Christian Daa Larson (1874–1954) was an American New Thought leader and teacher, as well as a prolific author of metaphysical and New Thought books. He is credited by Horatio Dresser as being a founder in the New Thought movement. Many of Larson's books remain in print today, more than 100 years after they were first published, and his writings influenced notable New Thought authors and leaders, including Religious Science founder Ernest Holmes. Larson was born near Forrest City, Iowa, of Norwegian descent. He attended Iowa State College and Meadville Theological School, a

Unitarian Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to: Christian and Christian-derived theologies A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism: * Unitarianism (1565–present ...

theological school in

Meadville, Pennsylvania Meadville is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Pennsylvania. The city is within of Erie and within of Pittsburgh. It was the first permanent settlement in Northwestern Pennsylvania. The population was 13,388 at the 2010 cen ...

. In his early twenties he became interested in the Mental Science teachings of

Helen Wilmans Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen ...

Henry Wood Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introducing hun ...

Charles Brodie Patterson Charles Brodie Patterson (1854–1917) was a Canadian expatriate New Thought publisher, author, and editor. Patterson, a Canadian expatriate who lived in New York City, was labelled the movement's leader when he died in the early 20th century. ...

et al. In 1898 Larson relocated to

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

. In January 1901, he organized the New Thought Temple at his residence at 947 West 17th St. In September 1901 he began to publish '' Eternal Progress'', for several years one of the leading New Thought periodicals, building it to a circulation of over a quarter of a million. Meanwhile, he began his prolific book writing career. Larson relocated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

, California, around 1911. He married wife Georgea L DuBois on February 14, 1918. They had two children, Louise DuBois Larson (born 1920) and Christian D. Larson Jr. (born 1924). The family lived in Beverly Hills for many years. Larson later became honorary president of the

International New Thought Alliance The International New Thought Alliance (INTA) is an umbrella organization for New Thought adherents "dedicated to serving the New Thought Movement’s various branches, organizations and individuals".

and lectured extensively during the 1920s and 1930s. He was a colleague of such notables as

William Walker Atkinson William Walker Atkinson (December 5, 1862 – November 22, 1932) was an attorney, merchant, publisher, and author, as well as an occultist and an American pioneer of the New Thought movement. He is the author of the pseudonymous works attribu ...

, and

Home of Truth The Home of Truth is a New Thought denomination founded in San Francisco, California founded by Annie Rix Militz. History In 1887, Annie Rix Milnz attended a class led by Emma Curtis Hopkins in her home city of San Francisco. Applying her m ...

founder

Annie Rix Militz Annie Rix Militz (1856–1924) was an American author and spiritual leader. An early organizer of the New Thought Movement, she is best known as the founder of Home of Truth. With her sister Harriet Hale Rix, Annie Rix Militz was a founder of ...

. Early in the career of Ernest Holmes, Larson's writings so impressed him that he abandoned

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 Christian Science textbook '' Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures'' for them. Ernest and his brother

Fenwicke Holmes Fenwicke Lindsay Holmes (1883–1973) was an American author, former Congregational minister, and Religious Science leader. The brother of Ernest Holmes, Fenwicke is widely recognized for being an important factor in the establishment of Religio ...

took a correspondence course with Larson, and in his biography of his brother, '' Ernest Holmes: His Life and Times'', Fenwicke elaborates on the influence of Larson's thought on Ernest, ranking Larson's ''

The Ideal Made Real ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

'' (1912) with Ralph Waldo Trine's ''

In Tune with the Infinite Ralph Waldo Trine (October 26, 1866 – November 8, 1958) was an American philosopher, author, and teacher. He wrote many books on the New Thought movement. Trine was a close friend of Henry Ford and had several conversations with him about suc ...

'' in its influence over him. In 1918, Larson joined the staff of Science of Mind Magazine as an associate editor and frequent contributor. He was on the permanent faculty of Ernest Holmes' Institute of Religious Science as a teacher. In 1912 Larson published a poem that eventually became the

Optimist Creed Optimism is an attitude reflecting a belief or hope that the outcome of some specific endeavor, or outcomes in general, will be positive, favorable, and desirable. A common idiom used to illustrate optimism versus pessimism is a glass filled w ...

, which in 1922 was adopted by

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, better known as the Optimist Clubs.History of Optimist International
, accessed September 2008.

Books

*''The Great Within'' (1907) *''Mastery of Fate'' (1907) *''How To Stay Young'' (1908) *''On the Heights'' (1908) *''The Ideal Made Real or Applied Metaphysics for Beginners'' (1909) *''Perfect Health'' (1910) *''Your Forces and How to Use Them'' (1910) *''Business Psychology'' (1912) *''How to remain well'' (1912) *''Just be Glad'' (1912) *''Mastery of Self'' (1912) *''The Mind Cure'' (1912) *''Thinking for Results'' (1912) *''What is Truth'' (1912) *''How the mind works'' (1912) *''The Pathway of Roses'' (1913) *''Brains and How to Get Them'' (1913) *''Nothing Succeeds Like Success'' (1916) *''What Right Thinking Will Do'' (1916) *''Healing Yourself'' (1918) *''Concentration'' (1920)

References

External links

Christian D. Larson e-books page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larson, Christian D. 1954 deaths 1874 births American religious writers American spiritual writers American Christian writers New Thought writers Year of birth unknown 20th-century American writers