science, as taught by Mrs. Eddy, our 66o Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers beloved and revered Leader, acknowledges but one God, one Principle or great primal cause, Mind, Spirit, Soul — and man as "The compound idea of infinite Spirit; the spiritual image and likeness of God; the full representation of Mind" {Science and Health, p. 591). Again, on page 475, in answer to the question "What is man?" I read: "Man is not matter; he is not made up of brain, blood, bones, and other material elements. The Scriptures inform us that man is made in the image and likeness of God. Matter is not that likeness. . . . Man is spiritual and perfect; and because he is spiritual and perfect, he must be so understood in Christian Science." Understanding this divine Principle of being, Mrs. Eddy, as she approached the valley and shadow of death, knowing that death is but a shadow, an illusion of finite sense, which must be met and dis- solved with the light of spiritual understanding — as she approached this valley, she declared, "God is my life. " Like the first demonstrator of Christian Science, Jesus the Christ, who at this supreme moment of his demonstration, cried, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" she, with sublime faith in the Principle of being, knew that her life was "hid with Christ in God." Jesus triumphed over the belief of the flesh, or the embodiment of so-called miortal mind. He passed through all the conditions of death and the sepulchre, rolled back the stone, or belief of matter as sentient substance, and appeared in visible form to his disciples. Christian Science teaches that here or hereafter "The divine must overcome the human at every point" {Science and Health, p. 43). Thus we see that man must manifest his spiritual identity, and they who Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 66i have developed the spiritual senses will see God in the face of man. "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God," said the master Metaphysician, Jesus the Christ. Again I quote from the article: ''Christian Science does not in any degree differ in theory from the teach- ings of Jesus; both are followed by the same results." I agree with the author of this statement. The divine element in Jesus was his spiritual consciousness, or the reflection of eternal Life, Truth, and Love — the law of Spirit, which annuls the false claim of the so- called material law. Paul said, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Romans viii., 2). Mrs. Eddy says, "Our law refuses to recognize Man as sick or dying, but holds him to be forever in the image and likeness of his Maker" {Science and Health, p. 441). There is but one law, and one law-giver, the eternal, unchangeable, all- wise, all-loving Father, God. Ac- cording to Christian Science there is no other creator, no other law but the law of the spirit of Life, God and man, co-existent and co-eternal. Jesus demonstrated over death and the tomb; he "vanquished every material obstacle, overcame every law of matter, and stepped forth from his gloomy resting-place, crowned with the glory of a sublime success, an everlasting victory" {Science and Healthy p. 45). Jesus manifested himself to his disciples and to "above five hundred brethren at once," after his resurrection, or during his probationary experience. But, because of their materiality (they believed that Jesus had died), they were not able to follow him in his emergence from 662 Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers flesh to Spirit. He never left them, but said to them, '' Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world [the end of the belief of life in matter] " (Matthew xxviii., 20). This demonstration of Jesus has been appropriated by "SpirituaHsts " to indicate that spirits return to earth and hold communion with mortals. Scholastic the- ology has regarded Jesus' reappearance to his disciples as a miracle. Thomas was asked to put his finger in the print of the nails, and to thrust his hand into Jesus' side, that he might be convinced that it was the same Teacher who had walked and talked with him in the flesh. Mrs. Eddy says, in Science and Health, page 83: l Prr^.^sT .tP.rrnO Miracles are impossible in Science, and here Science takes issue with popular religions. The scientific mani- festation of power is from the divine nature and is not supernatural, since Science is an explication of nature. Again, on page 75, we also read: "Spiritualism would transfer men from the spiritual sense of existence back into its material sense. This gross materialism is scientifically impossible, since to infinite Spirit there can be no matter." Again, I agree with the writer that "Christian Science healing is accomplished by the silent recogni- tion that divine Mind is the only power and presence, a recognition which overcomes all the imperfections of mortal existence." But, to gain this "recognition which overcomes all material imperfections," one must first learn what one has to overcome. The Master had to overcome the so-called material world, the flesh, and the devil, in other words, the belief of life, truth, substance, and intelligence in Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 663 matter. This false claim — animal magnetism, the animal instinct, based upon the Adam-dream found in the second chapter of Genesis, which is the his- tory of the false creation,- — was the problem which Jesus, the great Metaphysician, undertook to solve. His was an Herculean task, as his history bears record. Jesus recognized God as the source of all being, the only creator of man and the universe. He per- ceived the spiritual fact of the universe including man, and repudiated all claims to another power called mortal man and a material universe. He claimed his divine birthright, his oneness with Spirit, or Mind, and began his demonstration of spiritual consciousness over the sensuous or human belief. He saw, from the first, that prophets and seers, from Moses to his hour, had grasped Truth, but had not made a final demonstration of the supremacy of the law of Spirit over the claim of a material law, which is manifest in sin, sickness, and death. He counted the cost of an attack upon the one evil that had deceived the whole world with the lie that there was a power opposed to God, which claimed to be a creator, and expressed itself in a so-called man, composed of flesh, blood, and bones, and ''subject to birth, growth, maturity, decay'* {Science and Health, p. 305). With this stupendous task of reversing the testimony of the so-called carnal mind before him, trusting the Principle of his being, God, the Father, having been spiritually endowed with sublime faith and power, Jesus began his demonstration of the law of Spirit over the claim of a pseudo material law. Mrs. Eddy refers to him in Miscellaneous Writings, page 162: 664 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers He must stem these rising angry elements, and walk serenely over their fretted, foaming billows. Glad with divine might, he was ready to stem the tide of Judaism, and prove his power, derived from Spirit, to be supreme ; lay himself as a lamb upon the altar of materi- alism, and therefrom rise to his nativity in Spirit. .; Thus we faintly perceive the responsibility Jesus assumed when he grasped the right hand of God, and went forth to conquer the evil in carnal mind, and to prove the power of man when governed by God. Our beloved God-appointed, God-anointed Leader, Mrs. Eddy, repeats the history of Jesus, our Way- shower, and is the first to discover the Science of being which Jesus left as a rich legacy to humanit3^ When her mission dawned upon her, she clasped the hand of omnipotent Love, and humbly, obediently accepted the cross, that she might fulfil the law of Love which annihilates sin, disease, and death. In regard to this hour of her experience in spiritual development, let me quote her own words: I saw before me the sick, wearing out years of servitude to an unreal master in the belief that the body governed them, rather than Mind. The lame, the deaf, the dumb, the blind, the sick, the sensual, the sinner, I wished to save from the slavery of their own beliefs and from the educational systems of the Pharaohs, who to-day, as of yore, hold the children of Israel in bondage. I saw before me the awful conflict, the Red Sea and the wilderness; but I pressed on through faith in God, trusting Truth, the strong deliverer, to guide me into the land of Christian Science, where fetters fall and the rights of man are fully known and acknowledged {Science and Health, pp. 226, 227). Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 665 Of the truth which God revealed to her on the ''Mount," in the two books, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and The Mother Church Manual, Mrs. Eddy says: "No human pen nor tongue taught me the Science contained in this book, Science and Health; and neither tongue nor pen can overthrow it " {Science and Health, p. no). The Holy Bible was written by God-inspired men. Moses came down from the "Mount" with the two tables of stone — the law of God, which he was to enforce as God's representative and demonstrator. From Genesis to Revelation, the law of God has proved its own self-protection from the hand of the profane writer. The last words of John, the beloved disciple, are found in the 22d chapter of Revelation, i8th and 19th verses: For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. Science and Health and The Mother Church Manual, by Mary Baker Eddy, were God-inspired, and no word can be added to them, nor any word taken from them under penalty of infraction of the law of God. The beloved disciple foresaw the second appearing of Christ, and welcomed the reappearing of the ideal man, the "king of kings, and lord of lords," who was to reign forever and ever, victor over death and the tomb. In joyous anticipation of the coming of his 666 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers Lord, he heard the voice, "Surely I come quickly," and replied to this heavenly messenger, "Even so, come. Lord Jesus" (Rev. xxii., 20). The following telegram, sent to our beloved Leader four years ago, expresses my thought at this hour: New York, N. Y., November i, 1906. To the Rev. Mary Baker G. Eddy, Pleasant View, Concord, N. H. Beloved and Revered Leader: — My students, assembled to-day at the annual meeting of their Association, unite with me in conveying to you our loyal love. We re-affirm our instant, constant allegiance. We are individually watching and working with you, realizing that we also rise with you in proportion to our understanding and demonstration of your teaching, by precept and example, of the eternal law which governs and controls all created things. Because, in this sacred hour, from your cloistered communion in the secret place of the Most High, you are demonstrating the immortality of Life manifest in indi- vidual man, we look for the appearing of the ideal man, made in God's image and likeness, never to disappear, — reflecting forever the presence, power, and peace of the eternal Mind. Augusta E. Stetson. President of the Students' Association of the New York City Christian Science Institute. Sincerely yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, January 14, 191 1. My dear Mr. E. . . .• — I am in receipt of your kind letter asking if it is my intention to "carry on the work accomplished by the late Mrs. Eddy, either in Boston or New York." I have publicly expressed my conviction that Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 667 Mrs. Eddy's good work — the teaching of eternal Life, will be carried on by her to a final demonstration, and that she will manifest the embodiment of spiritual consciousness, her divine selfhood, the Christ-idea. She will continue her work in her Church, and will lead on the nations to ultimate emancipation from sin, disease, and death. She will present her body "a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God" (Romans xii., i). This second coming of the power of Truth, God, to redeem man and woman from a false men- tality, or behef of life in matter, will be a permanent dispensation, when God will dwell with men on the earth, and they shall be His people and shall occupy the new earth wherein there is no sorrow nor death. Man, in the image and Hkeness of God, is appearing, to remain a visible manifestation of Spirit or creative Mind. False material concepts with their false pheno- mena, material forms and images are disappearing under the light of spiritual understanding, which dispels the darkness of the Adam-dream. It is my intention to carry on my individual work of demonstrating the teachings of the Holy Bible and of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures which my revered Leader, Mrs. Eddy, commissioned me to do when she sent me to New York City to preach the gospel, heal the sick, and awaken humanity to the power of the Christ-mind to free from sin, disease, and death. As fast as I can assimilate Truth and Love, I free myself from sin, which is the belief of life in matter, or a power opposed to Spirit, God, and I teach and aid others to arise and claim, as children of God, their divine inheritance — eternal Life. I have faithfully obeyed my Leader's instructions, and have striven to 668 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers comprehend and demonstrate the letter and the spirit of her teachings. ''The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life" (2 Cor. iii., 6). Mrs. Eddy em- phasizes this, when she says: "The vital part, the heart and soul of Christian Science, is Love. Without this, the letter is but the dead body of Science, — • pulseless, cold, inanimate" {Science and Health, p. 113). I have proved divine metaphysics to be demon- strable Truth. For twenty-six years my Leader has watched with me, counselled and instructed, and prayed that my faith would endure to the end, and that the persecutions which always attend a pioneer reformer, could not induce me to sheathe my sword — the Word of God — until victory should crown my demonstration of immutable Truth. She never re- voked this commission, but commended my work, and enjoined upon me the necessity of putting on the whole armor — truth and love — that I might be able to resist the opposition of the carnal mind, and "having done all, to stand" for eternal Life and man's oneness with God. ' My present position seems aggressive, but I am never heard in public nor in private except to defend my spiritual interpretation of the Christian Science text-book. Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and to declare my unswerving and ever-increasing loyalty to my Leader, Mrs. Eddy, which is my inalien- able and God-given right. I have been Pastor, Reader, and teacher in my church — First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City — during twenty-four years. A large number of the membership are my students and friends who agree with me in my spiritual views, deduced from the Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 669 Bible, and Science and Health, There is no contention in this church between those who unite with me in the interpretation of Mrs. Eddy's teachings, and those who hold opposite views, and who at present have authority in the material affairs of the church. My people attend regularly the church which they built as a tribute to our beloved Leader, and they strive to demonstrate her words, that ''a silent grand man or woman healing sickness and destroying sin builds a heaven-reacher. Only that group of men and women gain greatness who gain themselves, in a com- plete subordination of self" (Letter from Mrs. Eddy to First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, Christian Science Sentinel, vol. vi., p. 227). This is a mental battle, a conflict of opposing forces, the struggle for the supremacy of Spirit over the fleshly mind — of Life over death. Thus, my dear Mr. E. . . , you will agree with me that I cannot retire from active service for God and His Christ, which was manifest first in Jesus, and to-day in Mary Baker Eddy. I have not yet fulfilled the law of Love, and it is my intention to continue in the service of Christ; ''to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus;" {Science and Health, p. 497) to obey the will of God and trust Him to enable me to walk in the footsteps of His flock. I shall not prove a coward in the race for immortality. *'God is my life," were the words with which Mrs. Eddy entered the valley and shadow of darkness, to test the light of Spirit to illumine her through its illusion. Jesus' experience and teaching would have been worthless to humanity had he failed in his final evidence of immortal manhood. Mrs. Eddy says of Jesus: 670 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers Had Life, Truth, and Love forsaken him in his highest demonstration? This was a startHng question. No! They must abide in him and he in them, or that hour would be shorn of its mighty blessing for the human race {Science and Health, p. 50). For two thousand years Christians have admitted that Jesus made his demonstration over death, and that he is the Way-shower to eternal Life. Mrs. Eddy accepted him as the Way-shower to eternal Life, and said to her followers: "follow your Leader only so far as she follows Christ" {Message for IQOI, p. 70). Therefore Christian Scientists will continue to believe her teachings, and will follow her example in the demonstration of "Immanuel, or God with us'* {Science and Health, p. 34). God did not fail the meek and mighty Nazarene — His masculine representa- tive; nor will He fail Mary Baker Eddy — His feminine representative of good, God, who has followed the same Principle — Christ — which delivered Jesus. Jesus built his Church on the foundation rock — Christ. Mrs. Eddy continued the building — "The structure of Truth and Love" {Science and Health, P- 583), against which "the gates of hell shall not prevail." In regard to "Material organization," Mrs. Eddy says that it is "requisite in the beginning; but when it has done its work, the purely Christly method of teaching and preaching must be adopted" {Mis- cellaneous Writings, p. 359). I have gone through all the stages of material organization and perfected them. I have completed for myself the work of material organization, and am adopting the "purely Christly method." "^ '•■ Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 671 There is no royal road to immortality. No one can escape the toil, self-sacrifice, self-abnegation, struggles, defeats, and discouragements that are neces- sary to the subjugation of the human during the experience of material organization, when the "old man" — ^Adam- — is disappearing, and the "new man" in Christ is being revealed. All must work through material organization and perfect it before they can enter upon the building of the "house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens," or wholly spiritual consciousness — oneness with God — and from this point reflect to all, the Love which is life, health, holiness, immortality. Very sincerely yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, January 16, 191 1. My dear Mr. C. . . ; — Your letter has given me much cause for gratitude to God that you have acknowledged our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, as the way-shower of to-day to eternal Life. You, as the representative of your nation's consciousness (China), have responded to the impersonal Christ which Mrs. Eddy is demonstrating. You are very clear on the subject of divine meta- physics, and stand as a rebuke to many who have heard her words and profess to understand her teach- ings, but who show, by their written words, and conduct, that they never understood divine meta- physics, or Christian Science. There must be a preparation "of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue . . . from the Lord" ere the arm — power 672 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers and presence — of the Lord can be revealed. In this hour I reahze the necessity for courageous faith, and the unflinching courage which Christ alone can give me, that I may endure unto the end the contradiction of the unillumined, who, as of yore, would crush out of a life its divine destiny. I have no fear which divine Love, my Shepherd, will not dissolve. I know not where His islands lift Their fronded palms in air; I only know I cannot drift Beyond His love and care.' The world must awake and refuse to yield ready assent to the Adam argument that death is inevitable, since death was overcome two thousand years ago by our Master, who proved that he was alive and active, and on the same earth which mortals supposed he had left. His present followers should believe in his words, accept his demonstration, and resist the false mentality which he resisted; deny sense testimony as he denied it, and fight for the supremacy of the Christ-mind over the carnal. Materialistic reason and false logic have driven man from God's earth at the moment of seeming death, and blind belief has refused to accept the possibility that man can reappear. The Bible teaches that man, the divine idea, not so-called mortal man, is one with God — His child; that God and man are inseparable; that there is but one God, and one universe, or manifestation of God, the only cause. We are also taught that God fills all space; that "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness ^ Whitticr. Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 673 thereof." Then if God is ever-present, His universe, including every idea composing it, must be ever-present ; for the universe, embracing man, cannot be separated from God. The question arises, where does man go when he passes through the experience called death? Jesus, the master Metaphysician, taught mankind the im- mortality of the divine consciousness, and, when humanity gains the spiritual sense of God, man and the universe, it will not look for the disappearance of man from the earth, but for his continued mani- festation as the ideal, indestructible man of God's creating, whose ever-presence he reflects. All the powers of suppositional evil — the belief that mortal thought and its matter embodiment is man— can never prevent ino from declaring the reality of Life, and the illusion of death. Spiritual si^iit ^^.o^ increase, and material sight must gradually decrease until the final revelation of the true man, as never having died, never having been absent from God's earth. I labor indefatigably for the Mind of Christ, which destroys the belief of a false mentality and its embodi- ment, that has deceived the whole world by its claim to life, substance, and intelligence. Paul said, ** Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light" (Eph. v., 14). Where are the, soldiers of Christ who shall proclaim from the house- tops, "Man is immortal! God is his life! He cannot be separated from the source of his ^ being — Spirit, Mind, eternal Life, Love, and Truth" ?|- hioA Again I thank you for your kind letter. Very sincerely yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 674 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, January 19, 191 1, Dear Mrs. D. . . ; — Your favor is received. As I have publicly declared, I firmly believe that our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, will make a final demonstration over the belief of death and the tomb. For twenty-six years I have studied the Bible in connection with Science mid Health, and I can come to no other conclusion. Science and Health is illumined with the light of Truth, and every page claims immortality as our present inheritance. In all her writings, Mrs. Eddy points to the spiritual man and the spiritual universe as the real and only facts of being. Jesus taught the possibiHty of demon- strating the dominion of Mind over matter, of Spirit over flesh, and hp proved it. Mrs. Eddy says, "follow ;;^vyui i^eader only so far as she follows Christ" (Afes- sage for igoi, p. 70). She has followed him, in his demonstration, to the tomb, and I look for her to follow him out of the tomb, and to reveal herself to her follow- ers and to the world. Christ will come the second time to them who "look" for him, and Mrs. Eddy will demonstrate her Christ identity, the truth of being, in God's time and way. This is my firm conviction, strengthened by every word of the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and our beloved Leader's other writ- ings. Read Science and Health, page 508, beginning at the 28th line; also page 509, beginning at line 29 to next page, 12th line. Let us hold fast to our confidence in the ability of our Leader to demonstrate her teachings, and to come forth from the belief of a tomb into the majesty of a glorious victory over the illusion of a material body. Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 675 Mrs. Eddy never rebuked me for false teaching, but always commended my interpretation and demon- stration of Christian Science. I had to make my own demonstration of Christian Science, of healing the sick and sinful and building the church edifice in New York City to prove the power of divine Love, and my own understanding of Christian Science to deliver me. I have met and mastered the opposition of materialism, and rejoice in perfect health, happiness, and a love for God and man, which makes evil power- less to turn me from my unswerving devotion to Chris- tian Science, to my beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, and her teachings of divine metaphysics, as found in all her writings. Wait patiently on the Lord, and, in God's own time, whether months or years. He will manifest Himself through our Leader by her reappearance. Thought must be spiritualized, and this process of spiritual growth should engage our attention and efforts, until purified thought beholds the divine idea, where once we beheld the image of the material con- cept. When we arrive at Christ Jesus' concept, we shall behold the perfect man in the image and likeness of God. John says: "Now are we the sons of God." Let us prove this. Yours very sincerely, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, January 30, 1911. My Dear Mr. E. . . ; — It is kind of you to acknowledge the copy of The Independent"^ in such an interesting letter. I ventured to send you my article as I remembered you were an * See page 969. 676 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers editor, and thought perhaps you might be interested to hear my defense of the position I have taken. I adhere strictly to the rules of divine metaphysics, as found in our text-book, Science and Health, which I have demonstrated for twenty-six years. I have every reason to believe that Truth will enable Mrs. Eddy to make her demonstration in verification of her teach- ings. There are few in this hour who are willing to Hve the life of Christ, and thus gain spiritual under- standing of the pow^r with which God has endowed man. They do not ''walk . . . after the Spirit," therefore they are unable to comprehend the ''things of the Spirit." This is the reason of the present condition among some calling themselves Christian Scientists. T declare that 1 am immortal, but that does not mean that I have destroyed all the beliefs of the so- called human mind. My opponents say that they are mortal, and they do not believe it possible to demon- strate over death and the grave for centuries, there- fore they will not. Mortal man is sure to objectify his thought in sin, sickness, and death. I am confident, Mr. E. . . , that you can understand my article if you read it thoughtfully. It will appeal to your divinity, your Christ-mind. Many are telling me that what seemed incomprehensible at first reading became clearer at every repetition. Begin with the premise, "all causation is Mind" (Science and Health, p. 417). There is but one Mind — eternal Life, Love, and Truth, God, Principle. Then realize that every effect is a mental phenomenon. The spiritual universe and spiritual man are the expression of this one and only real and eternal consciousness, or Mind, and this real man and universe we must reveal. Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 677 There is a claim called mortal mind — the Adam- dream in which all die. This is a false mentaHty and has deceived the whole world. Jesus detected it, called it a lie, and with his spiritual power vanquished death, and rose above the temporal to his spiritual selfhood. This false mentality evolves false pheno- mena—sin, sickness, and death, and these are the works of the so-called devil, or evil thoughts. Mrs. Eddy will rise to the supreme mental test of spiritual ascendency over the belief that matter — concrete, brass, steel, iron, and sod — is substance, and that it can prevent the spiritual, eternal idea (whom God created, controls, and sustains), from manifesting the omnipresent creator in His ideal man, her divine individuality. Spirit is Light. Mortal beliefs are darkness. The Bible and Science and Health teach us the power and presence of Truth, and our oneness with God and His Christ. The following Bible statements are practical, for Spirit is omnipotent, and whoever reflects most of Spirit believes the hour now is, when these state- ments will be proved: "For He hath broken the gates of brass [the belief in a bronze casket], and cut the bars of iron [reliance on steel and concrete] in sunder" (Psalm cvii., 16). To know that "trenchant Truth" {Christian Science Journal, vol. xxii., p. 258) cuts through the mists of material phenomena, and disperses illusions, is to know that "with God all things are possible," and that Christ, Truth, will come the second time and this time through woman, to triumph over death and the grave. My faith and understanding cannot be shaken. I have learned why I was so offensive to those in 678 Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers authority, and why I was sustained to support the true teaching of our great Leader. It was "trouble- some Truth"' which the human sense always resists. I could weep over the lack of spiritual understanding in the ranks of the Christian Scientists. They are not holding up the banner of divine metaphysics. Even the ordinary thinker sees that if one accepts the text-book, he cannot contradict the statements which run throughout its pages. There are many who say that because I believe in, and defend Mrs. Eddy's teaching, that I am most consistent, and they commend my courage. I will send you a reply to a theologian who wrote to know if I were really proved a malpractitioner. He was in sympathy with me because he saw the inconsistencies of my opponents. 