The Sons of Alma: Glorfindel-Helaman and Gildor-Shiblon

Since I started writing on this blog last summer, the riddle of the Sons of Alma has never completely left my mind.  In certain instances, that riddle has been one of the primary reasons I have kept (or returned to) writing.  Last fall, for example, when I returned to the blog after taking a short break, one major reason I did so was because the Sons of Alma felt like unfinished business.

As a reminder, and as covered in more detail in the post Grande-Riviere, France:  Why not?, after I had started this blog, I had a dream that at one point involved a woman speaking very clearly "You will become friends with the Sons of Alma".

Since that time, finding an answer to that riddle has been more or less on my mind to some degree or another.  Sometimes very much on my mind, and others in the background, but I think always there.  In some ways, I am sure it is a major reason why I have continued to press on writing about various topics here on this blog.

In that Grand-Riviere, France post, I suggested a link between these Sons of Alma as Friends that the woman mentioned, and with The Germans.  When they landed, one of the first things they mention searching for is something they called a "Freundebuche", or a Friend Book.  I now take this Friend Book to be the Brass Plates, something I hinted or guessed at in that post, but feel now a little more on solid footing suggesting.

The "Friend" mention is the link between those characters, that Book, and the Sons of Alma.  And so I felt at that time (just a few days ago), that it might be that The Germans were actually these Sons of Alma.  This made sense in many ways, some of which I have touched on here, and others I haven't.  One thing I have specifically explored is the notion of Helaman's charge to take care of the Brass Plates.  Given that charge, and how explicit and prominent it was in the Book of Mormon, and given that the Brass Plates are prophesied to go forth to all nations, the notion of Helaman as one of The Germans being given the assignment to recover these plates from wherever they are currently held made sense to me, or at least I could imagine a story from.

I had not yet, however, in writing that post, made the link that suggested the The Germans and the Stone Couriers were one and the same.  I now think this is the case.

The implications of this are pretty momentous for me, not just in identifying these Beings, but also in potentially finally having an answer to a riddle that has been on my mind for almost a year now.  It also helps make sense of specific dreams and imagery I have had and even guessed at here on this blog, but now have a better understanding on ultimately how they might fit in.

So, let's dig into this notion that The Germans of my 2019-2020 words are the same Beings as the Stone Couriers of my 2021 words, and see where that story takes us.

Recall, before I do, that I have the Stone Couriers represented as two Elvish characters, or at least Beings who would have at some point been known and identified as Elves, being the "Ushers" for Faramir in both finding Tom's House in France (to the East), but in also going home with a story to tell that will create a change on Eressea (which lies over the Seas to the West).

Since I have identified these Stone Couriers and future ushers as Glorfindel and Gildor (see this post), we then have to say that Glorfindel and Gildor are The Germans and thus also these Sons of Alma, if the answer to my riddle is true.  In looking into this, I explored two potential ways this might be so, specific to what is meant to be a "Son of Alma", but only one of these options is even feasible given the characters involved.  Fortunately, this only possible solution is the one that makes the most sense given everything else I have explored.

The non-feasible option is that the Sons of Alma were actually the Sons of Elrond.  Recall one of my guesses is that Alma (the younger) is Elrond, reincarnated.  Thus, you could imagine that the Sons of Elrond (named Elladan and Elrohir in the LOTR) as the two Elvish characters represented.  They played an important, if understated, role in assisting Aragorn in his passage through the Paths of the Dead.  So, a possibility.

This obviously falls apart extremely quickly since they were also contemporaries of both Glorfindel and Gildor in the LOTR.  They cannot be the same Beings, and so if my guess as to Glorfindel and Gildor being the Stone Courier Ushers is correct, by definition this excludes the Sons of Elrond.

