Ask a Researcher
Answers to questions our research team has received.
How did Mary Baker Eddy feel about animals?
So many people have a deep love for animals. Here’s what the discoverer of Christian Science had to say.
Were there ever film or audio recordings made of Mary Baker Eddy?
Unfortunately, none were. There is no discussion of film in her papers, so we have no information about why this was not done. However, one of her household workers, John Salchow, wrote in his reminiscence about Eddy being asked to have an audio recording made of her...
What was Eddy’s perspective on women’s rights?
Mary Baker Eddy made few statements about this, but we do know that she valued the efforts of the women’s rights movement of her day. In 1882 she wrote her student Clara Choate: “let us work as the industrious Suffragists are at work who are getting a hearing all over...
Were African Americans involved in the early history of Christian Science?
The answer is yes. One noteworthy individual was Marietta Webb. Her first experience with Christian Science was in 1897, when she called a practitioner to help her young son, who was very ill. He was quickly and permanently healed, and she began attending services in...
How did Mary Baker Eddy get around in the wintertime?
Whenever there was the least bit of snow, enough to make the roads at all passable, we used to take the wheels off of her carriage and put on the runners. We had a couple of strings of silver bells for the horses and on a nice frosty day it made a pretty sight to see...
Was grace said before meals in Mary Baker Eddy’s household?
We have found some information on this topic in reminiscences written by members of her household. At Chestnut Hill, where Eddy lived from 1908-1910, there was no established procedure for saying grace before meals. Sometimes Eddy would pass the word not to have any...
Is it true that Mary Baker Eddy did not write a portion of a letter to church members? Isn’t that plagiarism?
A question from our inbox…
What’s the history of asking for “testimonies by Christian Scientists” at Thanksgiving services?
An answer to why testimonies for the Thanksgiving service specify “by members of the congregation.”
Why did Mary Baker Eddy ask the members of her Church to pray for a peaceful resolution to the Russo-Japanese War?
While we don’t have a definitive answer from Eddy herself, we can provide some context. Her request is dated June 13, 1905. She wrote, “I request that every member of The Mother Church in Boston pray each day for the amicable settlement of the war between Russia and...
When did the profession of Christian Science practitioner begin?
Those engaged in the full-time practice of Christian Science healing can be found in the first issue of the Journal in 1883. However, even before then, in 1877…
Did Mary Baker Eddy write it? “Prayer for oneself”
Here’s what we know about this statement.
Is The Mother Church’s finial a pineapple or a pine cone?
Read up on a question of debate that dates to the 1930s.
Did Mary Baker Eddy write it? “Inasmuch as I am God’s child…”
Here’s the answer to a frequently asked question.
Was there a chapter in Science and Health titled “Imposition and Demonstration”?
Find out about this name and how it evolved.
Did Eddy read the works of Swedenborg?
Read about her exposure to the Lutheran theologian’s ideas.
