III. But lastly and chiefly, there is STRONG RELIGIOUS CONVICTION, which is the main prop of this social system. In discussing the Mormon puzzle in Utah, we must not forget that for twenty years this community was isolated by a thousand miles of barren waste from civilization. During this time it was literally a kingdom within itself; and Brigham Young was king, his word law, his command a commandment from God. During that time the present generation of Mormons were reared; and it is their strong conviction that the word of the priesthood is the word of God. If we only glance at history, we will find many evidences of the great power of "Thus saith the Lord" over the minds of men. For religious conviction persons have burned at the stake and endured all manner of physical torture, to say nothing of the travail of soul through which they have passed. It is to this power, also, that Mormonism owes its strength. So strong is its control that the Mormons dare not, for fear of the loss of their soul's salvation, enter protest against any command coming, as it does, with these words prefixed: "Thus saith the Lord." The priesthood claim to have control of the "seals" and "keys" by which the gates of both heaven and hell can be opened and shut; and they take the keys by which they pretend to open the gates of vengeance and rattle them above the heads of the uneducated and superstitious, until they are frightened into believing that, if they should disobey any edict of this priesthood, they would be consigned to the flames of eternal fire. It is this fear of the loss of their souls if they disobey, and the conviction that their leaders cannot command anything but what God has commanded, that is the strongest pillar that holds up their social fabric. Thus do the Mormon people with their own hands rivet the chains which bind in a fearful bondage their bodies, their minds, and their souls. CHAPTER XI. THE SOCIAL PUZZLE (_concluded_).