5      Beloved Brethren:—People coming from a distance
         expecting to hear me speak in The Mother Church,
         are frequently disappointed. To avoid this, I may here-
         after notify the Directors when I shall be present to
         address this congregation, and the Clerk of the church
10    can inform correspondents. Your dual and impersonal
         pastor, the Bible, and “Science and Health with Key to
         the Scriptures,” is with you; and the Life these give, the
         Truth they illustrate, the Love they demonstrate, is
         the great Shepherd that feedeth my flock, and leadeth
15    them “beside the still waters.” By any personal pres-
         ence, or word of mine, your thought must not be diverted
         or diverged, your senses satisfied, or self be justified.

         Therefore, beloved, my often-coming is unnecessary;
         for, though I be present or absent, it is God that feed-
20    eth the hungry heart, that giveth grace for grace, that
         healeth the sick and cleanseth the sinner. For this
         consummation He hath given you Christian Science,
         and my past poor labors and love. He hath shown you
         the amplitude of His mercy, the justice of His judgment,
25    the omnipotence of His love; and this, to compensate
         your zealous affection for seeking good, and for labor-
         ing in its widening grooves from the infinitesimal to the
         infinite.

         In reply to all invitations from Chicago to share the
25    hospitality of their beautiful homes at any time during
         the great wonder of the world, the World’s Fair, I say,
         Do not expect me. I have no desire to see or to hear
         what is to be offered upon this approaching occasion.

         I have a world of wisdom and Love to contemplate,
30    that concerns me, and you, infinitely beyond all earthly

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1      expositions or exhibitions. In return for your kindness,
         I earnestly invite you to its contemplation with me, and
         to preparation to behold it.

         This interesting day, crowned with the history of
5      Truth’s idea,—its earthly advent and nativity,—is
         especially dear to the heart of Christian Scientists; to
         whom Christ’s appearing in a fuller sense is so precious,
         and fraught with divine benedictions for mankind.

         The star that looked lovingly down on the manger of
10    our Lord, lends its resplendent light to this hour: the
         light of Truth, to cheer, guide, and bless man as he
         reaches forth for the infant idea of divine perfection
         dawning upon human imperfection,—that calms man’s
         fears, bears his burdens, beckons him on to Truth and
15    Love and the sweet immunity these bring from sin, sick-
         ness, and death.

         This polar star, fixed in the heavens of divine Science,
         shall be the sign of his appearing who “healeth all our
         diseases;” it hath traversed night, wading through
20    darkness and gloom, on to glory. It doth meet the
         antagonism of error; addressing to dull ears and undis-
         ciplined beliefs words of Truth and Life.

         The star of Bethlehem is the star of Boston, high in
         the zenith of Truth’s domain, that looketh down on the
25    long night of human beliefs, to pierce the darkness and
         melt into dawn.

         The star of Bethlehem is the light of all ages; is the
         light of Love, to-day christening religion undefiled, divine
         Science; giving to it a new name, and the white stone in
30    token of purity and permanence.

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1      The wise men follow this guiding star; the watchful
         shepherd chants his welcome over the cradle of a great
         truth, and saith, “Unto us a child is born,” whose birth
         is less of a miracle than eighteen centuries ago; and “his
5      name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty
         God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

         My heart is filled with joy, that each receding year sees
         the steady gain of Truth’s idea in Christian Science; that
         each recurring year witnesses the balance adjusted more
10    on the side of God, the supremacy of Spirit; as shown
         by the triumphs of Truth over error, of health over sick-
         ness, of Life over death, and of Soul over sense.

         “The hour cometh, and now is, when the true wor-
         shippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth.”
15    “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made
         me free from the law of sin and death.” “Fear not, little
         flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you
         the kingdom.”

         Press on, press on! ye sons of light,
20    Untiring in your holy fight,
         Still treading each temptation down,
         And battling for a brighter crown.

         Will all the dear Christian Scientists accept my tender
         greetings for the forthcoming holidays, and grant me
20    this request,—let the present season pass without one
         gift to me.

         Our church edifice must be built in 1894. Take thither
         thy saintly offerings, and lay them in the outstretched
         hand of God. The object to be won affords ample oppor-
25    tunity for the grandest achievement to which Christian
         Scientists can direct attention, and feel themselves alone
         among the stars.

         No doubt must intervene between the promise and
         event; faith and resolve are friends to Truth; seize them,

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1      trust the divine Providence, push upward our prayer in
         stone,—and God will give the benediction.

26    Two points of danger beset mankind; namely, making
         sin seem either too large or too little: if too large, we

Page 319

1      are in the darkness of all the ages, wherein the true sense
         of the unity of good and the unreality of evil is lost.

