“You cannot wield it. None of us can.”

My thoughts on the Lord of the Rings, its timeless allegory, and why it should be #NotOptional reading/viewing for all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and especially children raised in #DezNat households.

There has never been a consensus on the allegorical meaning of LOTR. Tolkien said himself that the trilogy had no allegorical or topical meaning. And using the strict definition of “allegory,” where each part of the story acts as a definite symbol for something else, this is true

Nevertheless, LOTR contains one of the greatest Christian allegories of the modern world. Its mythology and themes should be immediately familiar to any Christian, but I think it resonates particularly with members of the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He was speaking of The Hobbit, but I believe Elder Uchtdorf’s words apply to LOTR as well: “Perhaps one of the reasons this story resonates with so many is because it is our story too” (Your Great Adventure, Oct. 2019).

And LOTR definitely is “our” story, or the story of our world. LOTR begins with the dark lord Sauron, once a god, cast out of the realm of the gods and into Middle-earth. Sauron works tirelessly to enslave the world. He even ends up deceiving some of the most elite.

Sauron’s trick was to give the various races magical rings. These rings were called the rings of power. What magic did these rings hold? That question is never fully answered; the story simply says that they fill their wearers with some kind of immeasurable or unstoppable power.

In time most of these rings were lost, but the One Ring is recovered. And this ring is the most powerful ring of them all. It grants its wearer much power. But what the wearer never realizes is that using the ring secretly gives Sauron, a spirit with no physical body, more power.

The most elusive symbol in LOTR is this One Ring of power. I’ve read many speculations on the ring's meaning. As an object that grants its wearer power, but at a tremendous (and sometimes hidden) cost, some have compared it to society's embrace of technological advancements.

Others have compared the ring to the history-altering--at times disastrous--industrial revolution. And still others have wondered whether it symbolizes the invention of super weapons or atomic doomsday devices.

And while such interpretations have merit, what they fail to grasp is that the Ring is a symbol much more basic and universal. Because it is not a symbol of any one object or technology. The One Ring is an allegory for the most powerful force in the mortal universe: human agency.

Hugh Nibley wrote (paraphrasing Pierre Teilhard de Chardin): “Man is the most refined being there is. He is much more complicated than a star, even a giant star, or a star system, or a galaxy."

Almost nothing universe in the universe has agency, or the freedom to choose. The untold trillions of atoms, minerals, rocks, stars, and gasses--they are only ever acted upon by universal forces, always reacting predictably according to the laws of the universe.

Even most living things, such as plants and, to a degree, animals, are the same. They are acted upon, controlled by their own appetites and needs. What sets human beings apart--their crowning glory and the source of all their power--is their agency.

Christians, and especially Latter-day Saints, believe that the freedom to choose is God’s greatest gift to mankind. Acting, and not being acted upon, is what makes humans like the divine. Likewise, human agency is also the ultimate source of all of mankind’s pain and suffering.

In LOTR (as in the pre-mortal world) a council is held to discuss how to deal with the power of the One Ring (or the power of agency). All the races of the world are present at this council. They conclude that to overcome the evil of Sauron, the ring must be destroyed.

In other words, those present realize that the only way for man to triumph over evil and death is to sacrifice his own agency. The sacrifice is accmplished when man gives his will completely to the will of God, who in turn saves him.

Like God asking Abraham to sacrifice the very son He gave him, giving one’s will over to God is declaring: “You’ve given me the power to choose, Lord, and with that power I am going to do what you command.”

Aragorn, the exiled king who awaits a return to his rightful throne, explains that despite its tantalizing power, one’s own agency will always fall short. “You cannot wield it. None of us can.”

The Savior, our perfect example, explained: “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” John 5:30

In LOTR, “destroying the One Ring” is the only plan that will work because it is the last thing Sauron would ever expect the people to do. After all, the ring is the most powerful object in the world--how could anyone *not* use it for their own personal gain?

Similarly, giving our will to God is exactly what Satan fears most. When we use our agency to do God’s will, we take all power away from the adversary.

Giving up one’s will is not an easy task. As Gimli strikes the ring with his axe, his weapon shatters. It is determined that the ring must be thrown into the fires of Mount Doom. This requires a long journey, beset by enemies and monsters. There is no quick fix.

The fellowship’s journey is symbolic of all of the struggles believers face in mortality. It has its beginning in a council long ago, and it will have an ending. And the choices made therein have eternal implications.

Throughout the journey there is evil all around us, and beings that want to do us harm. But we also have friends and people who support us along the way. We are all given certain heavenly guides to follow.

Choosing to give up our will for God’s is not an easy thing to do, and we will be tempted constantly to turn back to our old ways. In fact, not using the ring is the greatest temptation Frodo and the fellowship face in their quest.

Probably because using one’s agency seems like the most natural path to take at all times. But the path of the self of “captivity and death.”

Gollum/Smeagol illustrates this path of darkness. Early in life, he commits a serious sin. He then seeks to escape judgment by hiding in a cave. He continues using the ring, which grants him unnaturally long life.

Smeagol believes the ring (the power of agency) makes him free, and calls it his “precious.” He clings to this power so desperately that he literally loses himself, changing into Gollum.

Frodo, by giving up his will and his life, finds it. Eternally, even, as he is allowed to join his friends in the Undying Lands.

Aragorn, the exiled king, eventually claims his rightful throne and redeems the imprisoned dead (the ghosts who dwell under the mountain). Peace is ushered in when all of the races stop fighting amongst themselves and decide to work together in sacrificing the one ring.

The importance of LOTR was not lost on Elder Neal A. Maxwell, who quoted Tolkien in a conference talk in 1998. Note the theme of the power of agency:

"It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till.” (The Return of the King, 190).

I doubt I’m the first person to understand the allegory of the ring, but from all I’ve seen and read about LOTR I don’t think it’s a widespread reading. And I hope that this will change, especially among members of the church.

There is some confusion among some members as to whether stories with magic or monsters are appropriate for followers of Christ. The answer is that of course they are appropriate, as we live in a world of very real evil and very real miracles.

In the words of Haldir the elf: “The world is indeed full of peril and in it there are many dark places. But still there is much that is fair. And though in all lands, love is now mingled with grief, it still grows, perhaps, all the greater.”

It is because of its power that Lord of the Rings will continue to be diluted and attacked by the devil (i.e. Amazon, HBO, Disney+, etc.) The world loves to suggest that adhering to God’s commandments = enslavement. But LOTR shows that obedience is the ultimate form of freedom.