First Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada Flintridge, California
Wednesday Meeting Readings
- Ps. 139:1, 2, 23, 24
1O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
2Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
... 23Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
24And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
- Amos 4:13
13For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The Lord, The God of hosts, is his name.
- I Cor. 13:11, 12
11When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
- II Cor. 10:1-5
1Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you:
2But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.
3For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
- Rom. 12:1-16
1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
3For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
4For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
5So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
6Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
7Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
8Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
9Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
10Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
11Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
12Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
13Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
14Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
15Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
16Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
by Mary Baker Eddy
- SH 225:14-16
- SH 245:1-31
The error of thinking that we are growing old, and the benefits of destroying that illusion, are illustrated in a 3sketch from the history of an English woman, published in the London medical magazine called The Lancet.
Disappointed in love in her early years, she became 6insane and lost all account of time. Believing that she Perpetual youthwas still living in the same hour which parted her from her lover, taking no note of years, 9she stood daily before the window watching for her lover’s coming. In this mental state she remained young. Having no consciousness of time, she literally grew no 12older. Some American travellers saw her when she was seventy-four, and supposed her to be a young woman. She had no care-lined face, no wrinkles nor gray hair, but 15youth sat gently on cheek and brow. Asked to guess her age, those unacquainted with her history conjectured that she must be under twenty.
18 This instance of youth preserved furnishes a useful hint, upon which a Franklin might work with more cer-tainty than when he coaxed the enamoured lightning 21from the clouds. Years had not made her old, because she had taken no cognizance of passing time nor thought of herself as growing old. The bodily results of her belief 24that she was young manifested the influence of such a be-lief. She could not age while believing herself young, for the mental state governed the physical.
27 Impossibilities never occur. One instance like the foregoing proves it possible to be young at seventy-four; and the primary of that illustration makes it plain that 30decrepitude is not according to law, nor is it a necessity of nature, but an illusion.
- SH 370:5-22, 32
The body improves under the 6same regimen which spiritualizes the thought; and if health is not made manifest under this regimen, this proves that fear is governing the body. This is the law 9of cause and effect, or like producing like.
Homœopathy furnishes the evidence to the senses, that symptoms, which might be produced by a certain drug, 12Like curing likeare removed by using the same drug which might cause the symptoms. This confirms my theory that faith in the drug is the sole factor in the 15cure. The effect, which mortal mind produces through one belief, it removes through an opposite belief, but it uses the same medicine in both cases.
18 The moral and spiritual facts of health, whispered into thought, produce very direct and marked effects on the body. A physical diagnosis of disease — since mor-21tal mind must be the cause of disease — tends to induce disease.
Physicians examine the pulse, tongue, lungs, to dis-371371:1cover the condition of matter, when in fact all is Mind. The body is the substratum of mortal mind, 3Diagnosis of matterand this so-called mind must finally yield to the mandate of immortal Mind.
- SH 372:1-16
Remember, brain is not mind. Matter cannot be sick, and Mind is immortal. The mortal body is only an erro-3Brain not intelligentneous mortal belief of mind in matter. What you call matter was originally error in solu-tion, elementary mortal mind, — likened by Milton to 6“chaos and old night.” One theory about this mortal mind is, that its sensations can reproduce man, can form blood, flesh, and bones. The Science of being, in which 9all is divine Mind, or God and His idea, would be clearer in this age, but for the belief that matter is the medium of man, or that man can enter his own embodied thought, 12bind himself with his own beliefs, and then call his bonds material and name them divine law.
When man demonstrates Christian Science absolutely, 15he will be perfect. He can neither sin, suffer, be subject Veritable successto matter, nor disobey the law of God.
- SH 375:26-9
Consumptive patients always show great hopeful-27ness and courage, even when they are supposed to be in Latent fear diagnosedhopeless danger. This state of mind seems anomalous except to the expert in Christian 30Science. This mental state is not understood, simply because it is a stage of fear so excessive that it amounts to fortitude. The belief in consumption presents to mor-376376:1tal thought a hopeless state, an image more terrifying than that of most other diseases. The patient turns involun-3tarily from the contemplation of it, but though unacknowl-edged, the latent fear and the despair of recovery remain in thought.
