characteristics of the organization:
1. The church takes care of all its members during sickness, furnishing
a physician and all necessary medicines free of charge. The church owns
drug stores and graduates its own physicians.
2. The church has its own salaried undertakers, and defrays all funeral
expenses.
3. The church supplies a moral and spiritual education to all the
children of its members. This school does a work similar to our
Sunday-school, only it is held daily and is under a trained corps of
paid teachers.
For all these advantages each member is required to give to the church
one-eleventh of his earnings and to attend the services of the church
and co-operate with the pastor in the advancement of all spiritual work.
The church keeps a perpetual record of the attendance and the work done
by each member.
It required a man of large business capacity to launch such a church
with its radically new principles. But Trique's immense wealth was a
powerful force when utilized in this manner. He made every church a
strong business center commanding the respect of the whole community.
Discipline was rigidly enforced. No member cared to be expelled from
such a church. It meant a going out from under a warm cover at the
approach of winter.
Fortunately, Trique was a clean, spiritual man and strongly urged a
spiritual ministry and membership.
It can be seen why this church grew so rapidly. In fifty years it became
so powerful that it could control, if it wished, the legislation in
nearly all the sections of the planet.
I have given but a brief picture of this ruling church. It must suffice.
I may add that one must not imagine the church services and forms in
Saturn to be like our worship. All things are so different that it would
take much space and time to describe them.
For beauty of natural scenery, Saturn surpasses all the Solar System.
Its air is of a different composition from ours, and its sky puts on
various tints as the day passes, which is a little over ten hours of our
time, but it takes nearly thirty of our years to make one on Saturn.
|