Unpublished Writings of MBE

In addition to the published writings by Mrs. Eddy, we have her unpublished writings. These are important in that they teach a great deal about our relationship to God, how to heal, how to overcome evil — or animal magnetism, as she named it — through prayer alone. When Mrs. Eddy first began teaching Christian Science, many of her students could not understand the more advanced concepts that she tried to give them, especially her instructions on the handling of animal magnetism, malicious malpractice, and aggressive mental suggestion. Sensing that she was ahead of her times in this, she taught these subjects privately to students close to her. Many of her instructions were given in memos, letters, and in articles that she wrote but never published. Also, students recorded her teaching in notes and diaries. After her passing, Gilbert Carpenter Jr. started collecting these invaluable records, and in the 1930’s he began publishing some of them in limited editions. He was the first to recognize the importance of her unpublished writings. Four of his most important books are listed here in transcript form. (For a biographical sketch of the Carpenters and their work see The Carpenters.) After the Carpenter books were published, Richard Oakes, a close friend of the Carpenters, selected passages from the Carpenter material and compiled two books – Divinity Course and General Collectanea (the Blue Book) and Essays and Other Footprints (the Red Book). The most inspiring and helpful passages from the Carpenter books are found in these two tremendous compilations. Each page is like a dynamic lesson in understanding and demonstrating Christian Science. Most students of this Science find these two books essential to their study. However, a large amount of the material in the original Carpenter books was not included in the Oakes books. Four of the original Carpenter books – Fragments; Essays; Collectanea; and Watches, Prayers, Arguments – are listed below in transcript form. They are a powerful source of instruction from our Leader on how to realize the full healing potential of Christian Science.