Under The Banner

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light and light for darkness . . .” (Isaiah 5:20)

You can’t argue with the Truth.  And it’s dangerous to argue with those who believe that they alone know the Truth.  You could end up dead.

Under the Banner of Heaven, written by Jon Krakauer and published in 2003, documents the double-murder of Brenda Lafferty and her toddler daughter, killed by in-laws, members of a fundamentalist Mormon sect. In his book, Krakauer painstakingly documents the origins of the Fundamentalist Latter-day Saints (FLDS) and their beliefs, beliefs that were used to justify the murders.

I recently watched the television adaptation of Under the Banner of Heaven, a seven-part series streaming on Hulu. The television series is not a documentary, but a dramatization that explores the murders through the eyes of a fictional detective, Jeb Pyre. Pyre is himself a devout Mormon, though not a member of the FLDS.  While investigating this horrible crime, Detective Pyre begins to unravel and confront the cultish beliefs that led up to the double-murder.  He, having grown up and lived in a culture that frowns upon asking too many questions, starts to question the foundation of his own beliefs.

The television adaptation is more than a story about murder.  It is an exploration into a psychology that is pervasive in our society, not specific to Mormonism, but present wherever there are fundamentalist and cultic groups.  Members of such groups seem to share a number of common beliefs and behaviors.  First and foremost, they believe that they and they alone know Truth.

·       They believe that what is not their Truth must therefore be false.

·       They believe that those who live with their Truth are righteous and those who deny their Truth are evil.

·       They believe that Truth is incompatible with ambiguity, it needs no explanation or interpretation.

·        They believe that Truth supersedes the laws and rules of secular society.

·        They believe that questioning Truth is a sign of hubris, arrogance, and ignorance.

·        They believe that followers of Truth will be rewarded and those who aren’t will be punished.

·        They believe in a hierarchy of authority, headed by wise, enlightened, and charismatic leadership.

·       They believe that their leaders are to be trusted and obeyed.

·       They believe that any ‘evidence’, contrary their Truth, is a deception planted by those attempting to destroy, and discredit; sometimes originating from the schemes, lies, and plots of evil people; sometimes originating from the devil himself.

It’s no wonder that so many fall under the spell of fundamentalism and cultism. Who doesn’t want to trust their leaders? Who doesn’t want to be freed from questions and doubt? Who doesn’t want the promise of great reward? Who doesn’t want to be on the side of Truth, opposing evil? 

Philosopher Isaiah Berlin warned, “It is a terrible and dangerous arrogance to believe that you alone are right . . .”  How many Beverly Lafferty’s have been murdered under the banner of Truth?