The Ministry of Archdeons
Frederick Gavin Winters, 3rd Faith Minister of Archdeons (1834)Orthodox ArchdeonsThe Ministry of the Archdeons has remained largely unchanged since its conception, unlike most of the other Ministries. It is currently headed by Minister Frederick Gavin Winters, who has changed very little of the Ministry since his inauguration. Amongst all the changes that the Faith and its Ministries have had during its fifty odd year lifespan, the Ministry of the Archdeons has remained the one constant.
These are the Archdeons who do not specialize, say, in finances or as missionaries (Tithes and Conversion, respectively). Instead, these Orthodox Archdeons become simple priests, sent to preach the true Word of God to the masses. The Orthodox Archdeons are your everyday priests, both in big cities and small settlements. They run whatever church or churches they're put in charge of, and tend to their assigned flock.
The Ministry of Watchdogs
Daniel Harrington, 2nd Faith Minister of Watchdogs (1822)The DogsWhat can be said of the Dogs that has not already been mentioned? Though originally apart of the priesthood, the Dogs have since branched out to become their own official organization with the Deseret, in many respects acting as the Protectors of the West, eradicating those who would do harm unto others. Bandits, Natives, thieves, whores, liars, murderers....no one is safe from the wraith of the Dogs.
Minister Daniel Harrington, who took over the Dogs upon Elias Smith's death, has not changed the organization all that much during his tenure. He has been an apt administrator, of course, and the Dogs couldn't be in finer hands. In his view, however, it seems pointless to fix something that ain't broke. A sentiment shared by the majority of Dogs.
Maxwell Ellison, 3rd Faith Minister of Tithes (1836)Collector ArchdeonsThe Collector Archdeons, headed by Minister Maxwell Ellison, are in charge of the finances of both the Faithian Church and the Deseret (which...is really the same entity, if you want to be technical). The Collector have largely become the taxmen of the Deseret, collecting tithes and donations from the Faithful to the Church.
Simple tithes and donations aren't entirely enough to fund a quasi, illegal government, of course, so the Collector Archdeons have since sought other means of revenue. Since many of the Faithful still pay taxes to the Federal Government (most out of necessity, than anything else), the Collectors haven't been able to tax these people outright.
Instead, alongside the regular tithes and donations by the Faithful, the Collectors have found other means to supplement the income of the Deseret. Since the foundation of the Confederate States, the CSA has become an unofficial trading partner, of sorts, to the Deseret, said trade with the CSA largely helping to prop up the fledgling Deseret economy.
The power and scope of the Collector Archdeons will no doubt change over time, especially if the Deseret tries, and wins, at a bid for independence, but for now, the Collectors find themselves restrained by the Deseret's official status as a territorial state of the United States.
Seamus McBride, 2nd Faith Minister of Records (1840)Judicator ArchdeonsThe Judicator Archdeons, headed by Minister Seamus McBride, are nominally in charge of recording the history of the Faith and the Deseret. And while this is still a very important duty, tended to religiously by the Judicator Archdeons, their duties have since developed and evolved beyond mere record keeping.
Currently, Judicator Archdeons also operate as lawyers and lawmen within the Deseret, specializing in the Laws of the Deseret, as first set down by King Garret, and the laws of the United States as well. Judicator Archdeons work as both prosecutors and judges within the Deseret, whenever a Faithful person is charged with breaking one of the Laws of the Deseret.
The Laws of the Deseret have many similarities with the general, religious laws of the Faith, but the Deseret Laws make themselves distinct by focusing on secular matters, as well. When someone breaks a Faithful Commandment, they are brought to justice by a Dog, typically.
But when someone of the Faith breaks a Deseret Law (such as being arrested by the local Sheriff for banditry, for example), they are brought to trial in a Judicator Archdeon court. And, unlike the swift judgement of the Dogs, Judicator Archdeons can hand out innocent verdicts, if they feel that a Deseret Law was, in fact, not broken, or if there was good reasoning behind why said Law was broken.
The Ministry of Education
Gregory Lee Kingston, 3rd Faith Minister of Education (1848)Secretariat ArchdeonsThe Secretariat Archdeons, headed by Minister Gregory Lee Kingston, serve as the educators for the Deseret, at large. The Great Prophet saw the education of future generations of the Faithful as highly important for the continued survival and development of the Faith, and thus he charged the Ministry of Education with educating the Faithful.
And to a modest degree, this initiative has succeeded. There are a smattering of schools and colleges across the Deseret, most of which are concentrated in the major cities of the Faith, though some Secretariat Archdeons have been known to settle down in smaller settlements, to offer education to the children of the local townsfolk.
