Under the Banner of Heaven

Rating:
Summary: Intrigueing and Insightful
Review: "Under The Banner Of Heaven" is not an anti-Mormon book in any way. It is a superbly researched and well written account of individuals that used fundamentalism as a vehicle to commit horrific acts. Applying theological radicalism to influence an easily warped mind. Fundamentalism is just another vehicle as is extreme nationalism, racism, political fanaticism, the occult, or blind totalitarian allegiance. John Krakauer is a brilliant writer, and he's conducted excellent research on this story which occurred in the mid 1980s.
I do suspect many minions of the Mormon church will be out to do damage control. For the image of church, it's political influence and mass-marketed reputation, is paramount to literally anything else.

The religion of Mormonism has long been riddled with cover-ups, controversy, historical revisionism, and violence. It's leading founder, Joseph Smith was convicted of fraud before he claimed to be the prophet. It has has been factually established that he practiced folk magic (The Salamander Letter), which weakens his flawed reputation as well as his dubious intentions. He also had a sexual affair with a married woman. When his wife found out and confronted him he claimed that "God had revealed to him that he may have more than one wife." Hmm....how convenient....Some locals back east took metal plates and welded holes into them in the form of shapes: squares, circles, and rectangles. These men buried them. Then they "started digging," found them (again) and called Joseph Smith to come and see if he could make any sense of it. Smith claimed they were sent from the stars and he actually translated them to people. This is one true account of many about this con artist cum-spiritual leader.

Ever since it's founding, there it's been engaged in historical revisionism and out-right white-washing. Altering, changing, and even erasing significant elements from its' history all-together to gain the public support and promote it's marketing campaign. A religion founded on racist principles: people of color--all color--are considered to be of "mud," and less human.

Kudos to Krakauer for going where many an-author avoids going for fear of retaliation by a well-financed corporate machine such is the Mormon church. The many Joseph Goebbels of its' pubic relations department are scheming right now to squash him. Unfortunately for the chuch leaders, the truth usually prevails.

Rating:
Summary: BY THEIR ACTS YOU SHALL KNOW THEM
Review: Two books have recently been published about cold blooded murder in Utah and figuring prominently in both is the LDS church -- the Mormons. The more publicized is Jon Krakauer's UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN. It is about recent (1984) murders and the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart committed by individual members of Mormon Fundamentalist sects that exist in southern Utah,Arizona and elsewhere. Krakauer says they may number 100,000. They have been excommunicated by LDS authorities for polygamy and other deviation, but claim to be following the original teachings of church founder Joseph Smith. Sally Denton writes in AMERICAN MASSACRE about the near annihilation of the Fancher-Baker wagon train at Mountain Meadows in southern Utah on 9/11/1857. That barbarous act, the slaughter of 120 defenseless men, women and children, according to Denton, may have been authorized by church leaders and was certainly carried out by Mormons who believed they had official sanction for their acts.

The two authors exhibit contrasting strengths as writers. Krakauer is the better prose stylist, but Denton has put together a more cohesive book. Krakauer succeeded in getting members of the Fundamentalist Mormon community (including the muderous Laffertys)to talk freely. He gives the reader an intimate, unspairing view of the crime and the criminals -- as Mailer did in THE EXECUTIONER'S SONG. The story of Smart's kidnapping gives the book a torn-from-the-headlines timliness. Krakauer uses the two contemporary incidents as a springboard to examine the LDS church's historical record of violence. He admits readily in interviews that he relied heavily on secondary sources (like historian D Michael Quinn) for his depiction of the historical aspects of Mormonism. Denton has done far more original historical research for her book: from reading diaries and oral histories in Arkansas (where the Fancher expedition originated) to combing through the National Archives, US Army records, and those of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. She reconstructs the trial of John D Lee, the only man convicted of the atrocity, from court records, his diaries, and contemporary newspaper accounts. Denton provide chapter notes and an extensive bibliography to support her scholarship.

I recommend reading both books. At a time when Islamic religious extremism is on everyone's mind, we need to be reminded that the United States has produced and is producing its share of dangerous zealots. Krakauer refers to the Fundamentalist polygamists of southern Utah as "the American Taliban". In AMERICAN MASSACRE one can find the roots of the religious fanaticism that bears bitter fruit in UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN.

Rating:
Summary: Validates everything I've felt...
Review: I first encountered LDS women while working at a summer camp (too many years ago to talk about!), and intuitively felt there was something amiss with the whole LDS system. Since then, I've known scores of LDS folk... and this book simply confirms all that I've felt about the Mormons and their cultish ways. It must be stated that I am not christian, mormon, or affiliated with any organized religion. And I am entralled with the expose of the practices of any elitist group.

