Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith

Can religious beliefs be taken too far? Looking at examples from history, the answer is a resounding yes, and while acts of religious violence are less common today than in the past, atrocities continue to take place in the name of religion all the way up to the current day. One such event that happened in the 1980s involved two brothers who claim that they were divinely ordered to kill their sister- in- law and her baby. The details of this event and the history of the religion that inspired the brothers is the subject of Under the Banner of Heaven. Dan and Ron Lafferty are the two brothers responsible for these gruesome deaths and their actions can be traced to the fundamentalist Mormon church. The two had become increasingly engrossed in their religious beliefs and are convinced that the decision to commit these murders was a direct order from god, and that meant it had to be carried out, no questions asked. They carried out the deed, were eventually arrested, and sent directly to prison. They showed absolutely no remorse for what they did and continued to show no remorse even after years behind bars. This book covers the background of the Lafferty brothers and some of their relatives well, offering the reader a glimpse inside of the minds of divinely- inspired killers. But the book is more than that. The author also includes a good deal of history on the Mormon faith, showing what the early Mormons did to combat the persecution they often faced, everywhere they went. These early Mormons were often harassed, yes, but they responded with vengeance and revenge, doing what they could to ‘get even’ whenever possible. The trials of the two brothers are bizarre to read about and the book includes many direct quotes from Dan and Ron, both in the court room and from prison. The book raises many questions and that is probably its strongest point. How far should religious freedom be allowed to go? Should polygamy be legal if one’s religion calls for it? What defines insanity? Dan and Ron Lafferty obviously had off- the- wall ideas, but is that insanity? And what about kids who are raised as fundamentalist latter- day saints? Is what they go through a form of child abuse, or should parents be allowed to raise their kids any way they choose? Under the Banner of Heaven is a chilling book that is written in a direct, no- nonsense way. It’s an excellent book for understanding more, not just about the fundamentalist latter day saints church, but also about the founding of the Mormon church. The edition of the book I read even includes criticisms of the book’s accuracy, and I really like the author’s responses to these LDS criticisms, as he really puts these critics in their place. It’s a worthwhile read for anyone with an interest in the subject and it succeeds at getting the reader to think long and hard about religious freedom and what it should entail.

Under the Banner of Heaven / 1-4000-3280-6 I read "Under the Banner of Heaven" in the same weekend as " Escape " and " Stolen Innocence ", and found it an interesting contrast to the two memoirs. Where "Escape" and "Stolen Innocence" both provide a woman's view of the community and how difficult escape is from the abusive institution of FLDS plural marriages, Krakauer attempts to provide a scholarly overview, with brief zooms into individual lives. The result is a fascinating book but, on reflection, I wish it had been edited a little differently. The format of this book is slightly problematic for me. Krakauer initiates with a relatively 'current' event - the 1984 Lafferty killings - and uses that as a launching board to discuss the beginnings of the Mormon religion, the life (and faults) of founder Joseph Smith, and some of the more bloody incidents in the history of the religion. In theory, there is nothing wrong with the format, but the disjointed narrative makes it difficult to follow at times. I think that probably Krakauer made the best of a difficult subject - if he had simply started with Joseph Smith and worked chronologically towards the Lafferty brothers, the reader interest might not have been hooked; if he had dealt completely with the Lafferty brothers without the occasional sidetracks into the history of the religion, a lot of important pieces would have been lost on the reader in the case of the Lafferty killings. So if I do not care for the layout of "Under the Banner", I cannot suggest a different one - I *do* suggest tackling "Escape" or "Stolen Innocence" prior to reading Krakauer's scholarly approach, as I believe these memoirs will clarify why so many women feel powerless to leave these abusers. Krakauer tries to underscore this issue, by explaining that most of the women are unskilled, uneducated, unaware of their rights, and unwilling to abandon their children to abuse, but the memoirs bring these issues home more closely. Krakauer also touches on the physical abuse of women rampant in the religion - he mentions the "spankings" one woman receives (in full view of her children), as well as the rampant sexual abuse of women and children alike, and I would like to see a later edition of this book take time to note that FLDS women are subjected to high rates of physical abuse - a fact that might explain why so many women are afraid to attempt to leave. And, of course, the whole book centers around a case where a woman and her child are brutally *murdered* in retaliation for helping a sister-in-law escape an abusive marriage. If Krakauer's excellent book has a failing, I would suggest that failing becomes apparent in his dealing with faith in general. Krakauer makes some statements that some will find problematic - in his initial introduction, he intimates that the Lafferty murders are the result of an "irrational belief [in God] [carried] to its logical end". In the later chapters, he scoffs at a court decision that the Lafferty case was mishandled by rushing to the judgment that the Laffertys were sane and orders the lower courts to revisit the issue of insanity before retrying the Laffertys - Krakauer makes light of this decision by conflating "belief that God talks to people" with "belief that God talks to people and orders them to kill their sister-in-law and her baby" and then states that if belief in God is a priori insane, then 90% of America should be institutionalized. Yet in a rather clear case of Strawman Has a Point, I couldn't help but feel that the higher courts were doing the right thing to determine whether or not the men were sane before rushing them off to the (literal) firing squad. Whether the Laffertys are sane or not I personally cannot say, and indeed Krakauer is in a much better position to claim an opinion on the subject, due to his research on the subject, but I am proud to live in a country with a robust justice system that thoroughly investigates the state of mind of our most disturbed killers, so that the societal response is the best possible one. Having said all that, as a religious person myself, I greatly recommend this book. There is a good deal of important scholarly research and important criticism available here, and I would urge any person, regardless of religious preference, to read this as a cautionary tale. No religion is served well by secrecy or covert covering of any flaws; no society is served by the systematic abuse of its most vulnerable members. ~ Ana Mardoll

