"Here am I, send me": Revisiting the individuals in Abraham's vision

And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.

And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him.

-- Abraham 3:27-28

In the Pearl of Great Price, there is a vision that Abraham had by means of the "Urim and Thummim", in which he saw events that transpired before the creation of this world.  The quote above is from that vision, in which a person who was "like unto God" suggested that an earth be made.  Following this suggestion, which everyone seemed to agree with, someone called "the Lord" asked who should be sent.

It doesn't clarify in the text what it means to be "sent", but it seems that it is understood enough among the participants in this discussion that two beings volunteer to be that one.  As quoted above, the first Being mentioned is one "like unto the Son of Man", with the second having no description other than that he says the same thing that the first does, but is not chosen to be the one.  He is angry at not being chosen and many follow him.

In this story, there are a lot of words, terms, phrases, etc. that are not clear as to their meaning, and so readers have had to make a quite a few assumptions about their meanings.  Words and references like intelligences and estates, along with character descriptions and titles like Lord or 'like unto the Son of Man', are not defined.

Mormon theology has attempted to standardize an interpretation of these words, and thus the meaning of the story.  The conclusions that have been reached are not unreasonable in their theology, given words and stories found elsewhere, as in Moses' account as captured in the Pearl of Great Price that seems to reference a similar event and identify at least one of the individuals.

However, I believe that, since there is really no clear definition of these people and things, there is some room for additional interpretation of this story.  I am therefore proposing an alternative reading that ties to some of the story elements and characters I have been covering so far - namely Eonwe-Faramir and Omar-Brigham.

In a traditional Mormon interpretation, the one "like unto the Son of Man" is Jesus.  Here, 'like unto' is made to mean something more like 'is', in that this person appeared to be like the Son of Man because he was the Son of Man.  Could be.  I propose, though, that we could explore this phrase under the assumption that to be like something is not to be that same thing.  So, it is possible, given the language, that the person Abraham is introduced to here is someone like or similar to Jesus, but not him.  I also have to admit I am assuming "Son of Man" here refers to Jesus because I don't know of any other person called this, so will stick with that assumption for now.

To imagine that this person is not Jesus would be to blow up the traditional Mormon reading because this interaction is supposed to be Jesus being chosen as the savior of the world (this being what is understood by 'sent'), and Satan being the other option who is passed over by God (the Lord), who then angrily takes 1/3 of the individuals and departs Heaven (this being what is meant by not keeping his first estate).

Again, this could be, but to get to my hypotheses and work from there, I will rearrange the Beings as follows:

Lord = Eru/ Jesus

Like unto the Son of Man = Eonwe / Faramir (Holy Ghost male)

the other = Omar / Brigham

There is an additional Being - the one "like unto God" - who introduced the whole concept of creating the earth.  It is not critical to the alternative storyline that I am working through here, but it would be nice to know who this person is at some point also.  I have two potential guesses for this one currently, and they are:

Like unto God = Manwe (God the Father) OR Aule (who along with his wife Yavanna have responsibility for the earth itself)

I go back and forth between them, and its not important for this post to take a position.  The biggest thing to note is that I consider this "Like unto God" being to be one of the Valar, and this decision spoken by the Being represents the choice made by these Valar to make an Earth - this is to be the work of their minds, hearts, and hands.

So, a Vala or group of Valar choose to create this Earth.  As part of this, for reasons not fully articulated, one will need to be 'sent'.  It is Eru-Jesus who seems to be the one that understands that this is needed, and both advises that this be so and also asks who it should be.

In this capacity, I think you have Eru-Jesus acting in the role of servant, guide and advisor.  Eru is the greatest (as he also stated plainly to Abraham), but in this case he is condescending to allow the Valar to take the lead, and he will work under their direction.  In this way, this creation will be free of Eru's direct control, and he will take on a subordinated role in working toward and supporting the realization of the Valar's desires.  Ultimately, this is part of his submission to the will of the Father (Manwe) and the rest of the Valar in all things.  And yes, I am using deliberate language here to expand an understanding of Jesus' work to be much more comprehensive (and different) than just what happened here on Earth.

As part of this, I think Eru puts bounds on himself as to his own direct intervention in their plans.  Only in cases of extreme need (when all other measures will fail) AND at the request of the Valar, will he directly intercede.  There are two such cases where this happened that I am aware:  first, during Pharazon's assault on Aman, when the Valar turned governance over to Eru for a brief time, and second, when Jesus was born in order to bring to pass the Resurrection, which apparently mends what happened at the fall (and potentially with other subsequent actions to be explored in a later post perhaps).   This is not to say that Eru cannot utilize the Valar's creation for his own purposes as well, but only that he will not subvert or overturn the Valar's objectives and leadership, and will actively support them.

Despite this limited direct intervention, Eru will select someone to still represent him and to stand in his place in the ongoing story of the Earth.  This is a requirement for some reason that is not fully articulated, but can be somewhat guessed at when considering the jobs Eru asks this individual to perform, and the nature of this Being.

As listed above, I believe this Being - the sent one - is the Holy Ghost, who we see in multiple incarnations on this Earth.  This Being is also referred to as 'the arm of the Lord' in various places, and this is why we see so many incarnations of this person.  This 'arm' will be revealed in the Last Days, meaning that we will understand who this person is and the many incarnations they have had in representing Eru.  It is at this revealing, I think, that you have the Holy Ghost fulfill the specific missions that Jesus said he would do as stated in my earlier post on John 14-16.  Although the Holy Ghost was active on this Earth in various incarnations prior to Jesus' birth, he will not have incarnated again until it is time to wrap things up and transition to the next phase of this story.  Jesus' return to Heaven was necessary, in part, to give further instruction, guidance, and advice to the Holy Ghost in preparation for this.

In addition to the father and son connection between Eru and the Holy Ghost that supports his choice as the sent one, there is likely a tutor-pupil relationship at work here.  Mormons can think of the temple drama where a Jehovah and Michael are asked by Elohim to perform creative tasks.  This is viewed, in typical Mormon fashion, as a structured and hierarchal relationship, where Elohim gets to tell Jehovah-Jesus what to do, and Jesus gets to tell Michael what to do... a series of bosses telling the next person down what to do.

Rather, in this alternative story, I think you have the Elohim (plural, by the way, so although one man plays this in the temple drama, view this as perhaps the Valar/Ainur - multiple Gods) who are asking Jesus, who has placed himself at their service through his own condescension, to bring their creative desires into Being.  Michael, who I give here now as yet another name and title for the Holy Ghost, is brought along and tutored by Jesus in their efforts.  This is so because Michael is Eru's son and shares his attributes.  In other words,  Michael is being taught by his father in his work.

So, it is Michael - the archangel - who is the sent one, and he is learning from his father how the great ones lead:  through condescension and service, not by force or overpowering will.  We see this explicitly as Michael takes on the role of Eonwe, placing himself at the service of Manwe as his banner-bearer and herald.

Anyway, so just to summarize some of the rambling above:  

• Jesus has subordinated himself to the Valar, placing himself at their will
• Along with himself, he has chosen his son Michael/ Holy Ghost (male) to represent him in this creation
• In choosing Michael, Eru-Jesus allows himself to intervene only when absolutely necessary and to give Michael and the rest of the Ainur an opportunity to learn for themselves how light defeats darkness.  
• Michael will incarnate over many times and ages in carrying out both the wills of the Valar and of Eru, ultimately being known as the Holy Ghost, but also as such characters as Eonwe, Enoch, Jared, Ether, Faramir, Abinadi, etc.

Into this picture, then, steps the 'other' - Omar-Brigham.  As mentioned in previous posts, this Being is considered (and considers himself) to have the greatest and most powerful of all voices.  He knows all songs and languages (i.e., is really powerful).  He feels, perhaps, that the role of Michael ought to be his.  He has been given other 'important' tasks to do and perform in the story of this Earth based on his unique traits, but he will ultimately forfeit these (i.e., kept not his first estate) and from then on he will use his unique talents not to the glory of God or in service of the Valar, but rather for his own selfish purposes and increasingly evil designs.  He was not the 'sent' one, and anything less than that is unacceptable.  

So, he desires to be that Being, or, in his own perverted way, to demonstrate that it ought to have been him.  He will do this by both frustrating and delaying the plans of Michael/ Holy Ghost, thus perhaps causing a loss of faith among those in both Heaven and Earth in those plans, while also looking for ways to elevate his own station.  And many have followed him apparently, perhaps some even still in the land we would call Heaven.  While even more have partnered with him - evil spirits here on earth, for example.

In this effort, he will also incarnate many times, each time seeking to subvert Good and to elevate his own station.  In a disturbed way, he may actually think that the ends justify the means, that once elevated above all, we would all be eventually grateful to him for doing things so much better than the other guy would have done.  He is the misunderstood and underappreciated genius who thinks it ought to have been him.

The Stone represents a last chance for him, I think.  He can either seek to delay or prevent it coming, or can perhaps use it to his own ends (in his own imagination).   I don't think really either option is feasible for him at this point, so then it is matter of trying to prevent people from believing the story that comes from it.  As I wrote before, evil succeeds by preventing just one of those who Jesus promised to redeem from being saved, so perhaps his efforts focus there.  In the end, I don't think that will be possible for him, either, as the Family of Light will be naturally drawn to its message.

