Tuesday, September 3, 2024

"For that which ye do send out shall return unto you again, and be restored"

This team of Chip Monks or the three Magi makes sense to me in light of another "Law" of Heaven.  That law or principle being Restoration.


Alma the Younger had three sons that were at least spoken of in the Book of Mormon.  Two of those - Helaman and Shiblon - I have pegged as our Stone Couriers, Glorfindel and Gildor.  Alma talked to each of them about certain things as recorded in the Book of Alma, and the discussion with Helaman I have mentioned before in light of the Brass Plates and the Anor Stone.


The third and youngest son, Corianton, got a little different discussion than the other two did, since he had apparently done some things that required repentance.  Alma basically pointed out what he did wrong, asked him to repent, and told him why it was so important to repent.  That importance came down to what Alma referred to as Restoration.


This Restoration was spoken of both in terms of a Resurrection (spirits and bodies being reunited together) as well as with Being and their works (Good and Evil Beings restored to Good and Evil, respectively).


Alma will ask Corianton if it is just to take something and place it in a state or place that is not in harmony with its nature, and if this fits with the concept of Restoration?  The answer is clearly no:


And now behold, is the meaning of the word restoration to take a thing of a natural state and place it in an unnatural state, or to place it in a state opposite to its nature?

O, my son, this is not the case; but the meaning of the word restoration is to bring back again evil for evil, or carnal for carnal, or devilish for devilish—good for that which is good; righteous for that which is righteous; just for that which is just; merciful for that which is merciful.


Restoration is to bring things back to how they were - Good will be Good again, and unfortunately Evil will still be Evil.  That is how the game works.


Therefore, Alma is telling Corianton to choose to do and be Good, and in so doing, Good will be restored to him again.  Here is how he puts it:


Therefore, my son, see that you are merciful unto your brethren; deal justly, judge righteously, and do good continually; and if ye do all these things then shall ye receive your reward; yea, ye shall have mercy restored unto you again; ye shall have justice restored unto you again; ye shall have a righteous judgment restored unto you again; and ye shall have good rewarded unto you again.

For that which ye do send out shall return unto you again, and be restored; therefore, the word restoration more fully condemneth the sinner, and justifieth him not at all.


This fits as well with what Amulek had earlier taught (in partnership with Alma) to those at Ammonihah, specifically Zeezrom, about what Salvation and Redemption looks like, and it again comes back to Restoration.   Zeezrom tried to initially misconstrue Amulek's words; he asked whether God will save people in their sins, and Amulek said that no, he won't.  Zeezrom tried to portray this as Amulek limiting God in some way, or pretending to tell God what is or is not possible.  Amulek simply said that God won't deny his word.  If one has chosen Evil, at the last day they will have a 'bright recollection' of all their guilt.  The wicked will "remain as though there had been no redemption made", with the exception that they will still be resurrected.


This concept of restoration is not only limited to a final judgment, I believe, but also in the ongoing roles and missions Beings are called to play in this ongoing Story.  Good Beings who have done Good have those Good things restored to them in various ways.


We have seen that already somewhat in the story of the Brother of Jared.  I highlighted in an earlier post that if he did in fact make those Doors of Durin as Celebrimbor, this Good Act was restored to him later as the Brother of Jared, when he was able to use those doors to access Moria, obtain the necessary materials for his Stones (Mithril), and gain the required Light for the journey (as well as be taught and shown things by Jesus that may prove important and critical in a coming day).


What I mean is, almost in a Karma-esque way, it seems that this law of restoration works at an individual level in the stories of Beings even before some kind of final judgment, and that works or intents from previous lives and incarnations are returned or restored to those same Beings in the future.  And not just some vague thread or general things in their lives, but very specific stories and acts.


JRR Tolkien, in this story, would be a similar example, if you think about it.  If he did in fact play the role of Frodo in the real story of LOTR, then that story was returned to him in a later life in the form of JRR Tolkien, and the books we have today are just such an act of restoration.  Frodo not only lived the story, but he was careful to preserve it and write it all down (in the Red Book of Westmarch).  That good story was returned for him to tell.


So, I see a similar thing in the lives and roles of these Three Chip Monks.  Each of them had roles to play in earlier lives, that included specific actions, witnesses, and records, that will be restored to them, I think, in the events that include whatever is to be found in Tom Bombadil's Study.  In other words, it isn't just a bunch of random guys showing up there and getting some records that they had no previous part in.  Rather, these are their own books and stories being returned or restored to them.  


For example, with Faramir-Eonwe, my guess is he had a hand in both the initial recording of Joseph's words on Rose Stone, as well as its later burial or hiding away.  That Stone and the words on it will be returned to him.  Similarly, the Brother of Jared and Moses (if they are the same Being) had a hand in both the recording and preservation of whatever the current Brass Plates are, as well as the account that was written following the Brother of Jared's mountain vision (and the interpreters that came along with it).  Peter's words, I have guessed, are to be found among the Records on the Ithil Stone, along with his fellow Apostles, and those words will be returned to him as well.  Perhaps other things, too, that we don't yet know about.


What I am trying to say, is there is a reason these three are involved, and it is a result of their own past choices, which included following the will of Jesus, even if they have basically no memory of that now.  In fact, it is likely for such a time as they will find themselves in that Jesus asked them to do what they did in the first place, so that those things could be restored to them, and then from there published and shared with a much larger set of Beings.


Because of this, the current trio that I've thought through here largely makes sense to me, of course in the context that there will be many more record keepers and witnesses called to take part in this whole endeavor than just these three.  Plenty of people have taken part in the creation and preservation of Truth.


But again, the task at hand isn't just about Records, but how Beings will establish a Path for all who will come to follow.  Based on past works, implied powers and capabilities given from God, and future tasks still yet to do (including unfinished business on this world and elsewhere), I think it is as good a team as any.  They seem to be the ones for the job at hand.  


To close, I thought of one other scripture that further supports this notion of Men being called to do things based on prior work and repentance.  In Alma 13, Alma the Younger teaches those at Ammonihah (the same place that I mentioned earlier with Amulek's restoration words) that there is a Holy Order, and the Men became part of this Order by choosing to repent and perform Good Works.  This willingness to repent and do Good put them in a place of privilege in which they would receive "holy callings".  My guess is that what I imagine happening in France and then later beyond that place is an example of just such a holy calling to Beings of that Order:


And those priests were ordained after the order of his Son, in a manner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption.

And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.

And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith, while others would reject the Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds, while, if it had not been for this they might have had as great privilege as their brethren.


The redemption that will come, as I imagine it, from these Stones, Records, and Stories currently housed in France I think would fit this description of a "preparatory redemption".  Some of these things, like the Rose Stone, have been kept hidden from the very beginning of the World, and some things have been a long time in preparation and preservation.  There seems to be a plan in place.  These Three will take part in that plan according to their callings, but it will be in conjunction with a much larger team of Good Beings that have their own callings and responsibilities as well.  These Three I just have put some more thought into lately as it seems their work does something to restore some truths and build a bridge or some kind of path (you know, across outer space or something like that), and that this is an important future step for Beings on our own Earth to head for greener pastures and stand in Holy Places.

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