6 Just so is it with the greatest sin. It is the most subtle, and does its work almost self-deceived. The diseases Insidious conceptsdeemed dangerous sometimes come from the 9most hidden, undefined, and insidious beliefs.
- SH 376:17
If the body is material, it cannot, for that very reason, 18suffer with a fever. Because the so-called material body Remedy for feveris a mental concept and governed by mortal mind, it manifests only what that so-called 21mind expresses. Therefore the efficient remedy is to destroy the patient’s false belief by both silently and au-dibly arguing the true facts in regard to harmonious 24being, — representing man as healthy instead of diseased, and showing that it is impossible for matter to suffer, to feel pain or heat, to be thirsty or sick. Destroy fear, 27and you end fever. Some people, mistaught as to Mind-science, inquire when it will be safe to check a fever. Know that in Science you cannot check a fever after ad-30mitting that it must have its course. To fear and admit the power of disease, is to paralyze mental and scientific demonstration.
- SH 372:26-29
- SH 377:6-6 (np)
Invalids flee to tropical climates in order to save their lives, but they come back no better than when they went Climate harmlessaway. Then is the time to cure them through 9Christian Science, and prove that they can be healthy in all climates, when their fear of climate is exterminated.
12 Through different states of mind, the body becomes suddenly weak or abnormally strong, showing mortal Mind governs bodymind to be the producer of strength or weak-15ness. A sudden joy or grief has caused what is termed instantaneous death. Because a belief origi-nates unseen, the mental state should be continually 18watched that it may not produce blindly its bad effects. The author never knew a patient who did not recover when the belief of the disease had gone. Remove the 21leading error or governing fear of this lower so-called mind, and you remove the cause of all disease as well as the mor-bid or excited action of any organ. You also remove in 24this way what are termed organic diseases as readily as functional difficulties.
The cause of all so-called disease is mental, a mortal 27fear, a mistaken belief or conviction of the necessity and power of ill-health; also a fear that Mind is helpless to defend the life of man and incompetent to control it. With-30out this ignorant human belief, any circumstance is of it-self powerless to produce suffering. It is latent belief in disease, as well as the fear of disease, which associates sick-378378:1ness with certain circumstances and causes the two to appear conjoined, even as poetry and music are repro-3duced in union by human memory. Disease has no in-telligence. Unwittingly you sentence yourself to suffer. The understanding of this will enable you to commute this 6self-sentence, and meet every circumstance with truth.
- SH 378:8-10
- SH 380:22-19
Many years ago the author made a spiritual discov-ery, the scientific evidence of which has accumulated to 24A higher discoveryprove that the divine Mind produces in man health, harmony, and immortality. Gradu -ally this evidence will gather momentum and clearness, 27until it reaches its culmination of scientific statement and proof. Nothing is more disheartening than to believe that there is a power opposite to God, or good, and that 30God endows this opposing power with strength to be used against Himself, against Life, health, harmony.
Every law of matter or the body, supposed to govern 381 381:1man, is rendered null and void by the law of Life, God. Ignorant of our God-given rights, we submit to unjust 3Ignorance of our rightsdecrees, and the bias of education enforces this slavery. Be no more willing to suffer the illusion that you are sick or that some disease is develop-6ing in the system, than you are to yield to a sinful temp-tation on the ground that sin has its necessities.
When infringing some supposed law, you say that 9there is danger. This fear is the danger and induces the No laws of matterphysical effects. We cannot in reality suffer from breaking anything except a moral or 12spiritual law. The so-called laws of mortal belief are destroyed by the understanding that Soul is immortal, and that mortal mind cannot legislate the times, periods, 15and types of disease, with which mortals die. God is the lawmaker, but He is not the author of barbarous codes. In infinite Life and Love there is no sickness, sin, nor 18death, and the Scriptures declare that we live, move, and have our being in the infinite God.
- SH 40:1-2
Hymn 14: “Arise, arise and shine”
Hymn 518: “...Think what spirit dwells within you”
Hymn 51: “Eternal Mind the Potter is, and thought th' eternal clay”