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Under the Banner of Heaven Episode 5, “The One Mighty and Strong”

Summary – Pyre is interrogating Sam, who shouts scripture at him about the “one mighty and strong.” Pyre uses false details about the murder to trick Sam into revealing that he isn’t the murderer. The police chief is getting ready to release the brothers, so Taba stalls him while Pyre talks to Robin about his brothers’ involvement in the “School of the Prophets” and gets him to reveal two names: Bernard Brady, a Provo businessman, and Prophet Onias. The detectives follow up with Bishop Low and his wife, located at the end of the last episode, asking them about the excommunication of Dan and Ron. The bishop is reluctant to reveal details because of clergy confidentiality but eventually reveals that Dan was excommunicated based on the testimony of his daughters that he attempted to forcibly take them as polygamous wives. We get a flashback to a heartbreaking scene where Matilda has sex with Dan to distract him as her daughters escape out a window in the middle of the night. Dan was excommunicated, and the girls were placed with a family in the ward (as the bishop refused to call CPS) but later ran away, and now they and their brother are missing. At his daughter’s baby blessing, Ron confronts the bishop about his brother’s excommunication, not knowing about Dan’s attempted polygamy and thinking that it’s about his political beliefs. Brenda has a conversation with Sister Low and Diana, indicating that both know that Ron is abusing her but only Brenda is willing to do anything about it. In fact, Sister Low feeds Diana a line about how her only duty is “creating a home and environment to sustain and support our Priesthood holder.” To Detective Pyre, the bishop claims to have followed church procedure but eventually encouraged Diana to leave and gave her money to do so. The detectives follow up on Robin’s lead about Bernard Brady by arriving at his house in the foothills of Provo with a warrant. We find out that the Bradys sheltered Ron when he was having a hard time. In a flashback, Ron receives a summons to a church disciplinary court and blames Diana for it. He punches her in the face and begins throwing the food she’s preparing on the floor, saying he’ll starve her into obedience. Diana grabs a kitchen knife and drives Ron from the house, telling him not to come back. Back in the present, Bernard admits to being in the School of the Prophets study group and driving miles to pick up Prophet Onias and the Laffertys but denies being further into the group than that. But when he sends his wife out of the room to make lemonade, he produces a notarized letter he sent to himself with details of the Laffertys’ hit list, including that Diana is on the list because she wrote a letter that got Ron excommunicated. The detectives rightly chastise him for not taking this information to the police earlier. Brady reveals that he knows the location of “the farm,” a Lafferty compound. With Allen’s help in drawing a map, the detectives plan to stake out the property in the morning. Detective Pyre returns home for FHE and finds that his wife and kids have been invited to the bishop’s house for the evening and are spending the night there. Pyre believes this is an attempt to keep an eye on his family and control the narrative about the case. The next morning on the way to the raid of the farm, Pyre questions Brady about the details of Ron’s excommunication, which we see in flashback. He is indeed excommunicated after lashing out at the church leaders about them not following the “correct” doctrines of the church. When Ron returns home, he finds that his teenage daughter has cut the markings out of his garments, which he puts on anyway with only a sports coat and jeans over the top. He says goodbye to his kids and leaves the home. When the farm is raided, the only people inside are three teenage girls, who we learn are from a polygamous compound in British Columbia and were brought down by Prophet Onias to be Ron’s wives. The girls show the detectives a cupboard they had been forbidden to touch, which the detectives open to reveal a single shirt belonging to Ron with some papers in the pocket, a hit list, and a revelation directed at Diana commanding her to repent and return to him. Allen is in disbelief that Ron could have written these things, but Brady confirms that Ron is a violent man. He explains that Ron fled to his parents’ home after his excommunication, where his mother confirms his calling as “the one mighty and strong” and says he’s only a heartbeat away from his rightful place. His father is lying sick in bed and asks Ron to call a doctor, but Ron recalls his cruelty to them as children and refuses. It’s implied that he indirectly caused his father’s death in order to take over the leadership of the family. Church History—This episode contains the most fabricated piece of church history in the show. When Bernard Brady reveals that Diana’s information led to Ron’s excommunication, he makes an analogy to Joseph Smith’s martyrdom. He claims that while Joseph was in hiding after destroying the press of the Nauvoo Expositor, Emma wrote a letter to Joseph encouraging him. John Taylor intercepts this letter and adds a line meant to make Joseph turn himself in, thus indirectly causing the prophet’s death. Taylor’s motive is to put Brigham Young at the head of the church, instead of Emma’s young son, in order to continue the doctrine of polygamy, which he and Brigham are already heavily involved in. Reputable historians both in and out of the church say there is no evidence to support this interpretation of events, though the succession crisis between Brigham Young and the ten-year-old Joseph Smith III is real and

Liz Busby May 21, 2022

The war over parental rights has begun + Today’s Digest

Our daily rundown of the articles from around the web that we feel our readers would enjoy and appreciate. We hope to highlight the best of what’s around. Public Square Bulletin recommends: The war over parental rights has begun Carl R. Trueman—World In his ever careful way, Trueman looks at the recent tensions between parents and the school boards that serve them. He looks at some of the philosophical underpinnings that might prevent this issue from being easily resolved. Cemeteries Remind Us of The Importance Of Religion Grace Bydalek—The American Conservative Thomas S. Monson famously loved visiting cemeteries. Grace Bydalek explores some of the reasons why, considering what the distilled messages tell us about what is most important in our lives and how it conflicts with what is valued outside the cemetery walls. A Disappointed Supporter Allyson Flake Matsoso—Philosophy of Motherhood Matsoso has recently written a two-part series for Public Square reflecting in part on the significance of Jordan Peterson in helping her understand her role as a mother. So we wanted to make sure you saw this take where she reflects on Peterson’s recent Twitter controversy where he called a magazine cover model “not beautiful.” How the church should respond to the rise of anti-Semitism in America Jordan Wooten—Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission A think tank for the Southern Baptist Church published an article looking at the alarming rise of antisemitism and what their church could do about it. The ideas are practical and should be of interest to those of other faiths looking to answer the same question. Breaking Down Texas’ Disruptive New Social Media Law Andrew Egger—The Dispatch A new Texas law will go into effect that prevents social media sites from viewpoint discrimination. The law echoes similar public square laws such as those about malls in California. The Dispatch has an explainer of the many ramifications of the new rules.

C.D. Cunningham May 20, 2022

How many Latter-day Saints are in the pews each Sunday?

I wanted to draw your attention to this stat from religion demographer Ryan Burge, which has The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the third most attended church in the US on an average Sunday. On an average Sunday, there are nearly 20 million Catholics in the pews across the United States. There are 6.7M Southern Baptists. 3rd largest group is Latter-day Saints 4.4M fill the pews each weekend. That's more the United Methodists and the Assemblies of God combined. pic.twitter.com/IwCbD6mozt — Ryan Burge ? (@ryanburge) May 19, 2022 The 4.4 million in attendance is also a positive sign for activity rates in the US Church.

