Chasing a thread: People leaving 'Earth' and multiple destinations

 So, 48 hours ago I didn't really have any notion or idea of two Eresseas to account for.  I understood that Eressea had been split in half, with one half going with Aman somewhere that wasn't here, but as to the fate of the 2nd half, this hadn't really been on my radar.  In other words, this is a fairly new thought that I am pursuing here (and thus its lack of full vetting will probably show as we go forward).

It was only in thinking of where the Jaredites and Lehites could have possibly landed, that I pulled this other part of Eressea into consideration.  Almost out of necessity.

The more I think about it, though, the more it makes sense, or could make sense.  For there to be a complete restoration, it seems that this other half ought to have some happy ending in store for it.  Placing the Jaredites and Lehites (and the events of the Book of Mormon) on that land then becomes part of a larger story of redemption, not only for the people who have and will live on that land, but for the land itself (after the horrible events at the hands of the Numenoreans).

In full disclosure, though, I am not out of the woods yet with my thinking on this.  There are still some things that might make this path a dead end, and/ or other options might become just as good if not better.  For example, Numenor has to play into this story somehow, and if for some reason this story of an Eressea #2 doesn't work out, Numenor might be something to consider.  And, of course, this whole notion of travel to other worlds might prove untenable or just plain crap, and we would then have to return all of the stories and characters back to this world.

So far, however, I see enough promise with the thinking to go forward and see where it goes, but I am just calling out that there is still quite a lot to work through (obviously).  Consequently, don't be shy about challenging this in your own thinking, or in the comments section.  I am just following a thread, and I am not sure where it goes, if anywhere.  Not quite making it up as I go, but not really knowing how it ends, either.

Anyway, having landed the Jaredites and Lehites in a somewhat plausible location, I was going to write about some other topics, thoughts, etc., while the implications of this latest story option rattled around in the back of my brain.  I figured I would let it sit for a bit.  However, the explorer in me wants to keep picking at it and I am impatient, so even as I think about some other things, I keep turning back to this.

I threw together a quick, very rough diagram of worlds and specific actions relating to groups in trying to visualize and put some structure to these thoughts.  Here is the page I developed:

OK, so to briefly orient you to my thinking and the setup here.

Overall, we have an objective at some point to get as many people as will come off of this world ("Earth").  In a very real sense, this is an evacuation, but it will be an orderly evacuation that happens over a period of time.  This is all part of groups of people being led to safe and Holy Places to stand and not be moved from in the future.

With the addition of Eressea #2, we have 4 potential worlds to which people can be gathered to (as introduced in my last post).  This excludes Eru-Place as a possibility for reasons already cited.  Of these 4, I currently only have 3 as being viable places as I have Numenor still sitting 'under the wave' that destroyed it in the first place.  By this, I mean, that not only was it sent out to space somewhere and submerged into that kind of 'great sea', but that it is also literally was submerged or surrounded by a sea of water and ice.  At least that is the image that comes to my mind now, for whatever reason.  As in, I literally have this sense or image of Numenor as a planet surrounded by ice that just developed today.  I really don't have anything to back that up other than a hunch.  And by a planet of ice, I was thinking something that would be similar to a planet like Europa, one of Jupiter's largest moons.  Just as an example - I am not trying to identify a specific planet here, just illustrating that at least one such planet exists.

It seems that both Numenor and Eressea #2 endured the same fate as they were taken away from this world in the cataclysm that broke "Earth".  Whereas Aman and Eressea #1 were lifted high above everything, Numenor and Eressea #2 were both said to have been covered in water, and I take this to mean something extra than just sent out to space like everything else.  Numenor very obviously is said to have been covered by a large wave, and it is this wave that I think stayed with that world as it departed and eventually crusted around it in ice and kept the world locked in this sort of perpetual wave, almost frozen in time.

Likewise, ff this Eressea #2 thinking is correct, we also learn of its being covered by water during this calamity by Moroni's summation of Ether's words.  In Ether 13, Moroni writes:

For behold, they rejected all the words of Ether; for he truly told them of all things, from the beginning of man; and that after the waters had receded from off the face of this land it became a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the Lord would have that all men should serve him who dwell upon the face thereof

So, this water that once covered the land could be a reference to earlier floods (like Noah's from bible tradition), but for my purposes I place it as the same wave that covered Numenor.  However, whereas Numenor remains, to this day, under that wave in the form of it being trapped around it, Eressea #2 was freed from this water, I guess.  At least that is what must have happened.  This would have happened relatively quickly, over the course of 344 days at the most, because that is how long it took the Jaredites to take whatever course they took and land on its shores.

In any case, that is all to say, we have Numenor as not currently an option in my current story, and so are left with Valinor and the two Eresseas halves.

