I just finished reading a book called "Under The Banner of Heaven" by Jon Krakauer. The subtitle is "A Story of Violent Faith." It's about the Mormon religion…from its inception in the mid-1800's, by Joseph Smith, up to the present day. The book deals with Mormon Fundamentalism, which I didn't know much about. I did know about the "polygs" that live in southern Utah and Northern Arizona…how they sell their barely-teenage daughters into multiple marriages, and how young 13 or 14 year-old girls are raped and beaten by middle-aged men with dozens of wives. It's a horrible story, but the book tells about even worse things. Mormon fundamentalists are splintered into numerous small sects, each with their own "prophet" who talks to God. In fact, the whole Mormon religion is based on "revelations" from God. The founder Joseph Smith had 135 of them that are collected in one of the Mormon holy books called "The Doctrine and the Covenants.". When he was in his forties, not long before he was murdered, he had a hankering for some young stuff, so God told him that polygamous marriages were not just permissible, they were essential if you wanted to get into heaven. Joe's wife didn't agree, but he managed to have a few virgins before he was blown away.
The government came down hard on the Mormons later and made them renounce polygamy, but a few fanatics disagreed and split off from the main church, which retaliated by excommunicating them. They were the founders of the fundamentalist sects, each of which believes that they are the "One True Mormon Church."
The book focuses on the members of one sect that were trying to do "the Work" of converting the church back to Smith's ideas…practicing polygamy, etc. The Lafferty family included two brothers who were very much involved in this. Ron and Dan were fanatics, but their brother Allen and his wife Brenda were not, and Brenda was openly defiant of the whole business. Ron had a "revelation" that Brenda and her 18-month-old daughter needed to be "removed". God told him to do this. He shared his revelation with his brother Dan, and after much praying, they went to her house, beat her until she was almost dead and slit her throat and her daughter's.
Eventually, they were apprehended, tried and convicted and sentenced to death. But as their lawyers were going through the endless appeals, a higher court overturned Ron's conviction, saying that he was clearly insane (although he had not allowed his lawyers to plead insanity or even temporary insanity at the trial.) So, they had to re-examine him and re-do the whole trial. And this is the interesting part: One of the psychiatrists for the prosecution said that Ron exhibited all the characteristics of a sane individual, except that he claimed that God had directed him to do the killings, which he admitted. Now, if his belief that God had commanded his actions was grounds for declaring him insane, then everyone who claims to believe in God, who prays to God, and who follows God's teachings, whether from the Bible or the Book of Mormon or even the Koran, is also insane!
The psychiatrist went on to give the following commentary:
"A false belief isn't necessarily a basis of mental illness." He went on to say that most of mankind subscribes to "ideas that are not particularly rational…for example, many of us believe in something referred to as trans-substantiation. That is when the priest performs the Mass, that the bread and wine become the actual blood and body of Christ. From a scientific viewpoint, that is a very strange, irrational, absurd idea. But we accept that on the basis of faith, those of us who believe that. And because it has become so familiar and common to us, that we don't even notice…that it has an irrational quality to it. Or the idea of the virgin birth, which from a medical standpoint is highly irrational, but it is an article of faith from a religious standpoint."
Another psychiatrist, who is a practicing Mormon, said that if one were to compare Ron's revelations and belief in spirits to material from the LDS doctrine, "You'd find that his statements were not as extreme as some people might think."
A writer for the Salt Lake City Tribune wrote, "Saying that anyone who talks to God is crazy has enormous implications for the whole world of religion. It imposes a secular view of sanity and means that all religions are insane."
I thought about this for awhile. Is faith-based belief really a form of insanity? It certainly is "irrational." Belief in God and the ancient texts that supposedly originated with him have no basis in fact or observed phenomena. When you view the actions of the Muslim fanatics, the suicide bombers, it seems like insane behavior to me. Likewise, when you consider the brutal slaying of a woman and her child in response to a "revelation" from God, that seems like equally insane behavior. On the other hand, devout Christians…or Muslims…would view my denial of the existence of God as insane. Sanity, like beauty, seems to be in the eye of the beholder.
