Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith

Krakauer can really write. I forgot, somehow (I guess it has been years)--but this book just pulled em right in.

Here, Krakauer looks at the 1984 murders of Brenda and Erica Lafferty. Two of her brothers-in-law were arrested, tried, and found guilty. One timeline within this book gives the history of Mormonism--from NY, to Missouri, to Illinois, to Utah--and examines the violent history of the church (both violence toward church members to violence from church members in defending their church/lifestyle/land). Another timeline gives a modern history of Mormon Fundamentalism in the 20th century. A third looks at the Lafferty family--their upbringing, their introduction to and interest in fundamentalism, and more. The second and third show more timelines converge. It sounds very confusing writing it down, but it works well in the book.

I studied Western History in grad school, and read several of the books he uses as sources, as well as various books on Arizona history and immigrant routes. This book really pulled a lot of that together for me.

This book was a solid 5 stars until the very end, when he talks with the still-imprisoned Dan Lafferty
about his reasoning and beliefs. I found it less than interesting and rather creepy, as this found-guilty and admittedly guilty man tries to rationalize his past horrific behavior. Yuck. show less

Driving along the freeway we are hard pressed not to crane at the accident on the shoulder. How bad is the car crumpled up? Is anyone still inside? Is that blood on the pavement? Something about other's pain draws us in; it demands our attention. Several times, reading Jon Krakauer's historical treatise on the violence of the early Latter Day Saints religion and its modern fundamentalist schisms, I felt like I was driving down that freeway, unable to turn away in the face of awful stories and eager to turn the page.

Krakauer's examination is centered around the murder of a young mother, Brenda Lafferty, and her two year old daughter. She was murdered by two of her brothers-in-law, Ron and Dan Lafferty, because she dared to stand up to show more them in the face of their demands for polygamous marriages. Brenda counseled and comforted one of Ron's wives, encouraging her to leave, though she refused to leave her own husband, even in the face of severely abusive behavior. After Ron's wife left him, he decompensated, falling further and further into fundamental LDS dogma. Eventually, Ron convinced himself that he had received a revelation from God directing him to kill Brenda and others who he felt responsible for his wife's departure. Using the Lafferty story as a foundation, Krakauer examines the birth of the LDS religion and its violent adolescence. There seems to be pain and death at every turn in the story. And yet, there remains ruggedly faithful people, committed to the genuine tenets of the faith.

I have studied the LDS faith on my own and have rarely found such a comprehensive and detailed account of its foundation and growth. The detail in the book is a testament both to Krakauer's research and to his ability to connect and communicate with people from a faith who are typically shy and reticent. The latter is especially true of the fundamentalist sects hiding in out of the way places so that they might practice plural marriage. It is in the book's exhaustive detail that I find my primary critique. Sometimes the pace and the narrative were lost in Krakauer's need to follow every rabbit trail and every familial connection. I understood his reason for laying out things so meticulously but found myself growing weary when I was faced with 8 or 10 pages about another offshoot of another family who was also part of another piece of brutal history.

While I am not a Mormon, I found Krakauer's book to be mostly fair. He points out that the LDS faith is not alone in its violent history; many other faiths have emerged in or suffered through periods of violent upheaval. And many faiths have given rise to fanaticism. This is merely a function of human weakness and not necessarily evidence of religious impurity. Krakauer hoped to come closer to grasping the nature of religious belief in examining the LDS faith. In his notes at the end of the book, he admits that he was not musch closer to understanding for the experience. Perhaps the reason lies in the natrue of faith itself. It is not something to be researched and described and understood; it is something for inner reflection.

Nonetheless, Krakauer is able to grasp and describe human nature in the context of religious fanaticsim, individual narcissism, and criminal behavior. For me, this was the value of the book - the reason I wanted to keep turning the page. show less

I'm not sure what I expected with this book, but what I got was a cracking good read! Krakauer writes in an arresting manner, and his description of this religion, it's history, and the colourful people that are believers of the Mormon faith is quite wonderful. I liked the true-crime writing interwoven with Mormon history that occurs throughout the book. It is difficult to understand what drove Ron and Dan Lafferty to murder their sister-in-law and her small daughter, but I think Krakauer portrays fanataticm in a truly fascinating way. This is a violent book, but one that does not try to cover up the uncomfortable parts. I feel that I now have some insight into this religion and its people. I especially liked the clear look into the show more fundamanetalist side of this religion. The book shows how strong religious belief can easily cross into the realm of fanaticism. Thanks for the insight. show less

“I was doing God’s will, which is not a crime.”

