What Can Men Do Against Such Reckless Hate?

I just finished a week long re-watch of the Lord of the Rings: Extended Special Edition movies. These movies were and remain incredible, especially the extended editions where you get the full story not seen in the theatrical editions. The Return of the King remains one of my favorite movies of all time, bar none. But one of my favorite moments in the movies is actually in The Two Towers when Théoden, king of Rohan, is faced with the overwhelming armies of Saruman. The Uruk-hai, using massive gunpowder bombs, have blown open the walls of Helm’s Deep and broken its defenses. Théoden and his people have been forced to retreat farther and farther into their fortress until they are trapped in their citadel, the rest fallen to the enemy who are expected to break through the doors of the citadel and slaughter everyone inside. Trapped inside, it looks like all they can expect is certain death. At this moment, Théoden asks a question that only defines the rest of the series, but human life itself.

In the book, Théoden’s comment reads:

‘It is said that the Hornburg has never fallen to assault,’ said Théoden; ‘but now my heart is doubtful. The world changes, and all that once was strong now proves unsure. How shall any tower withstand such numbers and such reckless hate?
^{The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, pg. 539}

In the movie this line is simplified to:

So much death. What can Men do against such reckless hate?
^{The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Screenplay, pg. 201}

The drama here is profound and incredibly applicable to our modern lives. When one side is so dedicated to hating you no matter what, in trying to destroy your life no matter what you say or do, how can you survive? What can you do to defeat or even appease such people? What can you do such against pure, undiluted, and self-righteous hatred? The solution in both of the book and the movie is the same – at dawn Théoden, Aragorn, and the rest of the leaders of Rohan will ride out into the masses of the enemy, either to “cleave a road, or make such an end as will be worth a song.” (pg. 539) When the time comes, the great horn of Helm’s Deep is blown so loudly that it continues to reverberate and echo throughout the valley. The men of Rohan hear it and cheer. You can see the movie depiction here. Then the book describes Théoden’s charge thusly:

And with that shout the king came. His horse was white as snow, golden was his shield, and his spear was long. At his right hand was Aragorn, Elendil’s heir, behind him rode the lords of the House of Eorl the Young. Light sprang in the sky. Night departed. ‘Forth Eorlingas!’ With a cry and a great noise they charged. Down from the gates they roared, over the causeway they swept, and they drove through the hosts of Isengard as a wind among grass. Behind them from the Deep came the stern cries of men issuing from the caves, driving forth the enemy. Out poured all the men that were left upon the Rock. And ever the sound of blowing horns echoed in the hills.
On they rode, the king and his companions. Captains and champions fell or fled before them. Neither orc nor man withstood them. Their backs were to the swords and spears of the Riders, and their faces to the valley. They cried and wailed, for fear and great wonder had come upon them with the rising of the day.
^{The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, pg. 541}

There is a great lesson here for us. Théoden had no clue if his charge would work, if it would even matter in the grand scheme of things. His heart is doubtful and he is unsure if there will even be enough people left to sing songs of his actions. Most likely they will simply be lost to history like so many others. The 300 may have their Thermopylae, the Texans their Alamo, and the Russians their Stalingrad, but for most people in history the only outcome of facing an overwhelming force is outright extermination and being wiped from history. Théoden understood this truth. So why make the charge? Why not keep retreating? Why not flee into the Glittering Caves and try to hold out as long as possible? Why not surrender, especially as in the book Saruman’s armies are open to parleying and to accepting surrender? (pgs. 539-540)

The answer is because when faced with such reckless hate, such brutality and violence, such death and destruction, with the absolute promise of your immediate demise, you must stand and resist evil no matter the cost.

Even if it means your death.

To do anything else would be to allow evil to win. There are somethings more important than merely living another day and our duty to resist evil in all its forms is one of those things. If we surrender to it we may draw breath for another day, but only at the cost of our own souls. (Mark 8:36-37)

Gospel Application

You may at this point be wondering what this all has to do with the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. Tolkien’s Legendarium was inspired by ancient Norse sagas like Beowulf and the Prose Edda, not the New Testament. As a result his works extol the virtues of those far more martial warrior societies whereas the Gospel of Jesus Christ takes has a severely negative view of war and forbids Christians from killing other people and promising eternal damnation to those who do. So, how does the story of a fictional people choosing violence as a method to resist evil apply to us when we have been ordered to renounce all war no matter its cause and to proclaim peace? Because even though the methods may be different the truth is the same.

In the face of the brutal, self-destructive, nihilistic, reckless hate of the world it is our duty as Latter-day Saints to stand against the evils of the world no matter the outcome, whether it be to our seeming benefit or our seeming ruin. And just as Théoden and his people weren’t truly alone, they had a wizard – basically an angel in human form sent by the gods – on their side, neither are we alone today. We have the words of the prophets, messengers of God both ancient and modern to teach us by word and deed how we should act, believe, and live, how we should stand against evil no matter the cost. What follows is just a brief example of how the scriptures and our history teach us to respond to the hatred and evils of men.