Both of the brothers still maintain their innocence to this day, while admitting that they killed the two people. The author interviewed both of them in prison, and they talked about the killing in great detail. They considered the court proceedings totally invalid. Their view is that God's law trumps Man's law. The book is a chilling account of how seemingly normal people who happen to be extremely devout can commit atrocious crimes without the slightest remorse.
Nevertheless, the conclusion of the court was that Ron is sane. He was re-tried and convicted and sentenced once more to the death chamber. He is a really nice guy. In his final statement before the court he said the following:
"Go ahead and do what you gotta do, you little political punk, because that's all you are is a fucking punk, Stevie Wonder. (The Judge's name is Steven Hansen) Ron continued in this vein for several minutes, calling the judge, among other things, a "fucking idiot who comes to work in a dress."
Some thought that he did this to try to get the court to declare him insane so he could avoid the death penalty. His brother Dan, though, is serenely confident that he will eventually be released when Jesus returns, which is going to happen any day now. He thinks he is Elijah, God's messenger who will announce Jesus' return. They both think that the events of 9/11 are a sign that the end is near. They may be right, but I doubt if God will save anybody. We'll all die of radiation poisoning, Mormons, Christians, Muslims and everybody else.
Another section of the book deals with the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Mormons murdered a whole wagon train full of settlers from Alabama and stole all their horses, cattle and other belongings. When they stood over the mass grave, they thanked God for helping them to eliminate the "people of the devil." They believed that either you were a "good" person who believed as they do or you were a member of Satan's clan. You're either with us or you're against us…where have I heard THAT recently? The Mormon church, to this day, denies that any Mormons were involved in the massacre, but eyewitness accounts and other historical records contradict them.
I was stunned by this book. I've never had much use for Mormons. I have always felt that their religious practices isolated them from the rest of society. They try to minimize interaction between themselves and "others." It's not quite as virulent today as it was in the 19th century, except for the Mormon Fundamentalists who still think the same way, but it's still there in their culture. They don't push themselves politically…yet…but where they are in the majority, woe be unto a non-Mormon! But, I digress…this book showed me the REAL Mormon religion, and how violent it was in the beginning. Even though the mainstream church is now pretty much integrated into our society, I think that old fundamentalism isn't far beneath the surface. Like the Christian fundamentalists, they know what is right for the human race, and their stated goal is to impose their religion on every inhabitant of the earth. We had better be very careful to make sure that these lunatics never get any real power.
There is a lot more I could say about the Mormon religion. In some ways, it reminds me of Islam, with its emphasis on central authority and absolute obedience to that authority. Mormon kids are taught from birth that whatever the Prophet (current head of the church) says is absolute law, and failure to obey will send them straight to Hell. By the way, the Prophet is the only person in the Church who can get revelations from God. How is he chosen? When the current Prophet dies, the oldest member of the Council of Twelve Apostles is automatically elevated to Prophet. I guess they figure God chooses the one by letting him live longer than the others.
A final thought: Mormonism is the fastest growing religion in the world, partly because it is still relatively small…12 million currently. Another reason for the growth is that the Mormons have a very aggressive missionary program, with about 60,000 missionaries in the field. That is quite a sales force. No wonder it's growing!
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Comments: 63
Freedom of Religion, eh?
What you have written is pretty much true. The first split in the church, however, occurred after the death of Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith, Jr., and his followers stayed behind in Missouri, to form the Reformed Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The two churches don't get a long at all, and have had some nasty confrontations over the years by both sects claiming the same historical religious sites.
In many ways the Mormon Church is a smaller version of the Catholic Church, especially in terms of the sect mentality both display, and in terms of their financial power. They also have a great degree of political clout, ever since the 1950's, when one of the Church elders was a member of Eisenhower's cabinet. The Udall family of Arizona are also Mormon, but at least they were Democrats with liberal leanings.