Thus, I foresee not much that Omar-Brigham can do despite his efforts, and his end might be anti-climatic.  A sad footnote to be forgotten rather quickly in the end, I think.  Omar-Brigham is not the source of all evil... he just fell victim to it and bent his soul beyond repair in this story.  So, I think he and his influence is undone and fades, and the forces of Good are then free to go fry bigger fish and problems.

As an addendum at the end of this post ... there is one problem with the narrative I positioned above and I mentioned it briefly earlier when I brought up Moses.  The problem actually could be a major one depending on your view of 'scripture'.

In the Book of Moses, it would seem that Moses is directly told who the 'other' being is, and that this person is Satan (not Omar-Brigham).  I will try and address this later so as not to jump around too much here... I just wanted to call out that I was not unaware of this fact, and I do have a 'solution' or at least an explanation or possibility as to how this could be.

In our lovely Deseret: Adding meaning to this name and Brigham's use of it

This post is a quick addendum in the Omar-Brigham story outline I said I was going to follow in my Omar Amillo post, but I think it is a good follow up to my most recent post where I mentioned the Deseret alphabet.

The name "Deseret" is an obscure word that is used by Moroni in Ether 2 as he recounts the history of the Jaredites.  Moroni actually gives the name its interpretation - "honeybee" - and then recounts how this group carried swarms of bees with them before they built their barges and sailed to a New World.

Omar-Brigham would go on to became the dictator in practice of the Mormons cast out to the wilderness of the American West.  I think this is fairly well understood, even if there are differences in opinion as to whether this dictatorship was with good or evil intent (you know my position by now, obviously).  He got his way with his own people.  We also know that he spent very little time with the Book of Mormon.  Besides mentioning it as the means of his conversion, it may as well not have existed in Brigham's life or teachings.  The only teachings I can really find from Brigham on the Book of Mormon were to emphasize that it existed to prove the Bible was true (a position I think is exactly opposite of what the Book was saying).  No stories, characters, or lessons from the book are found in his sermons.

It should be surprising, then, that the name "Deseret" became such a big thing among the Mormons.  Brigham gets what he wants, and using Deseret and its symbol (from a book he doesn't read) became a major focus for him.  As mentioned in my previous post, he commissioned and rolled out a script called the Deseret Alphabet, which he hoped would replace the Latin alphabet among Mormons.   Driving this name was the fact that in 1949 Brigham began an effort to get the United States to approve the formation of the Mormons' new lands under the name "State of Deseret".  The US Government, however, was not under Brigham's thumb and let him know this by not aligning with him on this matter, and instead named the region as "Territory of Utah".  

Brigham was Governor of this new territory, and continued to chafe at the Utah name.  As Governor and Church President, he built his mansion and office and called it The Beehive House.  He placed a gilded beehive on the top of the building, along with various other beehive etchings in the interior of the house.  Although called Utah, it was the State of Deseret for Mormons, with their newspaper, businesses, alphabet, and even currency named after Deseret.  Additional efforts would be made in 1856, 1862, and 1872 to have the US federal government officially recognize the State of Deseret, but each time these efforts failed.  At the death of Brigham, Deseret seemed to fade, and although the beehive symbol remained, the name (just as the alphabet) went out of common use.

This is clearly an obsession for Brigham, and it begs the question as to why?  Why latch so strongly onto this word for the duration of his life?

I have not found a good motive or explanation in traditional stories (the usual explanation is that bees are industrious and communal, which Brigham wanted to emphasize) but I do feel a possible answer lies in the story that has formed in my mind.  To explain, I will need to introduce a tale I was determined not to directly bring into this blog, but I don't see a way around it in order to connect dots for people not familiar with that tale.

Before doing so, I will note that I have been capitalizing Deseret throughout this post so far.  If you were to turn to Ether 2 in current editions of the Book of Mormons you would find it is not capitalized but simply written as "deseret".  I believe this is wrong, and both evidence from manuscripts and this alternative story support this.

The original manuscript for Ether 2 no longer exists, I don't believe, so the closest thing we have is the printer's manuscript that came from the original.  I have included the link below:

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/printers-manuscript-of-the-book-of-mormon-circa-august-1829-circa-january-1830/434

Here you will find that Deseret was initially capitalized, but the typesetter/ printer, in the course of adding the punctuation for printing, changed the word to a lower case.  Thus, the first print edition of the Book of Mormon had this word in lowercase.  In subsequent editions it would actually vary, in my understanding, with some editions bringing back the capitalization.  The current edition has it as lowercase, as mentioned.

What was lost when the typesetter made this change was that although Moroni might still be right in the literal translation of the word (and perhaps not!), it was meant to be a proper name or title, not just a generic honey bee.  This is important.  What I will introduce here is that this Deseret is actually a name or title for a person, and specifically a woman.

It is at this point that I turn to the tale that I have been avoiding, and hoping to not involve in these posts.  I do it because there is no connection between the woman in question and the symbol of the bee without it, unfortunately.  As to why I wish to avoid these works, and would suggest others do likewise, I think I will have to explain more clearly in another post.  I will summarize some aspects of the story as best I can for the purposes here, and then leave it be.  It was meant to be a book of good things and stories, but has become evil because it has passed through evil hands at some point in its chain of custody.

This book was published in 2017 as "Words of the Faithful:  As if it were from the dead".  Its claim was fairly remarkable, in that it was stated to be a true story about a woman named Izilba and a man named Zhera who lived in Tolkien's 2nd age.  Other characters would join in their adventures, and they would turn out to be the Jaredites, the same as mentioned in the Book of Mormon.  Thus, the story served to link the Book of Mormon and Tolkien's writings, and did so by means of the Jaredites.

This was actually my first exposure to the idea that Joseph Smith and JRR Tolkien were writing about a shared world, and that Tolkien's works ought to be considered more history than fiction.  I hadn't considered this before, and as crazy as it initially sounded, I found myself accepting the possibility.  My first blog I wrote in 2018 and 2019 was actually my attempts to determine whether this concept was correct and explore the idea for myself.

Anyway, in this story, Izilba would have lived on the island of Numenor before being rescued by Zhera (Jared).  It is in that setting on Numenor that we learn of Izilba's connection with bees during the very first few pages of the story.  As quoted:

Never at rest save in the garden of the royal house, and there even learning the song of bees and the keeping in honey of the pollens of every bush and flower, Grey Izilba would often drape herself naked in a cloak of honey bees, sweet and yet full of sting, when affairs of state required her attendance at the Tables of Council.

Here, we have Izilba literally dressing herself up in bees - becoming in body and person a literal swarm of them.  

It is this woman that I believe is also named or titled Deseret.  Further, I believe that this Izilba-Deseret is also the same Being I have identified as Ilmare-Eowyn (and also that we have here one additional identity for Eonwe-Faramir in the person of Jared, her spouse).

I turn to Tolkien's languages to perhaps give additional insight into the name of Deseret, and even suggest that Moroni's interpretation of the word was not completely accurate or comprehensive.   My reasoning in turning to Tolkien's etymology in looking at the name is because if this Izilba-Deseret was actually living in Middle Earth during the 2nd age, there would be a chance that this name might be interpreted using some language from that world.  This, of course, assumes that the name hasn't been altered, or it hadn't been wholesale replaced, either before it reached Ether, or in Moroni's reading of it.  For this, we will assume that it is close to right (and I admit selfishly assuming this because, as it happens, the name works out really well... if it didn't, I am sure I would come up with some justification as to why not!)

Also, keep in mind that I am not a linguist, so my methods are suspect.  And I mix and match Noldorin and Sindarin, and probably other things - which is all of the stuff I don't think you are supposed to do.

Undaunted, however, we proceed...

'Deseret' in Tolkien's language can probably be converted to something like:  Dess-ireth.  Phonetically, I believe this is equivalent or similar to the Deseret as spelled in the Book of Mormon.  These roots break down as follows:

Dess:  Young Woman (would later become "Bess" in Elvish, meaning woman but also "Wife")

Ireth:  Desirable (Sindarin form of the Quenyan "Irisse", which is basically the word "desire" with a femine ending)

So, we have "Desirable Woman" as the potential meaning of this proper name or title.  This is obviously much different than "Honeybee" that Moroni says it means.  However, this is why I felt a bit forced to share the part of Izilba-Eowyn's story about the bees.  Moroni (or Ether before him) may be misunderstanding the word.  In the Jaredite company, there is a woman associated with bees - it seems the cause, actually, of the group's ability to carry large swarms of bees with them in the wilderness, if one takes the tale that I shared from that cursed book at face value - and Moroni assumes when reading the tale that Deseret refers to the bees and not a woman. 

It is one possibility.  Might be a stretch for some, but it makes sense to me.  Interestingly, "Ireth" the second root of the name outline above, was the original name of Turgon's sister before being replaced with Ar-Feiniel, which means "White Lady".  As readers might recall, Faramir refers to Eowyn as the White Lady.  Just to be clear, I am not saying Eowyn was also Turgon's sister (she isn't, I don't believe), but just illustrating that this name Dess-ireth/ Deseret might have multiple layers of meaning.

OK, so what does this have to do with Brigham?

