![]() ![]() Religious schisms can be complicated for people to understand. Krakauer does little to explain how these many groups with a shared religious lineage are as different as they are similar, nor does it seem he cares to make these distinctions. Krakauer does little to explain how these many groups with a shared religious lineage are as different as they are similar, nor does it seem he cares to make these distinctions.Ĭonsidering the derogatory nature of his use of polyg, Krakauer shows his distain for religion, in this case all forms of Mormonism, and turns the lack of nuance between the many Mormon groups he mentions more pointed, rather than a simple misunderstanding of Mormonism’s complexities. (5) Considering the derogatory nature of his use of polyg, Krakauer shows his distain for religion, in this case all forms of Mormonism, and turns the lack of nuance between the many Mormon groups he mentions more pointed, rather than a simple misunderstanding of Mormonism’s complexities. With the sprinkling in of the religious slur “polyg,” there are several parts of the book where groups are conflated and then later made somewhat discrete without any clarification. While all FLDS are Fundamentalist Mormons, not all Fundamentalist Mormons are or have ever been members of or even loosely associated with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. ![]() Though many Fundamentalist Mormons have shared Fundamentalist Mormon leaders in their lines of succession, there have been several succession crises that mark the groups as discrete. However, his preceding statement is misleading, insisting that “Mormon Fundamentalists” are “FLDS” (5). Today, most groups that trace their religious heritage to Joseph Smith “believe in the same holy texts and the same sacred history,” as Krakauer asserts. Mormonism was born out of the religious revivals in the Burned-Over District of New York during the Second Great Awakening. Women from the Blackmore family in Bountiful BC speak at the 2017 Sunstone Symposium about their lives and experiences as Mormon fundamentalists. In this essay, I address the problem of painting all Mormons with the same brush. ![]() Krakauer’s focus is on the Laffertys’ identities as “Fundamentalist Mormons.” In UBH, the many expressions of Joseph’s Restoration become conflated, at least apparently for Krakauer. Being a journalist and not a historian nor a religion scholar, Jon Krakauer set out to write a story about gruesome killings to understand “Lafferty and his ilk,” but what does he mean by Lafferty’s ilk? (xxiii) Among many other things, Ron and Dan Lafferty were brothers, excommunicated mainstream Latter-Day Saints, husbands, fathers, Utahns, co-conspirators, etc. With the continued popularity of Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith ( UBH), Mormonism’s vast range of expressions brings into question an author’s responsibility to nuance and accuracy. Her research focuses on new religious movements in the Americas, including the Fundamentalist Mormonism in the southwestern United States and indigenous and mestizo communities in the Mormon Colonies. Stephanie Griswold is a PhD student in History and Religious Studies at Claremont Graduate University and the research assistant for the Howard W. ![]()
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