Perhaps some day, humans will have evolved to the point where, if they still retain a belief in some kind of higher power, it will be one that is not made in the image of man.
Thanks for writing on this. My "History of the Mormon Church: Part 4 - Brigham Young - More Polygamy - Blood Atonement - and the Government's War on Utah" will be published Sunday/Monday.
The book that I read had a lot of the story of those communities. I think it is terrible that the state governments of Arizona and Utah are allowing the crimes out there to continue.
Stash,
I fear these people, just like I fear the Christian fundamentalists. They are all fanatics who are willing to lie, cheat, steal, even murder to advance their cause. I too hope that someday we can outgrow our primitive need for religion.
Kathryn,
It was your history pieces that prompted me to write this, so I must thank you. I look forward to reading Part 4.
Bert, a comment about Mountain Meadows. You are right in that the official word of the Mormon Church is that no Mormons were involved, but my ancestors were in the area at that time, and people who lived it know that Mormons were involved. My uncle, A.......Leigh, (pronounced LAY) has done a lot of research on our ancestors of that time to make sure that no one in our family was involved. The Leighs did change the pronunciation of the name from Leigh (Lee) to Leigh (Lay) to avoid confusion with the perpetrator, John D. Lee.
I wrote an artice on Mountain Meadows. "The Massacre at Mountain Meadows."
Gary, I'm writing a story also based on research in Krakauer's book on Colorado City and Canada. My extended family of Esplins is in Southern Utah and has known of this, just as you do, for years and years.
I have no doubt that religion is some form of insanity... If we weren't talking about religion, someone who does something in the name of "faith", particularly an unseen entity, and is completely sure that they are right and everyone else is wrong, could be considered mentally ill.
But, of course I'M right. The rest of you pagans are misguided. God told me so...
The Mormons are not unique in their disrespect for "mortal law" as you put it. A recent example is the head of the school board in Dover, PA who lied on the witness stand, saying that he did not fund the placement of religious texts in the local school. Bank records showed a cancelled check on his account that payed for the books. The judge admonished him for his iles in court. I don't understand why he hasn't been charged with perjury. As I said before, these people are so sure that they are "doing God's will" that they are willing to lie, cheat, steal, and in the case of the Lafferty brothers, commit murder...all in God's name.
I remember that name now, Kathryn. I didn't put it together with your name when I read it. Very interesting! You have a real interest in this whole thing!
Beware indeed!
Brian and Nancy,
There have been a number of articles on the political and legal contest that took place in Dover, PA. The school board was dominated by evangelical Christians who decided that "intelligent design" should be taught in high school biology classes. You can read the details elsewhere. Suffice it to say that the judge, a Bush appointee, correctly identified their efforts as an attempt to introduce religion into the school curriculum. He was very explicit in condemning the actions of the school board. Prior to the trial, the citizens of Dover kicked the evangelicals off the school board. It was heartening for those of us who oppose such religious subversion.
But it was one small battle in an ongoing war. These people never give up. They are convinced that they are God's messengers or whatever.
gibbs williams, Mar 11, 2006 | delete
Often, as you say, it is the alert actions of a brave person...or pure chance. But the almighty gets the credit whether he deserves it or not.
Thanks for your kind comments.
LOL! I have been doing that for a long time. For both Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons. Those seem to be the only sects that do door-to-door sales in our neighborhood. I treat them as I do all door-to-door salesmen. I tell them I never buy anything from somebody who peddles stuff at my front door. And if that doesn't suffice to get rid of them, I either shut the door in their face or, if I'm feeling particularly cranky to GET THE HELL OFF MY PROPERTY!!!
What i have found is that people who quote the Bible are very selective, and I suspect that Mormons treat the Book of Mormon the same way. Certainly, they must treat their other important book, "Doctines and Covenants" with care. It is a collection of Joseph Smith's revelations, including one that advocates polygamy.