1 certainly was not proved a malpractitioner. As this question may not have been fully answered in my letter to you, I will ask you to read my reply to him and return it to me. This gentleman is a professor in the Boston Theological University, and he has written, since receiving my letter, and commended my stand " if you believe in Christian Science." I, with my students and followers, seem to be the only ones who declare for the possibility of a demonstration of Life over death by our great Leader, Mrs. Eddy. You see how fully I am imbued with spiritual conviction. It must be the power of the Spirit which sustains me ; for, of myself, I could not endure such an isolated position in the Field. The thinking world seems to comprehend my scientific attitude better than many who call themselves Christian Scientists. I have a large number of students and friends who are clear on the possibilities of the demonstration of * Science and Health, page 542. Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 679 our Leader. We may not for years be able to rise to final victory over the last enemy, death, but we are working with this glorious end in view. I must beg your tolerance and charity as I impose upon you this long letter. I have forgotten to forget self. rn-r Pn The lady to whom you refer may be a most worthy Christian Scientist, and your test of her metaphysical understanding of the text-book, her adherence to its teachings, and her attitude towards Mrs. Eddy, our revered Leader, will decide where she stands. I hope there is nothing coming, through her close proximity to you in the same building, that will cloud you in regard to true Christian Science. There is not the harmony in the ranks there should be, nor that there will be when ''Science separates the wheat from the tares" (Science and Health, p. 300), a process which is now apparent. Few to-day grasp the true meta- physics of Christian Science, and many fall short of demonstration. Envy appears to-day as in the past, and the good rise through persecution. I will not longer presume upon your kindness. Sincerely yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, February 2, 191 1. My dear Mr. S. . . : — I am in receipt of your kind letter and frank criticism of my article in The Independent. ' You surely will not ignore divine metaphysics in judging my statement, nor agree with Dr. H. . . that it is "sublime hysterics," for it is based entirely upon this hypothesis — the allness of God — eternal Life. * See page 969, 68o Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers This implies the nothingness of all that is unlike God. Let me refer you to the definition of the word divine, according to the Staiidard Dictionary. "Divine: — Pertaining to, proceeding or derived from, or of the nature of God." Thus you see I am arguing from the only causation which Christian Science admits — divine Mind, intelli- gence, wisdom, or consciousness. • Definition of theology — "The branch of theological ^ science that treats of God" (not of the opposite fx-T ]i of God, which is the so-called carnal mind and its phenomena — mortal man and the material universe) . Definition of metaphysics — "The branch of philo- sophy that deals with the conceptions or principles at the basis of all phenomena, including being, real- ity, substance; . . . the science of real . . . being.'* God alone is real and eternal, and He is expressed in spiritual man and the spiritual universe. This is the "substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (by the material senses), but only by spiritual sense. The definition of the word substance (according to Science and Health, page 468) is "that which is eternal and incapable of discord and decay." There- fore the basis of all phenomena is God, the only creator, and His creation must be immortal — the manifestation of the one and only reality, God and His Christ, including every individual member composing the body of Christ. I do not admit two powers as real. I declare, in the words of my Leader, that "Spirit is infinite; there- fore Spirit is aW {Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xi-, p. 390). All phenomena which express not this Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 68 1 one and only cause — eternal Life, Truth, and Love — I declare to be false, temporal, the Adam-dream or mythological creation in which all die. My conten- tion is against the false mortal thought, the carnal mind which is manifested in sin, sickness, and death. Christian Scientists understand the power of the Christ-mind in the degree that they possess and demonstrate it. It is Spirit and the spiritual "thought-force, which launched the earth in its orbit and said to the proud wave, 'Thus far and no farther'" {Science and Health, p. 124). It is the law of omnipotent Life, which Paul declared makes us free from the so-called law of sin and death. Spiritual thought, which pro- ceeds from God and is substance, destroys the seeming force of material thought and its phenomena, which is shadow, appearing and disappearing. Twenty-six years ago I ''enlisted to lessen evil, dis- ease, and death" {Science and Health, p. 450), accord- ing to the teachings of Jesus the Christ, which our great Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, had discovered to be demonstrable Truth, as taught and proved by Christ Jesus. During all this time I have declared for the power of spiritual thought, or the Mind of Christ in the healing of sickness and sin. I have wrestled with the belief of life and intelligence in matter. I have followed the teachings of our Master, and have partaken of his cup — the suffering and persecution which attend those who follow him in their endeavor to overcome the material world, the flesh and the belief in a power opposed to God. I believe the words of Jesus are true. He said, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; 682 Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers because I go unto my Father." Thus his words indicate that he did not claim to be the only one who would be able to demonstrate the law of God and man's dominion, but that greater works than these would be possible to others who obeyed the law of Truth. The greater works I believe to be the overcoming of sin, sickness, and death, through one bom of material conception. '■ In this age, woman, Mary Baker Eddy, went forth, armed wth spiritual understanding, to wrestle with, and destroy the carnal beliefs — sin, sickness, and death. She could not escape one individual experience of human womanhood, but met, suffered, and overcame, with the power of her Christ-consciousness, the carnal qualities in the Eve mentality. This our great Leader did for herself. All must finally follow and obey the teachings of Jesus the Christ. Thus through her earthly struggle between the human and the divine she has fulfilled the law of Love. This promise of the Master, '' The works that I do shall he do also, " has many times encouraged me to press forward in the spiritual warfare against the Goliath of material sense — false thoughts which cause physical and mental suffering. For years I have struggled alone with God to subdue human self, to bring every mortal thought into subjection to Christ, and to exalt my divine selfhood. In pursuance of the example of the Master and of my Leader, Mrs. Eddy, I have patiently endured cruel injustice, and bitter wrongs. I have submitted to every indignity that the carnally minded have inflicted, that I might prove the power of divine Love to make unreal all evil. Only for the promise, ''Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end," could I have continued in this great city, Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 683 promulgating the gospel of Christ, and demonstrating, so far as I have been able to do, that it is ''not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, He doeth the works.'* Until I studied divine metaphysics or Christian Science, I had no idea of the meaning of the ''Immacu- late Conception" to which you refer. I have ques- tioned many theologians on this subject, and have found that they did not understand it. They accept it, but they cannot give satisfactory reasons for the dual nature of Christ Jesus. He was human and divine. He was our elder Brother, and was "in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. iv., 15). Because he partook partly of the nature of his human mother, he was not wholly spiritual until his ascension. This explains his mighty conflict with the forces of evil, his struggles in Gethsemane, and his suffering on the cross, when the cruel barbarity of his enemies compelled him to cry out, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" But God had not forsaken him, and his divinity was demonstrated. His divine selfhood— the Christ— never sufl'ered. The human Jesus was the mediator, who endured the cross, despised the shame, and finally yielded to the Christ; thus was his eternal Ego revealed — his oneness with the Father, in verification of his words, "I and my Father are one." You say "either your ambition has clouded your in- tellectual sincerity, or else you are purposely profane." Dear Mr. S. . . , it must be evident to you that from my standpoint I am not profane, nor has personal ambition clouded my spiritual ambition to be wholly Christ- like. I have dared to stand forth alone, and to pro- 684 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers claim my faith in the power of the Christ-mind to raise the seeming dead, well knowing that I am meeting the opposition of those who do not agree with me. In fact, I am daring to be the most unpopular woman in the material world,- and yet, in the words of Martin Luther, "Here I stand. I can do no other- wise; so help me God!" Paul asked, "Do I seek to please men [mortals]? for if I yet pleased men [mortals], I should not be the servant of Christ" (the immortal). I must declare for God's allness, and the Mind of Christ; therefore it follows that I must denounce mortal mind in all its phenomena as unreal, untrue in its statement that it possesses life, substance, and intelligence. Permit me to quote further your words: "From the time of his birth to the day of his earthly death he never uttered a word that has not been proved by the centuries to be truth, without change or modifica- tion." I agree with you, Mr. S. . . , that he never uttered a word that he did not himself prove, even to the power of Life over death and the grave. His Ego, the Christ, was "the way, the truth, and the life" — the manifestation of Spirit. He left his holy example and demonstration for all ; but have his words been "proved by the centuries"? I admit that they have been believed, but who has demonstrated his words : "Be ye therefore perfect [wholly spiritual], even as your Father [Spirit] which is in heaven is perfect"? Who has proved the truth of being as did Jesus, in heahng the sick, raising the dead and destroying sin, through the power of the Christ-mind? Who has walked in his footsteps, turned away from the material world, as real, and obeyed his advice — "Whosoever he be of you that forsake th not all that he hath, he Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 685 cannot be my disciple" (puts his whole trust in Truth to provide for his every human need)? Who has raised a Lazarus, or who of his disciples of the twen- tieth century ever raised a Tabitha, as did his disciple Peter? In fact, who has done the works of the Master among those who have believed his words to be truth, throughout the twenty centuries which have elapsed since he proved the dominion of man when governed by his Principle, God? I know of no one who has accomplished the works of the great demonstrator of immutable Truth; yet this must in time be done by all who follow Christ. God demands that we should reflect Him— eternal Life, Love, and Truth— manifest His workmanship, and show forth the might and majesty of His repre- sentative— man, in His image and likeness. SpWho is ready to take up the cross, antagonize dinners, and demonstrate over sin and death? Human- ity is rising to meet this demand of Christ, whose invisible presence is here, and is speaking to all. The ceaseless longing of the human heart for something better than suffering, sorrow, disappointed hopes, limited possibiHties, and inevitable death, which the carnal mind imposes upon its universe, including mortal man, will finally turn all, like tired children, to ''Our Father which art in heaven." I know, Mr. S. . . , that your Christian heart will credit me with honest convictions and a sincere desire to follow Christ. For twenty-four years I have been in your city (New York) declaring for God's omnipo- tence and ever-presence. As I obey the law of God, according to the Sermon on the Mount, and the teach- ings of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy; as I emulate the life of the Master 686 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers .and of my beloved Leader, I shall be continually Bscending "unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God," and eventually we will meet on the stairs that lead to immortahty, and will behold the new heaven and the new earth which spiritual sight will disclose. Referring to "Mrs. Eddy's career," to which you allude, I would say that for twenty-six years I have been closely associated with Mary Baker Eddy. The false reports against her, which have been so freely circulated by those whom her spiritual teachings antagonized, or by those who refused to Hve the life of Jesus the Christ, which she enjoined her followers to endeavor to do, proved to me that she was walking in the footsteps of the Master; that she was carrying the same cross — the world's hatred of the Christ- mind; receiving the same denunciation for rebuking and destroying sin, in all its forms and phases, which Jesus received before the Christ-man was acknow- ledged as "Immanuel, or God with us'' {Science and Health, p. 34). During the Master's earthly experience, the mate- rialists called him "a man gluttonous, and a wine- bibber," and declared that "He casteth out devils through Beelzebub." They asked, "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" and "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?" (John vi., 42.) They would not believe his words nor his works. Their finite sense saw only the human Jesus, and did not behold the ideal man— the Christ, or his divine selfhood. vtt They asked, "Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not beheve: Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 687 and if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go" (Luke xxii., 67, 68). He incurred the hatred and met the anathemas of all in his day, except a few humble disciples who followed him to the cross. Even they stood afar off. It has been two thousand years since this good man was deemed worthy of crucifixion and death because of his declaration that he was the Son of God, and his demo7istration of the power of Spirit over the carnal mind. Alone with God, forsaken by all, he worked out his own salvation and came forth from the tomb crowned with the glorious victory of immortal manhood. Had he failed in this supreme test of his teaching, the world would never have acknowledged him; but God is omnipotent, and enters into no co-partnership with evil. There has never been an age when God has not manifested Himself to humanity through some hum.an personality or mediator. Fi-om Moses to the present time God has found a witness of Himself. Christ Jesus was sent by God to redeem a sinful world, but the sinful world is apparently as sinful to-day as it was when the Master wept over Jerusalem in these words: ''O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, . . . how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under Jier wings, and ye would not!" (Matt, xxiii., 37.) -.,^.,^^^..