Personal Revelations (Situational Irony)
Joseph Smith encouraged his followers to receive personal revelations from God. However, the Mormon church also values obedience and strict hierarchical relationships. The contrast between God speaking equally to believers and requiring elite authorities to interpret God's word is ironic.
Mormonism as American Religion (Situational Irony)
Joseph Smith created Mormonism, which is "widely considered to be the quintessential American religion." This is ironic because Joseph Smith considered the Mormon people to be separate from the United States; he and his successors actively attempted to establish the Mormon community as an autonomous entity.
The One True Church (Situational Irony)
Starting with Joseph Smith, several prophets, including Rulon Jeffs, Robert Crossfield, Tom Green, and LeRoy Johnson, claim that their interpretation of Mormonism is the only correct one. All claim to have received a direct message from God to "set in order" the Church. More than twenty fundamentalists have claimed to be God's final prophet foretold in the Book of Mormon.
The Holiness of Polygamy (Situational Irony)
The Peace Maker claims that polygamy is such a holy practice, that it "could not possibly produce one crime; neither could it injure any human being." Yet, as Under the Banner of Heaven demonstrates, the practice of polygamy has led many fundamentalists to commit myriad crimes, from defrauding the government to rape and statutory rape to murder.
Brenda's Murder (Situational Irony)
When Dan Lafferty recounts how he murdered Brenda, he says he refrained from mentioning the revelation, as he "didn't want Brenda to hear things that would make her uncomfortable." This is ironic because Dan beats and murders Brenda and her daughter, but is unwilling to make her "uncomfortable."