Indeed, Mormon church leaders have openly advocated a "selective" history of the Mormon church. In a 1981 speech Apostle Boyd Packer who is second in line to become the leader (Prophet) of the church said the following:
From this I would infer that the Mormon church views proselytization as more important than truth...or at least the whole truth. Herr Goebbels, the master propagandist, could not have said it better.
Mormons used to come to our house in SLC because we were still on the books, even though my parents were "Jack" Mormons. One of the best things you can say is "I am Catholic." Catholics don't convert. They are entrenched in their own faith.
We know a lady who married a "Jack" Mormon. They were after him constantly, wouldn't leave him alone. He finally went back to the church, and since she didn't approve, the marriage broke up.
I do not offer this book as "proof" of anything other than that science does not rule out spirituality and spirituality, including belief in a God is not synonymous with fundamentalism or murder in the name of God. I do not believe faith is our enemy. But there are people who do bad things in the name of their faith which we should not tolerate. The evil comes from the horrible deeds such people do, not from a belief in God. Chris
My apologies. I should have referenced your fine articles in my comment to Candida. This article is a description of one small facet of Mormonism. Your articles cover the entire history of the faith in an interesting and entertaining manner. I hope that everyone who reads this and is intrigued by it will also read your excellent series.
Christopher,
Thank you for your comments. I agree with you that many people will continue to rely on religion to provide answers to those eternal questions.
My "rational" view, as you so aptly put it, is a minority view, and probably a small minority at that. I wrote a piece a few months ago that dealt directly with this. You might find it interesting.
Here is the link.
I did not mean to imply that belief in God makes one into a maniac! Clearly, most people who believe in God do not go around murdering people!.
And you are right, many scientists are believing Christians, although they must have to "interpret" some of the literal passages in the Bible that relate to the age of the Earth, and the creation of all life around 6000 years ago.
As I have said elsewhere on this web site, religion is not the problem...it's the people who (mal)practice it.
I must add, though, that the two major religions now in global conflict...Christianity and Islam...both have numerous exhortations in their sacred scriptures urging their followers to attack and destroy unbelievers. Most of the followers of the two faiths are able to "interpret" those passages, but a few fanatics take them literally. Until the mainstream membership of both faiths declare publicly that these ancient texts are NOT unerring on these points, the potential for continuing bloodshed exists. And in that respect the religions themselves are not blameless in my opinion.
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as
when they do it from religious conviction."
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pense'es, #894.
What I'm most astonished by are the Christian right-wing zealots whose party's policies boil down to: 'screw the poor, help the rich, make war for profit'...So much for "What Would Jesus Do?"!
Religion isn't necessarily insanity, but it IS purposeful ignorance. Suicide bombing IS insanity. And proseletyzing is evil. The question is, how do we keep the religion-crazed masses from destroying all of humanity in the name(s) of their god(s) when they don't even fear their own deaths? Do you suppose we could enact laws banning religion for children under 18? If kids can't vote because they can't understand the issues, how can they have the decision of what to think about religion forced on them, even by well-meaning parents? If they can't smoke or drink because it's dangerous to them and others, surely they shouldn't be exposed to a much more dangerous substance...so-called "faith?" This would solve the problem, as no sane adult would choose to be religious -- it has to be brainwashed into them when they're not mature enough to question it.
But I'm just dreaming, aren't I? A list of atrocities people have committed in the name of (or under the supposed direction of) their god that I recently read in the Disinformation Book of Lists by Russ Kick gives plenty of proof that religion, especially in large doses, is extremely dangerous, and that's even before you consider the Holocaust etc. (that's a great book, btw...lots of "things you're not supposed to know." My personal favorite revelation? In a list called "Famous people who wrote erotica," there was one guy who went on to be Pope!) :-0
My quote of the day, from an NPR interview with Penn Gillette: "Without God, we can agree on reality." You said it, PG!
