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Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith

Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith

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  • Create Date：2022-05-01 00:22:56
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Jon Krakauer
  • ISBN：1400032806
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Summary

Jon Krakauer’s literary reputation rests on insightful chronicles of lives conducted at the outer limits。 He now shifts his focus from extremes of physical adventure to extremes of religious belief within our own borders， taking readers inside isolated American communities where some 40，000 Mormon Fundamentalists still practice polygamy。 Defying both civil authorities and the Mormon establishment in Salt Lake City， the renegade leaders of these Taliban-like theocracies are zealots who answer only to God。

At the core of Krakauer’s book are brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty， who insist they received a commandment from God to kill a blameless woman and her baby girl。 Beginning with a meticulously researched account of this appalling double murder， Krakauer constructs a multi-layered， bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion， polygamy， savage violence， and unyielding faith。 Along the way he uncovers a shadowy offshoot of America’s fastest growing religion， and raises provocative questions about the nature of religious belief。

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Reviews

Jeri Jones ，

This book was somewhat slow to read， because it’s also so informational。 The topic of this book was disturbing， to see what the Mormon faith has produced， specifically the abuse found in polygamy & also all the death。 I can see why other reviewers say they question faith （in general） after reading this book， there’s many terrible acts done in the name of religion。 As some one who knew very little of Mormonism， I learned a lot。 I enjoyed how Krakauer showed the roots of Mormonism & where they lea This book was somewhat slow to read， because it’s also so informational。 The topic of this book was disturbing， to see what the Mormon faith has produced， specifically the abuse found in polygamy & also all the death。 I can see why other reviewers say they question faith （in general） after reading this book， there’s many terrible acts done in the name of religion。 As some one who knew very little of Mormonism， I learned a lot。 I enjoyed how Krakauer showed the roots of Mormonism & where they lead to today。 I would recommend this book。 It’s not so much true crime as I thought it would be， but more educational。 。。。more

Spencer Steele ，

Awesome！

Chrissi ，

I had a hard time getting through this book， I found it in the true crime section at a local bookstore so I think I was expecting something different。 It went way more into the history of Mormonism than I had anticipated and didn’t cover the actual crime as much。 I think if the summary of the book had been a bit different I might not have read it at all。 It is very well written but I felt like there were parts that felt almost unrelated to the book and with some of the more historical parts ther I had a hard time getting through this book， I found it in the true crime section at a local bookstore so I think I was expecting something different。 It went way more into the history of Mormonism than I had anticipated and didn’t cover the actual crime as much。 I think if the summary of the book had been a bit different I might not have read it at all。 It is very well written but I felt like there were parts that felt almost unrelated to the book and with some of the more historical parts there were some many people mentioned it was hard to keep track of who was who。I wouldn’t recommended this if you are looking for a trike crime read， but if you’re looking for something about religion or history then it would be worth a go。 。。。more

Kristy ，

So hard to read but I’m very glad I did。 Essential reading。

Haley ，

Really great deep dive into religious fanaticism。 Does not renegotiate people for their religious beliefs， but instead reflects on the social factors that allow flawed men to use religion as a conduit for their own manipulative principles。 Weirdly timely to read within the United States with the rise of QAnon and other conspiracy type belief systems。

Matthew ，

Holy smokes， what a book。 You are not prepared for this book。 Krakauer brings his journalistic eye on the stories of both the July 24， 1984 murders of Brenda and Erica Lafferty as well as the origins of Mormonism and Mormon fundamentalism。 This book is an intriguing and thorough exploration of what people can do for their faith。

Marty Clarke ，

What a slog。 This is a clear example of a popular author who had nobody around him to tell him "no。" Krakauer spends endless， ponderous pages going down rabbit holes with meandering back stories that do nothing to advance the narrative。 And， insult to injury， this book is NOT the story of a murder and solving the mystery。 Skip it。 I took the bait and I'm sorry I did。 What a slog。 This is a clear example of a popular author who had nobody around him to tell him "no。" Krakauer spends endless， ponderous pages going down rabbit holes with meandering back stories that do nothing to advance the narrative。 And， insult to injury， this book is NOT the story of a murder and solving the mystery。 Skip it。 I took the bait and I'm sorry I did。 。。。more

