The Great Tower

Credit for this post goes to my wife who is kind enough to indulge my crazy ideas from time to time. I offered to name her so everyone knows exactly who to thank for the ideas I’m going to share. I even offered to put a link to this post in her extended family chat so they could be impressed. But she declined! I guess she is just one of those people that doesn’t need the limelight.

As a quick recap, in a prior post about the brother of Jared and his very noteworthy faith, I proposed that his faith was not simply very sincere belief, but instead it was that he acted on a promise from God by entering Moria, climbing the Endless Stair, and encountering Jesus-Eru at Durin’s Tower atop the Silvertine.

I further postulated that this path was created by Durin in the ancient past for this very purpose since in the 3rd Age we see Gandalf follow the exact same path and also encounter Eru.

I made a point that Durin’s Tower was something like a dwarvish Meneltarma. I should point out that the Meneltarma was notable for NOT having any building at the top. In fact, it is said that:

“No building, no raised altar, not even a pile of un-dressed stones, ever stood there and no other likeness of a temple did the Númenóreans possess in all the days of their grace, until the coming of Sauron.”

I used to think this description of the Meneltarma meant that true worship of Jesus requires no building. So if that’s true, why would it be different for dwarves? And does that disprove my theory about Durin’s Tower?

I’ll get back to that in a minute.

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The early Mormons, as we all know, were told to build temples and the temples were designed for some specific purposes. They were to be used for baptisms of the dead (an important topic, but not one for this post). But more importantly, Mormon temples were to be a place where ancient knowledge would be restored and the saints could literally commune with God and his angels. Kinda like what the BoJ and Gandalf did at Moria. Since joining this crazy world of Tolkien intersecting with Mormonism, I have often been puzzled by Joseph’s insistence on building temples. I much prefer the original Numenorean approach and of course we see in Numenor’s history how a temple came about from the influence of that era’s Devil (Sauron) and was used for nefarious ends. The lesson seems to be that temples were actually a bad thing.

And for a long time I assumed Joseph Smith had maybe been deceived in pushing for them. That he went off the rails and didn’t realize it.

But now I think not. I think I have finally figured this out.

There is a quote from The Words of Joseph Smith wherein JS explains why some people have to build temples to encounter God and others don’t:

I preached in the grove on the keys of the Kingdom, Charity &c The keys are certain signs and words by which false spirits and personages may be detected from true, which cannot be revealed to the Elders till the Temple is completed—The rich can only get them in the Temple—the poor may get them on the Mountain top as did Moses. The rich cannot be saved without Charity, giving to feed the poor when and how God requires as well as building.

If I interpret JS correctly, he is saying those who are rich must prove they do not value that wealth over the things of God. They must prove that they aren’t covetous of wealth above all else. This requirement does not apply to the “poor”.

And I think this is why Durin and his people had to build the stair and tower whereas on Numenor, they simply could climb atop the mountain. Consider these descriptions of the wealth of the dwarves:

“Too greedily and too deep the Dwarves delved there, and they awoke that from which they fled, Durin’s Bane. Shadow and flame have fallen on it.”
(The Fellowship of the Ring, Book II, Chapter 4: A Journey in the Dark)

“There the hammer and the anvil smote, and there were blade and edge forged; the delver mined, the mason built, and the memory of many things endured. The pride and glory of Durin’s folk is in that city, and mithril was their great treasure.”

“Mithril! All folk desired it…The worth of mithril was ten times that of gold, and now it is beyond price; for little is left above ground, and even the Orcs dare not delve here for it. The Elves dearly loved it, and among many uses it was prized for the making of mail.”

And of course the treasures of the Lonely Mountain were so vast that it brought the fury of a dragon upon them. Tolkien’s stories show that it was the greed of the dwarves that led to their downfall over and over. Hence the need for them to build something, to part with a portion of their wealth to prove what they most desired. That’s why for their worship there must be a temple.

Now contrast that with the wealth of the Edain on Numenor:

“For the Númenóreans were not in their beginning a people of great wealth, and they did not seek after riches. They were a people who loved learning and had great skill in arts, crafts, and ships, and they cultivated the things that the Valar had taught them, so that they were the mightiest people of Middle-earth in wisdom and power.”

“…all metals in Númenor were precious metals. They brought with them many treasures of gold and silver, and gems also; but they did not find these things in Númenor. They loved them for their beauty…. Of the Elves of Eressëa in the days of their friendship they had at times gifts of gold and silver and jewels; but such things were rare and prized in all the earlier centuries, until the power of the Kings was spread to the coasts in the East.
(The Silmarillion, Akallabêth)

So to put it in Joseph Smith’s terms, the dwarves were rich and the Numenoreans were poor and that is why the Numenoreans needed no temple whereas the dwarves did. And that is why Durin built his Stair and Tower. It was, in my view, an attempt in his day to establish true worship. Durin’s Tower was a “temple” in other words. I think it’s telling, however, that by the 3rd Age, the very existence of the Stair and Tower is debated. Gimli was surprised when Gandalf confirmed its existence. You would think at the very least the dwarves that had been driven from Khazad-dum by the Balrog would be able to say it was real. Unless, of course, the dwarves of that place did not prize this Stair and Tower. I suspect perhaps they refused to use it much like those who followed Moses refused to ascend the mountain to encounter God and that is why knowledge of its existence had faded.

Instead of ascending, the dwarves mined greedily for more wealth and thus were driven from their ancestral home by the Balrog.

You may be thinking that the early Mormons were not rich and therefore should have had no need to build a temple. But recall that in my view, the early Mormons were primarily dwarves reborn and so it was important for them to demonstrate they had overcome covetousness and for that reason they are still considered “rich”.

