Twelve Years with Mary Baker Eddy

Tomlinson, Irving C. Twelve Years with Mary Baker Eddy. Boston: The Writings of Mary Baker Eddy, (1945) 1994.

Tomlinson pared down his 800 pages of reminiscences to a smaller book, Twelve Years with Mary Baker Eddy, that was published posthumously by his wife in 1945. The material added to the 1996 amplified version maintains the tone of the original version but adds more anecdotal color and details. A long-time favorite among Christian Scientists, Tomlinson’s work presents the life and work of their Leader in the most favorable light. He was a sincere student who knew her well in her last years and left to history his impressions of a leader inspired and guided by God at every step in her long life. He witnessed her emotional and physical struggles, but his admiration for her spiritual courage and strength inspired his hagiographic memoires—seen particularly in this provocative statement: “No one could serve twelve years under Mrs. Eddy’s counsel and instruction without realizing how clearly she recognized her position as prophesied by St. John the Revelator” (286). He was conscious that her personal choices and lifestyle set an example for her followers. For example, he knew that Eddy’s brief word concerning stockholding turned many Christian Scientists from speculative investments and set among Christian Scientists “a determination to resist every form of gambling” (231).

ISBN-10: 0875103111
ISBN-13: 978-0875103112