Sophia Lydon ，

This was a really educational and insane book， while I know it is the extreme cases for this religion it is still crazy to see how a modern religion was formed and changed over time and how different opinions changed it so much。 This book did drag a little at then end when it got into the talk of the case and what happened to the Lafferty brother but overall a great read。

Jen Redmond ，

Exhaustive research and reporting on a dark side of the LDS church — raises a lot of good questions about “fundamentalism/fanaticism” in general。

Ranette ，

I have loved all his books and this one is no different。

s t o e r m e r b i z z l e ，

Es un buen libro para quiénes están interesados en la religión o simplemente les gusta leer de ello。 No he podido disfrutarlo en absoluto， ha sido sin dudarlo mi peor lectura porque no me gusta leer sobre este tema y sinceramente， solo lo hice por la serie que van a sacar protagonizada por Andrew Garfield。En general mi calificación es poco objetiva， es en base a mi disfrute al leerlo。

Emily Johnston ，

A bit long， and a bit hard to follow as an audio book。 Gives a thorough history of the LDS church albeit a scathing review from beginning to end。 There’s fundamentalism in every religion， so I don’t feel much different about LDS than I do about others。 This book focuses a lot on the inherent abuses of polygamy and men who portray themselves as prophets。 Interesting， but wouldn’t recommend listening on audio。

Becky ，

I read this one years ago--apparently before I was on Goodreads--so I can just go by what I still remember now here。 1） This is， definitely， a compelling true crime story。 But。。。2） 。。。Krakauer， as per usual， veers away from his main story with numerous *other* story tangents way too often （sure！ Give us background of the Mormon religion。 But perhaps we don't need quite so much in-depth detail here？ It wasn't as bad as in Into the Wild， but it was close）。 And also。。。3） 。。。the origins of Mormo I read this one years ago--apparently before I was on Goodreads--so I can just go by what I still remember now here。 1） This is， definitely， a compelling true crime story。 But。。。2） 。。。Krakauer， as per usual， veers away from his main story with numerous *other* story tangents way too often （sure！ Give us background of the Mormon religion。 But perhaps we don't need quite so much in-depth detail here？ It wasn't as bad as in Into the Wild， but it was close）。 And also。。。3） 。。。the origins of Mormonism？ Just whoa。 I guess all religions' origins sound pretty out there when you really look into them， but maybe we're just too close to this one timewise for it to really seem realistic？ Add in the "fundamental" portion and just。。。wow。So。 I guess I would have liked this one better if it focused more on the crime itself， giving us the religious background information in the background instead of frequently treating it as the main focus。 I like Krakauer; his writing is interesting， but I just wish he could pick a story and stick with it all the way through。 Yes， it kept me turning the pages， but some of those pages were turning more so I could finally get back to the main story， not because what was actually written on them was particularly compelling。Rating: 3 stars / C+Print book borrowed from the library。 。。。more

Josh Peterson ，

This book really surprised me。 Went in expecting a story about a double murder， and instead got an incredible deep dive into the history of the Mormon church。 And when the book would return to the lead up and aftermath of the murder， I wanted more on how Mormonism was founded in the first place。 Happy I finally got around to reading this。 I’ll be thinking about it for a while。 8/10

Darlene May ，

Insight into the Mormon Faith

Stephanie ，

Another in a long line of books on Mormonism that I have read of late。 Lots of interesting background information that the author attempted to try to tie to horrible murders。 It just ended up feeling disjointed， he should have picked between the two topics and run with it。 And he basically disdains all religions and that attitude is seen throughout the book， but interestingly enough， at the end， he admits that he sometimes prays。 Keep searching！！ The Truth is available， Mr。 Krakauer！ Don’t let p Another in a long line of books on Mormonism that I have read of late。 Lots of interesting background information that the author attempted to try to tie to horrible murders。 It just ended up feeling disjointed， he should have picked between the two topics and run with it。 And he basically disdains all religions and that attitude is seen throughout the book， but interestingly enough， at the end， he admits that he sometimes prays。 Keep searching！！ The Truth is available， Mr。 Krakauer！ Don’t let people getting the Truth of God wrong deter you！ 。。。more

