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A review by knachknachjoke
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
4.5
A haunting, thorough exploration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, its history, and the dark implications of what actually investigating that history leads one to believe.
I would have considered myself somewhat knowledgeable on LDS church history before this read, but Krakhauer blew pretty much everything out of the water with how thorough his storytelling was. He discloses at the end his own perspective—that he hadn't intended for this to be anything other than an amicable exploration of Mormon history inspired by an admiration for his childhood friends' faiths—and the resonance I felt to his perspective was really startling.
I think my biggest takeaway from reading this, and I believe Krakhauer's from writing it, is just how frightening the two roads you can take after studying Mormonism's history are: either you discern it is one man's quest for sex and power, or you conclude that everything—polygamy, blood atonement, white supremacy, child abuse—is all true and all imperative to a right way of life.
I would have considered myself somewhat knowledgeable on LDS church history before this read, but Krakhauer blew pretty much everything out of the water with how thorough his storytelling was. He discloses at the end his own perspective—that he hadn't intended for this to be anything other than an amicable exploration of Mormon history inspired by an admiration for his childhood friends' faiths—and the resonance I felt to his perspective was really startling.
I think my biggest takeaway from reading this, and I believe Krakhauer's from writing it, is just how frightening the two roads you can take after studying Mormonism's history are: either you discern it is one man's quest for sex and power, or you conclude that everything—polygamy, blood atonement, white supremacy, child abuse—is all true and all imperative to a right way of life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy