From Aerin’s description, it didn’t sound particularly anti-Mormon, so I wasn’t sure where this idea came from.

It’s true that organized religion can be used to justify abuse. One reader sent us an example from her own life, which we posted and discussed here. That’s already threatening enough to the mainstream church, and then if you throw in discussion of MMM and the fact that the Laffertys were believers in the Mormon tradition (even if not mainstream), I can kind of see why LDS Inc. wouldn’t like it.

Still, railing on how anti-Mormon the book is means essentially acknowledging that a book about these extremist offshoots is a book about Mormonism.

As I recall, that buzz was started by the church protesting the book before it was released. The subtitle of the book is “A Story of Violent Faith.” This is certainly demonstrable in the stories that Krakauer tells–the Laffertys and also Mountain Meadows among other things. The church chose to read that as, more or less, “A Story of ‘A’ Violent Faith” and complained that mormonism itself was being tarred as being a violent religion.

Krakauer grew up in Oregon and did some book lectures in my small town here at the request of a high school friend of his who now lives here. His comments were that he was very disappointed that the church made very public and negative comments about his book before it had even been released. His assertion (and, having read the book, I agree with him) was that he was not writing a screed against mormons (his interest in mormonism initially came from close childhood friends who were mormon) but a more nuanced look at how religion can turn violent, using mormon examples.

The FLDS do not come off well in Krakauer’s book, but I don’t think, really, that mainstream LDS vs. FLDS is at all the point of the book. My personal opinion about the “anti-mormon” label that was slapped on the book by the church, even after publication, is the fact that the Laffertys were mormon and are identified as such. Their psychosis was peculiarly based in mormonism in that the dysfunctions of an abusive family were justified in terms of mormonism. But also, and I think most significantly, Krakauer extensively treats the Mountain Meadows Massacre. I think his account is pretty complete, accurate, and even-handed. But the institutional church is obviously very touchy about Mountain Meadows and I think any sort of mention of it gets them up in arms.

I’m enjoying this discussion.

But if I were trying to compile a complete list, you’d be the first person I’d think to ask for directions. And then perhaps Holly and Joanna Brooks. I’d start by cribbing from their list, even though they appear to be discriminating by gender.

I’m taking notes.