Kiely ，

The Lafferty murders were chilling， especially the way they casually described how and why they killed a woman and her child。 I had to skip parts。 The book was pretty detailed and long winded regarding the history of Mormons and their beliefs - I couldn’t keep Uncle Roy or whatever and Joseph Smith and Brigam Young straight and got bored when the author went way back to names like Nephi。 The stories of Mormon fundamentalists and polygamy freaked me da f out， especially Elizabeth Smart and other The Lafferty murders were chilling， especially the way they casually described how and why they killed a woman and her child。 I had to skip parts。 The book was pretty detailed and long winded regarding the history of Mormons and their beliefs - I couldn’t keep Uncle Roy or whatever and Joseph Smith and Brigam Young straight and got bored when the author went way back to names like Nephi。 The stories of Mormon fundamentalists and polygamy freaked me da f out， especially Elizabeth Smart and other stories of young girls forced or expected to marry。 。。。more

Peg ，

I wanted to read this book for years and I saw a series based on the book is going to be on one of the streaming channels soon and we know the book is almost consistently better， which motivated me to read it。 I have been to Salt Lake City several times but the last time I went to the LSD complex and all I could think was these people are high and I am an agnostic， as is the author， so I do not for one minute believe they were high on god。 The banner starts at the beginning of their religion whi I wanted to read this book for years and I saw a series based on the book is going to be on one of the streaming channels soon and we know the book is almost consistently better， which motivated me to read it。 I have been to Salt Lake City several times but the last time I went to the LSD complex and all I could think was these people are high and I am an agnostic， as is the author， so I do not for one minute believe they were high on god。 The banner starts at the beginning of their religion which was full of abuse to women， to children， brutality and killing as are most religions and most countries， including the USA。 I never was able to attempt to watch Sister Wives。 I worry as at least half the country is leaning to the far right。 I worry about going back to the “good old days” which was only good for white men。 Let us look to the future which apparently is robotic and go forward。 。。。more

Alex Shrove ，

An incredibly interesting and deep look at the Mormon faith， from inception to modern times， and how the core tenants of the faith — including obedience to a patriarchal society — have lead to ultra conservative， fundamentalist sects of the religion who use the concept of polygamy to marry and rape very young teenage girls， many of whom are already familiarly related to their abuser husbands。 It’s also these ideals behind the fundamentalist sects that lead to the ritualistic killing of a young w An incredibly interesting and deep look at the Mormon faith， from inception to modern times， and how the core tenants of the faith — including obedience to a patriarchal society — have lead to ultra conservative， fundamentalist sects of the religion who use the concept of polygamy to marry and rape very young teenage girls， many of whom are already familiarly related to their abuser husbands。 It’s also these ideals behind the fundamentalist sects that lead to the ritualistic killing of a young woman and her infant daughter。 Krakauer gets a bit heady by reciting the various misdeeds of these “families” one after the other， but this is an incredibly well researched book。 Definitely a must read for anyone trying to understand how the modern （and completely ludicrous） religion has taken such a stranglehold on white families of the American west。 。。。more

Lauren ，

An incredible feat of research and writing despite the atrocities that inspired it。 I could gush about Krakauer all day。 An eye-opening look at the history of the LDS， the formation of the FLDS， and religion in general。

Kristen Stewart ，

This is an interesting history that makes me want to learn more。 I will be doing more Mormon history reading for sure。

Ashley Lane ，

Honestly did not finish this book。 Started great with the history， how the fundamentalist started and some good background information leading up to the murders。 It’s confusing， jumped around too much， no chronological order to follow the story。 Really wish it went through the background， the murders， changes since then and evolution through time periods。 This was to scatterbrained to consistently follow what was happening or what the point of the chapters were