Eowyn-Deseret is the woman that Brigham, as Wormtongue, desired.  I believe that this actually extends far back to his time as Omar if not before.  No matter how many wives or concubines this Being would take for himself in a given life, in the terrible practice of polygamy, it would not replace this desire to have Eowyn be his wife, even if he can't consciously remember it as Brigham.  Psychologists look to our childhood trauma to explain our actions, and they should really be looking much earlier than that!  Something about that name stuck with Brigham, and I think this is why.

But Eowyn and Faramir are meant for each other, and Brigham has no place there.  The 'fairest lady of a house of queens', as Aragorn mentioned of her, won't ever be within his reach.  He has no place anywhere, anymore, after he bent his soul past an ability to be redeemed.  And, as I will write about in my next post, it is Faramir-Eonwe (the Holy Ghost) that Brigham feels he ought to have been, the very seeds of his bending were planted there.  It is Faramir's life, including his relationship with Eowyn, that Brigham sought for, and he has employed secret combinations and deception to try and attain it.

It is also a mockery of Deseret-Eowyn for Brigham to have introduced and practiced his abominations in a land he attempted to name after her.

For additional details and a more complete story of Deseret, Utah, and the beehive, you can go to this link:

https://rsc.byu.edu/salt-lake-city-place-which-god-prepared/beehive-deseret

Making some connections between Omar-Dairon and Brigham

While it may be fairly straight forward to see Omar-Amillo in Dairon (or at least not have too much difficulty in noticing the similarities), connecting these characters to Brigham, in terms of character traits, might seem more difficult.  I will highlight a few possible connections, however, that I see to demonstrate that while we may not be dealing with a master minstrel or loremaster, on the surface, with Brigham, yet there are some fairly striking interests and character traits that connect them.

The connections are not made easier when one has a typical image of Brigham in your mind.  Here is one just as an example:

It is the aged, very serious Brigham, and just looking at this photo makes it harder for me mentally to imagine a dancing, singing, lore-dispensing Vala or Elf master. I can make the imaginative connection from this picture to Laban and Noah (very clearly), and even Wormtongue, but not his earlier incarnations - again, at least visually and imaginatively. It gets even worse as you see the later images of a fairly large, tired, and grumpy looking guy.

But Brigham wasn't always old, and when I pull up a picture of him in his younger days, my imagination at least doesn't rule him completely out.  Here is a younger Brigham:

This is the image of Brigham I can work with mentally in finding our Omar - if images really matter.  They do, though, sometimes when considering a new thing, which is why I guess I went initially down this picture path.  It is not aged, bearded Brigham that I picture doing the most damage and exerting his largest influence and delay on Heaven's plans.  When called as an Apostle, he would have been around 34 years old, and when Joseph died he would have been 43, just a few years older than Joseph.  Much closer to this second picture than the old figure we typically remember (or at least that has been burned into my memory from Sunday School).

Back to things that do matter.  There are two connections I want to highlight here are i) alphabets and ii) voice/ persuasive power, in looking for traces of Omar in Brigham.

First, alphabets.  It may surprise those who are not extremely familiar with early Mormon history that Brigham Young invented a new alphabet.  I say 'invented' rather loosely, as he actually commissioned others to do so, but it was of particular importance to him and it was his idea.  He would take the Latin script and replace it with what was called the Deseret Alphabet, which consisted of a 38-letter, phonetically-based script.  The idea for a new alphabet struck him, apparently, after he took a shorthand class from George Watt, and it was Watt who would go on to create the alphabet, which I guess was based on a system by Isaac Pitman.

It is the idea - the spark for it - that I am looking for here, as well as the subsequent desire to bring this alphabet into being.  I think he came up against a long-forgotten memory, something very deep down in him, that generated this idea.  As he did as Dairon, he would try to replace (at least for his own people) an alphabet system that everyone seemed to be just fine with.  And the results were largely the same.  The alphabet was never adopted enough to replace our English/ Latin one, and unfortunately for Brigham there were no Dwarves loitering about the desert mountains who would recognize him for his great idea.  But this time he was the 'king', and not just an advisor, so he could still keep the idea from completely dying, and ensure it was used in various settings.  Once Brigham died, however, everyone could breathe a sigh of relief on the matter, and the alphabet was dropped like a sack of rocks.

Again, it is important here to note the basis for the idea, rather than its execution.  It is the desire to have done this thing which indicates some bond or connection with Dairon (who had the same desire), and not the fact that in his current incarnation, Brigham lacked the power or knowledge to actually do it himself.  Although, who knows, maybe Dairon had someone else put together his alphabet also, and he just took credit for it.  I wouldn't be surprised.

Even Beings who were of great power now come into this world at this stage of history largely powerless.  We all now come into a world significantly changed from earlier ages, inhabiting bodies that are significantly less suited to us in pretty much every way.  So the ability to execute or follow through on our desires may be much lower than they were, or even completely gone.  But, the desires still remain, even if forgotten for a time, waiting to be activated.   I think this is the story of Brigham and his Deseret Alphabet.

On to his voice and persuasion ability.  For this topic, I will just focus on the succession crisis Mormonism went through after Joseph and Hyrum's murders.  Below, I am going to paste in a statement of what happened, or what was recalled as happening, when Brigham spoke during a meeting which was held where the Mormons would vote on who ought to lead.  Brigham's position was that he and his fellow apostles (and really just him, though he hadn't gotten to that part yet), and not Sidney or anybody else, ought to fill the leadership vacuum. 

The following statement or recollection is from a William Watkins, who was present and 17 years old at the time:

A meeting was appointed for August 8th [1844] by which time Brigham Young and most of the other apostles had returned home. It was at this meeting Sidney Rigdon made a lengthy and tedious speech presenting his claims, telling the people what wonderful things he had planned for them.

. . . The darkness was soon dispelled, for Brigham Young explained before the people on that day, the order of the Priesthood. He was filled with the power of the Holy Ghost. He stood before the people as the Prophet Joseph Smith often had done and we heard the voice of the true shepherd, for he spoke with the voice of Joseph. His manner and appearance were like unto Joseph’s and it was manifested to all those present upon whom the responsibility rested to carry on the work of God and lead the Saints

I should note something pretty important here.  Although there are many other statements like this, there are no contemporaneous journal entries that corroborate that this was actually experienced by those in attendance.  These types of statements were made many years after in recollection, and for that reason should be taken fairly skeptically.  Nevertheless, whether actually experienced or perceived later that it was experienced, something happened in the minds of those who would follow Brigham that made them see him as the heir of Joseph.

For a collection of the written testimonies of Brigham Young's transformation, as well as a discussion about it from an LDS source, follow this link:

https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/the-mantle-of-the-prophet-joseph-passes-to-brother-brigham-a-collective-spiritual-witness/ 

Lets be clear about something:  Joseph and Brigham could not be more different, both in their character and in the way they operated.  I don't think this would be disputed by anybody, even for people who don't believe Brigham is evil like I do.  So, to transform Brigham into someone like Joseph, to hear Joseph's voice in Brigham's, even if only in recollections many years later, is quite the trick!

This experience - Brigham's speech at that meeting - is still taught as a faith-promoting story of one prophet's authority or 'mantle' falling onto another, though I think it may be less emphasized these days (both as a result of people understanding there are no journal entries that day to support it, as well as the LDS Church moving away from all things Brigham, even if almost involuntarily).  To a Brigham follower, then and today, it is a sign that Heaven's approval was on Brigham, and spoke through him that day.

Unsurprisingly, I will argue something very different.  To make my point, or at least show that this event could have been a sign of something very different, I will use the example of Saruman, and the confrontation of Gandalf, Aragorn, Theoden, and company with him at Isengard.  I actually think it is a perfect example of what I am putting forth as an alternative explanation.  To anybody who wants to read or refresh their memory on the encounter, it is found in The Two Towers, in the chapter "The Voice of Saruman".  I won't summarize it anymore here, other than to say that in this example Saruman uses the power of his voice to (almost) convince Theoden and others that he was in fact Good, and that Saruman's voice and person was literally transformed in their eyes as he spoke.

It is in this light that the Brigham Young transformation ought to be considered.  Far from a sign of Heaven's approval, I view it as the work of evil Beings using their own powers to persuade others that Evil is Good.  Whether this transformation occurred at the time of Brigham's speech, or in the ensuing years of being a cursed people under a cursed ruler in a cursed land, the mechanism is basically the same.  Brigham was, in the minds of the people, made to be Joseph, though the truth was as far from this as could be.

Saruman still haunts the Earth, I think, and for all I know he was also involved in adding his own power to the spell that Brigham-Omar-Wormtongue would cast on these poor people.  It is said in folklore that Joseph Smith said Brigham would lead the church into hell if he ever became its president, and that is exactly what he did.  Although there is likely no love between Saruman and Brigham-Wormtongue based on events of the LOTR, still evil Beings seem to find mutual cause and temporary partnerships when it suits their purposes.