I recently had a discussion with an LDS woman who sent her eldest daughter on an 18 month mission. "It will go fast," she said, "We want her home to get married and start having babies." No mention of education or career or financial stability. Just "start having babies." The women I now work with come from traditional and fundementalist LDS groups, and have the highest use rate of antidepressants of any other subgroup. But they will never admit they feel trapped with their large families and low incomes. They will never admit their husbands are largely unsupportive. They will never admit that the ravages of repeated and closely spaced pregnancies are health hazards. They have lost their voices and often, their spirits.

Krakauer skillfully weaves the history of mormonism into the story of two brutal murders. By carefully laying a foundation of history, one can easily see how Lafferty was lead to do what he did. But more importantly, Krakauer shows how extremism in ANY form can lead to distorted "truths" and how fundementalism can be so dangerous, regardless of the theology. Religion, rather than spirituality, is a dangerous thing, fostering the "us" vs "them" mentality that has spawned so many "holy wars" and lead so many astray. For many, religion absolves them of personal responsibility for actions and beliefs, "god made me do it." It is a filter of distortion, thru which one sees the whole world as bad or evil since it often doesn't resonate with what one is taught, rather than placing emphasis on what one experiences or feels deep inside.

Krakauer's prose is not always easy to read, but the reader is well rewarded for persistence. The story is gripping and well constructed. The other reviewers have done an admirable job of describing the story and providing intelligent critique of the story.

It is the deeper message that needs to be addressed: That extreme fundementalism in any form is a dangerous mindset, one that historically, has lead to murder, war, and enormous dissent.

Rating:
Summary: Non-Mormon to Kolob: 11MM Mormons?
Review: As in any organized religion, many practicing Mormons just go through the motions, not paying strict attention either to Scripture or to Mormon writings. They attend church without looking forward to their next calling, doing it mainly for family, or tradition, or the succor of routine. These Mormons can be friendly, easy-going, and as in the weakness of Joseph Smith, they might even share a glass of wine or two. To non-Mormons, they can be good people; in the eyes of the Church, this makes them bad Mormons.

That being said, my only complaint with Jon Krakauer's book, "Under the Banner of Heaven," is its upholding of irrational fears that there are 11 million Mormons, that it's the fastest growing church, and that Mormonism is destined to become a significant force in America. One of the most insidious ways that the hierarchy tries to control Mormons is by alarming them about Gentiles (non-Mormons). Mormons teach that they're inherently better than Gentiles, yet they preach about non-Mormons with vindictive trepidation. Each Mormon's duty is to convert. If we remain friendly without the prospect of converting, their compulsion is to exploit or to shun. Shunning surely occurs if any Gentile balks at being milked by Mormons. Acutely aggressive shunning is reserved for Mormons who leave the Church with the notion of becoming independent thinkers. Why should any pragmatic examination of Mormonism harbor that same kind of fear, which inevitably leads to hatred? Should we worry that Mormonism will eclipse critical thinking via dominance in numbers? Hardly, because with a little grounding we needn't fear Mormons or Mormonism in any form.

The Mormon attrition rate is already the highest of any religion. Despite Krakauer's recitation of hierarchy half-truths, there are only 4 million practicing Mormons worldwide. And, the vast majority of those have been born into Mormonism to bear a lifetime of propaganda and programming; positing that polygamy persists as the principle path to progression. Once baptized, new converts forever remain on Church rolls, and are hounded all of their lives unless they officially resign, in writing, by repudiating their prior poor judgement using very specific language. Krakauer should know that future membership cannot be extrapolated using phony figures furnished by the Church, and that such frenetic forecasts forget foundational fences fixed by Church philosophy.

These limitations to growth include doctrinal dishonesty to outflank traditional Christianity and to attract new converts, a garish and gratuitous group-defensiveness to public corruption or even honest mistakes by Church members, and the bitter fruits of constantly suppressing their individualities. The hierarchy advocates Church-imposed mental and emotional manipulation of children, rather than personally enforced parental discipline. The results are gloomy marriages, female homosexuality, and a divorce rate equal to that of the general population, and much higher than most other churches. Local Mormon communities are continually dazed and demoralized by unremitting humiliations, along with whisper campaigns that accompany habitual secrecy and denials. Krakauer's own evidence proclaims this a characteristic of the myth-fraternity since the days of its founder. Counter to commercials concerning "strong families", the chain of command chiefly cherishes clannish commitment, custom, and conformity in connection with changeable Church canon.

Unlike the heady mid-1840's, the number of ex-Mormons now far surpasses Mormon membership. The attrition rate is so high that "exmormon.org" is the Internet's busiest bulletin board. Ex-Mormons are very supportive of each other's trials in letting go, being especially sympathetic to tales of spiteful ripostes suffered at the hands of dutiful Mormons. Most ex-Mormons are, and remain, loving, trustworthy, and conscientious, because these attributes could never be permitted free expression in the rigidly conformist, mechanistic framework of modern Mormonism. Fortunately, the Church provides an abundance of status titles, daily regimens, and busywork, so that those who have very little natural empathy can find a sense of worth and belonging; only a trickle of Church attrition is siphoned off to the transparently egocentric Mormon fundamentalism that Krakauer details. Mind you, I'd be mesmerized in mulling Krakauer's measurement of why Mormons miss ministering to Smith's morality and markings as the more meticulous Mormon fundamentalists do.

Also, this is less a story of the Lafferty murders than an unveiling of the vast tapestry of weird Mormon sects and the rationalizations for their bizarre doings. By far, the best part of "Under the Banner of Heaven" is Krakauer's elucidation of how and why the Church originally outfitted outposts of true Mormonism throughout North America. These settlements were to bide their time, ensuring the survival of the one-true-faith after Gentile authorities were to have dismantled the central organization. As it happened, the Church endures, but only by adapting and cloaking most of its principles, including its most unambiguous Principle. I was enthralled with Krakauer's recapitulation of the hierarchy's disingenuous duplicity by devolving, in fits and starts, to ultimately ban polygamy. While the Church bends as a reed in the wind, Mormon fundamentalists, who were marooned by the reworked theology, view its sandy foundations as the Great Apostasy. 'Lying for the Lord' leaves lasciviously lusty legacies!

Krakauer further illustrates the Church's treacherous turnabout towards its sanctioned satellites in some detail by skipping back and forth through decades in time. For instance, the Church disputes anyone using the qualifier "Mormon" in reference to Mormon fundamentalists, claiming that 'those people' have no share in Mormonism. Strangely, the hierarchy refuses to recognize itself as the Mormon Church, but acknowledges only The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mentioning "Mormon Church", either in print or on-air, is a surefire way of entertaining frantic calls and letters from Mormon attorneys vigorously petitioning a retraction. If it weren't for Krakauer's sizzling chronicle of lives lost and ruined, peppered with sometimes savagely sickening sagas, such slapstick should supplement sidesplitting strokes in a farfetched falderal. As affirmation, a pre-chapter quote adroitly avows, 'One cannot write fiction involving Mormons; it takes too much explanation.'

Necessarily, naive non-Mormon interactions with Mormons are somewhat precarious. Get educated! Here, Krakauer has crafted a commendable commencement.

Rating:
Summary: Very Good Storytelling
Review: To me, the key to a good book, fiction or non-fiction, is whether it is told well.

Jon Krakauer is a gifted storyteller, and "Under The Banner Of Heaven" is a very well told story.

In addition to covering the 1984 murder of a woman and her child by self-proclaimed Mormon Fundamentalists (acting, as they claim, on a mission from God), Krakauer takes the time and patience to cover some of the history of the Morman religion. He interweaves historic events with the contemporary storyline and gives a kind of insight not common to a "True Crime" story.

For those wondering, Krakauer takes great care to explicitly draw the line between Mormons and Mormon Fundamentalists. This is a critical point in the book.

I had no information about the Mormon religion or its history and found this book engaging and very well written.

It's a good read, and thats what books are all about. I recommend this book to all.

Rating:
Summary: Krakauer at his best!
Review: This book was a fascinating read. I didn't know much about Mormons (except the housekeeper who stole from me) before this book, and I think I have a better understanding now of what Mormonism is than most cradle-Mormons.

The few questions that remained months after finishing the book were easily answered by looking at: http://www.exmormon.org and http://www.mormonnomore.com and http://www.exmormonfoundation.org There is truth contained within the personal stories of exmormons on those web sites that makes a great unofficial afterword to this book.

Rating:
Summary: As evidenced by reviewer example......
Review: Jon does an excellent job of engaging the reader in this fast-paced account of a true crime/historical look at the FLDS movement. He already has plenty of 5-star reviews to alert avid readers that this is a book worth picking up. So instead of giving more applause to Jon, I will comment on those who are writing the 1-star reviews. Yes, you who feel the need to defend the Mormon faith are entitled to your opinions. However, I find it quite amusing that the "defense ranks" are submitting multiple entries of the same review. RCBarden, for one, has submitted the same 1-star review 4 times. When are you going to submit your 5th? I believe a leader of the LDS church ("seefilms") submitted the same review multiple times as well. Often these 1-star diatribes are copied from old media reviews. If you didn't learn anything else from this book, how about THINK FOR YOURSELF!! It's funny how Jon can portray religious zealots in his book and then we can see examples of this fanaticism from the 1-star reviewers online. I love it!!

