Extreme religion --of any sort-- is scary!
Written: Feb 20 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good background of a growing religion
Cons: Pretty scary stuff to think that this is based on fact
The Bottom Line: Religion is a funny thing, highly political and usually quite biased; the Mormon faith is no exception. Fundamentalists will kill to practice their faith, whether Al Queda or Mormon...scary.
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| PollyEster's Full Review: Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Fai... |
Before you dive into this book ( say, you're debating reading or buying this book ) jump to the back of the thing and read the section just before the acknowledgments; it is here that you'll find that Krakauer actually grew up with many Mormons, and had planned an entirely different book of their history before the radical side of the religion made the news and shifted his viewpoint...and you'll also find that Krakauer is actually not tied to any mainstream religion. All of this makes for an evenhanded approach to the history of the Mormon faith, and what a strange one it is.
You may remember Jon Krakauer from his earlier book, Into Thin Air, an excellent account of parties lost while mountain climbing. His writing style is flowing and at times, lulls you into thinking you're reading a novel. And this book is no different...here, he rolls out a tale of violence done in the name of religion, in this case, the Mormon faith.
The book opens with the murders committed by the Lafferty brothers, two men who ( as of the book going to press ) still showed no remorse over killing an 18-month old baby and her mother by slicing their throats. Thankfully, Krakauer doesn't dwell on the murders but instead shows how the two men honestly felt --and feel-- that these killings had to happen in order to appease their prophets who had had a revelation from God. To these men, the two people that they killed were necessary to rid evil from this earth.
And so goes the religion, from the early days of Joseph Smith finding two gold tablets that disappear ( think Ten Commandments ), to a massacre of women and children who were "sinners" ( actually, just non-Mormon Pioneers trying to make their way west ). This is a religion that reads like the Wild West, with shootouts and jail breaks...and lots of killings ordained by holy revelations.
Interwoven with Mormon history, Krakauer bounces you back and forth, mentioning Elizabeth Smart, polygamist Tom Green and cities dominated by Mormon fundamentalists, all while giving you a brief history of the birth of Mormonism. But by the end of the book, you come to realize that it is less the Mormon faith than it is the extremism of any religion; after all, the main characters in this book are only practicing the original text of the faith. And as with many religions, Krakauer has you asking, what if the Catholic faith had arrived in the 1800s, a time when rapid communication was just beginning? As flexible and changing as the Mormon faith will seem, it emerges as little different from other faiths, bending and adapting to social norms in order to gain acceptance. The fact the some many practices are condoned on the side belies the fact that buried deep in its original covenants are the practices the church now admonishes ( think, The DaVinci Code ).
All in all, this is one interesting read...but probably only if this sort of subject intrigues you. If you enjoyed The DaVinci Code or The Gnostic Gospels, you'll find this equally fascinating. Krakauer's writing still shines and will keep you enthralled once you decide to start...
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
PollyEster
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Location: Salt Lake, UT
Reviews written: 235
Trusted by: 27 members
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