Trying to rid the world of terrorism without going after religion is like trying to wipe out lung cancer without getting rid of cigarettes. Except that it's probably scientifically possible to engineer a safe cigarette...there's no such thing as a safe religion (although I have to give the Baha'i, Buddhists, and Jainists credit for not having caused as much death and destruction as their more populous counterparts).
DARWIN HAD THE ANSWER...SOME PEOPLE JUST AREN'T SMART ENOUGH TO ASK THE RIGHT QUESTION!!!
Maybe religion isn't a form of insanity...maybe it's a form of mental retardation (my apologies to the actual MR community) or a type of autism (autistics, even the smart ones, can have trouble understanding things that are completely obvious to normal-brained people.) Maybe that's why the Dictator protected giant drug companies from prosecution even after they used mercury-based preservatives in vaccines, which even the drug co. eventually realized was a key cause in the current epidemic of childhood autism...maybe the Bushies want kids to be as brainwashable as possible so they can turn them into Christian zombies for war!
There is no excuse for intentionally making children stupid! ID proponents should be charged with child abuse! Brainwashing religion fantasies into children is much like a drug dealer giving new customers a free sample, knowing that once they've felt the false euphoria, they'll be hooked.
I think that kids who are exposed to big doses of religion when they are young and impressionable are actually being brainwashed. If they were introduced to religion at age 18, a Helluva lot less of them would end up devout Christians or Muslims or whatever.
I am now a registered "Bright."
Kathryn,
Go take a look at www.the-brights.net. I think you belong there too.
It IS possible to be a good person, with a good heart seeking truth and the promised morality of religious faith. The Mormon dogma is "peculiar" to say the least, but so is the Christian, Islamic, etc. That does not prohibit seekers to adhere with honest intention. I am no apologist for religion. All organized faith is awash in blood. But I know GOOD people who believe and I cannot discount that. There is prayer all around us. I covered my perception on this in a recent post titled "Scratched," which I feel poses the "light" and no so light side of the issue.
For those who wish a monumental belly laugh read Mark Twain's "Roughing It." He has a chapter on Mormons, a meeting with Brigham Young and vivid descriptions of early Salt Lake City. He covers Mormon dogma, Mountain Meadows and polygamy in the way only Twain could do it. Suffice to say, Mormons are not fans of Mark Twain.
Another book I read recently and will read again is "Children of Aristotle." It covers the struggle between faith and reason through out western history.
If you happen to check back here...I have offered the brights web site access to any of my articles that they feel would be useful...either by posting them directly or by posting links to my Gather postings.
You might find the book "The Spirituality of Imperfection" an interesting read. Also interesting to me is the spiritual aspect of AA and other 12-step programs deriving from it
I cannot join you in agreeing with Karen's anti-religious rant. First of all, children are inherently spiritual beings, probably more so than their parents.Children are always asking the questions, big and small, about where they came from, why did mommy die, where is mommy now, etc. Religion is one way of giving children a framework for answering those inevitable questions. But even children with absolutely no religious training--a group to which I belong--still usually turn to religion when children come into the family. Not always, I know, but very often, in my experience. Whatever else it also is, birth, creation, is nothing if not a spiritual and divine act. I believe in a "soul" or "energy" that animates us simply because I have known a person in life and his body dead bears no resemblance to the living person as their is no energy, no animation, no character. We are more than the sum of our molecules. Thanks, again, for the stimulating articles. Chris
Thanks again for your thoughtful comments. My family experience is the exception to your generalized observation about families with children turning to religion. My parents occasionally went to church when I was very young, and encouraged me to go to Sunday School, but at about age 8, I decided I didn't want to go, and they accepted it without comment.
My own children were raised without any religious training, and I am very proud of them both. My son is the most "spiritual" one in the family, and AA has helped him conquer his alcoholism. He is a firm believer in the AA 12-step program, and is a guest speaker at AA meetings all over the country. He sometimes talks about the spiritual aspects of AA, but he is not a Christian or religious in any conventional sense.
