I went to my Aunt Ellen's Book Club tonight: "Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith" by Jon Krakauer.Summary:
It's the non-fiction story of fundamentalist zealots of the Mormon church. Centering his novel around brothers Dan and Ron Lafferty, who murdered their youngest brother's wife and infant daughter in 1984, ostensibly under God's orders. Telling the story of their violent and virulent beliefs, Krakauer also ties in Mormon history from Joseph Smith, Jr. and Brigham Young to the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart.
Thoughts:
I wasn't familiar with the history of Mormons. I was surprised to read how they were pretty much run out of town after town until they found the unsettled areas of Utah. During the Laffertys' trial the issue arose of determining whether they were sane since they said God told them to commit the crimes. Krakauer quotes a writer from the Salt Lake Tribune, "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."