Alas, there was no Gandalf or Theoden present for these early Mormons to look to for aid.  Joseph-Pippen and Hyrum-Merry were gone, Brigham had effectively neutralized any influence from Emma, and would have time to counter any claims for her and Joseph's children in the ensuing years.  And so a spell was cast over these people, perhaps similar to the one King Noah held over his people, or Wormtongue held over Theoden, or even that Dairon held over Thingol for a time.  But, again, no servants were sent this time to remove the snake - in this way, Brigham is probably most like Dairon, in fact, who was allowed to betray both Thingol and Dior, to their deaths, with no help provided to those great Beings, just as no assistance was provided to Joseph and Hyrum to remove this scourge.  

Am I saying that Brigham betrayed Joseph and Hyrum?  Yes.  And in more ways than one.  With this statement, people might instantly go to Carthage and ask whether Brigham's hand was in that.  I am not sure.  He did, however, set the wheel in motion through the actions that he already been undertaking with polygamy and his web of deceits that he had been weaving.  And he did take advantage of the ensuing leadership vacancies to his own advantage and ability to now implement and perform evil deeds.  And this is the biggest betrayal of all - Brigham's own evil actions, and what he caused to be done among the Mormons openly in the years following Joseph's death, were all put onto the name and reputation of Joseph wrongfully.

But this is the situation I do not think will last.  Someone or some group of messengers will be sent - finally - and people who have been held under Brigham's long reach and influence, a literal spell, will be freed at last to reconsider some things.  And others who have been kept from the truth, either wanting nothing to do with Joseph Smith due to the lies Brigham placed at his feet, or having left and abandoned Brigham's web of confusion, will perhaps find some things worth exploring.

Brigham is responsible for evil things, going all the way back to Omar, and these will be fully made known.

Wormtongue: Omar's intrigue in another King's court

 As mentioned, the next place Omar shows up in my story is as Wormtongue.

In Wormtongue, we find Omar doing exactly what he did in Thingol's court first, and then with Dior:  arranging affairs to his advantage, using all of his subtly, cunning, and even the power of his voice and words to do so.  Even though his powers have been significantly diminished, he remains dangerous, and it would take Gandalf himself, revealing himself as the White Wizard in a display of power, to break his spell.

His mask is not so fair as it once was, however, and it is even made worse that he now lives among a people who prize heroic deeds, even heroic deaths, above all else.  Omar has no such bravery.  As mentioned, even as Dairon, while the greatest minstrel, he did no great deeds himself.  Thus, in this guise more of the 'simple' people of Rohan who he looked down on would see him for what he was (and even give him the name Wormtongue).

This shouldn't be surprising that the Rohirrim could see this.  I believe Elves and other Beings of Power (Eowyn being one of them) were already being born among these people as Men.  Faramir's discussion with Frodo in Ithilien seems to hint at this as he remarks on the ascendency of those people, even as the Men of Gondor were declining.  I don't think this was any different in Thingol's court necessarily - it doesn't seem that Dairon got along with many people at all, besides those who he was scheming with.  

It also shouldn't be a surprise that we see Omar-Dairon show up in the events of the LOTR.  The stakes are high, and we see many Beings of Power entering the story in all sorts of guises and positions to take part in this period.  Omar would have also done so.  I believe he would have been made aware that part of Heaven's plan was for Ilmare to be born as Eowyn and that he would have positioned himself to try and take advantage of this.  She was the object of his strategy, as Gandalf correctly noted, and this has been so from a time long before this one, extending back to the very beginning.

I won't recount how the story goes, as its fairly common knowledge, but things obviously didn't work out well for Wormtongue and he left this part of the drama in a particularly dark and degraded state.  I will make just a few observations, though...

First, it would seem strange that a Being of great power like Omar-Dairon would become a servant of Saruman, and allow himself to be so degraded by the end of LOTR.  I think Omar didn't understand just how much things had changed for him following Doriath, as well as the fact that in being born as a Man, he was just not at the same level of power as Saruman, who came from Valinor still possessing the powers of a Maia.  My guess is that, in a best case scenario, he hoped to do to Saruman what he also did to Thingol, but Saruman was just too powerful.  In this situation, however, hope still remained for him if his designs with Eowyn were successful, or at least that is what he perhaps thought.  That obviously didn't happen, with Eowyn, Theoden, and everybody else set free of Wormtongue's treachery by Gandalf himself.  After that, he was done for in this role, and his path to full degradation was a done deal.

Second, there are details in the encounter between Gandalf and Wormtongue that I find interesting, given who I believe Wormtongue is.  They are subtle enough that that would be missed, but I think noticeable once you believe that this is actually Omar-Dairon-Brigham.  There are two I will highlight.

In the confrontation between them, Gandalf says the following to Wormtongue:

The wise speak only of what they know, Grima son of Galmod.  A witless worm you have become.  Therefore be silent, and keep your forked tongue behind your teeth.  I have not passed through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a serving-man till the lightning falls.

Lighting is indeed summoned by Gandalf, or at least a flash of light like lightning, that makes Wormtongue fall to the ground.

It is a curious reference and series of actions, on its own, but I actually think the true significance of Gandalf's comment and actions can be found, strangely, in the words of Joseph Smith in D&C 85.

In that section, you have a mention of a 'mighty and strong' one who will be sent to set his Father's house in order - all those whose names are found written.  I take this to currently to be Joseph of Egypt-Dior.  I have also thought whether this could also be the Holy Ghost-Eonwe-Faramir, but I currently lean toward Joseph as my best guess for a few reasons.  In any case, it will be one of these two, because it will be their family (the Family of Light) that they are arranging inheritances for. 

Following this, another Being is mentioned - someone who:

... was called of God and appointed, that putteth forth his hand to steady the ark of God, shall fall by the shaft of death, like as a tree that is smitten by the vivid shaft of lightning.

It then goes on to describe this Being and others as not having their names listed anymore in that book.  As I have written in earlier posts, Omar-Brigham's name will be blotted out and he will find himself in this situation.  I also believe he is the Being that is made specific mention of in this passage in D&C 85, the one who will fall by a shaft of lightning.  I will elaborate a little more on this point in a later post when I take Omar-Brigham back the beginning, so I just wanted to introduce that here:  That he is the one that will fall by lightning.

Thus, going back to Gandalf's words, I think you have a prophecy being spoken here as well as a show of power that demonstrates what Wormtongue's ultimate fate will be.  It is sealed, though he will be allowed to run amok over several more forays into this world, seeking to delay and frustrate Heaven's plans.

The other quick thing I wanted to mention is the reference to Wormtongue's thefts.  Hama recovers Theoden's sword, which had been stolen by Wormtongue.  He also find, however, many other things in Wormtongue's chest that "men have missed"  Wormtongue stole many, many things apparently, and this is one of his calling cards or attributes of his Being:  he is a thief.  He will steal records, words, artifacts of power, possessions, etc., for his own gain, and this snake has done so in all incarnations of himself, from Omar up through Brigham.  

In my next post, I will talk a bit more about connecting Brigham to Omar-Dairon, and then I will cover what I closed with in my storyline in terms of his desire to be the chosen one.  From there I will go into Thingol a bit more and why he is so important.  That is the plan at least - so maybe 2-3 more posts on this train of thinking and we will see where things go from there.  Maybe writing on happier topics.

The sack of Doriath: Dairons' inside job

 It is an ugly thing to write about this stuff.  I listed out the story in bullets in my last post as a bit of a forcing mechanism to ensure I would just kind of get this stuff out and not let myself off the hook.  If anyone has noticed, I have bounced around from character to character a bit, dropping a post or two on Brigham, leaving him for awhile to write about others, and then returning.  I think this is almost a psychological reaction on my part to the fact that I don't really want to think about him, but at the same time getting his story down (as I see it, at least) is important in understanding what has happened and will happen.

There is also my own hesitancy in writing just based on implications and effects to my own mind.  To write about something or someone is to conjure their specter, in a way, and it influences you to some degree, I think.  Also, to imagine, as I do, that these stories are real is one level of crazy; to then further imagine within those stories additional levels of intrigue and evil that have impacted our world in some ways to me seems like a significant step up in the level of potential crazy.

I am not as worried about being wrong or engaging in libel as I thought I would have been.  If I am wrong about Brigham or any of these other characters that I have connected him to, then that would be a significant evil on my own part.  I am, however, satisfied that I am right as the ultimately evil nature and behavior of each of these characters individually.  Where I have left it open to being wrong is in their connection to each other (in terms of one Being as all of them), as well as the actual details of their deeds.  On the first thing, the ultimate question is can we really lay so many evil deeds and characters at the feet of one Being?  I think the answer is yes, but I do leave it open to challenge that I do not have all the identities right and I wouldn't be surprised if this were the case.  This is the best thread I have been able to lace across and through these ages and characters, and the story makes sense to me, but that doesn't mean some of it isn't really so and that my imagination has gone too far.

With all that being said, I will briefly touch on Doriath and the two major betrayals surrounding the Silmaril that happened there.  I won't go into ultra-specifics and minute details, mostly because I don't know and haven't really guessed down that far, but also because I am just trying to introduce thoughts here and not completely retell stories people already know.  The idea is to get both myself and potential readers thinking about the story in a different way, and potentially see this Omar-Brigham as an evil influence within it.  As part of this, I am introducing possibilities of how things went - meaning, for example, that I am convinced that Dairon was involved in these betrayals, but exactly how he did it and what actions he took I am not sure.  So, these are hypotheses at motivations and actions based on presumed guilt, to put it frankly.

