When Faith Goes Too Far..., July 12, 2003
Reviewer: "nybaz" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
Krakauer uses the 1984 Lafferty Murders in Provo to launch an exploration into the roots and evolution of the present-day Mormon (LDS) fundamentalist movement. Krakauer presents what may be the most comprehensive and current assesment of the polygamous/fundamentalist movement -- the origins, the key players, the major communes, the legal battles, and the abuses of women, children and the welfare system.
Krakauer devotes appropriate attention to the history of mormonism,which is refreshingly less glossy (and concerned with PR) then other mainstream accounts have been. Krakauer, unlike many authors who need the church's assistance with their research, is not afraid to make frequent reference to "No Man Knows My History", D. Michael Quinn, and numerous unflattering historical documents and sources.
Joseph Smith is portrayed as the cunning, charismatic, delusional,egomaniacal charlatan that he was, and his frequent run-ins with thelaw, the government, supporters, wives (including women that were married to other men) are laid out in brilliant detail.
The story moves to Brigham Young's reign (after Joseph's assasination and a schism over polygamy), the arrival of the saints in the Salt Lake Valley and the ensuing battle with the US government over polygamy.
The Mountain Meadows massacre is explored with a precision not seen since Juanita Brooks landmark work on the subject. The Massacre was the premeditated, rehearsed and sanctioned slaughter of an entire emigrant wagon train from Arkansas that was unfortunate enough to pass through Utah. Visits to the site by Federal Investigators revealed a field "strewn with bodies..." and mangled bones of "men, women, children and infants." The massacre was a sort benchmark for the church in Utah; it established that the practice of slaying those who stood in the way of the kingdom would continue in the new Zion (Utah). As the Lafferty murders clearly illustrate, this practice continues to this day.
Krakauer makes the argument that it was polygamy, and the church's love/hate relationship with the practice,that gave birth to the fundamentalist movement and continues to fuel it to this day. The history of polygamy is laid out right up until the present day,where the focus is turned to the backgrounds of the Lafferty brothers,who brutally murdered a sister-in-law and her infant daughter.
Instead of simply retelling the sick and gory story a la "USA Movie ofthe Week", Krakauer delves into the twisted psyche of the mormon fundamentalist, and explores how these men went from upstanding membersof the church to self-proclaimed prophets to cold-blooded killers.
This detailed and well-thought examination of the knots, bumps andbruises in Mormon history and theology is unique to non-academic writing, and is very engaging. Krakauer effectively draws upon testimony from the trial (psychologists, witnesses, etc) and his own interviews with the convicted at The Point Of The Mountain to point the blame exactly where it falls: upon the mormon church, and its founders and leaders. *?
His concluding analysis of the current state of the LDS church and its many fractured spin-offs is refreshingly up-to-date, and the author's after word provides valuable insight into his own opinions on organized religion, and specifically the mormon faith.This book is a breath of fresh air into LDS studies, and has the unique benefit of being written by an immensely well-respected nonbeliever under a major publisher.
This is one of the strongest examinations of mormonism in print,because it is not an "anti-mormon" work. As indicated by modern church leadership and public relations, nothing is more "anti-mormon" then the church's own history, leaders, and fundamentalist members. "Under The Banner of Heaven" is a factual, analytical treatise of a religion that has an extremely dark and bloody past, and dares to bring to light the painful legacy that that Mormonism perpetuates to this day.
For anyone who has left the church, is investigating the church, is LDS or knows someone who is LDS, I strongly recommend this book.
- If God tells you to kill somebody, should you? What if you tell God to tell you to kill somebody?
February 21, 2006 Reviewer: professor (Boise, Idaho) - See all my reviews
I read Jon Krakauer's essay on fundamentalist Mormons (or should I say Christians, or should I say monotheists) with a mixture of horror and incredulity. As Krakauer says in his epilogue, Mormons can be great and good people, and part of what makes them good might be their religion. On the other hand, there is always a cost to assuming that the powers for reason and choice which belong to us as human beings are lodged somewhere else. He weaves the "blood spattered" story of the Latter Day Saints together with the relatively even more bloody story of the Mormon Fundamentalists in a very compelling manner. Too bad he did not also weave in the almost equally violent history of American Christianity. After all, the first blood shed in the Mormon-Gentile conflicts was Mormon blood.
- This book is more like a True Crime book laced with an extensive history of the Mormon church. Krakhauer does a great job telling the sordid history of this strange religion (no offense, but ALL religions are pretty strange to me.)
- The founding of the religion by Joseph Smith is well-descibed and leaves the reader incredulous that such clearly psychopathic behavior (read cult formation) is continually supported and endorsed by so many people.
-The sections on these fundamentalist communities were the most riveting part of the book.
I am int in that part.
-One may gain a reasonable view of the FLDS cult movement through this book, I imagine, but because of the sensationalist tendancies (at the expense of historical honesty), I cannot enthusiasticaly recommend it without also a detailed review: http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/Krakauer.pdf