C.D. Cunningham May 19, 2022

Demanding Conversations About Violence

In the weeks since the premiere of the Under the Banner of Heaven miniseries, there has been a broad consensus that the show doesn’t quite work. Its attempt to paint Latter-day Saints as promoting violence just doesn’t land. And its depiction of Latter-day Saints simply doesn’t resonate because it’s too dissimilar. This of course must come as some disappointment to critics of the Church who had hoped the series would prompt more conversations around the issues they deem problematic such as how the Church promotes violence. Into this void comes a new argument made most prominently by Taylor Petrey, but also echoed by a student columnist at the University of Utah, and now promoted on Twitter by Benjamin Park—namely, that because there has been some violence done by some Latter-day Saints who use the language of their culture in perpetrating it, Latter-day Saints should watch the series with the intent to learn how to make their Church less violent. Both Petrey and Park had previously criticized the series for its poor job in portraying Latter-day Saints, but have since shifted. We don’t want to attack the Daily Utah Chronicle piece because it’s a student article. But Petrey and Park should know better. Some of us have been on the record defending Petrey as a serious scholar, despite the fact that his conclusions don’t often derive well from the available evidence. But Petrey seems to suggest in his article that any violence that uses the language of religion must have been inspired by that religion. We understand the temptation of this point of view. What else could we blame violence on if not the culture it arose in? But Petrey’s position assumes that human beings are naturally non-violent, and only become violent as a result of their culture. This is a major assumption in the Robert Orsi essay that Petrey relies on extensively. Parks’ tweets similarly assume that any conversation about Latter-day Saints and violence must concede that the faith contributes to the violence in some way. But the causes of violence are often complicated. Because of the importance of our innate nature in creating violence, even the most peaceful society would still produce fringe examples of extreme violence. Having a Latter-day Saint who becomes violent isn’t proof that the faith contributes to that violence, even if the perpetrator uses the language of their culture in perpetuating that violence. Cultural contexts can then increase or decrease the likelihood of that emerging, but no culture has discovered how to remove it altogether. And because Under the Banner of Heaven fails to present a clear picture of what most experience as Latter-day Saint culture, it doesn’t do much to establish whether a Latter-day Saint context is more prone to cause violence than others. Those who use Latter-day Saint or another religious language and context to perpetuate violence weren’t necessarily made violent by those cultures. But rather, violent individuals will leverage anything around them to perpetrate their violence. We’re aware of many other similar examples—of abusers, for instance, who used the language of therapy to perpetuate abuse. But it would be absurd to suggest that therapeutic culture caused that abuse. Even pacifist language has been known to be used to perpetuate violence by shaming survivors into silence. An abusive person will draw upon the most powerful language available within their given cultural context and weaponize that. This is not coincidentally the conclusion made by prosecutors in the Lafferty case, that the murder was about power and relationships and that religion was merely the pretext. Does the Church of Jesus Christ disproportionately create violent offenders? We’d be interested in reading any definitive social science research on the question, but unfortunately, those promoting this point of view or hoping to have this conversation have not yet presented any. And rather than attempt to answer this question clearly itself, Under the Banner of Heaven skips the question and takes it as a given. A study of this sort could start the conversation Petrey, Parks, and the student author hope for. Instead, we get a story about a 38-year-old murder that was notable mainly for how unusual it was among the Latter-day Saint community and perpetrated by someone who had recently been kicked out of the Church for their extremist views. It should not surprise anyone that it hasn’t prompted anyone to conclude there’s a problem with violence among Latter-day Saints.

C.D. Cunningham May 19, 2022

What Sex Really Is + Today’s Digest

Our daily rundown of the articles from around the web that we feel our readers would enjoy and appreciate. We hope to highlight the best of what’s around. Public Square Bulletin recommends: What Sex Really Is Aubrey Pollnow—First Things The latest from First Things is remarkable for two reasons. First, it explores implicature and the lengths Amia Srinivasan goes to in her most recent book to avoid being seen talking to the wrong people. Second, it provides a pithy but complete defense of a traditional sexual ethic. Tibet: No Religion Allowed in Social Media Short Videos and Webcasts Lopsang Gurung—Bitter Winter China has set new regulations for social media use in Tibet. Videos shared there cannot mention religion. The rules around this regulation are ambiguous, and enforcement remains to be seen, but this should spark major concerns for any religious freedom advocates. Is “Be True to Yourself” Good Advice? Brian S. Rosner—Crossway Rosner answers the title’s question by basically saying it depends on how you define “yourself.” And then spends the bulk of the article look at the new and sometimes problematic approaches to defining the self that have become socially dominant. The recent prophetic focus on identity from Russell M. Nelson suggests this kind of analysis may be helpful. What is the Church? Chad Nielsen—Times & Seasons An exploration of the remarks most meaningful to the author from general conference, Chad Nielsen examines Reyna Aburto’s talk, tying it into the larger picture of her ministry and earlier remarks. Pro-Abortion Rights Protesters Hit Catholic Churches: Why You Didn’t Read About It Clemente Lisi—Get Religion In the wake of a leaked Supreme Court ruling implication abortion, many have chosen to channel their frustration with hateful and bigoted acts targeted at Catholic churches, including in some cases vandalism and theft. But this story was largely missing from the popular press. The essential religion in media critics at Get Religion have an insightful answer.