A careful reader would note that in my earlier post I also made mention of Salmar being Thingol, and this story element was mentioned before the Doriath actions.  I am going to go slightly out of order and save that connection (that will build into other very important ones) for another later post.

The first betrayal at Doriath involved the Dwarves' theft of the Nauglamir which contained the Silmaril.  For the published details of this story, one can turn to the Silmarillion.  I will only say that, again, we may not have all the details of that story accurately captured.    I think the basic strokes are true - Thingol possessed the Silmaril that Beren retrieved for him, he ultimately commissioned Dwarves to set the Silmaril in the Nauglamir, this Nauglamir was stolen by the Dwarves, and Thingol was slain in this theft.

The first question one might ask is what prompted Thingol to ask Beren for the Silmaril in the first place.  Thingol hated Feanor, the Noldor, and everything having to do with them - why ask for this thing?  The simple answer could be was because he thought it was an impossible task and sending a Man (who had the gall to ask to marry his daughter) to certain death in pursuit of a Noldorian treasure may have seemed a fitting punishment.  I judge better of Thingol (and future connections will demonstrate why), and so I do not fully buy this line of thinking.

Rather, I think that Dairon, his loremaster, put it into his heart and mind as an idea.  I think that Dairon definitely wanted Beren out of the way (due to Luthien), but he also saw an opportunity.  If Beren died in the attempt, then he was no closer or farther to a Silmaril than before (and Dairon, as the greatest loremaster, would have known exactly what the Silmarils were and what it would mean to possess one) but he would have a better shot with Luthien.  If Beren found some way to succeed, however, then a Silmaril would now be in play.  

I think he would have sold the Silmaril quest to Thingol under the guise of almost some sort of Arthurian quest.  If Beren succeeded, then it was probably fate or Heaven's show of his right to ask for Luthien's hand, and if he failed, then this was also some kind of fate.  Thus, Thingol in a sense was given a reprieve of having to make a difficult choice or go along with something that he did not want to do by leaving things to fate.  For Dairon, it was a situation where no matter what outcome occurred, he would have opportunity to get what he wanted.

As it turned out, Beren did succeed and Thingol was now in possession of a Silmaril.  It was now up to Dairon to figure out how he would work the situation to gain it for himself.  

Enter the Dwarves.

The Dwarves of Nogrod were retained by Thingol to take the Silmaril and set it within the Nauglamir.  Here I set Dorian's influence as well, perhaps giving Thingol this very idea, as well as the idea to use the Dwarves, who had completed work on Menegroth, to do this.  In doing so, I believe Dairon was putting the Silmaril into the hands of beings he could more easily and overtly influence.

These Dwarves would be taught the language / alphabet that Dairon had invented - the Certhas Daeron.  Dairon had invented this script, but it was never widely adopted among the Noldor, who preferred Feanor's script.  The Dwarves likely came to view Dairon as something of a genius.  In any case, they adopted the script and would later take them back to other Dwarves.  For example, the letters/ runes that Gandalf would later read in Moria on Balin's Tomb would have been in Certhas Daeron.

I do not think that the script is the only thing that would have been taught to these Dwarves in the course of their stay.  Dairon would have also, in my theory, illuminated them more on the histories of the Nauglamir and the Silmaril they were working with.  With this knowledge, they would have become aware of just how valuable a treasure they were working with, thus leading to their ultimate betrayal of Thingol.  Whether Dairon was directly involved in either the theft or the slaying, I don't know.  He seems the type to let others do the dirty work, and so I think he would have put the pieces in motion, but let these pieces go through with the actions that he had set them on.

I think it is important as a character study, here, to note what is potentially going on with Dairon.  He is, or would come to be known, as the greatest minstrel ever, and yet he is underappreciated and underrecognized among his own people in those things that matter most to him.  He was rebuffed by Luthien.  His alphabet was not adopted among his kin.  There are no great deeds of his own that could be sung of.  This is your classical situation of a genius yet to realize anything he thinks he deserves from his genius status.  As 'Greatest', it should be his and the world would be better off for it . . . you can imagine going on in his head.  The ends would justify the means once he had what he wanted.  This is the stuff that inside betrayals are made of:  His own belief in his greatness and what he is owed or deserves because of it.

As noted, the Silmaril would not come to him here, and Thingol would lose his head, his Silmaril, and his kingdom as a result of all of this.  Again, I will go through my thinking with Thingol in another post, but this betrayal is a terrible thing.

The Silmaril would later come back to Dior and Nimloth, sent from Luthien, and they would come back to and start rebuilding Doriath (thought with no girdle of Melian left to protect it).  The transfer of the Silmaril to Dior would reawaken the terrible oath of the Sons of Feanor when they were made aware that Dior now had it.  They made plans to take the Silmaril, and this is when Dairon also made his own plans.  He would once again leverage the situation to perhaps come out with the Silmaril himself, or even a greater prize, Nimloth herself.  

My guess is, despite their reputation, that the Sons of Feanor hoped to obtain the Silmaril without force, and thus prevent a Second Kinslaying.  The Sons of Feanor, who did not know Doriath and its many caves and chambers, would have needed inside information to both know where the Silmaril might be kept and retrieved, as well as where guards were posted, family members were, etc.  They would have received this information from Dairon, with also perhaps a promise of help in easing the way in and keeping Doriath's guard down.

On the other end, I imagine Dairon convincing both Dior and Nimloth that there was nothing to worry about, and that no imminent attack was coming.  However, at the same time, he may have been designing the situation in such a way as to create confusion and the very circumstances he needed to escalate the conflict into an all-out slaughter.  He himself may have been directly responsible for Dior's death, rather than one of the Sons, but again it is hard to say.  I do not know and will not guess on this.  All that is important to understand here is that I am directly claiming that Dairon used the conflict to produce the maximum chance that he would end up with the Silmaril, at the expense of whatever and whoever was necessary.

In that horrible confrontation, he also committed an assault on Nimloth, and committed what would come to be known, in my opinion, as one of, if not the, 'sin against the Holy Ghost', and thus branded himself as the Son of Perdition.  From that time forward, there is no forgiveness for that Being. As I have written before, the Family of Light will be reunited in a family chain under Joseph (Dior), Asenath (Nimloth) Ilmare, and Eowne (using some of their names), and there will be no place for Dairon within that family.  Nimloth-Asenath was and is Jesus' own daughter from a time long before this one, and such a Being will not be permitted to stay here.

This charge - the assault against Nimloth - has been laid at the feet of or insinuated to be the act of one of the Sons in another telling of this event, but I believe many of the details of that account to be wholly fabricated in an effort to cover up what truly happened and to frame innocent beings.  I think the truth will come out at some point, however, and this is my attempt to at least introduce the possibility that this is so.  I also understand it is a very significant thing to accuse or formulate theories about these types of actions and motivations - laying the murder of Dior and assault of Nimloth on Dairon - but this is the story that has shaped itself in my head, and it is the likeliest off all the possibilities I have considered... enough for me to write about it and charge, in general terms, Beings I believe to actually exist.

Elwing will of course escape with the Silmaril during this horrible encounter, and it will be forever taken out of the reach of conspiring Elves or Men by her and Earendil at the end of the 1st age.

The fate of Dairon after Doriath is unclear to me - whether he perished there, or sometime later, I am not sure.  What I do think happens is that we have a Being who is much diminished in his powers following these events.  He will retain the same types of powers, skills, and influences, but never again will he reach the same level in these as he did first as Omar and then as Dairon.  Part of this is due to the events themselves, I think, and part of this is due to his future incarnations as Men, which will also naturally reduce his powers and abilities.

As for the Noldor and House of Finwe in general, they still reel from these dark events, with Being confronted against Being, House against House, in their understanding of what happened and who is to blame for these terrible deeds.  Part of what will be made known in the stories to come is that they may have had it wrong and blamed the wrong Beings for the wrong things.  Thus, healing will come to that House, families will again be made whole, and they will have a better knowledge and understanding of just who their true enemies are.

We will next see Omar pop up on the scene during events of the LOTR as the character of Wormtongue, using more subterfuge and tricks to get what he wants, and that will be the topic of my next post.

Omar Amillo: The forgotten Ainu and Brigham's roots

Amillo, who was also known as Omar, is an Ainu mentioned in The Book of Lost Tales, but did not make it into what would become the published Silmarillion.  Thus, he is a rather obscure Power.  Even when mentioned in Lost Tales, it is always in connection with his twin brother Salmar.

The time has come to trace Brigham back to the very beginning (of this story, at least, as his story also stretches well before the drama of this Earth), and it is to this little-recognized Omar that I look.  Unlike previous posts where I have jumped around a bit and left loose ends to be tied later, I will continue on with this theme for the next couple posts.  In doing so, I will attempt to demonstrate or at least introduce the following story elements:

• The person we know as Brigham (who we have also identified as Laban and King Noah, so far), is in fact the Ainu known as Omar or Amillo.

• This Omar Amillo would also later be born or come into Middle Earth as the elf loremaster and minstrel Dairon (or Daeron) who lived in Doriath with Thingol and Melian

• Omar's brother Salmar would himself come into this Earth as Thingol, and thus Dairon's connection with Thingol is an echo of the kinship between Omar and Salmar

• Dairon would have played a part in planting the thought of the Silmaril in Thingol's mind, thus putting into motion the events that followed.

