Identify the strategy that writers might use while editing

Which three sentences in this excerpt from arthur conan doyle's "the contest" suggest that the author's tone is mocking?

4.in those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. •type of figurative language: •meaning of figurative language: •effect on tone and mood: •effect on audience: choose out of these: hyperbole, irony, historical question, paradox, allusion,metaphor,personification,symbolism and simile

What was the primary message that dr.martin luther king jr wanted to communicate in the telegram he sent to chavez