by Clifford P. Smith
"She spoke as the able Leader of a great movement who instructed the officers of her Church as the occasion required," writes Clifford P. Smith of Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science.
Historical Sketches is filled with such insights about Mrs. Eddy's background and her lifework. The chapters of this book first appeared as articles in The Christian Science Journal, the Church's official organ. Later, they were reprinted in pamphlet form under the title Historical and Biographical Papers, and eventually as the book, Historical Sketches, in 1941.
Written when the author was Editor of the Bureau of History and Records of The Mother Church, Historical Sketches offers the reader a well-researched reference to the early days of the Christian Science Church.
About the Author
Clifford P. Smith, a native of Indiana, became interested in Christian Science in 1896. Twelve years later he gave up his post as Judge of a District Court in Iowa to devote his entire career to Christian Science.
In 1908 Judge Smith became First Reader of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts. That same year he was also appointed a Trustee of The Christian Science Publishing Society, and in 1910 he became a teacher of Christian Science.
Other positions held by Judge Smith include: President of The Mother Church (held twice), member of The Christian Science Board of Lectureship; teacher under the Board of Eduction; Manager of the Christian Science Committees on Publication; and Editor of the religious periodicals of the Christian Science Church. He wrote numerous articles on Christian Science and about Mary Baker Eddy for encyclopedias and reference works.