966 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 



a wonderful sight toward making them feel 

 better." 



This agent was honest enough to admit 

 what I knew to be true. He had once been 

 a bee-keeper, and had read Gleanings. He 

 had quite a talk with me on the matter, and 

 1 am pretty sure he has never sold any more 

 electrical belts. Perhaps it is true, that 

 electrical instruments in the hands of your 

 family physician may at times prove bene- 

 ficial; but your family physician, if he is 

 well informed and honest, will tell you that 

 the effect is more upon the imagination thau 

 upon the body. Mrs. Root had one of the 

 latest and most improved machiues in the 

 house for several weeks. Our family phy- 

 sician advised her to try it for neuralgia. 

 She and I were anxious to succeed just a 

 little with it, and for a double reason. We 

 were both compelled, however, to decide 

 that it had no effect, after giving it an ex- 

 tended trial. The same article I have 

 quoted from in Scribyier's Magazine, "Elec- 

 tricity in Relation to the Human Body," 

 gives the following on page 599 : 



The curative powers of electricity are really very 

 limited, and have often been exaggerated by those 

 to whose interest it is to urge them. 



Now, then, friends, if it is a fearful thing 

 to take the money of poor, hard-working 

 women, and give them something under the 

 pretense of science which really is as inef- 

 fective as a horseshoe nailed over a door, 

 there is a kind of humbugging and swin- 

 dling growing rapidly among us, that is, in 

 my mind, a hundred times worse. It comes 

 under different guises and under different 

 names. It is this matter of curing disease' 

 by what the advocates term the prayer or 

 faith cure. The manufacturers of electrical 

 appliances, although they are swindling the 

 masses, do not call upon the Almighty to 

 witness that they are honest. Nor do they 

 pretend that they have a special power from 

 on high to heal by touch, as did our Savior, 

 or to heal by simply praying when miles 

 distant. I know there are many among our 

 readers who will, perhaps, be greatly offend- 

 ed because of the above ; and many, no 

 doubt, will refuse to have our journal any 

 longer in their homes. You will say that I 

 am wrong. You will say that I have not 

 seen the right kind of faith cure. Some of 

 you will say, that I am entirely unacquaint- 

 ed with Christian science. I assure you that' 

 I have taken pains to acquaint myself re- 

 peatedly, only to discover, after sufficient 

 investigation, unmistakable signs of the 

 cloven hoof. I heard of it in different places 

 in California, and I met it in Wisconsin. It 

 is round about my own home. In fact, 

 near relations have sent money to pretend- 

 ers in cities far away to have them pray for 

 them. Men who have never prayed for 

 tJiemselves are praying for others, for a fee of 

 $5.00 per hour. You must pay $ 5.00 before 

 any praying is done. It reminds me of the 

 reply of Peter, as we read in the eighth 

 chapter of Acts : " But Peter said unto 

 him, Thy money perish with thee, because 

 thou hast thought that the gift of God may 

 be purchased with money. Thou has nei- 

 ther part nor lot in this matter, for thy heart 

 is not right in the sight of God." When- 



ever I hear of these things I at once make 

 inquiries in regard^ to the character and 

 reputation of the one who pretends or pro- 

 fesses to effect the cures ; and every time it 

 seems to me that Peter's answer fills the 

 bill exactly. 



Many of them profess to love the Bible 

 and the Christian religion. They want to 

 walk hand in hand with Christian people. 

 For a time I have been deceived myself. 

 Sooner or later, however, it comes out like 

 the little story in the 16th chapter of Acts, 

 as follows : 



And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a cer- 

 tain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination 

 met us, which brought her masters much gain by 

 soothsaying. The same followed Paul and us, and 

 cried, saying, These men are the servants of the 

 most high God, which shew unto us the way of sal- 

 vation. And this did 6he many days. But Paul, 

 being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I com- 

 mand thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out 

 of her. And he came out the same hour. 



You will no doubt tell me that the follow- 

 ers of Christian science in your neighbor- 

 hood do not receive money ; that they do 

 their work as Christ did his, without fee or 

 recompense. I have heard this repeatedly ; 

 but in every case where I have followed it 

 out I found that it was not true. The five 

 or ten dollars came in somewhere. Of 

 course, they explained it by saying that the 

 money was a tree gift from' some person of 

 means who felt grateful. Very well. Ask 

 these persons who have been healed, after a 

 few mouths have passed, how it turned out. 

 It is like the poor girls in our factory, who 

 would not listen to me. Sadly and sorrow- 

 fully I' was obliged to give up arguing, and 

 to wait a few weeks or a few months, until 

 the things were thrown aside, and remem- 

 bered only a? mistaken notions that did not 

 stand the wear and tear of everyday life and 

 of every-day experience. Your family physi- 

 cian, through his medical journals, is 

 promptly informed of every inch of prog- 

 ress made in the way of new remedies and 

 new methods of curing disease. He knew 

 all about electricity and its applications 

 in this line years ago. New discoveries, of 

 value, do not come through traveling agents 

 without name and without reputation. In 

 the same way our established ministers of 

 the gospel are perfectly competent to ad- 

 vise in regard to the cure of disease by 

 prayer. Do not let anybody persuade you 

 that God is more ready to hear somebbdy 

 else pray for your afflictions than he is to 

 hear such a prayer as you can make your 

 own self. I have, through all my Christian 

 life, been in the habit of asking God to help 

 me and give me light in regard to this mat- 

 ter of sickness and pain. After such prayer, 

 I have many times been strongly impressed 

 with the importance of pure air. pure water, 

 plenty of sunshine, plenty of sleep, etc. Per- 

 haps when I am suffering bodily pain I pray 

 for myself with alittle more earnestness than 

 I do for others ; but I hope I am not so self- 

 ish as to pray for myself only. Sometimes, 

 it is true, I pray for those who will not pray 

 for themselves; but I pave much more faith 

 when 1 know the afflicted one is lifting up 

 his heart also to the great Judge of all the 

 earth. If you are under great affliction, by 

 all means ask your pastor or your believing 



