One story element that I did not call out in my last post on the Liahona being the Anor Stone, but will do quickly right now, is my belief that the prophet Lehi was in fact the reincarnated Denethor, Steward of Gondor from LOTR.
A strange connection, perhaps, but one that makes sense to me, and I guess I will leave to it readers to look into and see if it might make sense to them.
In this scenario, then, Lehi-Denethor receives as a gift the same stone he would have been very familiar with (if only he had been able to remember!), in that the stone, or rather the conflict with Sauron he had through it, was the major factor in his ultimate fall to despair and insanity. The story of Denethor came to a sad end for a great man who did as he thought he ought to in order to protect his people, but was ultimately overcome by the lies and dark power of The Enemy.
As Lehi, however, he was able to rewrite his story, and his greatness and goodness won through this time in a (somewhat) happier ending. He faced great sorrow and afflictions, but did not ultimately give into the same despair that had taken his life before and remained true to what God asked him to do up until the end of his life. This is a redemptive story, in part, for Lehi-Denethor, if not one still filled with some tragedy, loss, and sorrow.
Additionally, I propose that this same individual would also be born in our current age as Joseph Smith, Sr - father of Joseph Smith the prophet. The dreams of Joseph Smith, Sr. are curious, and one has always stood out and been referenced as potential evidence of the Book of Mormon either being a fraud - a creation of the Smith family - or divinely inspired. For those not familiar, Joseph Sr. had a dream very similar to what would end up being published in the Book of Mormon as Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life. Again, a lot of speculation as to why such close parallels, but my reason for the similarities is pretty simple: Joseph Sr. was Lehi.
I am going to propose another connection here (why not?) and say that Denethor-Lehi-Joseph Sr. was also the individual known as Tar-Palantir, the 24th King of Numenor. His identity as such may help solve or answer some of the wonderings that Gandalf expressed as to why the 'blood' of Numenor ran so true in Denethor vs the rest of his countrymen, so many years after that race had been in decline in Gondor.
So that is 4 different turns at the wheel for the individual known by these names and lives. Joseph Sr. had another dream where he found himself sick and lame and almost too tired to go on. He came to a garden of beautiful flowers, and in the garden were 6 wooden images that were the size of men. As he passed each of them, the image would turn and bow to Joseph. After he had gone by the last image, he was healed.
What is the meaning of this dream? Joseph Sr. apparently tried to ask his dream guide, but didn't receive an answer.
My guess is that it relates to the topic I am writing on in this post. As one can see in the lives of Tar-Palantir, Denethor, Lehi, and Joseph Sr., we are dealing with a man who lived in great times, and did great things, but was also pretty damaged as he went through those times. As Tar-Palantir he sought to bring back Numenor to the side of good, to no avail, and then to have his only daughter's crown usurped by Pharazon who then destroyed what he had sought to make right. As Denethor, he hoped to save his people and risked a direct conflict with Sauron that ended up costing him his mind and life. He lost his wife and one son, and then almost caused the death of his last son in despair and insanity. As Lehi, he lost everything he owned, and worse, two sons and their families would seemingly never be reclaimed from their evil ways, while living a life filled with sadness and affliction. As Joseph Sr., he was broke, reportedly subject to chronic depression (and some resulting early alcoholism, it seems, though apparently resolved later in life).
In the fight for Good on this Earth, this individual received more than his fair share of beatings. I believe this dream suggests that after 6 lives on this earth, each having been lived in accordance with Good to the best of his ability, Joseph Sr-Lehi-Denethor will finally find his much needed rest and healing.
I've outlined briefly guesses for 4 of these 6... my guess is it will be up to the actual individual being highlighted in this post to both verify whether these are correct, as well as illuminate us on the remaining two, as part of a larger story he himself will share.
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