12. Under the Banner of Heaven

12. Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer (5/19/2011 - 5/23/2011)

I have read most of Krakauer's other books, including Into Thin Air and Into the Wild, and so have been anxious to read this one. Under the Banner of Heaven details the events leading to and surrounding the murder of a 24-year-old mother and her infant daughter by her two brothers-in-law -- who have consistently claimed that they were instructed to "remove" this woman by the voice/guidance of God.

Ultimately, this is a book about Mormonism, and not the mainstream Mormonism that now permeates American society (I know I've seen many commercials aiming at showing how normal Mormons are, and that's fine but that's not what this book is talking about).  This book discusses hardcore fundamentalist Mormonism, which includes a variety of sects that are scattered throughout the American West and Western Canada.  These groups, which are surprisingly large, some over 40,000 people, practice a religion that I can only really describe as horrific.  From the stories, women are treated essentially like slaves, unable to protest or even utter a word really about their treatment by their husbands -- treatment that includes physical, verbal, and emotional abuse, rape, pedophilia (many women are married off before they are 15), and of course the foundation of fundamentalist Mormonism: polygamy. 

Don't get me wrong -- I am entirely for religious freedom.  The problem that I see with this religion is its blatant denial of the Constitution of the United States as a governing document.  What seems to happen, from the carefully collected and documented research in Krakauer's book, is that these sects deny that the US government has any authority over them, that their only authority is the voice of God -- until someone tries to point out that their religion is perpetuating a belief -- polygamy -- that ends up creating a community that thrives on what is essentially statutory rape (which is defined as "an adult and a minor below the age of consent," from http://definitions.uslegal.com/s/statutory-rape/ ).  When this happens, these people instantly cry "Religious persecution! Unconstitutional!"  There's a double standard built into their belief system in this area, but that does not seem to matter to them -- and unfortunately, it creates a problem for any politician that would consider taking them on.  No matter how much good it would ultimately do, no politician yet seems to want to tarnish his or her reputation by being accused of being unconstitutional to a religious group (no matter how specific or accurate or proven the evidence of patterns of statutory rape). 

Obviously, this book brings up some hot issues for me -- I don't at all understand the mindset of anyone who believes that having sex with a 14-year-old is sanctioned by God, let alone that murdering an innocent woman and her child was commanded to these two men.  But since I've gotten all that out there, I'll try to give some straightforward information about the book itself. 

The story overall is very interesting to read, especially if you are at all interested in American history or at all fascinated by how religious fervor seems to outweigh all reason.  Krakauer intersperses the overarching plot with a thorough history of Mormonism -- starting with its very beginning under Joseph Smith and detailing the religion's split into what we now recognize as the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints and their lesser-known but far scarier breakaway fundamentalist sects.  The story itself is very interesting, but some of the history can get boring -- there's a section close to the end of the book where I was actually tempted to put it down.  Krakauer had detailed the actual murders and then suddenly leapt backward about 80 years into the past and given a summary of most history, which in my opinion was his biggest blunder in the pacing of the book.  In addition, I recognized early on that Krakauer is not an unbiased observer or reporter of this story -- even though I hadn't expected him to be, I was surprised by his obvious contempt for his subject matter's beliefs and to me that seems a touch flawed for a writer of his skill and reputation. 

But overall, I'd recommend the book.  It's an eye-opening look into a scary part of American history, and definitely an important read for anyone considering a conversion to even the mainstream part of this faith.  In a way, I almost feel bad for those mainstream Mormons -- they themselves seem harmless, and Krakauer does a good job of making sure to separate those Mormons who exist peacefully and away from the fundamentalists.  But nonetheless, by nature of their religion's history and its title, those mainstream Mormons are trapped with the reputation, stereotypes, and ultimately prejudices that this country carries against the beliefs that I now understand are (mainly) limited to the fundamentalists.  The Mormons can have all the commercials they want, but I don't think it's going to change the history and unfortunate actions of the few that harm the good of the many people that espouse this religion. 

It's a good book -- I'd recommend it to anyone even remotely interested.  Read it -- it'll open your eyes about what religion really means in America.