Jon Krakauer has this way of getting under your skin. If you’ve read Into Thin Air, you know what I mean. But with Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith, he didn't just write a true crime book; he basically cracked open a window into a part of American history that a lot of people would rather keep shut. It is a brutal, haunting look at how religious conviction can curdled into something unrecognizable and deadly.
The book focuses on the 1984 murders of Brenda Lafferty and her infant daughter, Erica. It was a crime that shocked Utah, not just because of its violence, but because the killers—Ron and Dan Lafferty—claimed they were acting on a "removal revelation" from God.
Honest truth? It’s a hard read. Not because the writing is bad—Krakauer is a master—but because the implications are so heavy. It forces you to look at the thin line between devout faith and dangerous fanaticism.
The Lafferty Case: Beyond the Headlines
Most people coming to this story today probably saw the Andrew Garfield miniseries. It was great, but the actual book, Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith, goes way deeper into the "why" of it all.
Brenda Lafferty was an outsider. She was a vibrant, educated woman who married into the Lafferty family, who were essentially Mormon royalty in their local community. But the Lafferty brothers were spiraling. They were becoming increasingly radicalized, moving away from the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) and toward a fundamentalist interpretation of the faith.
They started obsessing over "the Peace Maker" and early church doctrines like plural marriage and blood atonement.
When Brenda stood up to them—when she encouraged her husband, Allen, not to follow his brothers into this extremist rabbit hole—she became a target. Ron Lafferty eventually claimed he received a divine revelation to "remove" her.
The crime itself was horrific. Krakauer doesn't sensationalize it, but he doesn't blink either. He uses the murder as a springboard to explore the history of the LDS church, from Joseph Smith’s visions in upstate New York to the bloody Mountain Meadows Massacre.
👉 See also: Is Heroes and Villains Legit? What You Need to Know Before Buying
Why the History Matters
Krakauer spends about half the book on history. Some people find this jarring. They want the true crime, the "whodunnit" (even though we know who did it). But you can't understand the Laffertys without understanding the roots of Mormonism.
The early days of the church were defined by intense persecution. Joseph Smith was killed by a mob. The believers were driven from state to state. This "siege mentality" is something Krakauer argues stayed baked into the DNA of the faith's fundamentalist offshoots.
He tracks the schism between the mainstream LDS church, which eventually banned polygamy in 1890 to gain Utah statehood, and the "Fundamentalist" groups (FLDS) who felt the mainstream church had betrayed God’s original laws.
It’s messy history. It’s full of charismatic leaders, government standoffs, and people who truly believed they were the only ones holding onto the "truth."
When you read Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith, you start to see that the Laffertys weren't just "crazy" in a vacuum. They were following a logic that had been simmering for over a century. They believed they were being more "Mormon" than the Prophet himself.
The Question of Religious Freedom vs. Public Safety
This is where the book gets really controversial. Krakauer isn't shy about his skepticism. He interviews guys like Dan Lafferty in prison, and the stuff Dan says is chilling because he's so calm. He’s totally convinced he did the right thing.
The book asks a question that makes a lot of people uncomfortable: At what point does a religious belief become a psychiatric symptom? Or a criminal conspiracy?
✨ Don't miss: Jack Blocker American Idol Journey: What Most People Get Wrong
The LDS church actually issued a pretty lengthy rebuttal when the book first came out. They argued that Krakauer was unfair, that he was painting a whole religion with the brush of a few violent extremists. They have a point—millions of people find peace and community in the faith.
But Krakauer’s counter-argument is that if you believe God speaks directly to you, and that God’s law is higher than man’s law, you’ve created a setup where anything is possible. Even murder.
It’s a tension that exists in every religion, not just Mormonism. You see it in radical Islam, in extremist Christian sects, in cults of personality. The Laffertys just happen to be a uniquely American version of that tragedy.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Story
- It's not an attack on all Mormons. While the church was unhappy with it, Krakauer is specifically looking at the fringes. He highlights the difference between the mainstream LDS experience and the radicalized fundamentalism of the Laffertys.
- The brothers weren't just "insane." Legally, they were found competent. They knew what they were doing. They had a theological framework for their actions, which is much scarier than random madness.
- The book isn't just about the 80s. The issues of polygamy and fundamentalist compounds in places like Short Creek (Colorado City) are still very real.
The Psychological Grip of the "One True Way"
There is a specific kind of psychological trap that Krakauer describes perfectly. It starts small. Maybe you start feeling like the world is becoming too secular. You find a group that promises the "pure" version of the truth.
For the Lafferty brothers, it was the School of the Prophets. They felt they were returning to the "old ways."
The scariest part of Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith is watching how quickly the human mind can justify atrocities if it believes it has a divine mandate. Ron Lafferty didn't see himself as a murderer; he saw himself as an instrument of God.
That kind of certainty is a drug. It’s addictive. It gives people who feel powerless a sense of ultimate authority.
🔗 Read more: Why American Beauty by the Grateful Dead is Still the Gold Standard of Americana
Krakauer also looks at the victims who survived—like Elizabeth Smart, whose kidnapping happened around the time the book was being finished. Her kidnapper, Brian David Mitchell, was another self-proclaimed prophet operating under the same kind of twisted logic that Ron Lafferty used.
How to Approach the Material Today
If you're looking to understand this case or the broader themes of religious extremism, you should start with the source.
- Read the book first. The TV series is great for the mood and Garfield’s performance, but it adds a lot of fictionalized elements (like the protagonist detective). The book is pure, hard-hitting journalism.
- Look into the 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre. Krakauer’s chapter on this is essential. It helps explain why the "violent faith" theme isn't just a modern invention.
- Check out "The 19th Wife" by Ann Eliza Young. If you want more perspective on the history of plural marriage from someone who lived it in the 1800s, this is a classic reference.
- Watch the 2022 Hulu series with a grain of salt. It’s "inspired by" the book. It’s a drama, not a documentary.
Final Thoughts on the Legacy of the Lafferty Case
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith remains a bestseller because it tackles the things we’re afraid to talk about at dinner parties. It’s about the dark side of the American dream and the dangers of unyielding certainty.
It reminds us that "faith" isn't a get-out-of-jail-free card for morality.
The story of Brenda and Erica Lafferty is a tragedy that didn't have to happen. It happened because people stopped questioning their own "revelations."
If you want to understand how a seemingly normal family can turn into a group of killers in the name of God, this is the definitive text. Just don't expect to sleep well after you finish it.
Next Steps for Further Understanding:
- Audit the historical claims: Read the official LDS Church essays on "Peace and Violence among 19th-Century Latter-day Saints" to see the church's own modern perspective on its difficult history.
- Explore modern fundamentalism: Research the current status of the FLDS (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) to see how these communities have evolved—or haven't—since the 1980s.
- Evaluate the legal precedent: Look into the "competency to stand trial" hearings for Ron Lafferty, which lasted for decades and highlighted the struggle the legal system has with religiously motivated crimes.