• As part of these events, Dairon betrayed Thingol and was involved or influenced in his slaying as well as the attempted theft of the Silmaril (forged with the Nauglamir) by the dwarves.

• Further, he was involved in the sack of Doriath as an inside betrayer, hoping to leverage the oath of the sons of Feanor for his own advantage in gaining the Silmaril for himself.

• During the sack of Doriath, he would perform dark deeds, including a terrible sin against the Holy Ghost (Nimloth, the wife of Dior); these sins and actions are currently (and incorrectly, in my belief) laid against the sons of Feanor.

• Blaming the deeds against Nimloth on the sons of Feanor not only served to deflect blame from Dairon, but also to stir up anger among and between the Elves themselves, furthering his own purposes in this contention.

• Although Dairon would ultimately fail in his attempts to gain the Silmaril, and his story fades out at that point, he would re-emerge at certain, key times and in pivotal roles.

• The next time (known or guessed by me) he would emerge would be as Wormtongue, in the service of another king who he also sought to betray in order to get what he wanted (in this case, another jewel known as the Lady Eowyn).

• As mentioned, he would also later play the roles of Laban, King Noah, and Brigham, and potentially other individuals, also, each time working to change situations to his own advantage and gain.

• In all these efforts, Omar-Dairon wishes to cover his tracks and sins, removing all trace of his treachery, while still pursuing the objects of his desire.

• The behavior goes back to before the creation of this Earth, and I will propose that it is he who was the second Being who wished to be sent but was not chosen in the beginning (as told in Abraham 3).  That role went to another (the Holy Ghost/ Eonwe/ Abinadi/ Faramir/ etc.).

• Much of Dairon's actions as the various incarnations of himself can be understood in that initial desire to be the 'sent' one, and in the subsequent frustration of that desire; this will also drive his future actions and ultimate banishment from our tale.  The name of Omar, and all of his other names, will become even more forgotten than it is now - as in, completely blotted out as both Heaven and Earth learn fully of his deeds.

An ambitious agenda, and I am not sure if anyone reading through that list could make sense of it the way I've listed them, which is why I will take a few posts to lay some things out and then we can see how things look at that point.  It will actually be a helpful thing for me to put it all down in one place and step back and look at it.

So, taking a baby step into that story above, I will first briefly cover and introduce Omar and discuss my belief that he first incarnated as Dairon.  

In the Book of Lost Tales, Omar is mentioned as one of the Ainur.  He was actually a Vala, specifically, but these definitions and grouping shifted so much, particularly early on, that it is hard to say that if had remained in the story drafts longer whether that would have been the case.  In any case, he was the twin brother of Salmar, and was mentioned as the last of the Vala to enter into the world.  It was said that he sang as he came, and would be described as knowing all songs and languages, having the best of all voices. 

We should dismiss this power as being 'merely' songs.  It was songs, words, and language that gave Beings power.  This is illustrated throughout the tales of both the Silmarillion and the LOTR.  Sauron's capture and imprisonment of Beren, Finrod, and company was a result of a duel of song of power between Sauron and Finrod, in which Sauron's song proved stronger.  Later, in LOTR, Tom Bombadil shows his 'mastery' of all around him through the use of song.  So, when we read of Omar's mastery of songs and languages, it should be remembered that this means real power possessed by this Being.

Given these attributes, it shouldn't be a stretch to see Omar's condescension into Middle Earth in the form of Dairon.  Dairon was also a master of songs and languages, becoming known as one of (if not the) greatest of all the minstrels of the Elves.  He would also invent a new alphabet known as Certhas Daeron.  This would not become widely adopted among the Elves (who would use Feanor's Tengwar) , but something that the Dwarves did adopt, finding it more useful for inscribing.

This last detail is one to tuck away for a future discussion on Doriath, what potentially happened there, and how Dairon might have been involved.

In any case, Omar comes bounding into Middle Earth the same way he did in Valinor -full of songs, language, and lore, and considered a master of all of these (not least by himself!).

It is, however, in Doriath as Dairon that we start to see the darker side of this Being (partly because we start to have more of his story to go off of).  Dairon was in love with Luthien, but she did not want to be with him.  She was meant to be with Beren (and I suppose a post is needed on why that is, also).  When Beren finally entered the scene and it was clear that he loved Luthien and Luthien loved him, it was Dairon who betrayed them both by notifying Thingol.

This betrayal led to Beren's quest to regain the Silmaril (something that Dairon specifically helped put into motion) and all of the horrible things that happened afterward.

I think I will start going into that in my next post, however.  Here, I wanted to introduce the broad storyline that I will try to follow as well as give a brief background on Omar and Dairon, which I think we have done.

So, next I will try to cover both the Nauglamir/ Silmaril betrayal as well as the sack of Doriath and place Dairon as being involved in these events.

Romancing the Stone: Faramir, Eowyn, and a love story

I can't remember if I have made this explicit in past posts, but in the story in my head Faramir will be the seer identified in Joseph of Egypt's prophecy recounted by Lehi.  He is also the servant identified by Jesus at Bountiful (i.e., the seer and the servant are the same person).  The "Jewel Hunter" as his name implies.

This means that Faramir is also the Holy Ghost (or the male counterpart in my current thinking).  We have already identified him as Ether and Abinadi, I believe, in prior posts.  Thus, with this understanding that Abinadi-Faramir is the Holy Ghost helps give greater clarity and perspective to just how evil Noah and his priests were.  

"Who is Abinadi, that I and my people should be judged of him?"  Noah asked in his anger.  Well, Noah-Brigham, he is the Holy Ghost, and he will judge you again, I think.  

It is of course evil to burn anyone to death, but the actions of Noah's court (minus Alma) demonstrate how past redemption they were and are, as they rejected Abinadi's words, called the Holy Ghost crazy, and condemned him to a fiery death.  I hope others will note the irony in killing the Holy Ghost by fire.  And perhaps we can also think of this as one specific sin against the Holy Ghost, though there are even worse things than this, unfortunately.

I will add one more name to Faramir here, and that is the name of Eonwe, the herald of Manwe, and I think this distinction will be important in somewhat understanding his future role.  As mentioned elsewhere in my post on Melchizedek and Numenor, Eonwe was also named Fionwe at one point (meaning "Son"), and also was known by Urion, meaning "He of the Sun".

So, for those keeping score (or just trying to keep track of names... I know they start adding up and it can get confusing!), we have for this individual the following:

Holy Ghost

Eonwe

Faramir

Ether

Abinadi (a translated/ life-extended Ether)

Seer/ servant (unnamed, but will probably at some point bear Jesus' name, acting and speaking for him)

So, that is Faramir so far - there are actually a few names to still add there, but those are other posts.  I am also trying to balance how many different names I refer to a being in a given post and not have it get too confusing.  Perhaps for this post, I will leave it as Faramir, and readers can just remember that his identity extends to these other beings.

OK... so if all this is true, Faramir is the individual who will at some point have the Stone delivered to him.  I have already written what happens at this point, with a story coming out, and then shared to another in Heaven.  Two Recorders of the story, one on Earth and one in Heaven, putting together a combined story.

This Recorder in Heaven, then, will be none other than Eowyn.

Before going further, I will also add a name for Eowyn, and give my opinion that she is the being known as Ilmare, the handmaiden of Varda in Tolkien's writings.  In Tolkien's writings Ilmare and Eonwe ended up as the dual chiefs of the Maia, and in earlier drafts were both the children of Manwe and Varda.  This latter detail on their parentage is not quite correct, however.  Ilmare-Eowyn would be the daughter of Manwe and Varda, while Eonwe-Faramir would be the son of Aule and Yavanna, and they would have been a couple then in Valinor, just as they became later as Eowyn-Faramir.  Some of that might be important, but not for this post.  For this post, I just wanted to call out that Eowyn was also Ilmare.

So, we have Eowyn in Heaven with her own adventure in pulling together another story, with her husband Faramir down on Earth in preparation to receive the Stone, extract the story, and share it back to her.   Eowyn and Faramir were asked to separate (for not the first time in their stories) in order to carry out these roles, along with other specific actions which I will also have to use another post to dive into.  

The Stone will bring them back together again, and just as their reuniting happened as darkness was defeated in the LOTR, so too will their reuniting in this next chapter of the story signal the return of light and the end of darkness.

In the LOTR, it was Faramir's love that ultimately healed Eowyn.  In this next part, the roles will be reversed.  Faramir - who will be in a marred state - will be healed by the love of Eowyn.  And we all will be healed by the story that she shares, this being one of her wishes expressed at the end of LOTR - to be a healer.  The message she will share, along with the stories that join with it, will defeat the Enemy without the need for any more swords.  

Eowyn will use the Ithil Stone, I think, fully healed from its capture and service to Sauron - on her end of the communication.  Faramir will once again play the role of steward as he watches over the Sawtooth Stone (which is really associated with Joseph and I think will be returned to him at some point), and ultimately uses it on his end of the communication.  In the future, thinking speculatively, I think Faramir will receive and use the Anor Stone in the place of the Sawtooth Stone once he has returned it.  I also believe that Faramir will return to Aman/ Eressea and reunite with Eowyn there, at least for a time, by virtue of these Stones.  This, or some situation like this, is what Jesus meant at Bountiful when he said this servant would exalted and very high... he meant it quite literally.