Plus, the woman's voice who spoke to me said "Sons of Alma", and that wording was very specific.  In fact, as the phrase was being communicated in my mind, I began filling in the phrase with "Sons of Mosiah" since that is by far a better known phrase from the Book of Mormon.  But the woman literally wrested that phrase back to say Alma - it was very specific.  And since I currently view the Couriers as Glorfindel and Gildor, this consequently rules out the Sons of Elrond being the same thing as the Sons of Alma.  Case closed.

This brings us to three candidates, then, as to the identity of the Sons of Alma, and who Glorfindel and Gildor would have been later reincarnated as:  Helaman, Shiblon, and Corinanton.

Both Helaman and Shiblon would act as keepers and protectors of the Brass Plates (and Anor Stone), with Shiblon briefly taking possession of them after Helaman's death before then giving them to Helaman's son, also named Helaman.  But it is important to note that they were not just guardians of the Brass Plates, but record keepers themselves regarding the Nephite history, whose writings Mormon took from in creating his Book. 

So, it is Helaman who I have as a reincarnated Glorfindel.  Gildor is Shiblon.  Both sons to Alma, who I still have as Elrond.

This makes sense to me.  It also helps make sense of some other things, including dreams, that I have guessed at some meanings of, but likely wasn't completely on target with my guesses, or at the very least complete in understanding their full meaning.  I won't go into those here, but they help substantiate my guess, particularly with Glorfindel as Helaman. Maybe I will cover those later, or perhaps best not to.  I don't know.

In any case, Glorfindel-Helaman and Gildor-Shiblon came to our world at the end of 2019, and I believe they have stayed here ever since.

The Darkened Anor Stone, which they travelled with to reach our world, would have been given to Joseph, and he would have used it to return home, likely accompanied by the Three Disciples.  Glorfindel and Gildor remained behind, and awaiting further instructions, I suppose.  They would not have been at Sawtooth Mountains, I don't believe, but I guess there is a chance they were.  In any case, they would have been called to meet at the Sawtooth Mountains in 2021, taking on the burden of getting the Sawtooth Stone to France, the safety of Tom's House, and the restoration work that needed to be done to repair the Stone.

I guess it is an open question as to whether the Anor Stone remained with Joseph, or came back to our world.  I have imagined or I guess assumed on this blog that it came back, and might be at Tom's, but there is a possibility it remained with Joseph.  (I am not sure if the Disciples, in their current state, needed the Stone to travel?).   In an earlier story I imagined, however, Faramir takes the Sawtooth Stone back with him and returns it to Joseph, who then in turn gives the Anor Stone back to Faramir.  I kind of like this version, as well, so I am leaving open the possibility that both Faramir, and the Stone Couriers, are reliant on the Sawtooth Stone alone to go home.  The Anor Stone might not be here anymore for that purpose.

To clarify, then, if that is the case, it is the Sawtooth Stone that would link with the Ithil Stone, and not the Anor Stone.  It is a real possibility, and has some things going for it in terms of how the story unfolds.  It doesn't change the broad outline of the use of Stones, but it does change which ones are involved.  I guess we will see (or we won't!).  It does link to the Karate Kid scene where the El of Daniel (the Sawtooth Stone) introduces itself to the I of Elizabeth (the Ithil Stone).  In fact, just writing that out there makes me kind of lean toward this story now - the Anor Stone remained with Joseph, and Faramir will need to use the Sawtooth Stone.

But, wrapping this up in terms of formalizing the guess, I now believe the answer to this nearly year-old riddle lies with Helaman and Shiblon, who are Glorfindel and Gildor, respectively.  These Beings were The Germans who arrived on our world, took part in some important activities, including finding and rescuing Joseph, as well as locating Tom's House and his Brass Plates.  Left behind on our world following Joseph's rescue and Asenath's encounter with the Balrog, they would become the Couriers who brought the Stone to France, and remained there for a time.   Without the Anor Stone (if that is the case), their ticket home is the same as that of Faramir's, which involves the gifts and knowledge that I believe are currently hidden away in France.

So there you go.