Rachel ，

I absolutely ate this book up。 Undoubtedly， my perception of the book is greatly influenced by my own background and connection to the Mormon faith。 （Yes， I know the church has dictated an abandonment of the term "Mormon" but it's just so much more convenient to say and has a lot of historical weight）。 I come from deep Mormon roots。 Some of my ancestors were with Joseph Smith in Illinois when he was killed， and likely were with him earlier than that。 One 6th or so great-grandfather is described I absolutely ate this book up。 Undoubtedly， my perception of the book is greatly influenced by my own background and connection to the Mormon faith。 （Yes， I know the church has dictated an abandonment of the term "Mormon" but it's just so much more convenient to say and has a lot of historical weight）。 I come from deep Mormon roots。 Some of my ancestors were with Joseph Smith in Illinois when he was killed， and likely were with him earlier than that。 One 6th or so great-grandfather is described as having been a "clerk" to Joseph Smith。 These ancestors made the famous pioneer trek to Utah after Smith's murder。 Other ancestors were among some of the earliest European converts， from the United Kingdom and from Iceland， who sailed to America before making their way on foot and by wagon to Utah。 However， the chain of my religious inheritance stopped at my grandmother， who left the church， according to my best guess， in the 1940s。 She later converted to Catholicism， and raised my mother and uncle somewhat non-denominationally。 My mother then became Catholic herself in adulthood， when I was already 4-years-old， and had me baptized around the same time。 That said， both of my parents were mostly non-religious in actual practice。 I was sent by my mother to Catholic schools in Utah from 7th to 12th grade--but even then we were pretty casual Catholics at best。 Now， I am completely non-religious and unaffiliated。 So I have the perspective of both being tightly connected but also utterly removed from the Mormon faith。 A third-party observer while also a daughter of Mormon pioneers。 As with all Utahns， I experienced and still experience Mormonism as an ever present force， all around me。 I am both of Mormonism and apart from Mormonism。So this book fascinated me。 I expected it to be mostly about the Lafferty murders and how those particular people got tied up in Mormon fundamentalism。 I did not expect the book to be a somewhat complete history of the Mormon faith （don't come at me on that comment--I know it’s not complete， complete--I just meant that much of the book is spent detailing the history of the church from Palmyra to Mountain Meadows， which is quite a lot。 It's not just about the murders）。 I didn't realize how much I would crave knowing how the church got started。 While reading， I thought of specific ancestors of mine who I knew were there for all of this， and I imagined what they went through and what they might have been thinking。 I had a whole bunch more written in this paragraph but opted to save those thoughts for myself。 Suffice it to say I am fascinated by the fact I've seen many ex-Mormons have an adverse reaction to this book， but I won't go into depth on why I think that is。 The book's history-telling deeply satisfied me。 I'm already a non-believer， so it didn't hurt my feelings or cause any cognitive dissonance for me to read。 To the extent minor points were inaccurate here or there， I tried to take it all with a grain of salt。 But I'm now interested in reading some of the other excellent sources cited throughout the book。 Particularly， No Man Knows My History， but Fawn Brodie。 Oh， before I end， I wanted to make a comment I know many won't agree with， but I felt that Krakauer was actually incredibly fair in his depiction of the early history of the Church。 It's little things。 He called the members "Saints" （as in Latter-day Saints） throughout the entire book。 Non-ironically， not tongue-in-cheek。 But out of the honest understanding that this is what they would probably like to be called。 His depiction of Joseph Smith's miracles were told as if they were fact。 If you believe it， you believe it， if you don't you can see that his writing is just meant to tell you what Mormon's believe。 He never said things like "allegedly" or "unbelievably" or things like that--he never passed judgment even once on the church being stupid or ridiculous or unbelievable。 He would just simply state things like "Then Joseph Smith found the golden plates。" （not an actual quote--just a style example）。 He also explained where accounts differed。 He said clearly that the record is very uncertain on whether Brigham Young ordered the Mountain Meadows Massacre， and he showed all the evidence there is， which is simply not clear。 He didn't jump to condemn。 He didn't vilify the entire faith due to the actions of few。 He made clear that there is a difference between mainstream and fundamentalist Mormonism。 He praised Mormon figures where they deserved it--Smith for his charisma and Young for his leadership and organization。 I just didn't see this book as being "anti-Mormon。" I think that those who see it that way are projecting their insecurities a bit。 I think Krakauer very much leads the reader to form her own conclusions。 Last comment is that I'm super interested to hear how the facts described in this book differ from what mainstream， hardcore Mormons were taught growing up。 Like I was fascinated when I learned that many Mormons of my age were never taught that Joseph Smith practiced polygamy himself， or that his brides were as young as 14， or that Emma Smith was very upset by it all。 Things like that--I'm curious to hear how those who were raised Mormon had their understandings challenged or surprised。 Not necessarily because they were lied to， but because certain points were the focus of instruction while others were not。 Anyway， I'm totally rambling here now。 As an audience member with a very particular perspective， I loved the book。 Not everyone will like it。EDIT: I'm editing to add this comment a day later and I can't believe I forgot that I wanted to talk about this。 But essentially what blows me away and frustrates me so much is the damn audacity and entitlement that comes with magical thinking。 And it's almost always coming from men。 （I mean， compare how many female cult leaders or self-titled messiahs arise in this world as compared to male versions）。 It's the misogyny and patriarchy that does it in for me and makes me want to throw up more than almost anything else about religion。 Numerous men described in this book thought they were the "one， mighty and strong" foretold by Joseph Smith。 The ridiculousness in the fact that not all of them could be "the one" just goes to show how ridiculous the whole concept is to begin with。 While Dan Lafferty was out there perfecting his theological world view， he's literally got wives and kids all over the place， and being present for them doesn't seem to matter much。 He flits in and out of their lives as he sees fit。 Meanwhile， he's busy discussing theology， hitchhiking the country， smoking week to open his mind， and。。。oh yeah。。。murdering people。 The audacity。 The AUDACITY。 Religion bred this sort of male entitlement to just pursue his every whim， real life obligations be damned。 Also， when every little idea that flits through your brain is allowed to be interpreted as revelation？ Give me a break。 The audacity， I tell ya。 If every thought， whim， notion， or sudden and intense emotion that you experience can be seen as revelation， I mean this is where we've got problems， folks。 The concept of revelation is deeply， deeply disturbing to me。 As Thomas Paine once explained in The Age of Reason: 。 。 。 admitting， for the sake of a case， that something has been revealed to a certain person， and not revealed to any other person， it is revelation to that person only。 When he tells it to a second person， a second to a third， a third to a fourth， and so on， it ceases to be a revelation to all those persons。 It is revelation to the first person only， and hearsay to every other， and consequently they are not obliged to believe it。It is a contradiction in terms and ideas， to call anything a revelation that comes to us at second-hand， either verbally or in writing。 Revelation is necessarily limited to the first communication — after this， it is only an account of something which that person says was a revelation made to him; and though he may find himself obliged to believe it， it cannot be incumbent on me to believe it in the same manner; for it was not a revelation made to me， and I have only his word for it that it was made to him。 And taking this to its logical conclusion， I'd be very dubious in believing any claims of revelation whatsoever， understanding the human nature and entire human history-full of examples of dubious and contradictory revelation being used to shape society。 。。。more

