I read ‘Under the Banner of Heaven’ a few months ago and loved it - well, as much as you can ‘love’ a book about religious fundamentalism and corruption. I, too, found myself shaking through most of it, but mostly in disgust. Particularly frustrating are the men with dozens - even hundreds - of children who expect us to pay for their irresponsibility. The fundamentalists actually ENCOURAGE welfare fraud (and other offenses) as a means of doing God’s work - namely, sticking it to us “gentiles.” Not to mention that they can freely and openly sexually abuse their wives and daughters - in the few instances they’re hauled into court, they’re inevitably acquitted by the all-Mormon juries.

The fun thing about Mormonism, though, is that it’s fairly easy to discredit both the founders and their beliefs, since it’s such a new religion (with a long paper trail). Magical, disappearing golden plates? Pfffft!

-K