Into the West: Our Journey Back Home

At the end of Frodo's journey, After peace had been established in the land and the ring was destroyed, we find Frodo taking a journey into the west to the Undying lands. He had completed his mortal quest, and met every obstacle with resilient courage. He succeeded in what seemed like an impossible journey, and because of such he was given a sacred privilege; to live the remainder of his life among the elves.

It was Frodo's purity of heart and selfless character that qualified him for that great privilege, and we, like Frodo, after we complete our mortal quest, if we met it with courage and demonstrated our trust in the saving power of Jesus Christ by following his example, we will gain a similar reward.

In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Alma speaks about what happens after we finish our mortal journey. He says:

     "And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.

This is the reward promised us if we follow the teachings of Christ. And doesn't that sound great?!

 So, if we, like Frodo, press forward "with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men...[we] shall have eternal life" (2 Ne. 31:20).

Middle Earth: Our Life on Earth

So Frodo and Sam have left the comfort of the Shire. they walk into the unknown. Their trail to meet up with Gandolf again would continue to try and test them. They are chased by ringwraiths who nearly destroy them as they mistakingly light a fire to cook food. The ringwraiths, who were once men overcome with pride an power to the destruction of their souls, are now under the control of Sauron. Their ultimate purpose is to get the ring and they seek the bearer of the ring. They stab Frodo but are scared away by the mystical Strider. They get to Rivendale, where they find out the true nature of the ring and that it must be destroyed.

They then create a fellowship. They don't know what else is in store for them.
Navigating through the lands of Elves, Men, and Demons; crossing through the mines of Moria; and battling with Orks and Uruk Hai, Frodo realizes that this quest is almost impossibly hard. In one of the battles, he looks over to Sam and says, "I can't do this, Sam."

Sam replies, "I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something."

To that Frodo asks, "What are we holding onto, Sam?"

Sam tells him, "That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for."

As we are beset by the obstacles we encounter along our journey through earth, we must in hold onto the same thing that gave Frodo and Sam so much strength. No matter how hard our lives are, we have a hope of eternal life. Ether in the Book of Mormon stated it best when he said:

"Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God" (Ether 12:4). If we hold onto this hope, we will one day complete our mission in this life, "to prepare to meet God" (Alma 34:32).

There and Back Again: God's Plan for Us

For Frodo Baggins life began humbly in Shire. It was a place distant to the rest of the goings on of Middle Earth. It was a place of safety from the conquests of the more dominate races of the East and South. It was Heaven. Here Frodo was in the presence of his family and loved ones. He grew there and looked up to his cousin Bilbo.

Our lives also began before we came to Earth. We lived with our Father in Heaven, grew there as his spirit children (Proverbs 8:22-30), and were taught God's wonderful Plan of Hapiness for us. But, just as most of us needed to leave home when we grow up, God knew we needed to do the same. He knew we couldn’t progress unless we left for a while.

And so it was with Frodo; while in the shire, Bilbo Baggins celebrated his eleventy-first birthday on the same day, that Frodo celebrated his 33rd birthday (his 'coming of age';) then it was time for Frodo to leave the Shire. After inheriting the ring from Bilbo, Frodo was sent on a quest that would effect his eternal destiny.

But Frodo didn't leave the Shire alone, and neither do we. Although we cannot see God, or remember the home we left, he has given us his Spirit to guide us on our journey back to him.

Introduction

This Blog is a blog about how Lord of the Rings, the famed book series by J.R.R. Tolkien, relates to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In this blog we will look at many of the similarities between this epic story and our lives as children of God. We invite all men everywhere to read this blog and ponder on the message that the Lord of the Rings can teach us about our Savior Jesus Christ. If you want to know more about the gospel, contact us on facebook.com or comment on our blog.  Elder Miller and I are very excited to be talking to people about something we love via Lord of the Rings, one of my favorite book series of all time.