The Secretariat Archdeons largely teach about the history of the Faith, from its Foundations to the modern era. They also teach a general history of the United States, as well. Some Secretariat Archdeons also teach foreign languages (predominantly, Spanish and French), philosophy, economics, general Faith theology, and so on and so forth. Of course, most of these more advanced classes are taught at higher-level institutions, instead of simple schoolhouses for children.
Secretariat Archdeons also have a secondary purpose, grafted onto them over the past few decades. For the past twenty odd years, at the behest of King Julian shortly after his crowning, the Secretariat Archdeons have been producing propaganda work, intended to show the superiority of the Faith and its Faithful over the regular American citizen. These works of propaganda have been used to reinforce the ideals of the Faith among the peoples of the Deseret, and to help indoctrinate the (often orphaned) children of the Protestant and Catholic minorities present within the Deseret.
Perhaps the best known work of such propaganda is,
The Adventures of Thomas Baker, publish by well-renowned Faithian author Samuel Clemens, in 1877. The novel itself follows the adventures of the (fictional) nephew of Silas Baker, the Great Prophet, and his experiences during the initial foundation of the Faith, and later during the Great Migration, where the novel ends with the founding of New Life by the Great Prophet.
Outside of its propagandist nature,
The Adventures of Thomas Baker is actually a fairly well written novel, that tells a compelling Coming of Age story with the aforementioned Thomas Baker. It is perhaps the most read book in all the Deseret, with a good majority of the literate Faithful having read the book at least once. Outside of the Deseret, the book has also seen wild success, with many in both the USA and the CSA overlooking its propagandist elements. Some are even bold enough to call it the Great American Novel.
Samuel Clemens, a Secretariat Archdeon himself, as it happens, has become quite the famous individual in North America, in general, and is reportedly working on a sequel to his famous book.
The Ministry of Conversion
Madeline Williams, 3rd Faith Minister of Conversion (1837)Herald ArchdeonsThe Herald Archdeons, currently run by Minister Madeline Williams (the first female Minister, as it happens), are more or less missionaries, sent out by the Deseret to convert the Heathens of the land. Some Missionaries are sent out to the more Protestant/Catholic majority lands and cities of the Deseret, to preach to the heathen masses there, but a large majority of Herald Archdeons are sent into the CSA and the USA, to preach and convert the Northern and Southern Americans to the Faith.
Furthermore, Herald Archdeons are often some of the more crafty among their brethren in the priesthood, a fact necessitated by their very mission statement. Strategies must be conducted and implemented to best persuade Heathens to join the Faith, and Herald Archdeons must consider how to best word their sermons, so as to appeal to the widest audience possible.
Herald Archdeons also operate as ambassadors, of a sort, primarily to the Confederate States. The Herald Archdeons sent to Richmond are nominally there to preach the true Word of God, but primarily they are there to act as liaisons between President Lee and Lady Agnes Kingston, often ferrying letters back and forth between the two Heads of State.
The Ministry of Social Order
Henri Delacroix, 2nd Faith Minister of Social Order (1816)Consul ArchdeonsThe Ministry of Social Order had innocent enough intentions, when created by the Great Prophet. It would serve to maintain the Faith from within, make sure that no outside influence negatively influenced the Faith or its People. Over the decades, however, it has since transformed into...something else entirely.
The metamorphosis of the Social Order Ministry didn't truly begin until Henri Delacroix, the heir apparent to the 1st Faith Minister of Social Order, ascended to power after the death of his predecessor in 1859. Under Minister Delacroix's direction, the Social Order Ministry evolved, in how it managed its duties.
Under Minister Delacroix, the Social Order Ministry has transformed into an actual government organization, of sorts, instead of just a different sect of priests. They are the administrators of the land, the men behind the everyday minutia of government. The Consul Archdeons.
The Consul Archdeons are in charge of the general bureaucracy of the Deseret, from sending in transfer requests to approving the budgets presented by the Ministry of Tithes. The Consul Archdeons are also responsible for the general administration of the territories of the Deseret.
In the towns and areas founded by the Faithful (or places where there are a Faithful majority, at least), there are civilian administrators employed by the Consul Archdeons, to oversee the daily management of Faithful settlements. Mayors and other such civilian administrators, more or less.
The Social Order Ministry also acts as the overall, unofficial head of the government of the Deseret. All the other Ministries coordinate with the SOM, and report to them. The Social Order Ministry basically acts as the cohesive glue that keeps the other six Ministries tied together. The Social Order Ministry is the main body, while the other Ministries are the limbs.