[NOTE:  I have since updated my view on the above paragraph, and now have Faramir using the Anor Stone, and not the Sawtooth Stone, in his communication with Eowyn.  Refer to this post for my reasons.]

Having seen Eressea itself and perhaps now having greater understanding of just where the Family of Light will need to be gathered to, he will return and put things into motion that initiate that gathering, but he may then have to leave again, delegating the actual honor of declaring the message that gathers people to Hyrum-Merry, the Spokesman.

Anyway, one possibility or scenario to consider, at least.

Elijah in England: JRR Tolkien and Frodo

Like the title suggests, I believe Elijah's return happened at the end of the 19th century in the form of JRR Tolkien, and that Tolkien himself also played the past role of Frodo in the very tale he told.

The importance of Elijah's mission is confirmed by Jesus in his visit to those in Bountiful in the Book of Mormon when he quoted from Malachi.  Many/ most Mormons assume that Elijah's return already occurred back in 1836 at the Kirtland temple.  I will not go into whether that account (now D&C 110) is true or not, as others have covered it who have looked into it more than I have.  I will say that it was an event found in Joseph Smith's journal (though written by Warren Cowdery), but never publicly mentioned by Joseph.  The journal entry was not published until 1852, which puts it in the same category as other 'found' revelations (I am looking at you, D&C 132) in my book as to its credibility... meaning, not much.  

To my knowledge, Joseph always publicly discussed Elijah's return as a future event, even as late as 1844, which is all that matters for my purposes.  Whether an appearance in Kirtland happened or not, Elijah's actual return was yet to come in Joseph's mind.

Tolkien's mission as Elijah included both his time here on this earth as a living, mortal Man, but also after his death which then launched the second, and equally important work, of working among the dead.

Prior to his birth here in 1892, Tolkien would have still been "Frodo", the hobbit so-named in Lord of the Rings (LOTR).  As that tale ends, it is Frodo that gets on a boat with his other companions to set sail for Eressea, leaving Sam behind, along with Pippin and Merry.  In this scene, I see echoes of Elijah being taken up to Heaven without dying in the biblical story.

It is Eressea he would have remained, or at least he would not have reincarnated as another mortal Man here on Earth until he was born as JRR Tolkien.  He came to publish a story, much like Joseph Smith did almost 100 years before.  Indeed, it is interesting to think of Pippin and Merry (Joseph and Hyrum) exiting the scene, and Frodo (Tolkien) taking up the baton and adding to the story and effort.

Tolkien-Frodo's story, however, would not be a religious book.  The Book of Mormon was published as an expressly non-fiction book written by magical means, with its association to a church acting as a double edged sword - it attracted those religious seekers who would potentially take such stories as possible, but it left out a wider acceptance and consideration in that it is 'owned' by a church.  While this is increasingly becoming not true, for a long time to believe in the Book of Mormon meant believing in an institutional church and all of the beliefs and practices that came with it.  To take the book on the terms it asked, it was assumed (incorrectly in my view), required a fairly significant commitment to 'religion'.

I am not sure how else the Book of Mormon could have gained any traction in the time period it was published.  It was targeted toward a God-believing audience, and all of those people went to churches and worshipped the Bible as infallible.  The Book of Mormon's job was tricky then, and I believe Heaven's plan was the best that it could be given the circumstances.  The LDS church, in particular, was allowed to keep going and even thrive in some respects, even as a cursed people, in part to enable the Book of Mormon to be more than just a footnote in our day.  Had the church crumbled into nothing after Joseph and Hyrum's death, the Book of Mormon would not have nearly the reach or exposure it has now.  There were trade-offs, but having the Book of Mormon published as part of a religious movement was the best option given these trade-offs.

The plan was different with Tolkien and his writings, however.  Even though written by a practicing Catholic, this book would go the other route.  It would be positioned as a fairy tale - a 'fiction' that people could approach without the baggage of religious institutions and beliefs hanging over it, written in an entirely 'normal' way.  I write 'normal' in parentheses because I think Tolkien's experience was anything but normal, and for support I look to his text, The Notion Club Papers.  Written during the period he was writing LOTR, it is possible this text is a fairly good look into the mind of Tolkien and his struggles with just what the LOTR was meant to be and how it had come about.  

I think it was an imperative part of any plan that Tolkien himself would need to forget, as we all do when born, what had come before and thus the historical nature of this 'fictional' story.  But, this did not stop some things from 'leaking' through or keep him from guessing more than he could put into words or even let on if he could.  Both the Notion Club Papers as well as the nervous breakdowns in the years leading up to the LOTR publication are, to me, signs of a man who was trying to come to terms with what was real and what was not in terms of his own experiences.

In any case, free of any religious or supernatural claims or origin stories, the LOTR could be what the Book of Mormon wanted and deserved to be:  free of any church or authority who would use it to claim power over anybody.

Although spiritual and religious themes are very much ingrained with the story of the LOTR, it is adamantly not religious (with Tolkien resisting and even worrying about whether themes and certain dialogues were too overtly religious). With the LOTR not attached to any religion, it could just be a story that could capture imaginations.  It is in these imaginations, I believe, that seeds have been planted that may bear fruit in some future day as people 'see' things differently - when characters and stories that we think were merely fictional stories turn out to be in fact quite real.  The stories told to us and taught about ages long before our own perhaps beginning turning the hearts of Men to their Fathers without them even being aware of it.  A bit of a trojan horse, I think, in preparing people's minds and hearts for stories yet to come. 

It seems also likely in his mission as a Man, Tolkien wanted all of those stories to come out sooner rather than later.  Thus, the constant writing and revisions with the group of texts that would later be rolled into the Silmarillion and other associated publications.  These stories came from inside Tolkien (having been very knowledgeable from both his time as Frodo and exposure to all sorts of records including the Red Book, but also as part of his time in Eressea) as well as from other Beings who, I believe, were helping and assisting his mind where needed.  But it would not be Tolkien's job in this turn to tell the complete tale of this Earth's myths and histories, which is one reason why I think these writings were never completed or finalized, and went unpublished during his lifetime.  We can take many things from the Silmarillion, but we cannot view it as being definitive, as it represents an unfinished and changing understanding of how things were, compiled by Tolkien's son, Christopher, who did an admirable job in trying to pull together all sorts of different versions and stories into some cohesive whole.

It was the LOTR that was meant to be the work here, and Tolkien accomplished that, leaving it behind for us as he would then step into the next stage of his mission:  work among the Dead.  The Dead must also be redeemed, which is included in Elijah's mission, and part of the reason for Tolkien's birth was so that he could also die and join with those dead.  Their hearts must also be turned to Heaven, and to promises made a long time ago, and I think that is where Tolkien is now.

In my understanding, the gathering that will take place, and that will be initiated by the events surrounding the Stone, will be for both the Living and the Dead.  We cannot leave our Dead behind - those who have remained on this Earth.  It must be a complete liberation and evacuation to Holy Places to stand when that time comes, and Tolkien along with others perhaps is working for the liberation of the Dead so that they can join in that gathering.

This could all just be hopeful thinking, of course.  To say that Elijah has come, and is now working among the Dead, places us fairly far along the timeline of the course of this Earth and closer to a happier state of affairs.  Who wouldn't think that is a good thing (besides evil beings, obviously)?  But other generations have wished for this also, and interpreted events as suggesting they were coming up on events that turned out not to be.  So, time will tell, as always.

Records on earth and in heaven: the Stone as a 'welding link'

Physical records that contain stories are a critical element to our salvation.  I am not fully sure why the rules are that way (or the reasons why it can't be another way), but all the evidence suggests that this is in fact true.  Without the preservation and ultimate publishing of the stories these records contain, we cannot be saved.  Something that these stories give shines a light in darkness, and enables our deliverance.

A lot of heartache and good people being asked to do things they didn't want to do would have been avoided if my statement above was not true.  Nephi's experience with Laban and the Brass Plates is, I think, the best example of this.  If it were possible for Heaven to just simply recreate records or reveal what was in them to prophets or just Men in general, then surely in Nephi's case this would have been done.  Getting those records was paramount, and whatever needed to be done in order to do this was OK (as in this case with Nephi slaying Laban).  I think generally killing like this is not viewed favorably among those in Heaven (even if it is Laban-Brigham), and so the action that the Holy Ghost asks Nephi to perform demonstrates just how vital records are in general, and the Brass Plates were specifically.  The proof of this is borne out in the experiences both Lehi and Nephi experience once they have read what is on the plates, as well as prophecies from Lehi and Alma as to what the Brass Plates will do in a later day (our day, I believe, or at least a day after ours).

I don't think this point is well understood, or if it is, readily accepted.  In Mormonism, for example, modern prophets have replaced the need for records.  In that belief system, a prophet can learn all that is needed without records or stories through ongoing revelation and communication with what is believed to be the Holy Ghost.  The records that have existed (Book of Mormon) are more used, in my opinion, to demonstrate that the church the prophet is leading is God's church, and thus one ought to listen to that prophet.

