"Because God said So"

I've never been one to shy away from or back down from my personal opinions but I also will not shove them down any ones throat. So in case you didn't know I am an atheist. I don't believe in a God of any kind who has some mystical power in altering people's lives or world events. I find comfort in my abilities, successes, failures, and just overall life experiences as an individual person. I don't need a list of rules, guidelines, or tips to live my life by. If I sleep well at night than I'm content. I don't need to be forgiven, I don't need acceptance from anyone and I certainly don't need a promise of an after life to keep me from stealing, murdering, etc.

With that said, I love to read about religion and religious people because I find it fascinating the way they think and latch on to certain ideas and not others. One of the best books I've read and one that I certainly connected with strongly was Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. So when I saw he had other books, and one about religion, I jumped at the chance to read it and came across this gem, Under the Banner of Heaven.

Under the Banner of Heaven tells the story of Ron and Dan Lafferty, two brothers who subscribe to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The brothers are known for the 1984 murder of their sister in Law Brenda and her 18 month old daughter. When asked on the stand whether he was guilty of murder Ron Lafferty responded "I did kill them but I am innocent". When then asked to clarify how that is even possible he responded with "I was doing God's will and if it comes from God it is good and true. If I didn't kill them then I would be guilty of disobeying God."

For someone like me this gets my mind reeling and my tempering flaring. How on Earth does someone think this way? How do they even begin to think something like that to be rational? Well as you read through the book and the history of the Moron church and how it came about you begin to understand. Krakauer does a phenomenal job of explaining the religion which lead to such extreme views and actions by its adherents.

Joseph Smith in 1830 published The Book of Mormon which was revealed to him when he sat with his face in an upturned top hat that held the "seeing stone" and flashed before his eyes the words of the lord. Totally legit...obviously. With the combination of his two greatest qualities, his physical appearance (think Jon Smith from the Disney cartoon Pocahontas) and his persuasiveness and you get a modern day major religious movement based around a stone and a hat. Now, if you break down any other religion their origins are all just as crazy i.e. talking snake, rib, dust, you get the idea, but they have the benefit of thousands of years of lost history and no records. Krakauer tells the whole story from start to finish in a non judgmental purely facts type of way which was great because it left me all the room I needed in my brain to determine for myself that these people are bat shit crazy. I think I came to that conclusion around page 2 and just kept piling on the evidence as I read on. Oh and the part about how the modern day church scams the government out of million in Welfare benefits is a gem!

Seamlessly blending history and horror, Under the Banner of Heaven takes the reader inside the world of the Mormon faith and the mind of cold blooded murders. If you want a book to shock you, mystify you, confuse you, and down right dumbfound you without a word of it being fiction then this is the one for you. If anything it will make you a more knowledgeable person about what people believe and how their decisions are influenced.




Further Reading:

http://mormonbeliefs.org/   Website about Mormon Beliefs and "Policies"