The Social Order Ministry isn't just in charge of governing the Deseret, though. They have other responsibilities...
The Deseret MilitiaOne such responsibility is the Deseret Militia. Minister Delacroix argued the necessity of such an organization to King Julian, saying that while the Dogs were the Defenders of the Faith, they did not make up a proper, organized military that the Faithful needed to protect its interests. The Dogs were too independent to successfully conform into a military-like structure, Minister Delacroix claimed. A sentiment reluctantly shared with the Watchdog Minister.
And thus, the Deseret Militia was born, made up of men (and even some women) of Faith who did not have what it took to become Dogs, but could still be trained as soldiers to protect the Deseret. The primary, official purpose of the Deseret Militia is to defend Faithful lands against Native aggression, so that the hostile Natives don't try to take holy land for their own satanic needs.
Unofficially...the Deseret Militia is around so that the Faithful have a standing army to use against the United States, in the event they try for secession. Even all the way back to Minister Delacroix's initial appointment, he foresaw an eventual confrontation between the Faith and the Territorial Authority, and knew it would be a battle they could not win, even with the Dogs...until they evened the odds.
The Deseret Militia is a highly trained, efficient quasi-military organization, under the direct command of Minister Delacroix. Whenever the Militia is needed, Minister Delacroix assembles a regiment with alarming speed, and sends them after whatever issue needs resolving. The Militia is able to strike with a ferocity and speed that the Dogs can't quite match, and thus for matters dealing with Native troubles, or large-scale bandit raids, it is typically the Militia that is called in to handle things.
This has caused a sort of rivalry between the Militia and the Dogs, but it is more a friendly one, than anything else. Both organizations are charged with the general defense of the Faith, with the Dogs have more responsibilities than the Militia of course. But the Militia are better organized, better able to quickly mobilize, and far outnumber the Dogs in terms of manpower. All in all, the two organizations compliment one another well.
The Soul GuardOfficially, this organization doesn't even exist. There is no paperwork related to the creation of the Soul Guard, and there exists no outstanding budget set aside for the maintenance of said organization. On the record, the Deseret denies the existence of the Soul Guard. Says it doesn't exist and never will.
Off the record...
Minister Delacroix, around the same time the Deseret Militia was created, also built another organization. This one, he charged with the main duty of the Social Order Ministry: keeping the Faith safe from within, and keeping their society untainted by impurities.
He dubbed this organization the Soul Guard.
The Soul Guard watches the watchmen, in a sense. They check Deseret government officials for signs of corruption, bribery. Especially from outside sources. They keep a close eye on the Dogs, make sure they don't abuse their power. Make sure Orthodox Archdeons don't stray from the main doctrines of the Faith. Stuff like that.
They don't just watch the watchmen, however. They also focus on the civilians within the Deseret. Admittedly, the Soul do not go after the Heathens...they leave that to the Dogs and the Ministry of Conversion. No, they do something much worse. Instead they go after their own, innocent citizens. People they suspect of simply falling out of Faith. Or people who they suspect lie about being Faithful.
Anyone whom they suspect to be a threat to the pure society of the Faith, really.
The Soul Guard, simply put, is the secret police of the Deseret. It spies on its citizens, civilian and bureaucrat alike, checking for any signs of false Faith, or corruption from outside influences. The Soul Guard mostly operates in the Cities of the Deseret, most prominently in New Life. Whatever areas that have the most concentration of Faithful population.
The Soul Guard is unlike any other organization within the Deseret, even the Watchdogs. The Watchdogs operate out in the open, at least, and they are generally more merciful than the Soul Guard...which says quite a lot about them.
Anyone who falls into the grasp of the Soul Guard--anyone suspected of being unFaithful, or of trying to corrupt the pure society of the Deseret--are dead men walking. It is a rare, rare occasion when the Soul Guard releases someone it arrests, for more often than not the people the Soul Guard take simply disappear into the night, never to be seen by any human soul ever again.
The Soul Guard are a terrifying beast. Though the King of Life does not acknowledge the existence of the Guard, word still gets around. People talk. There are whispers among the Faithful of this boogeyman; of these monstrous people that kick down doors in the dead of night, to whisk away unlucky souls to God knows where.
The people within the Soul Guard are utter fanatics, who go to extremes even an Orthodox Faithful would find unappealing. In short, the Soul Guard take everything terrifying about the Faith, about its rigidity and its inquisition-like nature, pushes them to the extreme, and then applies all of that to their own people.