You are certainly right about the vast difference between a live animal, human or not, and a dead carcass. Whether that has anything to do with spirituality is a matter of opinion. Certainly, man's self-awareness and ability to reason are amazing abilities. The fact that we don't understand the mechanisms and processes that give us those abilities does not preclude natural (rather than supernatural) origins in my opinion. There is so much that we do not understand!
I think it's important to make the distinction between spirituality and religion. Spirituality, as I see it, is a quest to understand what's "behind the veil," if anything. It doesn't necessarily require a Man on a White Cloud, nor does come with a lot of rules and beliefs. One way to think of it is this: beauty does not exist as a "thing," and yet we all know that it exists. It's an abstraction, one that has a powerful hold over our psyches. There are other abstractions that are equally powerful -- in the beginning was The Word, and the word was without form, and void. It's a whole other thing from religion.
It's amazing what we can believe, with a straight face. As one of the psychiatrists you quoted pointed out, there are a lot of people who believe in transubstantiation -- or, for that matter, that the world was created in seven days. Baffling.
Funny that Penn Jillette's name should come up. Penn and Teller have a wonderful show on Showtime, called "Penn and Teller's Bullshit." Sorry, but that's the actual title. On the episode I watched last night, they tackled religion. It was a a wonderful, well argued explanation on why religion is.... well, you know.
I have read it all in it's entirety, and I strongly concur with almost all of it...but I would suggest that Wendy and Christopher Bell make excellent points about a spirituality that is far transcended above religion as most know it (think they know it)....such 'spirituality's' are often mystical and esoteric...the regular church does not understand them and rejects them as heretical, evil and occult....many of them are in fact that...but the ones I know about that are 'good', I would recommend highly as they are about truth, wisdom, and Unconditional love...those that have had actual experiences of such, as I have had, know without a doubt that there is in fact a spiritual reality based upon those factors...In case anybody else comes by here, I leave this BOOK ...we have much more in common than you might think. Peace, j.
Thanks for your comments. I have no problem with spirituality...and I realized the distinction when I directed you here. The other discussion was about spirituality...this is specifically about organized religions.
I have a lot of problems with the latter. I am not a "spiritual" person, but many of my friends are, and I have observed that spirituality can be a positive influence.
Go to the horses mouth used to be the word of the day...
I have read anti stuff (people who hate and intentionaly tear down anothers relirion) etc and others thoughts on the church, but thats not where I would go to do reseach.
As for these guys and their messages from "God" - I do believe in a spiritual realm, but any messages that tell you to kill someone are probably not from God but some sort of evil entity or spirit. I won't say it's "Satan" per se, since I don't believe in a traditional God vs. Satan theology...but certainly there are evil spirits around that might encourage people to do bad things. And of course they'll appear to be God.
This is why people need some sense and their own moral compass, something that comes from within and not pushed upon them from without. Otherwise, they'll just run around doing anything in the name of "God" just because someone posing as an "authority" told them to.
Stephanie- Wicca's the fastest growing one? Yippee!!! Never met any wiccans that told me that the Goddess said they should go out and slaughter.....well anyone. Always a good sign.:-)
The writer researched this book for a long time. What do you think he said that is not true? As far as where one should go to get the true story, I would argue that going to a church to find about possibly unpleasant things that happened in their past would not be very productive.
Stephanie,
I totally agree...people should have their own "moral compass" as you so aptly put it. I have no need of any deity to tell me what is right and wrong...and judging by the actions of some self-proclaimed devout Christians and Muslims, my moral compass is a lot more accurate than theirs.
Qiana,
I don't know much about the Wiccans, but if they preach peace and tolerance, they can't be as bad as some of the others...
On page 57 Krakauer states that "a disgruntled client had filed a legal claim accusing Joseph of being a fraud". The truth, however, was much different. The employer of Joseph Smith , Josiah Stowell, did not file complaint against Joseph, but actually came to his defense.
