”The First Commandment is my favorite text,” Mary Baker Eddy wrote. “It demonstrates Christian Science” (Science and Health, p. 340). Mrs. Eddy sometimes wove references to the First Commandment into her correspondence. For example, she wrote to John Lathrop (L04286):
Aug. 10, 1905.
My darling Student:
You are free now to learn from the past, wisely improve the present, and go forth to meet the future loving God more, and the wide world before you in which to labor and wait. May you keep the first commandment, have one Mind, know no other, fear none other, serve no other; love thy neighbor as thyself, follow faithfully the noble impulse of your good heart, and be wise as a serpents. I love to pray daily for all the members of my dear church and I fervently trust the dear Father Mother God to care for them all. I love my enemies, and pray for God to bless them also. Constantly work and pray to know there is no temptation of the flesh; all sense is spiritual all your thoughts come from God there are none others.
My dear love to your mother
Lovingly yours in Christ
M B Eddy
