Under the Banner of Heaven, by Jon Krakauer.
 

Under the Banner of Heaven was really riveting. The story centers around the Lafferty murders in the mid-80s in Utah where two fundamentalist Mormon brothers brutally killed their sister-in-law and infant because she was getting in the way of them practicing polygamy or "plural marriage". It gives some good background as to the history of Mormonism starting with Joseph Smith, the prophet, who decreed that plural marriage was a divinely ordained right (all because he was a horny fucker) and that those who didn't practice it faced eternal damnation.

The practice was given up by Mormons in the late 19th century for political reasons. Plural marriage was thought to be worse than slavery by most Americans and the government ended up invading Utah to put an end to it. Although modern day "establishment" Mormons now denounce polygamy, the fundamentalists still follow Joseph Smith's prophecies to the letter and have set up colonies around the West and in Canada and Mexico where they are somehow still able to practice it. Pedophilia, arranged marriages, and incest are the result.

The residents are not allowed to watch TV, read newspapers, or even socialize with anyone not a fundamentalist. The mothers, who are singles parents in the eyes of the government but married "spiritually", immediately file for welfare as soon as their baby is born and leech MILLIONS off the government, who they despise. It's a practice called "bleeding the beast" and is seen as a virtue of the highest order. It's an intense form of Taliban-like brainwashing and dogma as they prepare for the Last Days. Anyone who falls out of line is ex-communicated and they believe they will die on the spot. They don't know any better. The mayor and police are all polygamists as well so nothing is done about the crimes.

It also goes into a lot of detail about narcissistic religious gurus like Smith and Brigham Young and the violent history of the Mormons. It's strange how strong this religion really is. 12 million people are Mormons and it's the largest homegrown American religion. They are also highly secretive and anyone who speaks out against the church is scrutinized and likely ex-communicated. Krakauer basically portrays them as a deservedly persecuted people, totally racist and sexist, with an arrogant sense of self-entitlement.

The heart of the issue is that today's mainstream Mormons have denounced plural marriage, and yet they continue to embrace the prophesies of Joseph Smith. But if they believe everything Smith said was divinely inspired, then how can ANY of it be false? It's a very interesting paradox. Made more interesting by the fact that not too many generations have passed since the founding of the religion.

That's the horror of the story. The Laffertys were just doing what they thought was expected, based on their upbringing and their scripture. Great book and highly recommended.

I thought it was a great book. A fascinating read, though if I have any criticism, it would be that he splits his focus between regular LDS and the fundamentalists when he might be better served to focus on one side or the other. It's been several years since I read it, but it served as a great primer for Big Love and has been mentiioned several times in that thread that fans of the show should check it out.

My other criticism of the book is that it pales in comparison to Krakauer's Into Thin Air. But honestly, every nonfiction book I read does as well.

If Romney gets the GOP nomination, I expect to be hearing a lot about Mormonism in the future. Especially the darker and more bizarre aspects of the religion that a lot of people may not be aware of.

Been seeing a lot of TV commercials for the Mormon church lately; looks like they're already going on the defensive.

I listened to the book and thought it was very good as well. I was just amazed that how one person could exert that much power/control over all these people. It was interesting to me that Warren Jeff's name was brought up too...I liked how the flow worked, from past history up to current events (smith up to jeffs).