Adam Herbert Dickey (June 26, 1864 – February 8, 1925), was an author, member of the Board of Directors of
The First Church of Christ, Scientist
The First Church of Christ, Scientist is the administrative headquarters and mother church of the Church of Christ, Scientist, also known as the Christian Science church. Christian Science was founded in the 19th century in Lynn, Massachuset ...
, and a secretary to
Mary Baker Eddy
Mary Baker Eddy (July 16, 1821 – December 3, 1910) was an American religious leader and author who founded The Church of Christ, Scientist, in New England in 1879. She also founded ''The Christian Science Monitor'', a Pulitzer Prize-winning s ...
.
Biography
Dickey was born in
Toronto, Canada
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...
where he was raised a
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
. His family moved to Kansas City, Missouri when he was a teen and he began working at his father’s business, W.S. Dickey Clay Manufacturing, in 1884. In 1887 he married Lillian M. Selden, and in 1893 his wife became interested in Christian Science after what she saw as a healing through prayer. He joined her in studying the religion and joined The Mother Church soon after.
Christian Science Publishing Society
The Christian Science Publishing Society was established in 1898 by Mary Baker Eddy and is the publishing arm of The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts.
Origin and purpose
The Christian Science Publishing Society and t ...
. (2013). ''We Knew Mary Baker Eddy Volume II''.
Christian Science Publishing Society
The Christian Science Publishing Society was established in 1898 by Mary Baker Eddy and is the publishing arm of The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts.
Origin and purpose
The Christian Science Publishing Society and t ...
. p. 384-385
In 1898 he and his wife visited Mexico for business where they met a city official, who was reportedly suffering from jaundice. Dickey introduced him to Christian Science and prayed during the night and the man recovered. This inspired Dickey, upon returning to Kansas City, to immediately quit his job to become a
Christian Science practitioner A Christian Science practitioner is an individual who prays for others according to the teachings of Christian Science.Vitello, Paul"Christian Science Church Seeks Truce With Modern Medicine" ''The New York Times'', March 23, 2010. Treatment is non- ...
. Soon afterwards he would start teaching Christian Science and become First Reader at his church in Kansas City.
In 1908 he began working for
Mary Baker Eddy
Mary Baker Eddy (July 16, 1821 – December 3, 1910) was an American religious leader and author who founded The Church of Christ, Scientist, in New England in 1879. She also founded ''The Christian Science Monitor'', a Pulitzer Prize-winning s ...
as a secretary until her passing in 1910. He was named by Eddy as a Trustee to her estate in 1909 and a director of the Mother Church on November 21, 1910. This was her last official communication to any of her Church officers. He remained in the position until 1925; and was also Treasurer of the Mother Church from 1912 to 1917.
Dickey's biography entitled ''Memoirs of Mary Baker Eddy'' was published posthumously with the permission of his widow Lillian S. Dickey in 1927; however it was not published as an official biography sanctioned by the Mother Church to be sold in Christian Science Reading Rooms at the time.Dakin, Edwin Franden. (1929). ''Mrs. Eddy: The Biography of a Virginal Mind''. C. Scribner's Sons. p. 529 In 2013, his book finally appeared in the anthology ''We Knew Mary Baker Eddy Volume II'' alongside other early Christian Scientists such as
Septimus J. Hanna
Septimus James Hanna (July 29, 1845 – July 23, 1921), an United States, American American Civil War, Civil War war veteran, veteran and a judge in the Old West. He was a student of Mary Baker Eddy, who founded the Christian Science church. Givin ...
and
William R. Rathvon
William Roedel Rathvon, CSB, (December 31, 1854 – March 2, 1939), sometimes incorrectly referred to as William V. Rathvon or William V. Rathbone, is the only known eyewitness to Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, of the over 10,000 witnesses ...
. Dickey also wrote two of the most famous articles within the church in
The Christian Science Journal
''The Christian Science Journal'' is an official monthly publication of the Church of Christ, Scientist through the Christian Science Publishing Society, founded in 1883 by Mary Baker Eddy.God's Law of Adjustment ' (1916)
* Possession ' (1917)
*''Memoirs of Mary Baker Eddy'' (1927) (Republished in ''We Knew Mary Baker Eddy Volume II'' (2013))
References
Further reading
*
Ernest Sutherland Bates
Ernest Sutherland Bates (14 October 1879 – 4 December 1939) was an American academic and writer. He taught English and philosophy at Oberlin College from 1903 to 1905, the University of Arizona until 1915, and the University of Oregon from then ...