Under the Banner of Heaven

A Story of Violent Faith

By: Jon Krakauer

Narrated by: Jon Krakauer

Length: 5 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Jon Krakauer’s literary reputation rests on insightful chronicles of lives conducted at the outer limits. In Under the Banner of Heaven, he shifts his focus from extremes of physical adventure to extremes of religious belief within our own borders.

At the core of his audiobook is an appalling double murder committed by two Mormon Fundamentalist brothers, Ron and Dan Lafferty, who insist they received a revelation from God commanding them to kill their blameless victims. Beginning with a meticulously researched account of this "divinely inspired" crime, Krakauer constructs a multilayered, bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion, savage violence, polygamy, 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.

Krakauer takes listeners inside isolated communities in the American West, Canada, and Mexico, where some 40,000 Mormon Fundamentalists believe the mainstream Mormon Church went unforgivably astray when it renounced polygamy. Defying both civil authorities and the Mormon establishment in Salt Lake City, the leaders of these outlaw sects are zealots who answer only to God. Marrying prodigiously and with virtual impunity (the leader of the largest fundamentalist church took seventy-five "plural wives," several of whom were wed to him when they were fourteen or fifteen and he was in his eighties), fundamentalist prophets exercise absolute control over the lives of their followers, and preach that any day now the world will be swept clean in a hurricane of fire, sparing only their most obedient adherents.

Weaving the story of the Lafferty brothers and their fanatical brethren with a clear-eyed look at Mormonism's violent past, Krakauer examines the underbelly of the most successful homegrown faith in the United States, and finds a distinctly American brand of religious extremism. The result is vintage Krakauer, an utterly compelling work of nonfiction that illuminates an otherwise confounding realm of human behavior.

©2003 Jon Krakauer (P)2003 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Krakauer lays the portent on beautifully, building his tales carefully from the ground up until they irresistibly, spookily combust." (Kirkus Reviews)
"Krakauer presents details that indeed sound stranger than fiction." (The New York Times)

Very Informative

As a pastor, I meet people from various backgrounds. If you understand where someone comes from, it is easier to help them. Jon does a great job of unvailing the background of mormonism. Some of the criminal's descriptions of the crimes are graphic, but overall, if you wish to gain a better understanding of mormonism, this is the book to read.

Very Thought Provoking!

I found the book to be very well rounded and though provoking. I thought Kraukaer did an excellent job of looking at how religion is used to justify violence in people who are already predisposed to follow violent means to an end. I did not think that he tried to make the point that religion causes violence. I have read many other books on violent events that were justified by religious belief and this book was well rounded and documented. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Great Book

Incredible amount of facts and reported unemotionally. Krakauer did his homework although I am sure religious zealots will try to downplay the role of religion (any religion) in unpleasant events. Any kind of religious bashing is nixed unless it is bashing Islam. I think Krakauer's book is thought-provoking and well done! Bravo.

Fascinating

Anyone who gives this less than four stars must have a hidden agenda. It would be interesting to see how many people who reviewed it actually listened to it, especially among those who gave it a low rating. I have been around Mormons all my life and really didn't know much about the religion. This gave me a good introduction as well as told a harrowing, unbelievable story. Superbly read by the author. Never a dull moment. I only give five stars to all-time classics, and this just falls short.

story Is much deeper than the synopsis suggests.

This book explores more than just the true crime tale of a few delusional Mormons horrific acts . It dives deep into the creation of this modern day, american made religion. An eye opener

Interesting Historical Perspective

Good historical view of the Mormon religion's beginnings and the adoption of polygamy. It was a little dry and drawn out in some areas, but necessary to understanding of the history of polygamy. I went on to read Stolen Innocence. So, this provided some good background for that book. I read the book along with the audio and was disappointed that the audio skipped over a lot of the book. I had to stop the audio and read over the deleted portions, then catch up to the audio again.

Disturbing Account of the Mormon Faith

This is a detailed and well researched accounting of the Mormon faith.
I am a Christian, who holds Jesus as my Lord and Savior.
These people do not know, have faith in or hold Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They hold themselves as leaders of their so called faith. Evil, murderous, and their judgement will be held in the hands of God. None other.

History of FLDS

I guess I’m not sure what I wanted from this book when I started, but it’s not what I thought it would be. I didn’t think it would be a history of the Mormon faith, but it is, and it is well written, and it’s short and quick enough that I didn’t lose interest over the course of the book. If you believe in any faith, I think this should be a must read. I no longer participate in any faith practice, but there are many people I would’ve loved to hear their take on this, because it’s what this book asks of you that eventually brought me away from my own faith. It’s important to wrestle the questions of this book, and either way you answer them, they can only make you a more compassionate person.

Under the Banner of Bias & Biogtry

Laffertys were excommunicated from the Mormon Church before their horrific crimes were committed. Calling Lafferty a "Fundamentalist Mormon" is like calling Charles Manson a "Fundamentalist Catholic" or a "Born-Again Baptist." Hmmmm, why is it those labels are never used to described psychopathic murderers who used to go to Sunday School when they were growing up? To sell books by smearing an entire religious people through sensationalistic half-truths and misleading or misinformed story-telling is ludicrous at best and ugly biogtry at worst. Hatred and prejudice are alive and well. This book just proves it and fuels it.

I thought I'd like it more

This is a book about the history and development of Mormonism in the United States that happens to discuss a murder committed by one of the flock. If you are looking for a "true crime" book, this is not it. The story of the murder of a young woman and her daughter by a brutally deranged fanatic takes so long to tell that there is no climax. The author makes a connection and big deal out of something that turns out to be only mildly interesting. God told the murderer to kill these people -- heard that before and in way less than 5 hours. I enjoyed Krakauer's other books -- "Into Thin Air," about disaster striking a Mt. Everest climbing group, and especially "Into the Woods," a fascinating story of survival off the land with an amazing climax. This book, however, read like, "Into the Church," which, frankly, isn't a place I'd like to go.