This is not a new book but should be read by every mormon
It is a book about murderer Gary Gilmore written by his younger brother Mykel Gilmore. Mykel wrote for Rolling Stone magazine for many years. It is an excellent read.

Gary Gilmore's mother had strong mormon roots in the Provo/American Fork area.and had told her children all kinds of disturbing mormon stories of growing up in a dysfunctional mormon home. She met a traveling salesman one day and ended up with him in the Northwest. They had four boys.

The father was abusive to the three oldest boys. All three found themselves in trouble but Gary had a reputation of just being born bad, He was constantly in trouble with the law.

Eventually he is released from jail and is invited to live in the Provo area with an uncle and cousin. He falls madly in love with a woman who had 2 children. Gary has a lot of psychological issues as y0u can imagine. They end up breaking up and then Gary kills 2 BYU students who are working nighttime shifts. Gary ends up on death row and wants to gun fire because he believes to ATONE for the killings he must shed his own blood. This was all going on in the mid to late 70's.
There is a national legal battle to see if this is a humane type of execution.You can read the rest of the book.
But someone on his mormon side of his family had taught him about blood atonement. Most likely his mom.
The doctrine of blood atonement has been around since Brigham Young taught it. I find it odd when members deny it was ever taught.
There was also a Best-selling book "The Executioner's
Song" about Gary and his family. There is a TV story somewhere out there. Also Mykel is a very good writer and it is a touching story.

It is indeed a great book.

We've discussed it several times on RfM. EB is distantly related to the Browns through the familial connections to Hugh B. Brown.

I don't think Gary ever believed in Mormonism or in blood atonement. I do think, however, that he liked the idea of going out in an explosion of his own blood.

Such was his rage.

The Browns is my father's side which is also my connection to Warren Jeff's. My father was Warren's eldest brother.

My mother's maiden name is Kerby. Gary's mother's maiden name was Brown but her mother was my grandfather's sister.

It is an excellent book. The ghosts of Mormon dysfunction are dancing in that book. I recommend it is every former Mormon especially ones who felt like outsiders in Mormonism.

Yeah, you and I have discussed this. The book is so rich in Mormon motifs: the religion, the folk religion, the heritage of polygamy and violence, familial dysfunction, child neglect and abuse, social isolation, the whole bit.

It's like UTBOH: both stories are extreme manifestations of Mormonism and yet entirely understandable, even enlightening, to those who know the religious culture.

I remember learning about the doctrine/teaching of blood atonement through the reporting of this case. Even in my youth, I thought his request was bizarre.

I'm sure he thought it was heroic. My uncles both killed themselves. One with alcohol and one in deer Creek reservoir. My aunt drank herself to death. My mother's family was all about dying younger from hard lives. My mother is going to live to 100 with all her anger issues.

With Gilmore, I think it was "suicide by society" if not "suicide by cop." He wanted the community to have his blood on its hands.

He was saying "fuck you" to society and to God.

Exactly.

I'm adding a link to an interview with Mikal Gilmore from 1994. There have been several such conversations about the book on different sites; I offer this one because it is excellent and convenient. It is incidentally also the one motivated me to buy the book, which I've read multiple times.

The blurbs accompanying the interview give a good sense of why the Gilmore story is relevant to us exmos.

https://freshairarchive.org/guests/mikal-gilmore

Thanks. It looks like two separate episodes. Do you have a suggestion re. which might be better? Perhaps both are worth listening to.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/09/2022 10:25AM by Gordon B. Stinky.

Hi Gordon,

They are the same interview. The first just has a few sentences added up front to say it's part of their "favorites" series.

Thanks! I listened to it while I was out walking this afternoon. And I don't need to listen to the "2nd" one then.


It was interesting.

Also interesting to hear the anachronisms, like sponsored by a defunct bookstore chain. And the news. Nearly 30 years old, and some of the same players are still playing.


Gilmore's voice and vocal inflections oddly reminded me of Ted Bundy at times. I know that probably sounds weird, but it could be the subtle Pacific Northwest accent. Phrasing too.

I think, Gordon, you are right about the PNW accent and rhythms.

shot through the heart ~



and you are to blame ~



you give love a bad name ~



him play him part ~



an you play your game ~



you give love a bad name ~

Any words of concern for the kids in Uvalde or should we celebrate the fact that they're saved* in the arms of Jesus?





*Assuming they were all born-again Christians instead of Jews, Buddhists, Native Americans, Muslims, Catholics, Mormons, or overly fond of Tater Tots.