By Michael Patrick O’Brien–
The 2003 Jon Krakauer book and the 2022 FX/Hulu mini-series Under the Banner of Heaven point critical fingers at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Utah murderers depicted in the storylines—Ron and Dan Lafferty—had been church members. Krakauer even not-so-subtly subtitled his book as: A Story of Violent Faith.
The title of the book/series comes from a speech by John Taylor, the third Latter-day Saint church president, made while defending plural marriage. In 1880 Taylor proclaimed, “God is greater than the United States, and when the Government conflicts with heaven, we will be ranged under the banner of heaven against the Government.”
The book/series suggest that these old militant and patriarchal attitudes were responsible for the brutal violence and ugly misogyny of the Lafferty Brothers a century later. The Laffertys murdered their sister-in-law Brenda and their niece Erica in the victims’ own home in July 1984.
There are several problems with this premise. The Laffertys are not like any Latter-day Saints I know, and having lived in Utah most of my life, I know a lot. The Laffertys would have been troubled and troubling souls in any denomination to which they belonged.
Although it may be true that sometimes religion brings out the worst in people, I suspect this often has much more to do with the particular person than with the specific faith.
After all, there are many examples of violent, murderous persons arguably emerging out of various other faiths too. The Crusades. The Inquisition. Radical Islamic Jihad. Muslim/Hindu conflicts in India. Jewish/Arab conflicts in the Middle East. Three centuries of “the Troubles” between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
Need more examples? A devout Catholic mother raised Adolph Hitler. Catholic monks at a boarding school educated Benito Mussolini. Joseph Stalin sent several years at a Russian Orthodox seminary.
Despite these many examples of non-Latter-day Saints also behaving badly, I think the bigger problem for Under the Banner of Heaven is that it either forgets or ignores how religion brings out the best in people too.
One of the fundamental characters and significant plot lines of Under the Banner of Heaven proves this very point. The same church that allegedly produced the notorious Lafferty brothers also produced a pretty admirable person—Brenda Lafferty.
Brenda Lafferty was a rather heroic modern woman. She was educated. She was a caring mother. She hoped for a fulfilling career. She tried to balance work and life, just like the rest of us do every day.
Brenda was a beloved sister and daughter too. She reached out to people in need, including her abused Lafferty sisters-in-law. She was outgoing and confident. She knew and spoke her own mind.
According to her sister Sharon Weeks, Brenda also was delightfully human. She was not afraid to curse when the situation demanded it. Brenda had fun too. Weeks says her older sister could burp the entire alphabet.
Brenda was all this, and did all that, while growing up in a devoted Latter-day Saint household. Her father was a bishop and her mother active in the Relief Society. Brenda remained an active member of and believer in her church right up to the moment she courageously faced a horrible death.
If Under the Banner of Heaven is going to blame the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the horrible Ron/Dan Lafferty, then shouldn’t that Church also get some credit for the wonderful Brenda Lafferty?
After all, the Church’s name expressly and intentionally includes and invokes Jesus Christ, and Jesus’ core message—as Brenda seemed to understand all too well—is love.
Now that’s a heavenly banner I’d range under any day.
*Mike O’Brien (author website here: https://michaelpobrien.com/) is a writer and attorney living in Salt Lake City, Utah. His book Monastery Mornings (https://www.amazon.com/Monastery-Mornings-Unusual-Boyhood-Saints/dp/1640606491), about growing up with the monks at the old Trappist monastery in Huntsville, Utah, was published by Paraclete Press in August 2021.
