As we were reading this book, California was struggling with Prop. 8 which would ban same sex marriage. The arguement ran than it would be the death knell for traditional marriage, the union between a man and a woman. One man and one woman.
Meanwhile, the polygamous Mormon fundamentalist compound in Texas had just been raided. Hundreds of children were taken into custody and stories of abuse ran rampant in the media. How can the same book of scripture be used to justify monogamous and polygamous marriage?
Under the Banner of Heaven by John Krakauer tells the history of the Mormon church in America and now rapid world-wide spread. Essentially a get rich quick scheme and companion to the Bible, the Book of Mormon was written by Joseph Smith in the 1830s. Believers quickly came to trust Smith as the One True Prophet, with the power to control their lives down to the smallest detail, including who could marry whom. And how many wives one should have.
The death of Smith brought segmentation to the church. Believers who spoke directly with God felt they were best interpreters of the Lord's will and set up break-away sects. Krakauer tells in detail of their tenets of tax evasion, welfare fraud, plural marriage, incest, and murder.
A thoroughly researched, well-written and horrifying book.
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