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Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer
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Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith

by Jon Krakauer

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3,72990640 (4)86
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I couldn't put this book down. Of course, with a good writer like Krakauer, that might be expected. But the history of the Mormans and glimpses into some of their lives was amazing. He's done a lot of research and doesn't beat around the bush. I've read other, smaller accounts of the beginnings of the church's establishment but this is very in-depth writing.

If you like well-written history in the US, pick this up. ( )
  jenn976 | Nov 5, 2009 |
Interesting story of religious extremism. ( )
  corrmorr | Sep 25, 2009 |
Fascinating book, and you can see why the Mormon Church was outraged. Still, it's obvious there's a lot of truth and religous fanatics are found in all areas -- and are all dangerous. Unfortunately, because of the basis of the Mormon Church, it seems more susceptible to messiah complexes. Unfortunately, due to the polygamous history, those fanatics find excuses from inexcusable behavior. Hard to put down, and hard to swallow. ( )
1 vote NellieMc | Aug 29, 2009 |
Subtitle: A Story of Violent Faith. A well researched book detailing the murders of Brenda and Erica Lafferty at the hands of fundamentalist Mormon family members while at the same time exploring the history of the Mormon religion and it's fundamentalist off-shoots. Interesting, and written in an accessible style, but just lacking a little something to keep me as enthralled as I was by Krakauer's other books. ( )
  Elishibai | Aug 23, 2009 |
I was so interested in the topic of this book and I've liked other books by Krakauer, but I found this hard to get through. There were lots of interesting pieces of information, but I just never felt immersed in the book. ( )
  chrisubus | Aug 12, 2009 |
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His project is ambitious: With Mormon fundamentalism as his chief illustration, he seeks to understand why religious extremism flourishes in a skeptical, postmodern society. . . . The result is a book that is both insightful and flawed.
 
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Canonical Title
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People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Awards and honors
Epigraph
PROLOGUE
We believe in honesty, morality and purity; but when they enact tyrannical laws, forbidding us the free exercise of our religion, we cannot submit. God is greater than the United States, and when the Government conflicts with heaven, we will be ranged under the banner of heaven and against the government...Polygamy is a divine institution. it has been handed down direct from God. The united States cannot abolish it. No nation on earth can prevent it, nor all the nations of the earth combined, ... I defy the United States; I will obey God.
JOHN TAYLOR (ON JANUARY 4, 1880), PRESIDENT, PROPHET, SEER, and REVELATOR, CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS
PROLOGUE
No western nation is as religion-soaked as ours, where nine out of ten of us love God and are loved by him in return. That mutual passion centers our society and demands some understanding, if our doom-eager society is to be understood at all.
HAROLD BLOOM, THE AMERICAN RELIGION
PART 1 The schisms that shattered Mormonism time and again, more critical tha inroads from without, only attest its strength. They were signs of the seriousness with which converts and dissenters took their salvation, ready to stake their souls on points of doctrine which a later, less Biblical generation could treat with indifference. WILLIAM MULDER AND A. RUSSELL MORTENSEN, AMONG THE MORMONS
Dedication
For Linda.
First words
Almost everyone in Utah County has heard of the Lafferty boys. That's mostly a function of the lurid murders, of course, but the Lafferty surname had a certain prominence in the county even before Brenda and Erica Lafferty were killed.
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Canonical titleUnder the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
Original publication date2003
People/CharactersRon Lafferty, Dan Lafferty, Joseph Smith, Allen Lafferty, Brigham Young, Brenda Lafferty (show all 13)
Important placesSalt Lake City, Utah, USA, Utah, USA, Provo, Utah, USA, Haun's Mill, Missouri, USA, Nauvoo, Illinois, USA, Bountiful, British Columbia, Canada (show all 13)
Important eventsRaid on Short Creek, Arizona, July 26, 1953, Mountain Meadows Massacre (Sept. 11, 1857), Haun's Mill Massacre (Oct 30, 1838)
Awards and honorsColorado Book Award (2004), New York Times bestseller (Nonfiction, 2003)
EpigraphPROLOGUE We believe in honesty, morality and purity; but when they enact tyrannical laws, forbidding us the free exercise of our religion, we cannot submit. God is greater than the United States, and when the Government conf... (show all)
DedicationFor Linda.
First wordsAlmost everyone in Utah County has heard of the Lafferty boys. That's mostly a function of the lurid murders, of course, but the Lafferty surname had a certain prominence in the county even before Brenda and Erica Lafferty w... (show all)
Last words(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Book description

Amazon.com (ISBN 0330419129, Paperback)

In 1984, Ron and Dan Lafferty murdered the wife and infant daughter of their younger brother Allen. The crimes were noteworthy not merely for their brutality but for the brothers' claim that they were acting on direct orders from God. In Under the Banner of Heaven, Jon Krakauer tells the story of the killers and their crime but also explores the shadowy world of Mormon fundamentalism from which the two emerged. The Mormon Church was founded, in part, on the idea that true believers could speak directly with God. But while the mainstream church attempted to be more palatable to the general public by rejecting the controversial tenet of polygamy, fundamentalist splinter groups saw this as apostasy and took to the hills to live what they believed to be a righteous life. When their beliefs are challenged or their patriarchal, cult-like order defied, these still-active groups, according to Krakauer, are capable of fighting back with tremendous violence. While Krakauer's research into the history of the church is admirably extensive, the real power of the book comes from present-day information, notably jailhouse interviews with Dan Lafferty. Far from being the brooding maniac one might expect, Lafferty is chillingly coherent, still insisting that his motive was merely to obey God's command. Krakauer's accounts of the actual murders are graphic and disturbing, but such detail makes the brothers' claim of divine instruction all the more horrifying. In an age where Westerners have trouble comprehending what drives Islamic fundamentalists to kill, Jon Krakauer advises us to look within America's own borders. --John Moe

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:51 -0400)

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