C.D. Cunningham May 19, 2022

Dare to Overcome, National Faith@Work

I wanted to draw your attention to the work of Brian Grimm who runs the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation. Next week his organization will be hosting a conference in Washington D.C. where prominent leaders from Fortune 500 companies will be speaking about the valuable role of religious pluralism in their workplaces. You can learn about one of the speakers here: Dr. Judith Richter from Religious Freedom & Business Fund on Vimeo.

C.D. Cunningham May 18, 2022

Church in Guam Makes the News for All the Right Reasons

A charming local news story out of Guam on Tuesday praised The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who donated 324 wheelchairs to local support agencies. Be sure to read it here. I was particularly pleased to read the paper report, “The wheelchairs have been well thought out as they come in multiple sizes and extra cushions for comfort and are also durable in Guam weather conditions.” These kinds of local donations from locals who understand local needs are often at the heart of the best Christian service. And while the recently released report demonstrates the breadth of the Church’s charitable efforts, it’s still these local reports that best demonstrate the heart and giving spirit of Latter-day Saints.

C.D. Cunningham May 18, 2022

Religion as a Healer in the Media

Much has been said about the Christian nationalism present in the hate crime mass shooting in Buffalo, including by us in the Public Square Bulletin. In fact a search for “Buffalo Shooting” and “Christianity” all center on the Christianity of the shooter, whether decrying the role religion played in leading to the shooting or taking efforts to separate religion from the actions of the shooter. But little has been said about the faith of the victims and community. This is a common thread in media reporting on tragedies, focusing on the way religion influenced perpetrators, but not how it helped heal victims. Religion News Services interviewed Rev. Denice Walden about the attack, and she was able to turn the focus to just those too-often underreported questions. Walden said, “We’ve also put out a call to clergy to just be a presence in this community. Just be a presence of peace, a presence of comfort, a presence of love in this community. Because at the end of the day, that’s what’s going to help us start to process. That’s what’s going to help us start to heal.” After the climax of a tragedy has passed, and the journalists move on, those remaining are often left with the long work of healing and community building, and it’s there where religion shines.

C.D. Cunningham May 18, 2022

How Politics Poisoned the Evangelical Church + Today’s Digest

Our daily rundown of the articles from around the web that we feel our readers would enjoy and appreciate. We hope to highlight the best of what’s around. Public Square Bulletin recommends: How Politics Poisoned the Evangelical Church Tim Alberta—The Atlantic This insightful feature looks at Pastor Bill Bolin from Brighton, Michigan, following how politics have affected his church while placing it in a broader historical context. It’s Not Progressive Christianity, It’s Accommodationist Christianity, and It Has Nothing of Christ In It Tom Gilson—The Stream Tom Gilson seeks to reframe the debate as not between progressive and conservative Christianity, which can coexist peacefully together, but rather between what he sees as traditional Christianity and a Christianity that seeks to undermine Christ to appeal to the largest group possible. Why are Sexually Transmitted Infections Surging? Kim Tingley—New York Times Sad news out of the New York Times reinforces the importance of the Church’s counter-cultural stance on sexuality. This news sadly comes at the same time as news that marriage rates hit 50-year lows. Approaches to Ending Race-Based Violence Ayaan Hirsi Ali—UnHerd After Public Square’s staff editorial yesterday on approaches to end violence, I wanted to highlight this article by human rights activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali who adds additional approaches by looking at how violence victimizes the black community specifically. Meet the Democrat who may be America’s fiercest advocate for religious freedom Hanna Seariac—Deseret News Katrina Lantos Swett, a Jewish child of Holocaust survivors, human rights advocate, Democrat, and Latter-day Saint, invites everyone to make more seats at the table