         If good is God, even as God is good, then good and
         evil can neither be coeval nor coequal, for God is All-in-
5      all. This closes the argument of aught besides Him, aught
         else than good.

         If the sense of sin is too little, mortals are in danger
         of not seeing their own belief in sin, but of seeing too
         keenly their neighbor’s. Then they are beset with
10    egotism and hypocrisy. Here Christian Scientists must
         be most watchful. Their habit of mental and audible
         protest against the reality of sin, tends to make sin less
         or more to them than to other people. They must either
         be overcoming sin in themselves, or they must not lose
15    sight of sin; else they are self-deceived sinners of the
         worst sort.

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2      Mine and thine are obsolete terms in absolute Christian
         Science, wherein and whereby the universal brotherhood
         of man is stated and demands to be demonstrated. I have
5      a large affection, not alone for my students, but for thy
         students,—for students of the second generation. I can-
         not but love some of those devoted students better than
         some of mine who are less lovable or Christly. This
         natural affection for goodness must go on ad libitum unto
10    the third and fourth and final generation of those who
         love God and keep His commandments. Hence the
         following is an amendment of the paragraph on page 47(6)
         of “Retrospection and Introspection”:—

         Any student, having received instructions in a Primary
15    class from me, or from a loyal student of Christian Science,
         and afterwards studied thoroughly “Science and Health
         with Key to the Scriptures,” can enter upon the gospel
         work of teaching Christian Science, and so fulfil the command
         of Christ. Before entering this sacred field of labor,
20    the student must have studied faithfully the latest edi-
         tions of my works, and be a good Bible scholar and a
         devout, consecrated Christian.

         These are the indispensable demands on all those who
         become teachers.

6      When will you take a class in Christian Science or
         speak to your church in Boston? is often asked.

         I shall speak to my dear church at Boston very seldom.
         The Mother Church must be self-sustained by God.
10    The date of a class in Christian Science should depend
         on the fitness of things, the tide which flows heavenward,
         the hour best for the student. Until minds become less
         worldly-minded, and depart farther from the primitives
         of the race, and have profited up to their present capac-
15    ity from the written word, they are not ready for the
         word spoken at this date.

         My juniors can tell others what they know, and turn
         them slowly toward the haven. Imperative, accumula-
         tive, sweet demands rest on my retirement from life’s
20    bustle. What, then, of continual recapitulation of tired
         aphorisms and disappointed ethics; of patching breaches
         widened the next hour; of pounding wisdom and love
         into sounding brass; of warming marble and quench-
         ing volcanoes! Before entering the Massachusetts Meta-
25    physical College, had my students achieved the point
         whence they could have derived most benefit from their
         pupilage, to-day there would be on earth paragons of
         Christianity, patterns of humility, wisdom, and might
         for the world.

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1      To the students whom I have not seen that ask, “May
         I call you mother?” my heart replies, Yes, if you are
         doing God’s work. When born of Truth and Love, we
         are all of one kindred.

5      The hour has struck for Christian Scientists to do their
         own work; to appreciate the signs of the times; to dem-
         onstrate self-knowledge and self-government; and to
         demonstrate, as this period demands, over all sin, disease,
         and death. The dear ones whom I would have great
10    pleasure in instructing, know that the door to my teaching
         was shut when my College closed.

         Again, it is not absolutely requisite for some people
         to be taught in a class, for they can learn by spiritual
         growth and by the study of what is written. Scarcely a
15    moiety, compared with the whole of the Scriptures and
         the Christian Science textbook, is yet assimilated spirit-
         ually by the most faithful seekers; yet this assimilation is
         indispensable to the progress of every Christian Scientist.
         These considerations prompt my answers to the above
20    questions. Human desire is inadequate to adjust the
         balance on subjects of such earnest import. These
         words of our Master explain this hour: “What I do
         thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.”

         My sympathies are deeply enlisted for the students
25    of students; having already seen in many instances their
         talents, culture, and singleness of purpose to uplift the
         race. Such students should not pay the penalty for
         other people’s faults; and divine Love will open the
         way for them. My soul abhors injustice, and loves
30    mercy. St. John writes: “Whom God hath sent speaketh
         the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by meas-
         ure unto him.”

25    Humbly, and, as I believe, divinely directed, I hereby
         ordain the Bible, and “Science and Health with Key
         to the Scriptures,” to be hereafter the only pastor of

Page 314

1      The Church of Christ, Scientist, throughout our land
         and in other lands.

         From this date the Sunday services of our denomina-
         tion shall be conducted by Readers in lieu of pastors.
5      Each church, or society formed for Sunday worship,
         shall elect two Readers: a male, and a female. One of
         these individuals shall open the meeting by reading the
         hymns, and chapter (or portion of the chapter) in the
         Bible, lead in silent prayer, and repeat in concert with
10    the congregation the Lord’s Prayer. Also, this First
         Reader shall give out any notices from the pulpit, shall
         read the Scriptures indicated in the Sunday School Les-
         son of the Christian Science Quarterly, and shall pro-
         nounce the benediction.

