African-American Marietta Webb and other cases of healing

 The Mary Baker Eddy Library series Women of History gives the history of “A Remarkable Case” found in the Chapter "Fruitage" on pp. 612-614 of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. The testifier was Marietta Webb. She was the first African-American to be listed in The Christian Science Journal. I would love to include the whole MBE Library article here, but you can click HERE instead to read it at its source. (Ed. It's worth taking some moments to read this.)

It is so good to have the full name and even a photo of Mrs. Webb. She is seen at the age of 86 reading without glasses. The testimony includes the fact that she was healed of what a leading oculist said were eyes that were in a dreadful condition and which would always require glasses – through her early reading of the textbook.

This testimony is one I particularly recall because of her comment about borrowing Science and Health for her initial reading of the book. “I never saw any one part so reluctantly with a book as my friend did with her copy of the textbook.”

Another testimony in Fruitage speaks of borrowing the book for 2 hours a day. The lady read a borrowed Science and Health from 10 o’clock till dinner time, then borrowed it for 2 hours a day for eight days and was healed of consumption. (page 624)

Yet another spoke of having the opportunity of reading Science and Health a few minutes day for about a week and healed thereby!

I wonder if I could part with my one and only copy of Science and Health for a needy friend. At this time it would not be a problem – there are many copies of the book in my home, from tiny travel-sized ones to a big reader’s. (I used to have two of those when I was a First Reader in my church.) PS I also have Science and Health in German.

I have read the testimony beginning on page 624 of Fruitage many, many times, but never twigged to the fact that it must have been written by a school student. The testifier says she and her mother began the reading of Science and Health together. (I say “she” but there is nothing to indicate that is the fact.) She says it seemed to her that it was something she had always believed. How different that is from some of the testimonies which say the person could not understand what they were reading but that they persisted.

As one who found Christian Science in a public library (first through Lyman Powell’s biography, and, on its recommendation, Science and Health), I am interested in how each one of the testifiers obtained their first copy of the book. I am going to make a list...

That sounds like a big undertaking. I will make a start – The completed list goes on for 4 pages, so I will not include it here.

Joyce Voysey