Mormon Report

Jon Krakauer’s Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith is a immensely disturbing book which explores the intersection between the history of Mormonism and Mormon fanaticism, specifically the idea of “celestial marriage,” or polygamy. Published in 2001, the book has only gained relevance in the United States as we’ve seen prominent Mormon polygamists, such as Warren Jeffs, a “prophet” featured in the book, face publicized arrests.

The book follows two trajectories in Mormon history, the first which influenced the latter. The first speaks toward the suprirsingly violent history of the Mormon religion, specifically focusing on the United States’ mistreatment of the Mormons and the Mormon retaliation. Interwoven with the hostile relationship between the American mainstream and Mormons was the question of the polygamy. Essentially, Kraukauer postulates that Joseph Smith, the founder and original prophet of the religion, wanted to ease his guilt from his want of adulterous relationships by sanctifying those relationships in his church.

The other part of the work follows the Lafferty brothers and other Mormon fundamentalists who performed morally reproachable acts in the name of the lord. The Lafferty brothers fell further and further into what courts would later call religiously-induced instability. The older brother, Ron, believed he was God’s one true prophet to try and turn mainstream Mormonism around by re-introducing polygamy into the religion. Because of his radical views, Ron’s wife was encouraged to leave him, and he was excommunicated from the mainstream church.

As a result, Ron convinced his brother Dan that they were supposed to kill Brenda Lafferty, their younger brother’s wife, who had encouraged Ron’s family to leave him. God had told him, Ron, that Brenda and her little baby, Erica, were supposed to leave this earth. God also prophesized that Ron and Dan should also kill two other mainstream Mormons who encouraged Ron’s wife to leave him, but only managed to perform the murders of Brenda and her baby.

Krakauer also creates quite an extensive patchwork of Mormon fundamentalism which stretches across the western United States and into parts of Canada and Mexico. He tells many horrific stories of young girls forced to marry their fathers or stepfathers, girls abused by their families and forced to marry men they don’t even like. It’s a valuable account of the atrocities that seem to take place right under our noses by men who believe they are sanctioned by God to do anything they want.

Have you read Under the Banner of Heaven?