Here and there throughout the park are various sizes and types of statues of great immortals whom the children are taught to honor and imitate. The lawns, flower gardens and shrubbery are beautiful and well cared for. Here, too, are large towering trees with flexible limbs, looking very much like the weeping willows of Earth; yet they are not. They appear to be festooned with a moss-like or feathery lace, a natural growth. We really know we are in another world.
There are beautiful water lanes, or pools, where children play. These have a purple bluish cast to them and the water in them, we are told, never chills below sixty-five degrees for it is automatically heated by the utilization of light.
Light seems to be the power used for all purposes, illumination, heating, refrigeration, motivation, or energy of any sort, in the home and in business.
Their temples of worship are many and these also are beyond the imagination or description by men, at least Earthly men. Noticing the number and beauty of these temples, George asked about their spiritual beings, how many forms of religion and denominations they have.
The head of Mars answered, saying, "We have but one, the Father of all, whom we honor, obey and live purely to please by doing His will, not ours. Our spiritual quality is to respect each man as if he is the Deity Himself, knowing that no form can be a form without the support of the Deity. Thus doing against a form would be doing against Deity. This is our firm belief by which we live."
Remembering that the temples on the Moon are used also as their schools, Johnny asked if this same system is used here and what is their method of teaching.
"Yes, our temples are where the fundamental laws of living are taught to the little ones from the very time of their birth," our host replied. "All are taught our ways of living. But they also are given freedom to express their abilities with which they have been endowed by the great Infinite Father. Ofttimes a great soul brings forth great things in that way. Sometimes, that soul as a form is very young, yet all look up to it for the greatness and the guidance it may have for others, enabling them to rise still higher to greater beings. On one occasion there was a great soul in the form of a child of seven years of age who brought to our people such enlightenment that it transformed their way of thought and their way of living to a greater way of living. Not only do the people accept such as a leader, but even the leaders, like the head of the state, will bow to such an enlightened soul when bestowed upon them. Our belief is firm that it is not the age that counts, but the wisdom, the understanding that might even come through a new born babe who has been granted to us by the grace of the Great Creator."
"As the children grow in age and understanding, there are other places of learning where more advanced laws of the universe are worked with. These will be shown to you later. At the same time, the temples are never outgrown for worship and study. They are never closed and people of all ages come to them whenever they desire.
"There are no nations on this planet for the people of Mars are citizens of Mars. They have no states nor divisions of any kind. The whole of Mars is just one state and the people of the planet are all governed from the central government."
"What do you mean 'central government'," asked Dr. Johnston. "What does it consist of; how is it operated; how does the head of state attain that position and does he keep it until he dies?"