Ask a Researcher
Answers to questions our research team has received.
“…about all I possessed”: Mary Baker Eddy’s Rocking Chair
Most of us have a memory of being rocked as a child and of the comfort that brought. The rocking chair seemed to have great comforting significance to Mary Baker Eddy…
The Development of the Spiritual Interpretation to the Lord’s Prayer
The attached document contains information on changes made over time to each line of the Lord’s Prayer and its spiritual interpretation by Mary Baker Eddy.
Albert Einstein’s Interest in Christian Science
Einstein has long been considered one of the world’s greatest thinkers, and he voiced opinions on a wide variety of subjects including his thoughts on a higher power.
Foods Prepared and Consumed in Mary Baker Eddy’s Household
The most complete information on Eddy’s diet starts with her 1892 move to Pleasant View, her home in Concord, New Hampshire. Members of her household wrote reminiscences of their time with her and detailed foods they ate. Minnie Weygandt, who served as Eddy’s cook...
The Background of Mary Baker Eddy’s Letter “To Students” in Miscellaneous Writings
“To Students” is a message to Christian Scientists, and was written following several events that had taken place in early October 1893. The piece...
The Anecdote of the Man with Cholera on page 154 of Science and Health
The anecdote reads as follows: "The man was made to believe that he occupied a bed where a cholera patient had died. Immediately the symptoms of this disease appeared, and the man died. The fact was, that he had not caught the cholera by material contact, because no...
Article XXVII, Section 4: “Church Membership”
Mary Baker Eddy left no written record regarding why she established this By-Law, which forbids teaching “Roman Catholics Christian Science, except it be with the written consent of the authority of their Church.” This By-Law was adopted by the Christian Science Board...
Mary Baker Eddy’s Political Views
According to biographer Robert Peel, “Mrs. Eddy was brought up a Jacksonian Democrat [one who believes in more democracy for the citizenry, as seen in the politics of President Andrew Jackson], switched her sympathies to the new Republican Party at the time of the Civil War…
“I Never Doubted”: Mary Baker Eddy and Her Printers
Perhaps two of the more inconspicuous items in the collections of The Mary Baker Eddy Library are a wooden box and a small group of metal printing plates.
The Color of Mary Baker Eddy’s Hair and Eyes
Eddy's hair color was dark brown, and by 1891, when she was 70, her hair was white. Her eye color, however, is harder to determine. In her reminiscence, Mary Stewart described Eddy's eyes as "blue...which changed as she talked - sometimes looking almost gray and...
Who took classes on Christian Science with Mary Baker Eddy?
See a list of some 1,000 names.
What dictionaries did Mary Baker Eddy own?
Take a look at this representative selection.
What were Mary Baker Eddy’s views on technology?
The answer may—or may not—surprise you.
Did Mary Baker Eddy approve all the selections in the 1932 “Christian Science Hymnal”?
While the short answer is no, here’s some helpful background.
Did Mary Baker Eddy allow students to take notes in her classes?
Learn why she was not in favor of the practice.
