In between going out with friends and running errands this weekend I read the book “Under the Banner of Heaven” by Jon Krakauer. I picked up this book for two reasons. The first being that I loved “Into the Wild” and “Into Thin Air” both of which Krakauer wrote, and secondly because I am completely intrigued by stories of religious fanatics and why people believe in what they do. The book is about a two fundamentalist Mormons who murder their sister in law and niece one evening. That is just the beginning. What the book does is chronicle the history of American religion, specifically relating to the Mormon Church. Needless to say it is completely fascinating, and ironically in the news this week when I purchased the book.
At the end of the book Krakauer gives his own theological frame of reference- here are some excerpts:
“I don’t know what God is, or what God had in mind when the universe was set in motion. In fact, I don’t know if God even exists, although I confess that I sometimes find myself praying in times of great fear, or despair, or astonishment at a display of unexpected beauty.”
- How true is this? I have found myself praying in some circumstances where I felt I really needed to God or someone of a higher being to help me through something traumatic, and then there have been ridiculous prayers where I say the night before “Dear God, please tell me that when I step on the scale tomorrow morning I have lost a couple of pounds” or “Dear God, please have him LIKE me, or have him CALL me!” But then there is that comfort that Krakauer describes of praying in times of great fear or despair- basically just saying something out loud sometimes dispels those fears.
Krakauer continues by saying:
“…if I remain in the dark about our purpose here, and the meaning of eternity, I have nevertheless arrived at an understanding of a few more modest truths: Most of us fear death. Most of us yearn to comprehend how we got here, and why- which is to say, most of us ache to know the love of our creator.”
- I think for me the burning question that I constantly ask myself is “what is my purpose”? What am I meant to do, because honestly I often feel that being an instructional designer is just not purposeful to me. I ask myself this question a lot, I think partly attributed to the fact that I watch and read too much Oprah, who says that everyone has a purpose in life, a vocation.
Overall it’s a great read and I would recommend this book!
….off to play scrabble…