Consider the Mormons today. As a culture and organization they are nothing if not covetous and money hoarders, going so far as to extract wealth from the poorest among them. And they are quite talented at wealth accumulation of vast treasures. I suspect a large number of them today are still in fact dwarves reborn.

I should also point out that the Numenoreans eventually did become rich because they turned from the old ways and extracted great wealth from Middle Earth. I suspect a wily Sauron who perhaps had knowledge of this requirement of the “rich” could have used that as a way to manipulate the Numenoreans into building his temple. And actually, his temple worked. They did indeed “get to heaven”.

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I told you my wife gets credit for this post (or maybe she is to blame depending on your perspective) so let’s bring her in. I was so excited by my brother of Jared post (linked at the top) that I asked my wife to read it. When she finished she asked if Durin’s Tower could be connected to the tower of Babel. It was like a lightning bolt! You may recall that the Jaredites are said to have departed from a “great tower”. The BoM never names it as the Biblical tower associated with Babel, however many assume it is that very tower.

Daymon Smith posits the tower from which they depart is none other than Barad-Dur, or Sauron’s tower, of red eye infamy:

I now think otherwise. I actually think it is Sauron’s Temple at Numenor that is being referenced. Let’s go through the various BoM references quickly and then I’ll explain:

…the first part of this record, which speaks concerning the creation of the world, and also of Adam, and an account from that time even to the great tower …

Therefore I do not write those things which transpired from the days of Adam until that time; …

But behold, I give not the full account, but a part of the account I give, from the tower down until [the Jaredites] were destroyed.

…

Which Jared came forth with his brother and their families, with some others and their families, from the great tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, and swore in his wrath that they should be scattered upon all the face of the earth; and according to the word of the Lord the people were scattered.

-Ether 1

From the Testimony of the Three Witnesses:

…a record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites, their brethren, and also of the people of Jared, who came from the tower of which hath been spoken.

From the Title Page of the BoM:

An abridgment taken from the Book of Ether also, which is a record of the people of Jared, who were scattered at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, when they were building a tower to get to heaven

From Mosiah 28

17 Now after Mosiah had finished translating these records, behold, it gave an account of the people who were destroyed, from the time that they were destroyed back to the building of the great tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people and they were scattered abroad upon the face of all the earth, yea, and even from that time back until the creation of Adam.

From Omni:

21 And they gave an account of one Coriantumr, and the slain of his people….It also spake a few words concerning his fathers. And his first parents came out from the tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people; and the severity of the Lord fell upon them according to his judgments, which are just; and their bones lay scattered in the land northward

From Helaman 6:

28 And also it is that same being who put it into the hearts of the people to build a tower sufficiently high that they might get to heaven. And it was that same being who led on the people who came from that tower into this land; who spread the works of darkness and abominations over all the face of the land, until he dragged the people down to an entire destruction, and to an everlasting hell.

Recall that part of Sauron’s lie was that the Numenoreans could go to the Undying Lands, or “heaven” and there obtain eternal life, meaning, he was teaching them how to “get to heaven” and his temple was a key component of that effort. I don’t think there is any civilization that ever thought they could literally build a tower high enough to reach heaven. A society that dumb would hardly be capable of building anything, I suspect, much less worthy of invoking the ire of God for the attempt. Why on earth would God care if some idiots built a tower for that purpose? The answer, of course, is not that He worried they might actually build high enough, but that the structure being described was used to convey enough knowledge for, say, an armada to sail West and invade heaven. Which is exactly what the Numenoreans did.

So when the scripture says “build a tower sufficiently high” I say the word “high” does not refer to its height from the ground but one of the other definitions for high, namely: arrogant; proud; lofty; loud. Or: boastful; ostentatious. Or: expressive of pride and haughtiness. Actually there are several other definitions that work too.

And instead of the “great tower” being a reference to Barad-dur, what we have here is a reference to the temple Sauron built at Numenor and the BoM references the departure of the Jaredites from *that* temple (or tower). It is in Daymon’s books that we read of Zhera (Jared) who rescues his wife Izilba from death in the temple and the two flee Numenor forever.

I think it’s also possible that some of the BoM references to a Jaredite tower could refer to Durin’s Tower. Both tower-temples were designed to “get to heaven”. But either way I think this solves a great mystery for me about temples and also further establishes the idea that Mormons=Gentiles=Dwarves.

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Circling back to early Mormonism, in my BoJ post I suggested that today’s Gentiles will have to demonstrate the same faith as the BoJ, like Moroni says. And that in fact they will have to go to Moria and ascend the same Stair. But perhaps not. I now look at Joseph’s temple attempts as a simulation of what the brother of Jared did at Moria.

For anyone who has never been through the Mormon temple, you do many of the same things that he did: utter passwords or “knock” (so to speak), climb stairs, see the finger/hand of God through a veil before eventually, entering God’s full presence. All of those things are also part of the BoJ’s experience in the book of Ether.

We do read that Durin’s Tower was destroyed in Gandalf’s battle with the Balrog so I could now see it as being necessary to build something new so that Gentiles can simulate his faith.

I would love to say Gimli went back to fix the Tower before sailing West and I really like the idea of some Mormon-dwarves going over to Europe and finding the doors of Moria to replicate the BoJ’s faith. That would be a cool story. Regardless, I think I see now why Joseph was told to build temples and even though I think the Mormon temples are badly corrupted today, their attempt was rooted in something true and maybe it still has to be done that way. Otherwise I suspect the early Mormons would have been told to sail to Europe and go looking for Moria instead of being gathered out of Europe.

Instead they were told to build something here in America so I lean toward that still being the only way for Gentiles to encounter God and demonstrate the same faith as the brother of Jared. I have no idea how that would be accomplished in today’s world, but at least now I see a good reason why it was attempted.