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.