Out in the rugged West there are colonies of people called Hutterites who embody the pioneer spirit but live entirely removed from the modern world. The Hutterites are Anabaptist farmers and ranchers - close cousins of the Amish - who, after centuries of persecution in Europe, found religious freedom in North America in the 1870s. Their central belief in a kind of Christian communism informs everything they do. They work, worship, and eat together, and have no personal possessions. They do use computers and high-tech machinery; but they speak an old Austrian German dialect, sew their own clothes, and shun television, radio, or anything else that might let in the temptations of worldly materialism. Hutterites live rigidly structured lives that leave little room for individual expression, but they give this up willingly in exchange for the strong community support that promises spiritual salvation.
             For the Hutterites, the way to heaven lies through faith, communal living and a lot of hard work. The Hutterites live in farm communities, devoutly holding to the rules their founder laid down. In every Hutterite colony, the minister or spiritual leader is also the chief executive and he, along with an advisory board, makes the day-to-day decisions. The minister's duties include conducting church sermons, marriages, baptisms, funerals, and disciplining members of the church. The minister carries a lot of responsibility, as it is his duty to focus and worship everyday of the week. Hettorites are taught to surrender their lives and give themselves to the community, as this is God's will. In addition, Hutterites are taught that they are not on earth to enjoy themselves, but to serve the community in preparation for eternity.
             Each Hutterite colony has to provide for its people. Most Hutterites are sustained through agriculture. Most colonies are crop producers and have fair-sized farms. They also raise a l
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