^,,.^...^,,ri^^ The spiritual element in humanity has not yet risen to do the greater works which Jesus declared his follow- ers would do. There is no vicarious atonement. Jesus did his work for himself, and to show humanity the way out of the flesh into a wholly spiritual consci- ousness; but until mankind walks in "the way" which Jesus pointed out, it will not attain to eternal Life, j 688 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers Mrs. Eddy occupies the position before the world to-day which Jesus occupied two thousand years ago. Not until after his reappearance did the world ac- knowledge that he had made a demonstration of Life over death. I believe that God will hear woman's cry, in this hour, for deliverance from the bondage of sin, sickness, and death; I believe that Christ will be manifest at his second appearing through woman; that the second time death will be robbed of its sting and the grave of its victory, and that the law of Love will be fulfilled. I beg you will pardon my lengthy reply to your letter. Lest I be tempted to presume longer upon your courtesy, I will close with kindest regards. Very sincerely yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, March 14, 191 1. My dear Mr. G. . . : — Your kind letter should have received immediate attention, but I have been unable to reply sooner. I feel that all the nobility of true manhood has been aroused in you by the unparalleled cru-elty and, mis- representation with which I have been assailed, and I fully appreciate your kind offer to defend me legally, — but I am trusting God, the strong deliverer, to show me how to endure patiently until error destroys itself, and my heavenly Father vindicates me. Since the "crucifixion" began I have continually prayed for strength and grace to demonstrate the teachings of Jesus and my beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, to "Wait, and love more for every hate" {Miscellan- Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 689 eous Writings, p. 389). No tongue, no pen can ever tell the bitterness and cruelty of the persecution to which I have been submitted, — and yet I have been enabled to say during it all, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. " I have spoken only when the effort has been made to convince the world that I am not a Christian Scientist, or that I am not loyal to my revered and beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy. If God has any representatives through whom He can work to deliver me, and prove my innocence of the charges made against me, and the efforts of " the enemy of good "to take as many of my students from me as possible and to wrest from me my church — the work of consecration, prayer, self-denial, and self-abne- gation for the Cause of Christ — He will make it known to me. My means of defense was all that saved my life, namely, declaring to each individual accuser that he was God's perfect child, and could only reflect Truth and Love to me or mine ; that evil was not power, and that nothing could separate us from the love of God and from each other. This was called malpractice — because I mentioned the names, after I had been told just what was being planned to put me out of the Cause. Now, my dear Mr. G. . . , you see the situation, and must agree with me that they are in authority in the material organization, and that I must wait on God, who, in His own time and way, will raise up some one to justify me. If you come to New York I shall be pleased to see you socially, but I must be excused from a professional call. Sincerely yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 44 690 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, April 2, 1911. Dear Mr, G. . . ; — Your most kind letter is before me, and it finds me stronger than ever in my faith in God to do His work in His own time and way. *'Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: . . . stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord." • I have prayed for many years to be a true disciple of the Master, and now, dear Mr. G. . . , I am called upon to prove my worthiness to follow him, and to love God and His children. Jesus met every indignity which the carnal mind could inflict upon him, and yet he did not resent nor resist human brutality. He knew that he must rise to his divine power, his Christ- consciousness — the love which alone conquers so-called malice, envy, jealousy, revenge, and all that opposes the real and eternal man. He crossed mental swords with error, and found the sword of the Spirit — the Word of God — equal to the hour. His spiritual individuaHty gave him power to make unreal the elements of the so-called mortal mind. His God-given birthright, his Christ-mind, enabled him to see the necessity of making evil what it is, when met by Truth and Love, — nothing. It is true that evil seems real and causes much mental and physical suffering, if it is believed in and indulged ; but, when met by Truth, and resisted and conquered, one learns the powerlessness of the claim of evil, and the great allness and might of God, Mind. Light dispels darkness. God is Hght, and man is God's image and likeness. Jesus could say to those who sought his life, ''Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. " Nor did these poor mortals know that they were being moved by the evil one— Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 691 the lie which has deceived the entire world into a belief of a power opposed to God, Truth. The illusion or lie had been at war in human con- sciousness for generations, until Jesus discerned his true mental power, and demonstrated over evil and its phenomena — the mortal mental and its expression, the material body and the material universe. He proved them powerless to destroy or to hold him in the grave. As his follower, / must make all evil, and evil thinkers and evil-doers unreal to myself, and discern, through all the illusions of the fleshly mind and body, the Christ-man in God's own image — ■ perfect and pure as his Maker. / must fulfil the law of love. If I permit error to become real to me, it will become a part of my mentality, and will put me in line with evil forces, until I lose my balance on the side of my divine selfhood, and then I reap the effect of evil. Thought is force. Thought objectifies itself, and reveals the thoughts by the phenomena which are produced. Spiritual thoughts will sooner or later disclose the new heaven and the new earth, wherein will be found only good. I am sure that you understand my appreciation of all you desire to do to befriend me, but I am keeping my heart filled with love for God and man, while I defend myself against the false claims of maHcious mortal mind, by sending to the evil thinker love and Hfe thoughts. This is the invulnerable armor which panoplies me. Evil cannot penetrate it, and I am safe. I will not believe I have enemies. Those who would harm me harm themselves only, and I pity the self-deceived victims of the carnal mind. I would go to the scaffold or the stake to defend the 692 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers teachings of Jesus the Christ, and of Mary Baker Eddy, because I know that their teachings are demonstrable Truth. I have proved it, in great measure. The whole world knows what I have met and endured. I have only defended my convictions and interpre- tation of Science and Health and the Bible, and my loyalty to Mrs. Eddy. The question to-day is, who will promulgate Christian Science as taught by Mrs. Eddy? Who is a true divine metaphysician and a follower of Jesus, emulating his life of unselfed love, and overcoming evil with good? Who is failing to walk in his footsteps, and professing to be his disciple while serving error? Nothing will be gained by denouncing primitive Christian healing, and the faith and understanding of the power and presence of the Christ-mind. Mary Baker Eddy has established Jesus' words and his wonderful teach- ing, and nothing can overthrow her work, .b She lives and is active in the mental universe, and will reappear in God's time. I, with all her faithful followers, must "occupy" till she comes as the ideal image and likeness of Mind. When she bursts the cloud of sense, what will her followers be found doing? To-day the question is, who are true Christian Scientists? Who have taken the cross and striven to conquer the carnal, and exalt the Christ in themselves and for others? I believe this is the psychological hour when there is no power in evil longer to hide itself, under the profession, without the possession, of the true understanding and life of a Christian or Christian Scientist. I have only to wait on my Father- Mother God, and Truth will uncover all error in those who have walked after the flesh. Then our beloved Leader's words will be understood — *' promoting and Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 693 extending the religion of Christian Science as taught by me. " I have not permitted any one of many kind lawyers and friends to move me to take any steps against the Directors of The Mother Church. I have been told from the first that I could legally be immediately restored to my former position, but I must not contend in the courts. I know that God is leading me out of material organization, and giving me the place He has for me in "wholly spiritual " work in the world. No one can deprive me of my life-work and its fruits. God will do His will, and none can stay His hand. Whoever wrongs another injures himself. Let us judge between good and evil — then leave evil to destroy itself. It cannot destroy one iota of good. • I thank you for your kindness. Very sincerely yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, September 19, 191 1. My dear Mr, R. . . .* — I am glad that you have had an evidence of the untruths that are entertained of me. Nothing could have been further from the facts than these statements. You know how I have resisted association in this suit, and yet if I had not corrected this report, it would have been accepted as a fact even in our purely friendly correspondence. I was not willing that any one should see my letters, and trusted implicitly in your promise to protect them. I knew that you had a deep rever- ence for my beloved Leader and Teacher, Mrs. Eddy, and I felt that I ought to give you the benefit of my 694 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers understanding of Christian Science, as I was sure you would assimilate much which would be of inestimable value to you. I knew that you would receive this in the spirit in which I sent it, and I have no fear that our scientific correspondence will be used in any one's interest. I am confident that there is a protecting influence overshadowing me, else I could not endure the conflict of mental forces directed to me, either to draw me into the mental battle, or to cast me out of the universe. I must, all unconsciously, be in somebody's way, and God does not remove me. If the world knew my peace, and trust in my Father to enable me to rise to "love more" {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 389) for every wrong, and how I have only kind thoughts for those who do not understand me, and how I pity them, how the fear of me would cease, and I would be left unmo- lested to do my work of blessing all with the true teaching which Mrs. Eddy gave to the world. I am sorry that my article went to the printer as soon as I had corrected it, or I would have sent it to you. I send out such articles to my students, some of whom are beginners in Christian Science and need help. I am not giving them the personal help I formerly did, so an occasional article is an aid to them in this crisis. If you desire to get this in print, I do not know how you could do it without making yourself known as acquainted with me. Then, dear Mr. R. . . , you might find yourself very unpopular. It would hardly be just to yourself to incur the condemnation of people who innocently, through misrepresentation, beheve me to be unworthy to be a member of The Mother Church. It all seems so strange to me, and yet our Master was considered worthy only of an ignominious death on the Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 695 cross. Our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, was betrayed by dis- loyal students from the first. Why should I refuse the cup.^ / will drink it till Love removes it, and I win and wear the crown of immortal womanhood. I send you under separate cover a corrected copy of the letter. I take so little interest in this suit now pending. I wish it were finished. God has given the command, and all will see Truth's mighty argument, and wisdom's decision. The will or command of God through His anointed— our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, must be obeyed. Sincerely yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, September 21, 1911. My dear Mr. C. . . .• — Yesterday I left you without expressing my apprecia- tion of your great kindness and courtesy during the try- ing ordeal in which we all participated. I have been mindful of your cooperation with m.y friends in their desire to give to the world the comforting assurance that, however dark the clouds of fear and doubt and discouragement, with which poor humanity is con- stantly contending, there remains the eternal fact that '' Love watches over all, " since God is omnipotent and ever-present, and "Love never faileth." My object for many years (twenty-five of which I have worked in New York City) has been to teach man- kind to turn from false thinking, which evolves discord and disease, and to know the Truth of being which sets free, in the way Jesus the great master Metaphysician taught and demonstrated, and which Mrs. Eddy has once more given to the world. 