The Book of Mormon, I think, says otherwise.  I actually think that is one of its primary messages.  It references records and stories yet to come, and that these will be essential for us to have, and thus their careful preservation.  

We cannot think our way out of our current predicament, with or without the Holy Ghost or any other Beings that we currently give space to in our minds.  We sit in darkness, and until records which were meant to shine in that darkness come, that is where we remain.  

That belief applies to whatever I am writing here, also.  It is the work of someone (me) who sits in that same darkness, but does still believe or hope in deliverance from that darkness, and that records will be the means of that deliverance.  Which is why everything I write here, or think about, should be viewed in the same light that I view the words of others:  questionably.  We are all searching for whatever light and truth we can even as we are surrounded by a darkness we need help in being rescued from.

The Tolkien analogy that comes to my mind is that we are all like the inhabitants of Minas Tirith when under siege by the forces of Sauron.  We must continue to stand our posts and hold our ground as best we can, not giving into despair or confusion, but all the time knowing that without help beyond what we have now, we are doomed.  We look to the horizon, listening for the cock to crow, signaling the return of light, and Riders on the horizon coming to our promised aid.

This is what I feel the Stone will do.  It will be the light that shines in darkness and, joined by other records, will be the means for our ultimate deliverance.

So, then, given its importance, I wanted to state a bit more about what I think the Stone does, or the future story that surrounds it (in at least broad strokes, because that is all I think I know anyway).  Everything I believe in or think relative to the story centers on this Stone, and if it doesn't actually exist, then pretty much every guess or idea I have written here should be considered nonsense (or at least more nonsensical than it might already seem).  That is how important I think it is, or that is how important it has grown to be in my own thinking.

The Stone, as I have written elsewere, will have a story on it.  This story captures at least a vision or tale told by a Being we would know as Joseph of Egypt, but has gone by other names and titles.  One of them is Irmo, the master of visions and dreams.  In a time before the Darkening of Valinor, when Melkor and Ungoliant destroyed the trees of light, and stole many other lighted things, Joseph-Irmo placed upon this stone a vision.  It is this vision that I refer to as the story.  This stone was hidden (buried) and preserved so that Melkor and Ungoliant would not also destroy it, thus providing a means in some future day of light that was stolen/ lost of being restored again.  Meaning, the silmarils are not all that we have at our disposal to restore what was taken even from Heaven and the Gods (light, truth, and knowledge), but that this Stone is also required.

The Stone is at some point given to a person, as I have written about, who then proceeds to retrieve Irmo-Joseph's vision from it.

The Stone does not act just as a recorder of words stored on it, however, but also as a means of communication, in just the same way the Palantir perform this function.  This is the other great task the Stone was prepared for - to provide a means of communication for the person who received it to 'link' or establish a connection with another.

This other Being will be in Heaven (Aman/ Valinor).  At some point in what is now our recent past (I think fairly recent) this Being will have compiled a record of their own.  This record will consist of the testimonies and remembrances of other Beings in relation to the creation of this Earth (and their roles in it), as well as events leading up to and including a much fuller account of Eru-Jesus.

Once the Seer here on Earth has Irmo-Joseph's record, they and the Being in Heaven will use their Stones (the one in Heaven already has their own stone, as Joseph wrote in D&C 130 that all beings in Heaven do) to establish this link with each other.  In their communication, they will quite literally share their respective stories with the other, and establish duplicate and complete copies of the combined writings in Earth and Heaven.

The impact of this will not only be felt on Earth, but also in Heaven, where Beings will also learn things they did not know or perhaps were mistaken about (they without us cannot be made perfect, neither we without them...).  In both places, for those who believe the story, the result will be Beings believing and acting differently.  Heaven will be made more complete because of these records, as will Earth, and this will also open the way for a gathering of people to a place away from Earth (prepared by those in Heaven), about which I think I will lay out my guesses around in a different post.

On Earth, we will also benefit from additional stories that will come to add their witness to the truth of this new tale, some of which I have mentioned such as the Brass Plates, which will hopefully give even more people reason and opportunity to believe.

Strangely, I think Joseph's letter on Baptism for the Dead (found in D&C 128) actually touches on much of this, and think it is applicable to our situation as much as to what he was trying to describe.  We are the Spiritually Dead, and the establishment of these stories will in a very real way be our own baptism, made possible through this welding link that was established between Heaven and Earth and between Beings.

In a future post, I think I will also try to elaborate who these Beings are that will establish this link and create this combined story.

Brigham and the Stone

More ink...

Brigham wants the stone that I have called the Sawtooth Stone.  My guess is he is probably even expecting it based on whatever plans he has laid.

This would be a reincarnated Brigham, of course, and my suspicion in whatever time period one would expect the Stone to be delivered, one would find Brigham trying to bend it to him, and if not possible to obtain it, then direct his efforts to subverting its purpose.

I am not even sure what that would entail exactly, but if you connect a thread through Laban, King Noah, and Brigham, it is this matter of important records that you find - either his possession of them (as with the Brass Plates), his desire for them (as with the Jaredite record that Limhi's people ultimately found), or in his disruption of them (as with what happened with the Book of Mormon).  Even in re-writing things (as in some of the LDS church's history and revelations).

Brigham (I will give him a new historical name in a future post, but for now I will refer to the primary Being by this name) has done his homework, and he knows what is important, and this stone, I believe, is the most important of them all.  Thus, I would expect him to be involved or enter the picture just as he has done in times before.

I mention the Jaredite record above, meaning Ether's 24 plates.  I had written in a previous post on Abinadi that following his death, it was he that likely led Limhi's people to discover the record that he had hidden as Ether many years before.  It is possible, I believe, that Brigham entered the Nephite scene as Noah during that period and in that location driven by a desire or a sense for this record.  He was removed from the scene, of course, by events put into motion by Abinadi, perhaps partly so that the record that he (as Ether) had hidden could now be safely found.  Yes, Noah's priests were still at large, but while rivaling Brigham-Noah in wickedness, they lack his power, intellect, and knowledge, and I am not sure they would have known what to do with this record or understood its importance.

Ether's record isn't to be trifled with - as Alma (the younger) explained to his sons, Ether had included all of the evil oaths, covenants, works of abomination that the Jaredites had performed that led to their entire destruction.  The record needed to both preserved and kept secret.  Preserved, because Ether was a witness to all that transpired in terms of their wickedness and wrote it down with the intent that it would be made known to all people.  Kept secret, because the oaths and covenants seemed to have a real power, resulting in signs and wonders (magic!).  If these oaths and covenants would be made known to the people, Alma told his sons, the Nephites would "fall into darkness and be destroyed".

And this is why Brigham would have wanted this record.  Perhaps on this record one might read of his own dark works in another time.  With it in his possession, he could both eliminate or alter the witness against him, as well as retain the oaths and covenants for himself to use in establishing himself as king over all the land.

That is one story, at least.  One doesn't have to believe that Noah would have been conscious of all this or had even understood this.  Beings like Brigham go through the same process of forgetting that we do, and are subject to the same limitations.  It only matters that the being who ultimately he is knew enough to make plans before he entered mortality, set his intention in a certain way, and then be born and try to bring those plans into reality, even if now as a Man he would have forgotten why he is doing certain things.

So, bringing this forward to Joseph's day, and then our day (perhaps).

Brigham led the saints out to the middle of the Intermountain West region of the US (Salt Lake City), and then stopped there.  I believe the Stone may have been a contributing factor to why that location was where he led them.  Rather than continuing on and establishing his kingdom in the more fertile areas of California, or even the Pacific Northwest, he stopped in the middle of a vast mountain desert.  Settlement efforts were then arranged where a vast array of settlements were established all over Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, Montana, etc., establishing what came to be known as the Mormon Corridor.  

The fact that the Stone was found in this same region leads me to think that Brigham was partially being driven to find that stone, or at least set up future means of doing so.  No one knew the exact location (until in the immediate time period before its recovery), so a broader dragnet of settlements and territories was established.  Again, as Brigham (the mortal man), he wouldn't even need to be aware of why he was making the choices he was.  What matters is that he developed this type of plan before being born here, and that his actions as part of Mormonism can be understood as furthering his own designs as part of that plan (while also enjoying the spoils of power in reprising his King Noah days in a very real way).  What also comes into play is the work and influence of evil beings who could direct and guide Brigham, and who might also have established a real presence in that same geography that Brigham settled in.

Ultimately, Brigham's plan included (i) the subverting of the work of Joseph Smith to his own ends, (i) putting an entire group of people (Mormons, many/ most of them Good and far too trusting) into confusion and a trap (as he did to Lehi as Laban in his vision), and (iii) hopefully getting closer to finding the stone, which would give him the culmination of his desires.  

An admittedly fairly crazy sounding and far-fetched conspiracy theory as I think on it.  But I am working under the strong belief that this stone is real, it was found where I assume it was, and it is really, really important.  I am also working under the assumption that Brigham is also very smart, very powerful, and also wants to be or play a role that is not his to play... a role, in fact, that he was specifically passed over for (which I will also go into more detail later).   The combination of those beliefs leads me to the kind of story captured here.  If any of these assumption are wrong, this story makes no sense at all.  Even if they are all right, you can play around with motives and situations and end up some story elements changing.  I do think the broad story would largely hold, though.