This, then, in my mind, will correspond to 3 distinct 'groups' or sets of people that will be gathered or brought to each of these worlds, as mapped out in my illustration above.   In understanding these groups and why there were certain places (in putting together this initial, preliminary view), I wanted to stay consistent to Tolkien-esque lore and rules, as well as not run counter to anything mentioned in the Book of Mormon that touches on these places and groups.  Meaning, I didn't want to break the existing story too badly, and preferably not at all. 

In terms of the Book of Mormon, major mentions or material that need to be kept in mind include Nephi's (son of Lehi) vision of the Gentiles coming to the promised land, Jesus' words at Bountiful relative to the Promised Land, and the brief summary of Ether's words.  Those are the big ones as far as I know, but let me know if I missed anything.  In terms of Tolkien, the Ban of the Valar was the major one.

First, with respect to Eressea #2, Nephi mentions that it is the Gentiles in the latter days that will be brought to the Promised Land, and that this land is where the remnant of the Lamanites will be.  So, in my diagram, the Gentiles have to go there.  I have listed the Gentiles separately from the 'man among the Gentiles' as seen in Nephi's vision (he isn't Columbus, and it is an event yet to happen), and I will share my developing thoughts on this in a follow-up post.  The preview is that I don't think this Man is a Gentile, though he will lead other Gentiles to that land.

I should clarify here that when I write "Israel" and "Gentile" I mean very different things than what is typically meant.  Rather than "Israel" being a nation over in the Middle-East, or a cultural or biological group of people, I mean something more like the "Family of Light".  This is a group of people that were a family long before this Earth was created, and are found among all nations, races, earthly families, etc.  Meaning, your biological, cultural, or religious heritage here does not make you Israel in my story.  In a group of people, look to your right, look to your left, look in the mirror, and any of the people you see might be "Israel".  They are scattered and don't know who they are.

And, probably to oversimplify, but all other non-Israel individuals in this definition we would classify as "Gentiles".

So, the Gentiles - all who want to go - are led to Eressea #2, where they encounter the Lamanites, perhaps still in continual war, scatter them, and then are in both a blessed and precarious position which, again, I will try and explore more in a future post.

With the Gentiles being led to that land, we are left with "Israel" - the Family of Light - being gathered back to one of the two Holy Places that will be re-established on Valinor and Eressea #1.

Faramir-Eonwe will reunite with Eowyn-Ilmare on Valinor in Tirion.  I think in past posts I have said he will go to Eressea, but I think this is not so.  He may pass through (I haven't figured out whether that is necessary), but it will be to Tirion that he ultimately goes.  

I mentioned that this Family of Light is traced back to either those two, or to Asenath and Joseph.  So, part of that family gathers back to join with Eowyn-Faramir, and this likely or perhaps out of necessity consists of those who do not fall under the Ban of the Valar.  For those not familiar, this Ban was imposed on the Noldor (a group of High Elves) due to some poor choices, among which we find Israel.  There is some debate around whether the Ban is still in place - my view is yes, and so not everybody, initially, will be able to gather in Tirion.  In any case, at this point in my story, I am not overturning any Bans yet, so if there is one that applies to you, then it would be to Eressea instead that you would head for.

Tirion at this point, or leading up to this gathering, will become Jerusalem, or the first Holy Place.  There have been other cities that have borne that name, but this is the original one, I think.

The remainder of the House of Israel, including those under the Ban, will gather to Eressea #1, and there build the New Jerusalem there.  At some point, they will be joined with Eressea #2 (both the land and the people), and a divided house will be reunited, and the individuals from Eressea #2 will further assist New Jerusalem.  Joseph and Asenath there, along with any 'Gentiles' that have repented and want to join and be fully adopted into that house.  Joseph will be healed, and find himself among his House and family again.  This will be the second Holy Place.

Also note that these 3 worlds comprise what has been called the Celestial Kingdom in the words of Joseph Smith.  Valinor, Eressea #1, and Eressea #2 are all part of that.  So, all of these places so far will ultimately end up as that place, and where the Family of Light will be complete (with perhaps many additions!)  Israel apparently will be led by Stones, and it seems that the Gentiles will be led by a Book (per Nephi's vision), potentially explaining how they end up in different places ultimately, and why the Gentiles will still have some choices to make once arriving on Eressea #2.

In this construct, this still leaves us with Numenor to deal with, as well as my mention earlier as to going into more highly speculative hypotheses regarding Gentiles and Lamanites on Eressea #2 and how that fits into things.  But, for now, I will leave this off with this as the general construct in my mind as to what worlds we are dealing with and who is brought where as I try to make sense of things and see if there is anything to this story.