696 Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers When I first heard the Victor talking machine, I saw its great possibiUties for reHeving countless thousands of weary, careworn people who have no means of diversion from the daily routine of labor, mental or physical, and no ambition, strength or money to put themselves in the way of hearing good music, or of listening to words which quicken and inspire to action, and to the development of the best within them. I understand from a metaphysical point of view the mission of the Victor talking machine. It has hardly started on its beneficent errand. Progress brought it forth, and it is in line with infinite progression. No one can yet comprehend the length and depth and height of its possibilities, and its comforting, elevating ministrations to humanity. I am not considering myself alone in this matter of misunderstanding between the parties concerned, and am ready to accept whatever you and Mr. M. . . may deem best for all. I admit the withdrawal of the record of my poem, "Love Watches over All," will be a sacri- fice for me to make, but if any one is to be in the least injured by the record in its present unsatisfactory presentation, I cannot continue to desire it. I am trusting, however, that I will not have to resign my position entirely, but that some arrangement may be made for another to preserve the record as you kindly suggested. The situation is most unpleasant and I regret exceedingly that you and Mr. M. . . have been involved. However, you are both equal to the solution of this most perplexing problem, as was shown by your ex- perience of yesterday. I am sure that if the directors of your company had witnessed the wisdom, justice, and courtesy of their representatives, as they handled this Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 697 tangled proposition, their estimate of your ability and value to the company, however high, would have been measurably increased. I thank you both and am very glad to have met you. If you need to confer with me at any time, please command me through Mrs. E. . . . Most sincerely yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, September 22, 191 1. My dear Mr. R. . -, : — The newspapers have just been handed to me, in which I notice that you are to be involved in the case — the "suit" now pending in your city. This is very easily settled. You are at liberty to publish my letters in reply to yours, which will prove to any one that I am innocent of any desire to appear in other people's court affairs. You can show that our correspondence was purely on scientific lines, and that I was greatly interested in teaching you, or in replying to your request to know something more of Christian Science than you already knew. I was much impressed with the work that you had done for our revered Leader, Mrs. Eddy. Her letter to you, which you sent me, when you offered me the benefit of your legal services, touched me with a desire to give you all you could assimilate of Truth. I positively, from the first refused to accept your legal aid, and would have nothing to do with the will case now being contested in the courts. I cannot under- stand why any one should include me in this "suit." Certainly it is as foreign to me as to any one in the ranks of Christian Science. I have no part in the 698 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers present court contention, and shall not engage in it unless I am forced to testify. Our correspondence will prove that I am defending the Cause of Christian Science and the teachings of Mrs. Eddy — divine metaphysics, and that is all. I trust you will not be greatly disturbed by this encroachment on your time. I have certainly given you much instruction in true Christian Science. Your letters have greatly interested me. You have a versa- tile pen, and you are a seeker for Truth. Mrs. Eddy inspired you, I am sure, to rise to your divine selfhood. Your tribute to her, in the book entitled A Biographi- cal Sketch, made you many friends among my students, and all who love our Leader greatly appreciate your efforts to honor her. ^^^<^ Our correspondence has been profitable. I am not moved by the breath of praise or censure. I know that Truth must be lived and demonstrated by me and by all. I cannot please both God and man. Therefore, I choose to please God. Sincerely yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, November 29, 191 1. My dear Mr. F. . . ; — I thought I had shown you in my letter why Mrs. Eddy did not interpose in my defense while she was personally with us. She knew, long before she entered upon her final demonstration over the last enemy, that her hour would come to lay down her physical sense of life, and rise to her spiritual sense of life as eternal. She knew that when she came to this hour there would be a question as to the material interpretation and the Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 699 spiritual interpretation of the Bible and her teachings, as found in her writings — the text-book of Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scrip- tures, and her other works. She knew, from her knowledge of the Scriptures, just what would follow after she personally left her followers. Any one with spiritual understanding, and a knowledge of sacred history, would know what would be the result, when the spiritual head of the Church ascended in the scale of spiritual building, finally to come forth in demonstration of the teaching of Truth, as did Jesus. She knew that I would have to meet the opposition of those who were on a material basis, and that, if I continued to declare for absolute Christian Science, as I had been doing for years, I would have to meet the "enemy of good" {Christian Science Sen- tinel, vol. xi., p. 910) — mortals who believe in, and defend, as real, materiality — sin, sickness, and death. She has told me for years that I would have to suffer persecution for Christ's sake, and of the cup that I would have to drink. I have all this in our correspond- ence. She came to her hour of final demonstration. She could not do my work for me. I could not do her work for her. Had she given out word to the Field that I was a true demonstrator of Christian Science, as she has told me that I am, in her letters to me, and had she advised it to follow me, all the ignorant and blind followers — camp followers and those who always work to be associated with one who is popular, all these would have clung to me, and I should have had dead wood to carry further up the hill of Christian Science. She knew that the hour had come for me to demon- strate my faith in the Principle of being, to stand against all the arguments of the carnally minded, and to follow 700 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers her mentally. She had walked with me and taught me during twenty-seven years, and she knew that I must prove her teachings as sufficient to protect me, and to defend my life in this hour of the crucifixion of the human. She did not want my church to interfere with the Directors. She wanted them to go on and separate me from the material organization. I was ready to begin to build on a "wholly spiritual" consciousness {Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 390). She knew that all who had risen to spiritual apprehension of her teachings would understand me. All who had not risen to the demands of the hour, and to whom mortality was real, followed the materialists who publicly declare her as dead. This separated the spiritually minded from the materially minded. Had she not advised my church to support all who were supporting the Directors, and had not the church obeyed her, but fought for me, I should have been held in the material organization, and should now have been under the jurisdiction of the Directors who are at the head of the material organization. I should have been subject to others' material concepts, and could not have defended absolute Christian Science. The tares and the wheat, the material and the spiritual, could not continue together at the harvest. But the hour had struck. The separation came. The crucial hour arrived, and I was advertised throughout the world. Hosts of people, who would never have listened to me as a Christian Scientist, espoused my cause and fought for me as "the most brutally treated woman the world had ever known. " Men were disgusted with men who would publish broadcast such reports about a Christian woman. But God was with me. I lived through it all, Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 701 and all who had risen to spiritual apprehension were at my side. To-day I am defending the true teach- ings of Mary Baker Eddy as she requested me to do in her letters to me, which you may see, if you so desire. The cleavage between the spiritual and the material Christian Scientists was most evident. It was a re- petition of Jesus' hour. He was the Son of God. Many have wondered why God did not interfere and save Jesus an ignominious death at the hands of his brutal persecutors. But Jesus came to the hour when he had to prove his teachings, and his spiritual power over death. Mrs. Eddy came to the same test of her teach- ings. She knew that this conflict must go on, and that I must make my own demonstration. She permitted me to be driven to the zenith of my understanding. She told me in her carriage (December, 1908) that I would "never run from the foe." I never have, and I never will. The question now is, shall we have a spiritual re- ligion or shall the world go back to a material mentality, and continue to submit to sin, sickness, and death? The genuine Christian Scientist, who understands Truth, will defend the true teachings of Mrs. Eddy, and will preserve the religion of love. Those who are still declaring for death as real, and matter as substance, belong not to the body of true Christian Scientists. Time will finally decide all questions pertaining to the real and false Christian Scientists. I am on the Rock. The surging sea of human concepts does not now dis- turb me. I have proved my spiritual power to over- come evil with good. My people are rejoicing in having stood for Truth amid the thunderings of error, and the lightning flash of malice, envy, jealousy, and revenge of 702 Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers impersonal evil, which found physical personaHties through whom to work. I have met all with truth and love, and have de- fended our blessed Leader and her spiritual teachings until there are now thousands who know the true Christian Scientist from the false — the genuine Christ- ian Scientist from the "pretender." Never again will there be danger that Christian Science will be lost to humanity as it was aforetime. I hope I have made myself intelligible to you, and have not wearied you. Very sincerely yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, January 4, 1912. My dear Mrs. B. . . ; — Since our revered Leader, Mrs. Eddy, entered upon her final demonstration over ''the last enemy," your question has been put to me by many. Some have asked, ''Has our Leader failed to demonstrate her own words, 'Life is real, and death is the illusion'? {Science and Health, p. 428.) Mrs. Eddy tells us that 'It is unchristian to believe in the transition called material death, since matter has no life' {Unity of Good, p. 38). What shall we do? The word has gone forth from headquarters that she is dead: a monument has been proposed to be erected in a cemetery : a book of obitu- ary notices has been published and circulated. Every statement contradicts the teachings of her book, Science and Health. What, Mrs. Stetson, does it all mean? Can you, who have been so long associated with Mrs. Eddy, enlighten me?" To all, I have said what I could to show them that Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 703 Mrs. Eddy has not died. That she never Hved nor died in matter. I have asked them if they beHeved their dear Leader to be ''unchristian," and have told them, if they really followed and obeyed her words, that they could not contradict them by believing her to be dead. I have told them that they are now called upon to prove their understanding of Christian Science, and to be classified as ''tares" or "wheat," "sheep" or "goats." If any one makes a statement which con- tradicts Mrs. Eddy's teachings, either you believe Mrs. Eddy, or you repudiate her words, and accept the opposite argument. I credit our wise Leader with the understanding of Truth, and I wait for her demonstration of spiritual power over the false claim called death. I never for one moment doubt her ability and spiritual might to overcome "the last enemy." Every effort of the evil one, hypnotism, mesmerism, theosophy, spiritualism, etc., has been made to darken the faithful Christian Scientists, and make them be- lieve in the testimony of material sense in regard to Mrs. Eddy's present personal absence. But Christian Science m.akes it clear that she lives: that she exists by reflection of God, Life, and that, when she has risen to a point of spiritual supremacy over mortal mentality, all who follow her mentally, in the resurrection period of her demonstration, will rise with her, and behold her, and all the phenomena that spiritual thought reveals. This will be having part with her in the higher demon- stration of the infinite possibilities of Christian Science or divine metaphysics. You can readily understand that, to the materially minded, and to all who believe that she is dead, there can be no such revelation and resurrection. They have 704 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers not been able to discern the spirituality of our great and revered Leader, and have thought that she disappeared with the absence of her physical presence. Thus they have been unable to grasp the higher metaphysics, and follow her in her ascending thought. In other words, they have returned to the material senses and have ceased to follow our Leader in her line of light and demonstration. Let us thank God that she did not leave us tempora- arily until she knew that her teachings were understood by some, and that she could enter upon her final demonstration over the powers of darkness, while those who understood her teachings would defend Christian Science until she reappeared in the glory of ideal womanhood. In the words of Scripture her ad- vanced students and followers are they who ''occupy" till she comes. You ask my interpretation of Mrs. Eddy*s statement : **To say that you and I, as mortals, will not enter this dark shadow of material sense, called death , is to as- sert what we have not proved" {Unity of Good, p. 40). This was written when Unity of Good was published, many years ago. Mrs. Eddy has since then declared for immortality in all her writings. She constantly rose to a clearer apprehension of her own words, and gradually put off the mortal sense of herself and others. At the time she wrote the words you have quoted above, she could not foretell her future ability to demonstrate her teachings, nor the demands Truth would make. She added: "The achievement of this ultimatum of Science, complete triumph over death, requires time and immense spiritual growth " {Unity of Good, p. 43). Mrs. Eddy rose step by step to spiritual attainments through demonstration, until she, like Christ Jesus, Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 705 met ''the last enemy," the claim of death. She had learned, through spiritual growth in Truth, that she must make a complete demonstration and triumph over the false claim of mortal belief, called death. She must prove her teachings in Science and Health. In the fulness of time she knew that her hour had come and she laid down her temporal