C.D. Cunningham May 18, 2022

More Apostolic Warnings Against Racism

Dallin H. Oaks, the second senior-most leader of The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints spoke Tuesday at Ensign College with Clark Gilbert, the Commissioner of the Church’s educational system. Oaks said: “In condemning and working against racism, we encourage our students, our teachers, and all our members to avoid extreme or polarizing positions and teachings that undermine the U.S. Constitution and other core institutions. … [The Constitution’s] inspired principles, including the freedoms of speech and religion and its authorized amendments, have allowed subsequent generations to continue to improve and strengthen the rights of all of its citizens. … A gospel-centered approach to combating racism empowers all parties to support, apply and teach the power and light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” The remarks come just days after a race-based hate crime that killed ten people in New York, and during a time when the Church has been put under a prophetic injunction to “lead out in abandoning attitudes and actions of prejudice.” Oaks had previously said, “Of course, Black lives matter! That is an eternal truth.” The remarks centered around proclaiming truth with love, and seem to suggest that Latter-day Saints should not just end racism in their own lives, but work in trying to persuade those who disagree. The remarks also addressed LGBT+ issues. Oaks re-emphasized the fairness for all approach he’s spoken of on many occasions, while Gilbert added, “Individuals or groups who do not treat our LGBTQ members with empathy and charity are not aligned with the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ.” While the remarks themselves don’t offer anything new to a faith that has been emphasizing these very issues recently, they come at a remarkably poignant time, when we could each use encouragement to be trying to persuade others who do not share our commitment to end racism.

C.D. Cunningham May 17, 2022

The Ordinary Saint’s Guide to Under the Banner of Heaven: Episode 4, “Church and State”

Summary — The episode begins with the detectives checking in on Bishop Low’s home, which they find ransacked and deserted. Pyre finds a letter written by Ron’s wife to the Prophet expressing concern about her husband’s refusal to pay taxes. The detective contacts the Church about the letter and is told the letter was handed down to one of the bishop’s counselors, LeConte Bascom, who works at the bank. Brother Bascom says he had to turn Ron down for a loan because his brother’s refusal to pay taxes made him a liability, though it’s heavily implied that the real reason is that his wife’s letter was seen as an embarrassment to the Church. In flashbacks, we see Dan marching in a Pioneer Day parade, shouting about the government’s illegal taxes, as well as smoking and kissing a woman who isn’t his wife. Dan’s father says he’s ashamed of his immoral behavior and anti-tax nonsense and advises him to study the scriptures to set himself back on the right path. This unfortunately drives Dan into researching more obscure history of the Church, including information on polygamy. He makes a business trip down to Colorado City to visit the breakaway polygamist sect there and manages to get the name of a pro-polygamy pamphlet called “The Peace Maker.” He reads this pamphlet and brings up the idea to his wife Matilda, telling her she’s limiting his spiritual power if she doesn’t let him marry a second wife. During this conversation, Dan is pulled over for speeding and refuses to cooperate with the officer, leading them on a police chase that ends with his arrest. At the jail, Dan’s brothers try to convince him to stop his resistance to the government. Ron feels it’s his responsibility to show Dan the error of his ways, but instead, Dan runs circles around him, leaving him speechless and admitting that he’s going to lose his business and home. Dan somehow turns this fact into evidence that his views are correct and ends up winning over Ron to his side. In the present, Detective Pyre is being leaned on by the Laffertys’ stake president to release them into his custody but refuses. The detectives have identified the car the killers were probably using and plan to hold a press conference to ask for tips when the police chief returns from vacation and demands that all mentions of fundamentalism Mormonism be scrubbed from the press briefing. (It’s implied he’s being leaned on by the Church.) Pyre tries to toe the line at the conference but eventually caves to a persistent reporter and admits that he thinks that the murders may have something to do with fundamentalist beliefs. The next day at church, the ward is shunning the Pyres, and a specific couple is assigned to keep an eye on their faith. Meanwhile, a police officer has located Bishop Low fly fishing in the mountains and safe. Church History — During Dan’s explanation of polygamy, we get flashbacks to the infamous scene where Emma finds out about the doctrine of polygamy for the first time and throws the revelation in the fire. Though church members will be familiar with this story, the tone is portrayed very differently than we are used to. Emma is shown as being absolutely skeptical of Joseph’s translation of the Book of Mormon and other prophetic acts, even though she firmly testified of the truth of these things even after her break with the Church after Joseph was murdered. Joseph is portrayed as proclaiming the doctrine of polygamy only for his own physical gratification, which is a common anti-Mormon trope with little evidence behind it. While it is true that one of Joseph’s wives was only 14, the facts behind the situation are more complex than portrayed in the show. The pamphlet “The Peace Maker” is portrayed by Dan Lafferty as an “essential LDS tract” written by Joseph Smith, and no one in the show ever corrects this perception. In fact, the tract was not written by Joseph Smith, and he repudiated it during his lifetime. This episode presents a slanted view of church history, giving only one side of the conversation and showing the modern church as trying to hush it up rather than having its own interpretation of events. Shibboleths — Pyre claims that writing a letter to the prophet is like writing to “Heavenly Father himself,” which is absolutely wrong. While members of the Church do revere the prophet and listen to his teachings, he is not God, and this equivalency is not one Saints would make (though outsiders think we do). The idea that doing business with fundamentalists is like “doing business with the mafia” is totally alien to me. They are regarded as somewhat of an oddity in Utah, but not dangerous like organized crime. One unusual phrase occurs when the stake president claims that the Laffertys need to be released into his custody for “healing prayer.” I honestly have no idea what this phrase refers to and have never heard it in an LDS context. And the formal type of shunning portrayed happening to the Pyres is not something we do. Though obviously, wards vary in their culture, there is no formal instruction not to talk to those who have questions. Rather, we are encouraged to keep being friends with those who are struggling with faith and support them however we can. Changing History — It is interesting to note that in the actual chain of events, it was Sister Low, not Bishop Low, who was on the Lafferty hit list. Sister Low was a Relief Society President who supported Dan’s wife as she sought a divorce. Why does the show change this? Perhaps the idea that the Church has female leaders doesn’t fit well with the show’s depiction of the oppression of women in the LDS church. Brenda Lafferty’s sister has also expressed her disappointment with the way the show is misconstruing her sister’s murder in pursuit of an