Later Krakauer gets it wrong when discussing the Baker-Fancher party massacre at Mountain Meadows. While it has been proven that Brigham Young sent a letter informing the Mormons to see to the safety of the wagon train and not hinder it in any way. Krakauer continues to insist that Young was duplicitous in the killing of the settlers. Krakauer shows as proof the letter as having gone missing and therefore in doubt. Again, the truth is far different. A copy was obtained by using a letterpress book that made a mirror image of the letter.
A few other inconsistencies and inaccuracies
1. "Mormons esteem three books of scripture above all others" (p. 6n),
The truth is Mormons accept four books as canon not three.
2. Krakauer states that American Indians are descended from the lost tribes of Israel (p.69). Again, incorrect.
3. Describing Joseph Smith and "his necromantic skills, were sufficiently in demand that he was able to command respectable fees to find buried treasure for property owners" (pp. 56–57). And "Joseph's flirtation with folk magic as a young man had a direct and unmistakable bearing on the religion he would soon usher forth" (p. 56). "peep stones and black magic would again loom large in Joseph's life" (p. 57).
The truth...there is not evidence that Joseph and his family ever practiced black magic, but was more or less practitioners of folk magic which is far different.
4. Plural marriage among the Mormons. Even though Krakauer attempted to distance modern LDS theology and plural marriage he makes volatile statements that cross the line or at best obfuscates the truth. For example, "the LDS leadership has worked very hard to persuade both the modern church membership and the American public that polygamy was a quaint, long-abandoned idiosyncrasy practiced by a mere handful of nineteenth-century Mormons" (p. 5). Excuse me? Krakauer simply doesn't understand modern Mormonism nor it severe prohibitions against polygamy. Later he makes the suggestion that Joseph Smith introduced plural marriage because he "remained perpetually and hopelessly smitten by the comeliest female members of his flock" (p. 118) and this...
"Not even this profusion of wives, however, managed to sate his appetite" (p. 121) nor stop his "sexual recklessness" (p. 122).
Again, the author fails to understand some basics about the advent of polygamy.
He later states that Joseph hit on 14 year old girls telling them, " 'God says you should marry me, if you don't . . .' His way of getting laid doesn't reflect well on him."78
Again, in fact, this was not the case. Only one girl that was married to Joseph Smith was 14 which was not uncommon in the 1840's.
Perhaps, in summary, this comment from the Japanese newspaper, Yomiuri Shinbun tells it best.
"Ultimately, we are left feeling that Under the Banner of Heaven would have been a better book had Krakauer had a more authoritative grasp of his material. He is not a historian, and his principal strengths are his vigorous writing and a fascination with those on society's fringes. Here, as an avowed agnostic, Krakauer is in unfamiliar territory, and in treating the Lafferty murders as a particularly Mormon crime, he places himself in danger of papering over the fact that any murder committed in the name of God is extremist, rather than religious in nature"
Kill him in the name of Jesus and don't forget to say Amen.
EXTREMEs .... from my viewpoint always creates pain.
Dutiful subjucation with no thought ... means Yes-men & Yes-women follow placidly doing as told rather than taking time to think, analyze, compare and then choose a course of action.
Fantics are beyond scary.
The title of my article was "Religion?...or Insanity?" not "Mormonism?...or Insanity?"
My point was that religious belief caused these brothers to commit a hideous crime.
But were they insane? The courts had a problem with that question, but if they were not, then religion must take part of the blame for the crime.
As for Krakauer's competence or credibility, the book has been both praised and attacked. I will leave the judgment to others.
My sister moved to Utah (over twenty years ago, but didn't stay long) and was caught up in the Mormon religion. She sent me their "Bible" and asked me to read it. I didn't get past a few pages before being repulsed repeatedly reading the words, "God hissed forth". ANYTHING that hisses makes me run in the opposite direction as fast as my legs can carry me!