Joseph and Hyrum . . . Pippin and Merry

 In my post on reincarnation, I mentioned that I believe individuals such as Joseph Smith and JRR Tolkien have had other lives and thus been known by other names.  I will pick up on that again here, and mention not only Joseph but his brother Hyrum and my own thoughts regarding their potential connection to Tolkien's stories.

As the title of this post states, my own belief is that Joseph was Peregrin Took (Pippin) and Hyrum was Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry).  These are not the only additional roles these two played, but they are the ones I am highlighting in this post.  

This belief also means, interestingly, that given what I wrote about Denethor being not only Lehi but also Joseph Smith, Sr., you have a situation where Pippin is reunited with Denethor (in obviously a different relationship than that of the LOTR, but also perhaps in some continuation of the same generous feelings Pippin had for Denethor that had him take his oath of fealty at Minas Tirith in the first place).

Here are a few observations with respect to this, that may seem random but might be worthwhile connections for some.

One has an inkling of Joseph Smith's significant interest in Egyptian history, language, and culture from what has now become writings in the Pearl of Great Price in Mormon scriptures - specifically, the Book of Abraham.  The Book of Abraham is a strange book, and has fallen out of favor in terms of being an accurate translation of anything Egyptian according to both Mormon and non-Mormon scholars.  I am not addressing any of that here, but just highlighting that Joseph was interested in Egypt, and specifically the accounts of the great patriarchs Abraham and Joseph as their stories related to Egypt.

The Book of Abraham is a well known book, but what is much less well known is a document titled "Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language".  One of the few items of the Kirtland Egyptian papers that was written in Joseph's hand, it doesn't get much press or attention frankly because I am not sure anyone knows what to do with it.  It is a lot of strangeness, and not a lot of context or even a purpose as to what Joseph was trying to do.  One of the few documents that we know Joseph wrote himself, and it wastes away in relative obscurity.

Here is a link to this document:

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/grammar-and-alphabet-of-the-egyptian-language-circa-july-circa-november-1835/1

I will not solve the riddle of what he intended it for here, either.  I bring it up to reinforce that Joseph was really into Egypt, or something he knew or referred to as "Egypt".

What does this have to do with anything of Joseph being Pippin?  Maybe nothing, and it is a very loose connection in the best case, perhaps.

Following the events of LOTR, Pippin went on to, among other things, become very interested in Numenor, ultimately establishing a library at Great Smials full of Numenorean history, tales of Elendil's heirs, and other things that he collected from Gondor.  One can potentially guess that in spending more time with Faramir, in particular, Pippin gained an interest in the tale of Numenor .  This library was used in conjunction with other materials that Merry collected to produce what is essentially Appendix B of the LOTR - "The Tale of Years".

It is with Egypt that Tolkien drew the closest parallels in understanding Numenor, at least through their descendants of Gondor.  In a letter to Rhona Beare (Letter #211), he writes this of Gondor

"The Númenóreans of Gondor were proud, peculiar, and archaic, and I think are best pictured in (say) Egyptian terms. In many ways they resembled ‘Egyptians’ – the love of, and power to construct, the gigantic and massive. And in their great interest in ancestry and in tombs. (But not of course in 'theology’ : in which respect they were Hebraic and even more puritan…) I think the crown of Gondor (the S. Kingdom) was very tall, like that of Egypt, but with wings attached, not set straight back but at an angle. The N. Kingdom had only a diadem the difference between the N. and S. kingdoms of Egypt"

The Numenoreans can best be compared to Egypt.  And I will go one further on this statement, in saying I believe that the ancient culture of Egypt drew in many important ways on the even more ancient culture and civilization of Numenor.

And I believe this is where Joseph's "Egyptian" interest comes from.  We are seeing some of the Numenorean knowledge accumulated by him as Pippin long ago (and forgotten) start coming to the surface as he engages with Egyptian beliefs, artifacts, and stories of the 19th century.

So, there is that - what else?

Well, there is the matter of seer stones and seer-ship.  Pippin was the one who just couldn't be kept away from the Orthanc stone, being drawn to it for unknown reasons.  As Joseph, even before he received the Gold Plates, he was known for being someone who sought out seer stones in the ground that he would then use to find lost things, including treasure.  If the definition of a seer is one who looks into seer stones, both Pippin and Joseph not only were seers, but they were drawn to being seers.

One other detail I think is kind of funny to think on:  Pippin and Merry loved to parade around the shire in their armor following the War of the Ring, with Pippin still being a Knight of Gondor, and from all accounts seemed to love playing that role.  Later, as Joseph, he would also love being General of the Nauvoo Legion, and would frequently parade around the city in his full dress uniform.  An anti-Mormon newspaper, The Warsaw Signal, had this to say about Joseph and Nauvoo:

"How military these people are becoming! Everything they say or do seems to breathe the spirit of military tactics. Their prophet appears, on all occasions, in his sp[l]endid regimental dress signs his name Lieut. General, and more titles are to be found in the Nauvoo Legion, than any one book on military tactics can produce; ... Truly fighting must, be a part of the creed of these Saints!"

Other sources concur that Joseph preferred to be addressed by his full military title and took great pride in the Legion and his role in it (including his uniform).

While there are many interpretations and commentaries on Joseph's character and motivations from these accounts, I frankly see the same Being who paraded around as a military hero as Pippin of the Shire, doing the same thing as Joseph of Nauvoo.

Anyway, there are a few things to consider, I guess.  I haven't really said anything about Hyrum-Merry, but may need to leave that for another post at this point.  It is said that Hyrum is the forgotten prophet, with all of the attention going to Joseph, and I am afraid I have fallen into the same trap here.  But, I won't forget about him in a future continuation of this, and may even add a few other names/ characters for him to be considered as playing.