Rating:
Summary: Religion in America
Review: Under the Banner of Heaven has several chilling storylines between its covers. The horrible centerpiece of the book is the 1984 case of a two fundamentalist Mormon brothers who brutally murdered their sister in law and her infant daughter; and the context comes from the colorful description of the Mormon church's first decades, when violence apparently became a cornerstone of the faith. But the undercurrent is about the place of religion in America -- a theme that comes to a head during the trial of the murder trial of the Lafferty boys.

In justifying their unspeakable crime, the Laffertys claimed they were acting on direct orders from God, who told them that the two victims were standing in the way of His plans. Attorneys developed an insanity defense, claiming -- not unreasonably -- that anyone who believes such an "order" could not be sane. But the book points out that so-called normal religious people believe many things that don't stand to objective reasoning: the virgin birth, for example, or the transformation of bread into the body of Christ. Are these people insane as well? If not, who decides what religious beliefs are rational and which are not? And if there is no objective standard to judge these things by, does that amount to a sanction of atrocious acts committed by would-be messiahs like the Laffertys?

A more or less similar story could have been written about any number of other ghastly crimes (author Jon Krakauer mentions several in passing in Under the Banner of Heaven), and the Mormon church by no means has a monopoly on violent histories. But Mr. Krakauer does make a compelling and highly readable case that the basic beliefs of Mormons (e.g., the church's historical reliance on violence, its love-hate relationship with polygamy and government authority, and the belief that every member can receive direct revelations from God) make this sort of event more common. And he certainly tells the story of the Laffertys in a way that will keep readers turning the pages even as they shake their heads in disbelief.

Several of my fellow reviewers have dismissed this book as anti-Mormon propaganda, and after reading it I can certainly understand why it is not a best-seller in Salt Lake City but I cannot have an opinion about how subjective the book might be since I am far from being an expert on Mormon history. Until now, my views of the church had been shaped by bits of information I'd been taught in U.S. history classes, a single trip through heavily Mormon northern Utah, the glossy public relations campaigns from the mainstream church, and a small handful of interactions with Mormons over the years.

But what is clear is that Mr. Krakauer did an extraordinary amount of research to produce this book. He weaves together stories of dozens of historical and contemporary Mormon families in far-flung outposts of the American west, Mexico, and Canada, mixed in with historical records, news accounts, and Mormon doctrine. Other non-fiction writers would do well to read Under the Banner of Heaven if for no other reason than to understand how important going through a good bit of shoe leather plays in producing a memorable work.

Unfortunately, some simple and mostly cosmetic steps could have made this book much better.

As one would guess, a story with so many characters is bound to be a little confusing. But Mr. Krakauer makes it more so, alternately refering to major players in the book by their first and last names. As a result, Mormon church founder Joseph Smith and modern-day polygamist Alex Joseph are both puzzlingly referred to as "Joseph" -- and other similar examples abound. Also, the sheer number of Laffertys, Lees, Batemans, Blackmores, Johnsons, and Smiths featured in the book might make some kind of family tree printed on the inside covers helpful, though I suppose that given all the instances of church members marrying their cousins or step-daughters could mean that such a diagram would have to exist in three dimensions.

Then there is the annoying problem of footnotes. It is true that adding a bit of information from outside the narrative can add another layer of complexity to a story. But in this case the use of footnotes is too often used to simply explain who a person is, which could simply be added to the narrative; or to explain that legal rights to reprint a given passage had been dutifully obtained, something would could have easily been relegated to the end of the book. Some pages have as much information in their footnotes as in the main text, and when the information found there is superfluous, it interrupts the flow of the narrative and creates the impression that Mr. Krakauer is trying too hard to impress, like a kid in school who sits in front and raises his hand even before the teacher finishes asking the question. If you read Under the Banner of Heaven you'll no doubt agree that the effort is impressive enough already.

Rating:
Summary: Jon, Jon, Jon, Jon, Joooonnnnnn!
Review: After reading your books, Into Thin Air, and Into the Wild, I was severly disappointed in this piece of literary balderdash. Your suppositions about Mormonism, Joseph Smith and the others mentioned in the book, are about as far out as the orbit of Pluto. You need to study Mormonism and Mormon theology for yourself, rather than reading the same old stuff that has been around for decades. You're not a religious apologist or critic. Stick to climbing stories.

Rating:
Summary: My friends fought over this book!
Review: Took this book camping and had to hit it in my tent to keep my friends from stealing it away! Like all of Krakauer's books it was very readable and very informative about the history of the Mormon faith.