Admitting my Lord of the Rings ultra nerdiness here.

I've been thinking a little about the parallels between Mormons and their doing anything for a testimony and the Lord of the Rings characters going after "my precious" the ring?

Anyone else see parallels? What do you see?

First of all I love Lord of the Rings! The battle scenes are my favorite. I am also completely stoked for the hobbit to come out.

Okay tangent aside, I can see your point with the ring. You have to protect it at all cost, but then once you are able to realize its holding you back and it's evil, then you can throw it into the fire and be free and relieved.(wow run on sentence)

I see a connection with 'the eye' but I need a second to word it in my mind first.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2012 02:34PM by fidget.

A couple I see that are a little more obscure:

- Smeagol wasted his whole life chasing it. He gave up who he was entirely.

- Sam was the only one in the entire book who had the ability to let it go willingly. Why? Because something else was more important to him

- It's so hard to let go off because it is so enticing.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2012 02:47PM by bc.

And it makes you disappear from the real world.

Nice - I hadn't thought of that one.

Everyone who lusts for power are attracted to and go after the one true ring - (priethood anyone? what about those people dreaming of their heavenly crown, legions of 'lesser' angels to serve them, and a world of their own to command?)

People can't let go of it even when they are fairly certain it is evil and destroying your soul?

If you are weak, you can't handle the ring and it will destroy you. Even if you are strong, if you continue in the path of the ring even after you found out the truth about it, it will also comsume you.

Cool, along those lines it's a a mechanism for the strong to gain power over the weak.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2012 02:46PM by bc.

How many times have black riders come to your door with that message?

Every time the home teachers drop by.

Yes!

Plus, after I left and they started stalking me, I started viewing TBMs as Gollum-like in their slimy, sneaking, pestiferous stalking and their ability to make "a horrible swallowing noise in [their] throat" as they bore testimony that I should return to the worship of "my preciousssss!"

Eeeek!

Sam Gamgee called it "slinker" and "stinker."

Those are the New Names I'm going to give to the Black Riders who slither past my house every day: "Hey Elder Slinker and Elder Stinker! Howyadoooin'?"

One Church to rule them all,
One Church to find them,
One Church to bring them all
and in the darkness bind them.

WORD!

One of the comedy groups at BYU did a hilarious parody along these lines. (As in a reuse of the poem - not casting the church as the ring).

It had Tom Shane as Sauron trying to force everyone to get married - thus bind them.

After they thwart Shane at one point he says menacingly:
"You NO LONGER have a friend in the diamond business."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2012 03:48PM by bc.

To this day I still love watching "Lord of the Engagement Rings." That's mormon culture comedy at its finest, imo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiAcVoc9rXg

Yes! That's it. Sweet - I'm going to re-watch it. Can't be as good as it was live though.

I was in the JSB for the live showing of Return of the Missionary. Greatest thing ever at the time. I wonder if we were in the same room.

"Being an elf is like being in a boy band... now I'm going to shoot arrows with my guitar."

"Here at BYUSA we don't usually do anything, we just talk and talk and talk... but if you upset BYUSA they'll destroy you, just look at the Garrens."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2012 03:56PM by kimball.