sense of life— entered the ''dark shadow of material sense, called death,'' and met this experience of belief. Her last words ere she entered upon her final proof over the belief of life in matter were, ''God is my life. " She perfectly understood that she was entering upon her last and highest demonstration, and she knew that when she had conquered the illusion called death, and should come forth, some of her students and followers would have spiritual discernment to behold her, and would testify to this complete vindication of her teachings. I not only know this from my knowledge of divine metaphysics, which has become to me soHd conviction through demonstration, but I have it in her letters to me to confirm my conclusions. I have not given out what would quickly convince the doubting Thomases and the material and half-way and halting, so-called Christian Scientists. They have had ample time to learn, as I have, through consecration to Truth, and obedience to God's law, as taught by His anointed messenger in this hour, Mary Baker Eddy. They are now obliged to make their choice as to which is real. Life or death. Some have publicly shown their position in Christian Science, and quickly classified themselves by admitting death as real. They rolled the stone to the tomb of their own belief that our great Leader had died. But she never was in matter— there- 45 7o6 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers fore she never died, nor was placed in the tomb, nor in a grave, nor in a cemetery. They Hterally rolled a stone, compressed material concrete thought, steel and iron, to the grave of their own mentality, and yielded to the testimony of material sense. But Truth has triumphed, and has established lier mighty power and presence in the faithful Christian Science soldiers who are looking for the demonstration of their great Leader, Mary Baker Eddy. She will redeem her birthright as the ideal woman of God's creating, representing the motherhood of divine Love, our Father-Mother God. Mrs. Eddy asks: ''What then are matter, sin, and death? They can be nothing except the results of material consciousness" {Unity of Good, p. 42). ' Through which concept are Christian Scientists looking? It is apparent to all in this hour that the following words of our Leader are understood by the genuine Christian Scientist : This testimony of Holy Writ sustains the fact in Science, that the heavens and earth to one human consciousness, that consciousness which God bestows, are spiritual, while to another, the unillumined human mind, the vision is material. This shows unmistakably that what the human mind terms matter and spirit indicates states and stages of consciousness {Science and Health, p. 573). Yours very sincerely, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, January 17, 1912. My dear Mrs. A, , , : — I am always glad to receive messages of spiritual love, and I thank you for your desire to help me. Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 707 I am beginning "to build . . . on a wholly spiritual foundation" {Christian Science Sentinel, vol. xi., p. 390) as fast as I can eliminate false human beliefs of a mortal so-called man and a material universe which God never made. These carnal beliefs hinder progress Spirit-ward. I am willing to meet the condemnation of those who disagree with me in regard to Mrs. Eddy's teaching of Christian Science. I have shrunk from taking up the cross in defense of her teachings, which, unless they are preserved, ''will be lost as they were aforetime." I am carrying out Mrs. Eddy's directions to the letter, and in the spirit of love. The reflection of divine Love is a rod to error, and whoever wields this rod is sure to meet the antagonism of the human or carnal beHefs. I would gladly retire from the watch-tower of spiritual observation and activity, if another would come forth and protect the Cause of Christian Science from sinking again into mate- rialism, but no one seems unselfed enough, or has gained sufficient spiritual understanding to proclaim publicly the scientific statement of being, and to deny the evi- dence of the so-called material senses in regard to Mrs. Eddy and her final demonstration or reappearance as idea. I shall declare for Christian Science in its purity, and shall continue to demonstrate it by reflecting spirit- ual love, the antidote for malice, jealousy, envy, etc., — in fact to protect the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy against all who defend sin and death, and who are perpetuating the belief of the reality of evil. I have proved mortal so-called mind to be powerless to hush the voice of God through His anointed, Mary Baker Eddy. I know that she is guiding her own as ever, and that she will make her demonstration to 7P8 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers all who have understood her in the past. I never for one moment hesitated to obey our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, when she requested me, orally or by letter, to carry out her advice and stand for Principle, She asked the brethren in New York to rise with her to more spiritual altitudes, when she said, "When my dear brethren in New York desire to build higher, . . . they must begin on a wholly spiritual foundation, than which there is no other. . . . Spirit is infinite; . . . Spirit is all. 'There is no matter' " {Christian Science Sentinelj vol. xi., p. 390). Some were ready, and the separation began. I have letters of counsel from our Leader to defend the true spiritual fact that she never lived nor died in a matter body, since there is no matter. Love must triumph over all false thinking. I shall not disappoint my Leader and Teacher, Mary Baker Eddy. Evil can only destroy itself and its victims. All who are ready "to build ... on a wholly spiritual foundation" are rising to spiritual vision and spiritual power, and are revealing the eternal verities of God, His man and universe. There is no other man. > The hour is imminent. The wise virgins have oil in their lamps. They are looking for the bridegroom, and anticipating the hour of final deliverance from material beliefs and believers in the illusion of life in matter. If the demand is ever made for my authority in stand- ing forth and defending true Christian Science, or my reasons for my confidence that our Leader will make a demonstration of her teachings, I have ample proof in the letters to me from Mrs. Eddy which I have in my possession. I must make my ow^n demonstration in the building of the Church Triumphant, as I m.ade it in the church Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 709 militant. I must meet the bitter antagonism and ma- teriality of all who cannot rise with Christ. I must drink the full cup, and prove my spiritual under- standing of Christian Science, and wait for the crown of immortal consciousness. When I have done all that divine Love demands of me, and the world requires evidence of my fidelity to my Leader's instructions, I shall not hesitate to furnish it. In the meantime, all are being classified. They have been compelled to choose. This is the divine law and order. We are not of this (material) world. We are looking f or a " city which hath foundations. ' ' We are following Mrs. Eddy, our Christly Leader. I thank you, dear Mrs. A . . . , for your kind letter, and trust that you will understand that I am always ready to unite with the spiritually minded or the true Christian Scientists. It is obvious that the spiritually minded and the believers and defenders of matter as real, never unite. Two cannot ''walk together, ex- cept they be agreed." It is the "unity of good" (Mary Baker Eddy) that all who follow Mrs. Eddy un- derstandingly, are to-day seeking. Most sincerely yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, October 16, 1912. The Woman's National Weekly, University City, St. Louis, Missouri. Dear Co-workers: — Your favor of September 30th, 191 2, inviting me to become a candidate for election as a delegate to 7IO Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers represent the American Woman's Republic at the International Woman Suffrage Congress, to be held at Budapest next June, is before me. I appreciate the honor you have conferred upon me in selecting me as one of twenty delegates to represent the American Woman's Republic. You have my hearty cooperation in your efforts to establish the rights of woman. During the years of my religious work in Boston, and for the past twenty- six years in this city, as Pastor, Reader and spiritual head of First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, I have pubHcly and privately endorsed woman's rights. While I am not personally identified with the movement for Woman Suffrage, owing to great pressure of work in teaching and promulgating divine metaphysics or Christian Science in its higher demon- strations, yet I am always awake to the movement and active in using my influence to advocate woman's interests. This with my literary work occupies all my time and precludes the possibility of uniting with you in public personal service for the cause of Woman Suffrage. I am confident, however, that my labors of love for woman's spiritual mental advancement which will ensure her equal rights and privileges with man; my never-ceasing efforts to uplift humanity to true man- hood and ideal womanhood are effectively operating in individual and universal consciousness, inciting to higher ideals, and emancipation from mental and physical bondage. Mind is the source of all activity, and spiritual thought-force is leavening human consciousness with the divine quahties of Life, Truth, and Love, which are gradually eHminating the carnal elements which Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 711 prevent man and woman from exercising the dominion with which God endowed them, when He made them in His own "image" and ''Hkeness" and gave them "dominion . . . over all the earth." Through spiritual evolution woman is emancipating herself from obedience to man-made laws, and is recog- nizing and striving to obey God's law, and, under the divine impulsion is asserting her equality with man. It is not a question of time, as to when man will concede to woman equal rights and privileges, equal mental ability and the possible achievement of as great results as he has attained. It is wholly a matter of spiritual development, and liberation from a material mentality with its consequent thraldom. During many years woman has encountered fierce opposition to her plea for social, civic, and religious equality, until, driven to the extreme limit of patient endurance, she has risen in defiance of opposition to her convictions and has demanded recognition and representation. She has met what all reformers encounter who have stood for spiritual progress, for justice and equity. Never on custom's oiled grooves The world to a higher level moves, But grates and grinds with friction hard On granite boulder and flinty shard. ^ Woman has already won a signal victory, which, when the smoke of battle is dispersed, will reveal her as the ideal woman standing side by side with the ideal man, crowned with equal rights, and endowed with equal mental ability, possibilities and spiritual energies which will comprise the brotherhood of man under the law of supreme intelligence and Love. ^ Whittier. 712 Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers The Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, met the same resistance to her metaphysical postulates, from those who refused to grant woman the right of spiritual interpretation of the Bible, which reversed man's material interpretation of the Holy Word. But, God-impelled and God- inspired, this brave woman heeded not the pointed bayonet of prejudice and time-honored theories. Trusting in immutable Truth, this immortal scribe of Spirit, Mary Baker Eddy, began her emancipation from bondage to human so-called laws. She lifted woman's hope and faith to the exaltation of her divine selfhood, her eternal birthright, her prerogative to representation and participation in all that concerns the individual and universal welfare of mankind. Alone, reviled and denounced by materialists, understood only in a small degree by the few who perceive and accept Truth, this spiritually illumined woman repeated to the world Jesus' message of Truth which heals the sick and reforms the sinner. As the world rejected Jesus' teachings and practice, so to-day, at Christ's second appearing, it rejects the message of salvation from sickness and sin proclaimed by a woman. Permit me to quote from a sermon preached by me in First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, in 1888. "How does Christ speak in his divine code of Science? It was a woman who put the leaven into the meal which leavened the whole lump; it was a woman who poured the precious ointment, an offering of divine inspiration; a woman knelt at the foot of the cross when all the terrified men, save one, forsook Jesus. To a woman Jesus first revealed himself after the resurrection. It was the woman in Revelation who Letters to Friends and Fellow-Workers 713 was to be clothed with Hght to interpret the Word of God. Woman's spirituaHty first discerned Truth, and woman will finally lead to spiritual heights all who have hitherto failed to discern the immortal things of Spirit. The prophecy will be fulfilled: The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head (Genesis iii., 15) and restore man to his primal estate, health, holiness, and immortality." Again let me reassure you of my keen sympathy with the movement — Woman Suffrage— and my cordial cooperation with woman in the exaltation of her spiritual individuality, which is emancipating her from the fetters forged by so-called material laws. I will conclude in the words of Mary Baker Eddy: One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfils the Scripture, "Love thy neighbor as thyself;" annihilates pagan and Christian idolatry, — whatever is wrong in social, civil, criminal, political, and rehgious codes; equaHzes the sexes; annuls the curse on man, and leaves nothing that can sin, suffer, be punished or destroyed. {Science and Health, p. 340.) Very sincerely yours, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, November 22, 1912. My dear Mrs. H. . . ; — It seems a difficult task for me to write you a con- ventional note of regret in return for the kind invitation to your luncheon, and if I may be permitted to indulge in a few words of appreciation of your remembrance of me in connection with this social event, I shall 714 Letters to Friends and Fellovv- Workers feel that I have visited with you through the medium of the pen, therefore have not entirely lost the pleasure of meeting you at this social function, which I am sure will be most delightful. For many years I have denied myself these oppor- tunities of pleasant and profitable association, which demanded time that I was obliged to devote to my church and literary work. To-day I find myself still in battle, arrayed against the carnal, so-called mind, and compelled to absent myself from such genial and most agreeable events which none can possibly enjoy more than I. I am glad to know