Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, was raised in a religious home and became a member of the Congregational Church. She had always loved reading and studying the Bible and praying to understand its practical message. In 1866, she was told by attending physicians that she would not recover from a fall on ice. She sought comfort by reading Jesus’ healings in her Bible. Her quick healing caused her to “dig deeper” and ultimately resulted in her discovery of the principles by which Jesus healed.
She named her discovery Christian Science and documented its healing principles in her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, which, together with the Holy Bible, serves as pastor of her church. In 1879, she established the First Church of Christ, Scientist “to commemorate the word and works of our Master, which should reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing.” Church Manual, Page 17
Eddy founded The Christian Science Publishing Society in 1898, which publishes numerous publications devoted to documenting the many healings experienced around the world through the practice of Christian Science, including the Christian Science Sentinel, The Christian Science Journal, and the Herald of Christian Science, published in 13 languages. It also publishes the Christian Science Quarterly-Weekly Bible Lessons, read throughout Christian Science churches every Sunday and studied by earnest seekers for Truth everywhere.
In 1908, Mrs. Eddy founded an international daily newspaper, The Christian Science Monitor, also published by her Publishing Society, with the mission to “injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” This paper has won seven Pulitzer prizes to date and is offered in both a print and online version.