This book is part history of the Mormon church and part murder investigation. The first part was interesting, and really revealing about the origins of the LDS church. The second part, the horrible murders committed by Dan Lafferty, a Mormon Fundamentalist, are a terrifying look into the power of religious belief. A woman and her child are murdered because God told a man to do it. And he did.

“Saying that anyone who talks to God is crazy has enormous implications for the whole world of religion. It imposes a secular view of sanity and means that all religions are insane.” My thoughts exactly!

“…If Ron Lafferty were deemed mentally ill because he obeyed the voice of God, isn’t show more everyone who believes in God and seeks guidance through prayer mentally ill as well?”

And I wonder what the difference between him and the biblical Abraham is? Abraham is a revered 'father' of the Bible for following God's command to kill. Lafferty is in prison for life. One a hero, one a criminal - both believing they were following God's divine will. Was Abraham actually mentally ill, or should Dan and Ron be revered too? Me, I think anyone who kills women and children, or attempts too, are insane. From Abraham on down. show less

This is certainly as frightening a tale as I care to read! We just moved to Utah so that adds to the fright. I'm slowly learning about the whole Mormon scene since we moved here. This was a valuable step in the process. I didn't find any of Krakauer's perspectives to be extreme at all. Surely he picks and chooses evidence and interpretation, but it is all well within the bounds of reasonableness.

I am a Buddhist of mainly the Tibetan Vajrayana variety. We've certainly got beliefs and practices that are about as nutty as anybody else's. There are lots of warnings and tales about the dangers of an overly literal interpretation. I'd like to think that'll inoculate us against the kinds of abuses portrayed here, but probably not. Too many of show more those tales are non-fiction, and too many too recent.

Where Krakauer's book falls short - he really doesn't analyze the tale in any depth. These days there is a lot of anti-religious sentiment around. Krakauer asked Dan Lafferty if he could see the parallel between his violence and that of Islamic terrorists. But what, after all, is religion? For example, is Buddhism even a religion? Or, might we ask, can science, hmm, become an object of religious faith? Krakauer includes some nice epigraphs from William James, but he doesn't really engage with the matter. It's OK, it is an excellent book as it is. The book poses a crucial question for our time, but doesn't really attempt to answer it. That'd take a whole other sort of book. We may not be ready for that yet. It's like, Montaigne wrote decades after Luther. We're just entering the Savonarola era. Fasten your seat belts! Yeah, how about a book like this about the Bundy family? show less

Entwining the early years of Mormonism under the leadership of John Smith and, later, Brigham Young with a much more modern crime (that took place in 1984), Jon Krakauer examines violence and polygamy and how they shaped both modern Mormonism and its fundamentalist offshoots.

I'd had a couple of Mormon friends in high school, but to be honest, I never really knew much about Mormonism or how it was founded. I'd also never heard of the massacre that took place at Mountain Meadow, which is just sickening to read about here. I can see why this book is controversial; Krakauer isn't afraid to explore - and expose - the dark side of Mormon history.

I have read a few books about the FLDS, but mostly focusing on Warren Jeffs and his followers at show more Short Creek (Elissa Wall's memoir, as well as Sam Brower's book about his investigation into the cult). Krakauer's book, however, was written before the FLDS became a household discussion topic, and about a fundamentalism-fueled crime that I hadn't heard of before.

Interesting, thought-provoking, and above all else disturbing, this book was difficult to put down. show less

Audiobook narrated by Scott Brick

In the summer of 1984 a young mother and her 15-month-old daughter were brutally slain in their home. Everyone knew who did it. But the reason the murderers committed the acts, and the reasons why no one who knew of their plan in advance came forward to warn the victims, are what really set this violent crime apart.

Krakauer has done considerable research to try to make sense of the thinking behind Don and Ron Lafferty’s actions. At the root is their strong beliefs, nurtured by a fundamentalist sect of the Church of Latter Day Saints. Bear in mind that the mainstream LDS Church does NOT condone this type of behavior or extreme thinking, but the history of the LDS religion is rife with calls to violent show more action. Krakauer explores this history and relates it to the extreme fundamentalists who have broken off into various sects, many members of which are as intent on waging a holy war against America as are the jihadists of the Islamic faith.

It’s a fascinating, frightening and totally engrossing story. Krakauer excels at turning his years of research into a gripping narrative.

Scott Brick does a fine job performing the audio version of this book. He has a brisk pace, which maintains tension and keeps the narrative moving forward, even with the many footnotes. show less