Liz Busby May 17, 2022

The Disinformation Board and Religious Freedom + Today’s Digest

Our daily rundown of the articles from around the web that we feel our readers would enjoy and appreciate. We hope to highlight the best of what’s around. Public Square Bulletin recommends: Will the ‘Disinformation Governance Board’ censor religious viewpoints? Jorge Gomez—Christian Post While the article does lean into something of the more hysterical concerns about the Department of Homeland Security’s new board for tracking disinformation campaigns, it does address one of the big questions that government leaders must reckon with as the board settles on its role: how will this intersect with religious freedom concerns? The Hard Left and Populist Right Agree on All the Wrong Things Stephan Jensen—Quillette The “culture wars” are often a topic for dread. But Stephan Jensen posits that we’ve become hoodwinked by extremes on both sides that have exaggerated concerns well beyond what is warranted to keep us in a constant state of unease. But he suggests that the sane center may be making a comeback as the war in Ukraine helps us focus on what’s truly important. Insta-Therapy: Helping Or Hurting? Seerut K. Chawla—Unorthodox Chawla suggests that the overly simplified versions of mental health that are bandied about on social media cause many more problems than they solve. She suggests that all too often that this culture problematizes normal life in order to create a problem that the influencer is uniquely suited to solve. Go Forth and Proselytise Peter Davidson—Literary Review This review of the book “Jesuits: A History” focuses on the Jesuits’ missionary efforts. Peter Davidson makes a clear argument that missionary work has historically provided great value. Davidson frames Markus Friedrich’s book in a way that is a direct challenge to those who seek to eliminate or devalue ongoing proselyting efforts. Jacob’s Dream Gospel for Kids The latest video from this official YouTube channel of the Church provides a fun activity for kids that helps frame the story of Jacob’s ladder about the covenant path.

C.D. Cunningham May 17, 2022