An excellent book about the Mormons ,their origins and how they have splittered up into ''Fundamentalist'' Sects.It was well researched and Krakauer's writing style makes it easy to read.The Fundamentalists come across as an evil bunch who break the law ,commit sexual assaults on minors ,abuse women all in the name of God.They use ''Revelations'' to justify their behavior.I was interested to read how law enforcement has been particularly difficult .One Prosecutor decided enough was enough and went after one sect resulting in a series of succesful prosecutions.When he came up for election again ( these positions are voted on like local elections in the Uk and Australia ) the particular sect involved voted as a block against him and he lost.After this no one ,it appears,has been game to have a go at these evil people. He covers the trial of Ron Lafferty ,one of two brother charged with two particularly brutal murders ( they claimed to have received a revelation from God to commit the murders),by looking at the evidence of the psychiatrist both for the defence and the prosecution -this was to determine whether Ron Lafferty was insane or not .If you believe in God and you pray for guidance and you act according to that guidance are you insane was the argument of the prosecution psychiatrist ,if so, then millions could be deemed insane .As it happened he was found to be sane at the time he commented the murders. The only criticism I had was that I thought Krakauer spent a bit too long going into the religious beliefs of Dan Lafferty. My daughter read the book and recommended it to me .

Es uno de los mejores libros que he leído. Narra la historia de los mormones en América enlazándolo con un crimen religioso. Libro muy odiado por los mormones pero que no creo que diga nada que se salga mucho de la realidad. Es un "must-have" para cualquiera que quiera saber los origenes y el porqué de la cultura mormona.

I had already read Stolen Innocence and Escape written by two former Mormen multi-wives and I wanted to find out more about this Religion to see what the appeal was. Of course, since the book revolves around the horrific murders of a young woman and her baby, I was a bit apprehensive. However, the author goes back to the start with John Smith, Brigham Young etc so it gives a really good understanding of where the religion is coming from and how it has adapted or not. I have come to learn that the Mormon religion is based on violence and greed and delusionary " apocolyptic " signs and voices from "up above " who "guide" the decisions that the men and only men can make . It is a religion where men rule , get their own way and women are no more than slaves, property. The religion takes the joy out of relationships, husband with wife, parent with child. They believe in ruling with the iron fist and even pets feel the wrath whenever the mood strikes. Jon Krakauer , as a journalist, gave an unbiased history of the absolute violence and horrer this religion comes from and the complete control that is held over everyone's heads to this very day. It is all for the men with multiple wives who have to accept each other as sisters while they share the life of the man they all married, even if the wife was only 13 or 14 years old. This book gave such an insight into the corrupt, violent and delusioned thinking of the forefathers who shaped the minds of the perpetraters of this horrific double murder. Since they are all brainwashed, they know nothing else. It is a fantastic intelligent read that is extrememy interesting and enlightening. The fear was that in this day and age, the Muslims would take over the world with all the births that are encouraged in their religion. They have nothing on the Mormons where one family, one father, can have 50 children ! God forbid if the Mormons take over !

This book is a real eye opener. Get it if you are a Krakauer fan. Five stars, ten if it was available.

Was afraid of starting reading as I had heard that the book gets boring. For me, it was really good. Completed it in 3 days but still wanted more. Most of it is history of Mormonism . If you don't like reading history, you may not like the book. It got some psychological aspect, especially at last during the trial of the brothers . Really worth reading