In the Silmarillion we read of the darkening of Valinor, when Melkor and Ungoliant teamed up to destroy the Two Trees. However, the result was more than just the turning off of Heavenly Light, but replacing it with a primeval Unlight or void.

One thing that has struck me from time to time is the similarity between the darkness described in Valinor and the darkness that is said to have covered the Lehite promised land when Jesus died.

From the Silmarillion:

A cloak of darkness Ungoliant wove above them when Melkor and Ungoliant set forth: an Unlight, in which things seemed to be no more, and which eyes could not pierce, for it was void…as the shadow of a black cloud… the Unlight of Ungoliant rose up even to the roots of the Trees…going to the Wells of Varda she drank them dry; but Ungoliant belched forth black vapours as she drank…So the great darkness fell upon Valinor. … Yet no song or tale could contain the grief and terror that then befell. The Light failed; but the Darkness that followed was more than a loss of light. In that hour was made a Darkness that seemed not lack but a thing with being of its own: for it was indeed made by malice out of Light, and it had power to pierce the eye, and to enter heart and mind, and strangle the very will. All song ceased. There was silence in Valinor, and no sound could be heard, save only from afar there came on the wind through the pass of the mountains the wailing of the Teleri like the cold cry of gulls…Then the pursuit was begun; and the earth shook beneath the horses of the host of Oromë, and the fire that was stricken from the hooves of Nahar was the first light that returned to Valinor. But so soon as any came up with the Cloud of Ungoliant the riders of the Valar were blinded and dismayed, and they were scattered, and went they knew not whither; and the sound of the Valaróma faltered and failed. And Tulkas was as one caught in a black net at night, and he stood powerless and beat the air in vain….the winds of Manwë had driven away the vapours of death

Compare to 3 nephi

Nevertheless, all these great and terrible things were done in about the space of three hours — and then behold, there was darkness upon the face of the land.

And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen could feel the vapor of darkness.  And there could be no light, because of the darkness, neither candles, neither torches; neither could there be fire kindled with their fine and exceedingly dry wood, so that there could not be any light at all.  And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which were upon the face of the land.

And it came to pass that it did last for the space of three days that there was no light seen.  And there was great mourning and howling and weeping among all the people continually.  Yea, great were the groanings of the people, because of the darkness and the great destruction which had come upon them….And after these sayings there was silence in the land for the space of many hours.  For so great was the astonishment of the people that they did cease lamenting and howling for the loss of their kindred which had been slain.  Therefore there was silence in all the land for the space of many hours….And it came to pass that thus did the three days pass away.  And it was in the morning, and the darkness dispersed from off the face of the land…And [the righteous] were not carried away in the whirlwind; neither were they overpowered by the vapor of smoke and of darkness.

I think the similarities are so stunning that one could argue that Tolkien cribbed this darkness and even the bones of the tale from the BoM. The only inconsistency I see is that the hooves of Orome’s horse were able to create sparks as it ran whereas in the BoM no form of light could be seen. But then again, presumably no one from the BoM had the god-equivalent of a horse to work with so we can perhaps justify that one.

In both cases the darkness is described in very unnatural terms and with many of the same symptoms. The major sounds are those of wailing but there was also profound silence. The darkness worked a terror over the mind and body. Whatever this is, it is more than just the absence of Light.

I bring all of this up for two reasons.

First, it’s a really solid connection between Tolkien and Mormonism and can stand alone just on those merits.

Second, I am still noodling on the Hollow Earth idea. It has major problems, of course, but one idea that keeps popping up for me is the lighted stones that the Jaredites took with them. We never hear any inkling of what happened to them after they arrived at the promised land (not that I can think of anyway). Here’s a dubious working theory.

The Jaredites arrived at a hidden promised land within the earth somewhere — a place of utter darkness but still a land of beauty and promise, which, by the way, is pretty similar to how Middle Earth is described in the early days of the elves. It had naught but starlight with which to see, In the Jaredite case, we would have not even that.

At least not until the doors of the barges opened and the Light of Jesus embodied in stones was cast upon their new promised land.

Under this Light the promised land went into bloom just as Middle Earth did once the Valar put the sun into motion. But actually I think this Light did more than that, casting back an Unlight that had taken up residence there. It is said, after all, that Ungoliant fled after her falling out with Melkor and devoured herself. But that is not known for certain and she could instead have fled deep into the earth. Or it could be that some vapor of herself remained there even if she herself was no more.

Regardless, the stones drove back this Unlight and I presume provided the light of this subterranean world. I propose these stones somehow formed the mini firmament that it would take to account for mentions of the sun, moon, planets, and stars in this Underworld.

Granted, you’d have to believe these stones sort of morphed into versions of those celestial bodies, which is admittedly a stretch. Or you’d have to argue that references to those bodies in the BoM are the result of cultural translation since otherwise readers would have been terribly confused by some other description of the firmament. Personally I think the latter is easier to accept.

Regardless, at the death of Christ, these stones refused to shine forth and in that moment, the Primeval Unlight had nothing to hold it back, which explains the 3 days of darkness (lasting far longer than what is said in the Bible). This can also work with the sign given earlier in the BoM where the “sun” sets but the Light remains, a tale that is nowhere found in the Bible. There is a “new star” in the Bible but it is heavily implied that it was visible only to the Magi or perhaps an event only interpreted specifically by them as a “new star” like possibly a heavenly conjunction. But in the BoM, Samuel promises:

there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld 

And… there shall be many signs and wonders in heaven

What Samuel describes sounds significantly more….significant…than what we read about in the Bible. It’s almost as if the Lehites are under a completely different sky.

Anyway, I am warming up to the HE idea a little more. It’s feeling easier to work with than space, at least but it obviously requires a lot of stretching to make it work.