15    The First Reader shall read from my book, “Science
         and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” alternately in
         response to the congregation, the spiritual interpreta-
         tion of the Lord’s Prayer; also, shall read all the selec-
         tions from Science and Health referred to in the Sunday
20    Lessons.

         The Reader of the Scriptures shall name, at each
         reading, the book, chapter, and verses. The Reader of
         “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” shall
         commence by announcing the full title of this book, with
25    the name of its author, and add to this announcement,
         “the Christian Science textbook.” It is unnecessary to
         repeat the title or page. This form shall also be observed
         at the Communion service; the selections from both the
         Bible and the Christian Science textbook shall be taken
30    from the Quarterly, as heretofore, and this Lesson shall
         be such as is adapted to that service. On the first Sunday
         of each month, except Communion Sunday, a sermon

Page 315

1      shall be preached to the children, from selections taken
         from the Scriptures and Science and Health, especially
         adapted to the occasion, and read after the manner of
         the Sunday service. The children’s service shall be
5      held on the Sunday following Communion Day.

         No copies from my books are allowed to be written,
         and read from manuscripts, either in private or in pub-
         lic assemblies, except by their author.

         Christian Scientists, all over the world, who are let-
10    terly fit and specially spiritually fitted for teachers, can
         teach annually three classes only. They shall teach
         from the Christian Science textbook. Each class shall
         consist of not over thirty-three students, carefully selected,
         and only of such as have promising proclivities toward
15    Christian Science. The teacher shall hold himself mor-
         ally obligated to look after the welfare of his students,
         not only through class term, but after it; and to watch
         well that they prove sound in sentiment, health, and
         practical Christian Science.

20    Teaching Christian Science shall be no question of
         money, but of morals and of uplifting the race. Teachers
         shall form associations for this purpose; and for the
         first few years, convene as often as once in three months.
         Teachers shall not silently mentally address the thought,
25    to handle it, nor allow their students to do thus, except
         the individual needing it asks for mental treatment.
         They shall steadily and patiently strive to educate their
         students in conformity to the unerring wisdom and law
         of God, and shall enjoin upon them habitually to study
30    His revealed Word, the Scriptures, and “Science and
         Health with Key to the Scriptures.”

         They shall teach their students how to defend them-

Page 316

1      selves against mental malpractice, but never to return
         evil for evil; never to attack the malpractitioner, but
         to know the truth that makes free,—and so to be a law
         not unto others, but themselves.

Page 313

         Editor of The Christian Science Journal:—Permit me
         to say that your editorial in the August number is par
         excellence.

5      It is a digest of good manners, morals, methods, and
         means. It points to the scientific spiritual molecule,
         pearl, and pinnacle, that everybody needs. May the
         Christlikeness it reflects rest on the dear readers, and
         throw the light of penetration on the page; even as the
10    dawn, kindling its glories in the east, lightens earth’s
         landscape.

         I thank the contributors to The Christian Science
         Journal for their jewels of thought, so adapted to the
         hour, and without ill-humor or hyperbolic tumor. I
15    was impressed by the articles entitled “The New Pas-
         tor,” by Rev. Lanson P. Norcross, “The Lamp,” by
         Walter Church, “The Temptation,” a poem by J. J.
         Rome, etc.

         The field waves its white ensign, the reapers are strong,
20    the rich sheaves are ripe, the storehouse is ready: pray
         ye therefore the God of harvest to send forth more
         laborers of the excellent sort, and garner the supplies
         for a world.

11    Hon. Charles Carrol Bonney, President of the World’s
         Congress Auxiliary, in his remarks before that body,
         said, “No more striking manifestation of the interposi-
         tion of divine Providence in human affairs has come in
15    recent years, than that shown in the raising up of the
         body of people known as Christian Scientists, who are
         called to declare the real harmony between religion and
         Science, and to restore the waning faith of many in the
         verities of the sacred Scriptures.”

20    In honest utterance of veritable history, and his own
         spiritual discernment, this man must have risen above
         worldly schemes, human theorems or hypotheses, to
         conclusions which reason too supine or misemployed
         cannot fasten upon. He spake inspired; he touched a
25    tone of Truth that will continue to reverberate and renew
         its emphasis throughout the entire centuries, into the vast
         forever.