Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer, has been uniformly condemned by the official world of LDS, and I can see why. Krakauer explores the fundamentalist element of the Mormon religion; these groups are shunned by modern LDS. But simply because that is the case, does not mean fundamentalist Mormon's are not tied to the history of their religion.
Like all religions, LDS has (or has had ) problematic doctrines. Groups have taken them to the point where long departed and condemned practices (polygamy, blood atonement) return as the most salient doctrines of their group. Even through they are condemned by modern LDS, they still have their roots in the often violent past of Mormonism. Besides telling a story of a senseless, religiously inspired murder, this is Krakauer's main point.
To take another example: West Bank settler Judaism, which makes the land of Israel an idol and subverts nearly all other Jewish values for real estate, is as much a part of the Jewish tradition as the universal elements of Reform Judaism. I like one, and find the other abhorrent. But the prophetical books exist alongside the book of Joshua; to ignore this is simply tunnel vision. We have to acknowledge our problem children, even as we condemn them.
Like all religions, LDS has (or has had ) problematic doctrines. Groups have taken them to the point where long departed and condemned practices (polygamy, blood atonement) return as the most salient doctrines of their group. Even through they are condemned by modern LDS, they still have their roots in the often violent past of Mormonism. Besides telling a story of a senseless, religiously inspired murder, this is Krakauer's main point.
To take another example: West Bank settler Judaism, which makes the land of Israel an idol and subverts nearly all other Jewish values for real estate, is as much a part of the Jewish tradition as the universal elements of Reform Judaism. I like one, and find the other abhorrent. But the prophetical books exist alongside the book of Joshua; to ignore this is simply tunnel vision. We have to acknowledge our problem children, even as we condemn them.
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