Tiffany ，

Me the entire time I was reading this: via GIPHY Me the entire time I was reading this: via GIPHY 。。。more

Leslie ，

DNF。 And I am rating it。 Because I read enough！ Usually I would give one star to books I DNF if I rate them。 But I’m giving two because it’s not like the writing itself was bad as far as grammar， etc。 I’ve tried twice with this book and I just…give up。 I’m putting it in the thrift store pile。 May it find a happier next owner。 I really liked the two other books I read by this author。 （Into the Wild and Missoula。） So when I couldn’t get into this one the first time I tried reading it years ago， DNF。 And I am rating it。 Because I read enough！ Usually I would give one star to books I DNF if I rate them。 But I’m giving two because it’s not like the writing itself was bad as far as grammar， etc。 I’ve tried twice with this book and I just…give up。 I’m putting it in the thrift store pile。 May it find a happier next owner。 I really liked the two other books I read by this author。 （Into the Wild and Missoula。） So when I couldn’t get into this one the first time I tried reading it years ago， I chalked it up to my mood at the time。 But with this second attempt going the same way， I know it’s not my mood。 It’s the book。 First off this book is so dry。 The only solace I found in that was that it helped me fall asleep。 But I started avoiding reading it， so that didn’t help too many times。 Secondly， this book didn’t know what it wanted to be。 I thought I was getting a true crime novel。 But barely any time was spent on that。 Instead， there were chapters and chapters of backstory on the whole history of Mormonism。 How it started and how the Fundamentalists Mormons splintered away from the church。 I get that we needed to know some of that。 But it was just so much。 And it would go back and forth between the early Mormons and then the Fundamentalists and then the time of the crime。 There were lengthy sections on different gross old guys and their wives。 That didn’t seem to serve a purpose except to say that polygamy is a shit show。 Noted。 Then it would end。 And it would go to the time leading up to the crime for a brief moment。 Then suddenly we would be back at original prophet Joseph Smith time。 Cool…you again eh？I found it to be a big mess that was hard to keep track of and so boring that at this point I no longer wish to keep track of。 I’m just going to watch the Hulu show with Spiderman。 （Andrew Garfield 🤣） 。。。more

