to give a report of his work. He finds waiting for him
a ready advancement in the offices of the Church, according as he may
show himself worthy of advancement or as the power of family or the
favor of ecclesiastical authority may obtain it for him. He marries a
girl who has had a training almost identical with his own. She, too, has
borne her testimony before she reached years of responsibility. She has
taken her vows as a priestess at the age when he was dedicating himself
a priest. She may even have performed a foreign mission. They have both
been promised that they shall become kings and queens in the eternal
world. They are bound by their covenants to obey their superior priests.
They cannot disregard their Church affiliations without recanting
their vows. The only way they can adhere to their covenants with their
Almighty Father--the only way they can demonstrate their acceptance
of the atoning power of the Redeemer's sacrifice--is by yielding such
obedience to the Prophet as they would pay to the Father and the Son
if They were on earth in Their proper persons. To deviate from this
faithfulness is to be marked as a Judas Iscariot by all the Latter-Day
Saints.

As soon as the Mormon becomes the head of a family--in addition to all
the testimonies and performances which he must give as proof of his
continued adherence--he must submit himself and his household to the
examination and espionage of the ward teachers, who invade his home
at least once a month. They enter absolutely as the proprietors of the
house. If the husband is there, they ask him whether he performs
his duties in the Church; whether he holds family prayer morning and
evening; whether he "keeps the word of wisdom"--that is, does he abstain
from the use of alcohol, tobacco, tea and coffee--whether he pays a full
tithe and all the prescribed donations to the Church; whether he has any
hard feelings against any of his brethren and sisters; and finally,
does he devoutly sustain the Prophet as the ruler of God's Kingdom upon
earth. These questions, so far as they apply, are put to each member of
the family above the age of eight years. Should the husband be away, all
the inquiries concerning him are made of the wife. If both parents are
absent, the questions concerning them are put to their children!

This one branch of the ecclesiastical service is sufficient of itself
to mark the Mormon Church as the most perfectly disciplined institution
among manki