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Response to Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith/Index: Difference between revisions
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*[[/Authors remarks|Claims made in "Author's remarks"]] (333-343)
*[[/Authors remarks|Claims made in "Author's remarks"]] (333-343)


===Claims made in "Prologue"===
{{BeginClaimsTable}}
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====xx====
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*It is claimed that the Church purchased more than four hundred Hofmann forgeries and then "squirrelled" them "away in a vault to keep them from the public eye."
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* {{MindReading}}
* [[Mark Hofmann]]
* [[Mark_Hofmann/Church_reaction_to_forgeries|Church treatment of Hofmann forgeries]]
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* {{attn}}
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{{EndClaimsTable}}


===Claims made in "Chapter 1: The City of the Saints"===
===Claims made in "Chapter 1: The City of the Saints"===

Revision as of 15:23, 20 June 2009


A FAIR Analysis of:
Under the Banner of Heaven
A work by author: Jon Krakauer

Index to claims made in Under the Banner of Heaven

This is an index of claims made in this work with links to corresponding responses within the FAIR Wiki. An effort has been made to provide the author's original sources where possible.


Claims made in "Chapter 1: The City of the Saints"

The author states that all information in this chapter is taken from the following references:

Page Claim Response Author's sources

3
  • It is claimed that the Church "presents itself as the world's only true religion."
  • No source provided.

5
  • The author claims that "Mormons" consider themselves to be God's "favored children." The book then quotes the phrase: "a peculiar treasure unto me above all people."

Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

  • As noted in the chapter introduction from the LDS edition of the King James Bible: "The Lord covenants to make Israel a peculiar treasure, a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation." It is unclear why the author uses this scripture to support his claim that "Mormons" consider themselves to be God's "favored children."
  • No source provided.

5
  •  Author's quote: The LDS leadership has worked very hard to persuade both the modern church membership and the American public that polygamy was a quaint, long-abandoned idiosyncrasy practiced by a mere handful of nineteenth-century Mormons.
  •  The author's claim is false The following is from the introduction to the official Priesthood and Relief Society lesson manual for 2008-2009, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith:

This book deals with teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith that have application to our day...This book also does not discuss plural marriage. The doctrines and principles relating to plural marriage were revealed to Joseph Smith as early as 1831. The Prophet taught the doctrine of plural marriage, and a number of such marriages were performed during his lifetime. Over the next several decades, under the direction of the Church Presidents who succeeded Joseph Smith, a significant number of Church members entered into plural marriages. In 1890, President Wilford Woodruff issued the Manifesto, which discontinued plural marriage in the Church (see Official Declaration 1). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints no longer practices plural marriage. (emphasis added)

  • No source provided.

5
  • Religious literature does not mention Joseph's marriage to "at least thirty-three women, and probably as many as forty-eight."
  •  The author's claim is false: the details of Joseph's polygamy are not generally taught in LDS Sunday School classes, but some "religious literature" does mention Joseph's plural marriages.[1]
  • Joseph Smith and polygamy
  • No source provided.

5-6
  • The author claims that LDS literature does not mention that Joseph's youngest wife was "just fourteen years old when Joseph explained to her that God had commanded that she marry him or face eternal damnation."
  • Helen Mar Kimball's story is here told only with reference to a second-hand, dubious, hostile anti-Mormon version instead of Helen's numerous first-hand accounts.
  •  [ATTENTION!]

6
  • Joseph is claimed to have taught that "a man needed at least three wives to attain the 'fullness of exaltation' in the afterlife." The author provides the following quote to support this claim:

"all those who have this law revealed unto them must obey the same...and if ye abide not that covenant, then are yet damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory."

3 Therefore, prepare thy heart to receive and obey the instructions which I am about to give unto you; for all those who have this law revealed unto them must obey the same. 4 For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory.

  • D&C 132

6n
  •  Author's quote: Mormons esteem three books of scripture above all others
  •  The author's claim is false: Members of the Church use four books of scripture: the Holy Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.
  • This type of error demonstrates how poor Krakauer's grounding in LDS thought and history is.
  •  [ATTENTION!]

7
  • Polygamy continued to be practiced after the Manifest was issued.
  •  [ATTENTION!]

Claims made in "Chapter 4: Elizabeth and Ruby"

Page Claim Response Author's sources

45
  • The author claims that Latter-day Saints are raised to "obey figures of Mormon authority unquestioningly, and to believe that LDS doctrine is the law of God."

45
  • The author claims that a fourteen-year-old Latter-day Saint girl was forced to wear robes by her kidnapper that "resembled the sacred robes she had donned with her family when they entered the Mormon temple."
  •  The author's claim is false A fourteen-year-old LDS girl's experience with the temple would have only involved performing baptisms for the dead, and would not have required the wearing of any "sacred robes."

45
  • The author claims that the "words of Joseph Smith" are taught as having been "handed down by God Himself."
  • That depends upon which of Joseph's words are being referred to.

Claims made in ? chapters (drafts)

Page Claim Response Author's sources

57
  •  Author's quote: ...a disgruntled client [Josiah Stowell] had filed a legal claim accusing Joseph of being a fraud....
  •  The author's claim is false: Stowell defended Joseph, testified in his defense, and joined the Church when it was founded.
  • 1826 trial of Joseph Smith
  •  [ATTENTION!]

69
  • Native Americans are, according to the Book of Mormon, descended from the lost tribes of Israel.
  •  The author's claim is false: Book of Mormon peoples are distinct from the lost ten tribes (2 Nephi 29꞉13, 3 Nephi 17꞉4).
  • The author again betrays his superficial grasp of LDS thought and theology.
  •  [ATTENTION!]

194
  •  Author's quote: ...[there is] compelling circumstantial evidence [which] suggests that [Samuel H. Smith] succumbed from poison administered by Hosea Stout....

221
  • William Aden was killed on 10 September 1857.
  •  The author's claim is false: Aden was killed 2-3 days before the massacre.[2]
  •  [ATTENTION!]

221n
  • Brigham Young's letter instructing the Mormons to leave the immigrants alone didn't appear until decades later; there is question about its provenance and authenticity.
  •  [ATTENTION!]

Endnotes

  1. [note]  For example, the practice of plural marriage is detailed in canonized scripture (DC 132) which every member is encouraged to study. The study manual for Sunday School lessons based on this scripture reads, in part, "The Prophet Joseph Smith and those closest to him, including Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball, were challenged by this command, but they obeyed it." [Lesson 31: “Sealed … for Time and for All Eternity”, Doctrine and Covenants and Church History Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, 176 (emphasis added). off-site] The current Church website also includes a discussion [[3]], though the extensive Internet presence post-dates the work under review. CES manuals for college/university students also discuss Joseph and plural marriage; see, for example, "Chapter 20: Doctrinal Developments at Nauvoo," Church History in the Fulness of Times Institute Student Manual: Religion 341 through 343, 2nd edition, (Intellectual Reserve, Inc., 1989-2003).(off-site.
  2. [note]  Craig L. Foster, "Doing Violence to Journalistic Integrity (Review of: "Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of a Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer)," FARMS Review 16/1 (2004): 149–174. off-site
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