With the 2002 kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart, Warren Jeffs’ incarceration and Mitt Romney’s campaign for president, Mormonism
has become newsworthy. Jon Krakauer’s
non-fiction, “Under the Banner of Heaven” examines the birth and continuing story of this home-grown belief system. Juxtaposed are the story of Joseph Smith and the crime drama of Ron and Dan Lafferty. This positioning demonstrates the author’s desire to show how traditional Mormon belief could morph into
fundamentalist dogma. One technical flaw within the book is Krakauer’s uneven leaping between past and present, preventing smooth transitions between the contemporary crime and historical hallmarks. The author’s information came from interviews with inmate Dan Lafferty, other fundamentalists as well as research into Mormon texts.
Mormon founder Joseph Smith believed that God instituted the practice of polygamy, a notion codified as Section 132 within the Church’s “The Doctrine and Covenants.” Even in the 19th Century, the U.S. Government fought against Smith’s promotion of multiple marriages. Mainstream Mormons relinquished this practice over 100 years ago, a decision initiating chasms within the Church. Although adherents to mainstream Mormonism throughout their lives, the Laffertys became fundamentalists after setbacks led them to anti-Government sentiment. The men decided upon following Section 132. Increasing oppression placed on the Lafferty women by their fundamentalist husbands instigated a “rebellion” by Brenda, Ron and Dan’s sister-in-law. Supporting Ron’s wife, Dianna in her decision to leave him, Brenda became her brother-in-law’s enemy. After receiving “a directive from God,” the brothers plotted and carried out the savage murders of Brenda and her baby, Erica. Justification for the killings is attributed both to the Mormon belief that “God’s law” transcends secular governmental regulation and to the Laffertys’ “knowledge of God’s will.” The concept of “blood atonement” also may have figured as motivation. A person labeled as being a sinner may be killed by a Mormon, the perpetrator believing his crime eradicates the sin.
Krakauer delves beyond the details of the Lafferty case. He exposes general beliefs and practices of the Mormon fundamentalist fanatics, whom he labels, “American Taliban.” Their tenets promote the unions of barely pubescent girls and older men, some not only octogenarians, but blood relatives. One-man rule stands as another concept varying with mainstream principles. Fundamentalist groups follow the decrees expounded upon by a single “father figure,” eliminating a sense of responsibility for one’s actions. Religious belief and its ramifications will remain a powerful societal issue. Although published in 2003, the book’s significance continues as faith permeates public life and politics.