that my sisters are attending to this necessary social duty, which is one way of calling women together to discuss the topics of the hour, and for personal intercourse, so essential to brighten, quicken and unify purpose along the line of reciprocal thought. The benefits derived from the sweet interchange of the thoughts of noble women gathered at these func- tions, each contributing her share of wisdom, born from research and experience, must always result in incalculable value to humanity. The hour has struck when thinkers are awaking to human needs and are questioning the potency of spiritual thought-force to free them from material thinking, which results in discord, and which finally incapacitates all who are governed by false reasoning. Spiritual power is exalting the divine nature in woman. She is constantly rising in the scale of intelligence, and is uplifting the standard of true womanhood. Woman is emancipating herself from bondage to false theories, and is finding her individual identity as God's child to whom He gave equal rights with man, Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 715 when He gave them both "dominion. . . over all the earth. " Woman is redeeming her birthright. I shall be with you in spirit, dear Mrs. H . . . , and some day, I trust in the near future, when my ceaseless vigils on the watch-tower of Zion shall have sufiQced for me, and I shall be free to come and go as I desire, you will not find me regretting my inability to be with you, but I shall accept and be personally present whenever you favor me with an opportunity to do so. The signs of the times indicate that, "There re- maineth therefore a rest to the people of God." My mission on earth seems to have been in the line of spiritual progression with its accompanying persecu- tions, consequent upon spiritualization of thought. It is evident that this is woman's hour with all its sweet amenities. Mary Baker Eddy sounded the bugle call to Truth's standard when she emancipated herself from the traditional material interpretation of the Word of God, the Holy Bible. Dovv^n through the line of commutual thought, women have responded to the divine interpretation and are demanding emancipation from man-made laws and mental slavery. Woman is rising to claim her prerogative to repre- sent her creator, and execute the law of God — eternal Life, Love, and Truth. Panoplied in divine Love, as she advances in spiritual power, with the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, in her hand, and the law of Christ's love under her tongue, she is going forth strong in faith and imderstanding to reveal the new heaven and the new earth, which shall be governed by the new man and the new woman controlled by the law of God. 7i6 Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers I must beg your pardon for my self-indulgence, in permitting my pen to register my thoughts on the subject so vital to me, and which you may not have the time nor the interest to consider. Yours most sincerely, Augusta E. Stetson. 7 West 96TH Street, New York City, March 11, 1913- My dear Student: — You ask me if First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, ever made Mrs. Eddy a Fondateur of the Association for International Conciliation. This church had the honor of tendering this appoint- ment, which she graciously accepted. A statement concerning the matter, including her letter, Vv^as given in the Christian Science Sentinel, volume ix., page 662. In case the back numbers are not convenient for you to refer to I will quote the account in full. Mrs. Eddy's Letter. The following is Mrs. Eddy's letter to First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York, acknowledging the courtesy of that church in subscribing for her a membership of the highest class in the Association for International Conciliation. Pleasant View, Concord, N. H., April 22, 1907. First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, Mr. John D. Higgins, Clerk. My Beloved Brethren: — Your appointment of me as Fondateur of the Associa- tion for International Conciliation is most gracious. To aid in this holy purpose is the leading impetus of my life. Letters to Friends and Fellow- Workers 717 Many years have I prayed and labored for the consumma- tion of "on earth peace, good will toward men." May the fruits of said grand Association, pregnant with peace, find their birthright in divine Science. Right thoughts and deeds are the sovereign remedies for all earth's woe. Sin is its own enemy. Right has its recompense, even though it be betrayed. Wrong may be man's highest idea of right until his grasp of goodness grows stronger. It is always safe to be just. When pride, self, and human reason reign, injustice is rampant. Individuals, as nations, unite harmoniously on the basis of justice, and this is accomplished when self is lost in Love — or God's own plan of salvation. "To do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly" is the standard of Christian Science. Human law is right only as it patterns the divine. Con- solation and peace are based on the enlightened sense of God ' s government . Lured by fame, pride, or gold, success is dangerous, but the choice of folly never fastens on the good or the great. Because of m}^ rediscovery of Christian Science, and honest efforts (however meagre) to help human purpose and peo- ples, you may have accorded me more than is deserved,-^ but 't is sweet to be remembered. Lovingly yours, Mary Baker G. Eddy. I am glad that you have felt an interest in this event and Mrs. Eddy's association with it. Faithfully, affectionately yours, Augusta E. Stetson. CHAPTER XV LETTERS OF INSTRUCTION AND COUNSEL TO STUDENTS But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. 2 Timothy iii., 14. The honest student of Christian Science is purged through Christ, Truth, and thus is ready for victory in the ennobling strife. The good fight must be fought by those who keep the faith and finish their course. Mental purgation must go on: it promotes spiritual growth, scales the mountain of human endeavor, and gains the summit in Science that otherwise could not be reached, — where the struggle with sin is forever done. — Miscellaneous Writings, p. 41. Winter Hill, Mass., November 25, 1895. My dear Student-body, or Association: — ^ I need no more convincing evidence of the allness and substance of divine Mind, God's ever-presence, mani- fested in idea — and the nothingness of corporeaHty — than comes to me now, as I turn my thoughts to these ''whom Thou hast given me," and become conscious that space is filled with individualities, who have cheered me on my wilderness journey, and now float to me on mental pinions, as the presence of each loved one appears to my spiritualized sense. Spirit indeed is substance. Ever-present Mind is All, and, » Letter addressed to the Student-body of the New York City Christian Science Institute in their respective fields of labor. 718 Letters of Instruction and Counsel 719 as we dwell in the "secret place," the ever-immanent God illumines each, till spiritual sense disperses the darkness and mentally reveals His image, in witness of our individual oneness with, and relation to our Father-Mother God, and to each other. These glimpses of spiritual substance dispel all fear, all time, all space. Eternity opens to our thought, and shuts us in an atmosphere of Life and Love,, Then we recognize ourselves as spiritual, not material, and our lives as ''hid with Christ in God." We behold each dear one as a member of the body of Christ, spiritual and incorporeal, eternal in harmony. This is a foretaste of the ultimate of spiritual under- standing, when, through obedience and suffering, we shall come out of the shadows that throng the gloaming of this dream-existence. This spiritual light quickens hope and revives feeble, fluttering aspirations for the real and eternal. It strengthens our weary endeavors for the true goal and spiritual companionship, "where heart meets heart reciprocally blest" {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 207). Let us lift the heart, and bend the knee in prayer and praise, for this faint apprehension of spiritual substance and divine revelation of the deep things of God — not forgetting her who has given to us, through Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, the guide to eternal Life — whose tireless watch over a sin- bound world is not yet ended, and whose prayers are ever ascending on wings of loving petition for her children, as she leads them through the serpent- infested wilderness of sin, to the bright mountain of holiness and immortality. 7- ,-^v Our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, says "Spirit, God, is heard when the senses are silent" {Scieiice a?id Health, 720 Letters of Instruction and Counsel p. 89). Let us tread softly, dear students, as we approach our "house not made with hands" — our spiritual conscious oneness with God. As we near this silent sanctuary, we feel the presence of Love coming out to meet us. Strains of melody, laden with peace and joy, are wafted to us, till we lose the memory of weary years of struggle and sorrow, doubt, toil, pain, and fear, and attempt to blend our half -attuned voices (thoughts) with the harmony of being. Ah, there are discordant notes which the hand of Love must attune, ere we can unite with the heavenly harpists, and swell the angelic anthem, "God is omni- potent." Pause, beloved, and listen. A voice is speaking above the human. Christ is calling from the Mount, "Follow me." You cannot sing the Lord's song in a strange land, and in the old tongue. Leave material sense, with its delusive shadows, its illusive beauty, fleeting joys, and seductive snares. Tarry no longer in sensuous pleasures, which fan the fires of lust and hypocrisy, and shut you in the tomb of material sense, with the dead in trespasses and sin. Hear the voice of the Master, "I am the way," "Follow me." Rise to your conscious dominion over all material things — thoughts. Enter, with spiritual thought, your mansion which Christ has prepared for you, and there unite with the ransomed in the glad anthem of immortality. Leave behind you every earth- weight. One by one, lay down your idols. Let no strange gods be carried up the Moimt. The ascent is steep, and narrow is the path. Both hands will be needed, one to raise aloft the cross, before which the adversary quails, the other to carry the Word of God — the Holy Bible — and Science and Letters of Instruction and Counsel 721 Health — the Comforter — the chart to the Horeb height of Love. With your eyes fixed steadfastly on the crown of immortality which gleams from its summit, you will pass unharmed over hissing serpents, walk calmly and fearlessly through the valley, hidden by the shadow of the cross from the beasts of prey. Follow your guide, Christ, and be not lured by the voice of the stranger. Let not the weight of earthly pride induce you to tarry in the valley. Sensuous pleasures, and joy in the baubles of the mortal dream, must not prevent you from rising to higher altitudes of spiritual vision. Beautiful evil, and the lust of the eyes will blind you to "the way," and deceive and decoy you, if you do not resist the suggestions of mortal belief, till, like many, who have enlisted in the battle for immortality, you wander in the ways of physical sense, and love darkness rather than light. Lulled by the siren influence of belief, the voice and demands of Love v/ill be distasteful, as Christ rebukes carnality — while the desire and love of contemplating the things of God will be irksome. Thus, asleep in error, the mists become dense and hide the Mount, and the way is lost. Dearly beloved, my joy and crown of rejoicing, I am "persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus" (Romans viii., 38, 39). You are awake, and will continue to ascend Spirit- ward and press toward the prize. You know that material sense is not your goal. You perceive, with spiritual 46 722 Letters of Instruction and Counsel sight, your building of God — your house — eternal consciousness. You are dissolving with the solvent of divine Love this earthly tabernacle, and the fire of purifying Love is dispelling the mists of false sense, consuming the clouds which obstruct your view. With spiritual vision, perceive your heavenly treasures. Behold celestial riches, joys unspeakable, life which knows no end, and peace which Spirit ever evolves throughout endless eternity. Acknowledging Spirit as the only power, you will be impelled heaven-ward, and will rise above temporal concepts, with their substanceless phenomena, till you apprehend the grandeur of the eternal unseen universe. Dear faithful soldiers of Christian Science, you have stood vaHantly by my side, shoulder to shoulder, in this crusade against the material world, the flesh, and evil. The tempter has tried to lure us to the pinnacle, then to hurl us down the precipice, where in the surging maelstrom of sin and sorrow our voices would be hushed by the roar of many waters. But our deliverer, Christ, ever at our side to fulfil his promise, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end," in every hour of temptation flashed the light of Truth upon us, and banished every illusion. As we rise to grasp the reality of being, error rises proportionately, and the war between the Spirit and the flesh goes on in each individual consciousness. The Christ struggles with the carnal, resisting the sensuous claim to life in matter, while Spirit, which is our Father-Mother Love, operates, and permeates thought, delivering all who turn to the ever-sustaining presence, divine Love and Her idea. Thus we attain Christly power over the illusion of sin and death. Letters of Instruction and Counsel 723 Thus we gain the pure spiritual sense without which none can see God. Then God pours into our hearts the riches of love, joy, and peace, and our heaven is found to be a condition of mind. This is our birthright. Are we willing to watch with Love's "highest visible idea" {Science and Health, p. 560), our beloved Leader, God's messenger to this age, Mary Baker Eddy, until our divine inheritance is redeemed ? These are the latter days. The morning dawns for the watchers. We must not cease our vigils till we behold the sunrise of righteousness, and welcome our risen Christ at his reappearing through woman, our Leader and Guide to eternal Life. Let us not tarry in sense testimony, worshiping false phenomena, nor play with phantoms Hghted by flickering sunbeams which fade and leave us in the night of mortal mind. May spiritual thought-force rend the veil which con- ceals the beautiful world of God's creation, till we behold the real man in His likeness. Spiritual com- munion must be sweeter to us than converse with error. If we love one we hate the' other. "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God." The conditions of spiritual understanding and be- lief— heaven and hell — are separated by a wide mental gulf. As our desires and purposes grow spiritual, the guests we entertain must speak the "new tongue," and sing the song of eternal Life. In His habitation we find joy and sweet communion. Alas! for those who desire spiritual power and im- mortality, but who