Leslie Parrish ，

I was pleasantly surprised by how much Mormon history this book included， and it definitely felt like an important background to understanding the crime you’re told about right at the beginning。 If you are interested in how religions came to be what they are and how the extremist versions of them branch off， you’ll like this book。

Lisa ，

I thought this would focus mostly on the murders， but it had a very in depth history of the founding of Mormonism。 It got a little side tracked at the end with other radical fundamentalists。

Rachel Reid ，

HOLY COW-can't believe this is a real story。 The book is about the 1984 murder of a woman and her little baby， but it's really just the backdrop for a history of the Mormon church。 I'm sure people have all kinds of feelings as to whether the modern-day Mormon church supports polygamy， but there is no doubt that their founder was an enthusiastic supporter。 I really knew virtually nothing about the Mormon faith， but this was a very comprehensive history that shocked me quite a bit。 HOLY COW-can't believe this is a real story。 The book is about the 1984 murder of a woman and her little baby， but it's really just the backdrop for a history of the Mormon church。 I'm sure people have all kinds of feelings as to whether the modern-day Mormon church supports polygamy， but there is no doubt that their founder was an enthusiastic supporter。 I really knew virtually nothing about the Mormon faith， but this was a very comprehensive history that shocked me quite a bit。 。。。more

Danielle ，

Under the Banner of Heaven tells the story of the murders of Brenda and Erica Lafferty by Brenda's brothers-in-law， but it frames it around the history of the Mormon faith and how that played into their delusions that lead to the murders。This book was super interesting。 I am a lover of true crime and religion， so this was right up my alley。 I will say that this feels more like a history book on all of the horrible things that the Mormons have done than it does a true crime story。 I feel like the Under the Banner of Heaven tells the story of the murders of Brenda and Erica Lafferty by Brenda's brothers-in-law， but it frames it around the history of the Mormon faith and how that played into their delusions that lead to the murders。This book was super interesting。 I am a lover of true crime and religion， so this was right up my alley。 I will say that this feels more like a history book on all of the horrible things that the Mormons have done than it does a true crime story。 I feel like the true crime part of the book is just in the background a sprinkled throughout。 Where this book really shinned was the history of Mormonism。 I had a basic understanding， but I did not understand exactly how the tablets were found and the rest of the history was enlightening。 I will say that this book does not put the history of Mormonism in a good light and I am fully aware that I can read a book about Christianity that would not put it into a good light either。 I also know that there are some fringed "Christian" groups that are currently doing horrible things just like the Mormon Fundamentalists。The murder of the mother and daughter was horrifying。 We get the story from one of the men that murdered her。 It is heartbreaking and inexcusable， but I am not sure it was really necessary to tell the story that is being told。PopSugar Reading Challenge 2022- Book Being Made into a Movie or TV Show in 2022 。。。more

Cindy ，

A horrifying， fascinating， and occasionally dry and overly detailed account of the Mormon faith including a look into some fundamentalist spin-offs， particularly those responsible for the continued practice of polygamy， sanctioned rapes and incest， and a case of brothers killing one of their nieces and sisters-in-law because they received instructions from God。 Well researched and yet more of a 3。5 rounded up。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0