cling to the mortal, and worship the Father with words, but are not ready to come out from belief in error, who find satisfaction in the false peace which this material world gives — and climb to 724 Letters of Instruction and Counsel heights of the letter of Christian Science, but, unwilling to strive for spiritual sense, they linger with, and enjoy the deceptive phantasmagoria of this dream- universe. "God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." This hour in our Christian Science experience is mak- ing great demands upon us to watch, work, and pray, and to reflect divine Love. The dragon — evil — is illu- sion, and we know cannot war successfully against the Lamb. There is no power in evil, and no evil to drag on humanity in a sense of sin, sickness, and death. Sci- ence and Health tells us that mortal mind is destroyed. Let us believe the spiritual fact and prove it. Our armor is Truth and Love, before which hypnotism, mesmerism, esoteric magic, witchcraft, glamor, fasci- nation, lust, and hypocrisy, tremble and fall powerless. There is nothing real in sin, sickness, and death, when the searchlight of Truth reveals error's false claim. God is All. We are His children — safe in the arms of our Father-Mother God, resting on the great heart of Love. Watch, beloved students, lest, coming suddenly, Christ, at his second coming, finds you sleeping in material sense, and you lose the reward of the faithful. My love goes out to you continually, and my prayers reach the ear of the infinite, that you and all seekers for "Home, Sweet Home" in Soul, may conquer every fear and enter the mansion, spiritual conscious- ness of wisdom and understanding. Be true to your highest spiritual concept of eternal Mind. Pass under every rod with cheerfulness. Kiss the cross, and wait for the smile of God. You are coming out from the "foul senses" {Miscellaneous Writings ^ P- 399) » 3.nd having been washed in the blood of Christ, Lerten; of Instruction and Counsel 725 yoti wiJ. see "a new heaven and a new earth," for this Tuterial concept of heaven and earth will pass away. It has ever been only a beHef. Let none perpetuate it by indulgence in it, nor contemplation of it, as real. God be very near to each precious one, and may we continue to love and labor till we awake in immortaHty here on earth. Lovingly, faithfully yours, Augusta E. Stetson. Winter Hill, AIass., September 9, 1898. My beloved Student: — I am glad to learn that you have a prospect of renting the apartment. I had no wish in regard to the room I occupied last season, and am glad if the decora- tion enhances the attraction of the place — thus benefiting dear Mrs. McA .... Please remember me kindly to her, and to her husband and father. Dear S . . . , you know that I have no need to advise you in your selection of a home. Your judgment is safe to trust. You are individual and understand Principle. Lean on divine Love, and Love will show you the real mental, and gradually we shall see that beliefs are only shadows, which vanish under the pure light of Spirit. We shall each work out our problem together in the one Mind, and both mortal sense, with its phenomenal personalities, and our material environments in the Adam-dream, will be seen as illusion, and will disap- pear. I am sure, dear heart, that you know the way and love it, and will strive to see God as All, giving to mortality all that is due to it — destruction. Sin is the belief of pain and pleasure in matter. So-called 726 Letters of Instruction and Counsel matter and mortal mind are one, and both are sub- stanceless shadows. We shall gradually learn that they are not sufficient to satisfy our immortal cravings for the real and eternal. To gain the spiritual sense we must open our eyes to see how much God, and His manifestation — or the unseen idea — is to us. We are thus never separated,' while Love feeds us with joy and peace, even though the false, finite images do come into our mental and physical environment, like so many shadows. I must rise to do higher work this year than ever before. I must not cling to physical personalities, if I would be directed by Love alone. My family give me less to meet because they are discerning Truth. I see all my dear ones through spiritual sense, as perfect and immortal ideas of God. Seeing God's dear love in this, I shall be more wholly consecrated, and my duties will enable me to do much more for others/ while personal self will be put aside. Only in taking up the problems of the hour, as we are prepared to meet them, can we perfect and unself ourselves. I thank you, dear, for all you did to minister to my temporal necessities during the months I was with you. You did much which I felt was hard for you, but you loved to do it, and I appreciate all, and, so far as I have been able to be just and generous, I have tried to cancel all obHgations. So we now begin a new season, and will labor even more energetically to do our work for the Master. We shall gradually merge out of the hum.an into our divine selfhood, and thus grow together into ideal womanhood. Love will do all, and we shall see Love's smiling face in each other and in all mankind. Now turn to God, and banish all carnal sense of personal attraction and mesmeric Letters of Instruction and Counsel 727 clinging to any one's physical personality, and your life will be quiet, and overflowing with peace and joy, while you and I will be nearer to God and to each other. Faithfully and lovingly your teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. Hotel Touraine, Boston, Mass., June 24, 1900. My beloved Student-body: — ^ You are ever with me and I with you, for we are God's ideas and do not dwell in matter nor in limita- tions imposed by material sense. This is the rock of spiritual understanding upon which all Christian Scientists must build. We are free and blissful in our spiritual apprehension that divine Mind created and controls each of us, supplying our every need. We rejoice that we are recipients of the affluence of Spirit. Regard yourselves as God's own children, and claim your inheritance now, — eternal oneness with Spirit. Error will try to cloud you and deprive you of your God-given faculties by attracting you to the false material senses, and to the material body and universe. Look away from the illusive shadows of personal sense, and live above the clouds and mists of the Adam-dream, as far as you can demonstrate. Be ever on guard against the claim of a power opposed to Love and Truth, — hypnotism, spiritualism, mesm.erism, and all philosophy based on the belief of life, substance, and in- telligence in matter. These arguments and suggestions of the so-called mortal mind are the seeming powers ' Letter to the Student-body of the New York City Christian Science Institute, sent from Boston. 728 Letters of Instruction and Counsel that would overthrow our Cause and destroy us, if they could, but they are powerless when met by the qualities of the Christ-mind. We need love, divine love, which never covers evil, but is wise in uncovering, denouncing, and destroying it with truth and love. We have a great work to do this season. We must grapple with sin in ourselves, and for others who appeal to us for healing. We must work to conquer personal pride, vanity, and self-love. We must and will refuse to be lulled by the false claim of malicious animal magnetism. We will be meek, and this meekness and unselfed love for God and man will make us mighty as God's children, and will help to conquer the evil one and his agents, mortal thoughts. I feel that I am rising in the Science of being, and am drawing all, who are watching and praying, to see that there is no reality in matter, and no mortal mind to declare that there is a power opposed to God. God and His creation are all. We are spiritual ideas of God now, with spiritual embodiments or manifestations, always governed by our Principle and protected, clothed, and fed by our Father-Mother God — Spirit, the only creator. Be happy and strong. Love is the only armor. Love for good and for each other will exalt you to the Mind of Christ, in which you will be safely panoplied. Watch whom you take as patients. We must be careful not to take the ''unprepared thought" which will turn and rend us {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 307). Know that the press and the pulpit belong to God, who governs all. Handle the claim of malicious animal magnetism with all its suggestions of the carnal mind, so-called, with the Word of God — Truth — ■ and reaHze how powerless error is to harm, when you Letters of InstfUction and Counsel 729 are armed with understanding and divine love. I shall be with you every day in spiritual unity. God bless my beloved students and members of my dear church, and make them one in Truth and Love. Ever lovingly, your faithful teacher, Augusta E. Stetson. Hotel Touraine, Boston, Mass., June 2, 1901. " - ' My beloved Student-body: — Know that God governs your every thought. You have no will of your own, — God's will is the only will. You know that divine Love governs every one, and that every one is an idea or manifestation of God — therefore a power, reflecting Truth — Mind. The one Mind, or Christ, moves all harmoniously. There is no inaction, no interruption to Mind's activity, and thought constantly expresses its phenomena. Every man is divine, and moves to the dictates of Spirit. By this I do not mean so-called mortal man, but God's man, the only man. Man knows nothing but good. Man is God, reflected. This is all. BeHef of any other power or intelligence is not scientific, according to divine metaphysics. All that is opposed to good, Life, Love, and Truth, is belief, and beHef is a lie, which no one believes. Speak with authority to all error that obstructs and hinders the visible manifestation of God and His universe, including yourselves. Act, think, work, watch, and pray without ceasing, to rid yourselves of a seeming false sense — the false self — and gain your true selves in Principle. Love alone will conquer the claim of evil. "The accuser" is cast down. Evil is lost in its own darkness, and is sinking into the pit 730 Letters of Instruction and Counsel of oblivion. Rest in hope till hope ends in fruition. I am rejoicing in you and in my dear church. A sigh would hush my song if I did not know that those who laid down the sword just before the battle was won, will finally, after much tribulation, come back into the ranks. I cannot make even this real, or I shall be opening my mental door to belief, and shall admit a host of conspirators against health, peace, and spiritual power. Our beloved Leader says she cannot go out of her spiritual thought long enough to look at the newspapers, but must keep in the secret place, where there is no "arrow" to ''wound the dove" {Miscellaneous Writings, p. 387). As I rise to more spiritual altitudes, I send to each of you love inexpressible and ever-increasing, and labor to draw you and all men unto Christ, while our lives flow onward and upward to God. Ever fondly thine, Augusta E. Stetson. 96 Fifth Avenue, New York City, October 11, 1894. My beloved Student: — No mother ever had child given back from death*s cold clasp who rejoiced more than I did when I read your letter. God is indeed good to me and I reflect enough of His love to hold my dear ones to Principle where they can never be lost, so, sweet nursling, rest from this ceaseless anxiety, and let me go with you into the "secret place of the most High" where you and I together may bow the knee and clasp more closely the hand of our Father- Mother God. Had you fainted in the day of adversity, your strength had indeed been small. The test has come, you have been Letters of Instruction and Counsel 731 weighed and not found wanting. Now let the dove of peace sing in your heart and in mine. All that this finite sense cognizes is illusion. Why do we require it? Why cry for that which is nothing at its best? You must put off all desire for the transi- tory and unreal, as fast as you can, and be strong and brave, and honest and energetic, and forget self and personal comfort. This will break the lethargy of ease in the material senses, and will inspire your husband with courage and ambition. You know, dear, you must set an example to him. I arn sure you will meet this bravely. I dare not advise, lest God may be holding you to this experience for a purpose, for "Love is not hasty to deliver us. . . . Love means that we shall be tried and purified," says our Leader {Science and Health, p. 22). I wish it were in divine order that you had a httle apartment and could be in the city, then you would take an interest in your home, and would demonstrate over much that now seems in- surmountable. I was working a week ago, for a day, over a sense of depression. I became desperate and went home about five o'clock. When I looked about my room it was very dusty. I took off my dress, ignored my careless maid, and went to sweeping. I worked for an hour, and I never have had such a lovely effect. I forgot the depression, and, in sweeping the floor and in putting my room in perfect order, I swept my consciousness. Everything is thought, and every- thing we do in the material is symbolic. So you see, dear, we are demonstrating when we are keeping house, for our material house is our thought and you must transform yours and make a happy resting-place for your dear husband. 732 Letters of Instruction and Counsel Do not be afraid; God is your loving Father. All who are followers of Christ are to-day drinking, in some degree, Christ Jesus' cup. They are homesick for heaven, and neither luxury, nor friends, in the mortal dream satisfies them. God alone fills the void. Love will feed and clothe Her ideas. I am looking for you and dear S . . . soon. All here seem to be progressing in Truth. The students are overcoming self, and personal sense, and each dear one is bearing a cross, eagerly looking for the crown which he and she are sure to win if they faint not. Some day it will be unnecessary to write. We shall communicate with each other without the aid of telephone or tele- graph, or the slow medium of pen. Give my love to my dear ones all. Tell S . . . her father was in Saturday and I introduced him to three ladies with whom he talked most intelligently on the subject of Christian Science. He was here from eleven till half -past one, and I hope he will come in every day. He is simply grand, original, and spiritual. Love, dear, forever to you and yours. Augusta E. Stetson. I West 96TH Street, New York City, August 10, 1904. My beloved Student: — I am glad to hear of your good work, and evident unfoldment in the understanding of Truth. Love is leading you to behold the things of Spirit, and, if you are meekly sitting at the feet of Christ, and learning, from the invisible presence, the lesson of divine Love, you will gain in the wisdom which will enable you to redeem your birthright — your dominion over all false sense testimony, and your oneness with good — God. Letters of Instruction and Counsel 733 I do not see why you should question me, dear, after you have promised the book. You must not make me responsible for giving or withholding my approval of it. 7 ?A Mbsll hw:^ ib-:>^\Kh\\