The Old Testament

The situation in which the prophet Elisha finds himself in 2 Kings 6 is nothing less than Tolkien-esque, as bad as, if not worse than, the one that Théoden found himself in trying to repel Saruman’s armies at Helm’s Deep. One morning Elisha wakes up in the city of Dothan to discover that it has been surrounded by the horses, chariots, and “great host” of the king of Syria – all there to specifically capture (or kill) Elisha himself. Elisha’s servant, understandingly terrified by this show of overwhelming force despairs and asks Elisha what they will do to survive. What could they do against the might, power, and overwhelming hate of the Syrian armies?

Elisha’s response is masterful.

Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
^{2 Kings 6: 16-17}

Faced with the reckless hatred of the Syrians, Elisha trusted in God and His power to deliver His servants. At Elisha’s request, God smites the Syrians with blindness making it impossible for them to find or hurt him. If the story ended here it would be enough to show us how we should likewise respond, that we like Elisha’s servant and like Théoden must trust in the promises of God’s servants, Elisha and Gandalf, and in the power of God Himself to deliver us. But the story doesn’t end there. Now that these soldiers are effectively defenseless the king of Israel pleads with Elisha to be allowed to slaughter them and Elisha’s response is a master class in how Christians should likewise respond to the hate and evil of the world:

[Elisha] answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.
And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
^{2 Kings 6:22-23}

Elisha teaches us the way we should, the way we must trust in God and His power, knowing that the Power that guides and protects us is unimaginably greater than any worldly power ever levelled against us. Further, the way to dismantle the threat of evil and hatred is not to murder it. Violence only begets violence. Hatred only begets hatred. Instead we must love and serve our enemy so that they will no longer be our enemy, but become our friends.

To the reckless hatred of the world we must respond with reckless love.

New Testament

So, it worked out for Théoden and Elisha, but what happens when it doesn’t?

What happens when our wild charge collapses in the face of the enemy and they capture us?

After Christ’s Resurrection and Ascension, Stephen found himself in just such a situation and his story is a perfect example of the But If Not… Principle in action.

The Sanhedrin, the rulers of the Judean government, still hated Jesus and His followers and still used their positions of power in the government to hunt down, imprison, threaten, beat, and kill those who taught of Christ. Yet, Christ Himself had commanded them to preach His Gospel to all the world, no matter what kings, emperors, and high priests thought or the danger inherent in defying them. The Apostles had already been arrested repeatedly, beaten, and threatened with death. Peter and John had been flogged before being threatened with worse if they kept teaching the Gospel. (Acts 5:12-42) Peter’s response, “We ought to obey God rather than men,” and refusal to obey the orders of their governmental and religious leaders, and steadfast insistence on teaching about Christ in the very heart of their enemies’ power, the Jewish Temple, is inspiring (and instructive) beyond description.

But Stephen wasn’t an Apostle. He wasn’t even a Seventy.

He was, at best, an administrative assistant, a secretary. He and six others were charged with helping the Apostles by carrying out the day-to-day charity work of the church while the Apostles focused on preaching the Gospel. And that was probably all that was expected of him. To the eyes of the Pharisees and Sadducees, he was undoubtedly an easy target. In Acts 6 & 7, they accused Stephen of blasphemy, of teaching “that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.” (Acts 6:14) Then the High Priest turned to Stephen and asked him, “Are these things so?” (Acts 7:1)

This was Stephen’s moment of testing and truth. He was faced with the fierce and violent danger of the Sanhedrin, knowing that they had already brutally beaten and tortured the Apostles, knowing that they had already been threatened with death if they continued to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Stephen knew that his life was at risk if he either said or did the wrong thing. What would he do in the face of such merciless hatred? Would he shrink? Would he surrender? Would he recant to save his life?

Stephen responded:

Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
^{Acts 7:51-53}

Stephen took a stand. He knew the risks. He knew what would happen next. And still he did not backdown. He met his enemies head on and countered their reckless and brutal hatred with the power of his testimony. And they killed him for it. They led him out of Jerusalem, threw him to the ground, and ferociously beat him to death with rocks. His last words?

Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.
^{Acts 7:60}

And when he had done this, he “fell asleep.”

^{The Stoning of Stephen Artist Unknown. Source}

Like Théoden, we see Stephen ready to die, to sacrifice everything in order to defend the truth and to stand against evil. And in doing so, even though he died, Stephen won the victory. He rode out and met the enemy not under his own strength, but in the strength of the Lord. With his last testimony, with his last breath, Stephen planted the seed of the Gospel in the heart of a young man named Saul. By dying, Stephen testifies that success is not about mere efficiency, but in staying true to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed, even if it costs us our lives.

To the reckless hatred of the world we must respond with reckless sacrifice.

The Book of Mormon

The brothers Nephi and Lehi, children of the prophet Helaman, lived in a civilization on the verge of collapse. After decades of carnage, bloodshed, and death, the Nephite people had lost a war against the Lamanites that cost them half of everything – more if you count everything lost during the war itself. The Lamanites, having outlasted Captain Moroni’s efforts and defeating his son Moronihah, wrecked the Nephite army and claimed half of their lands, even annexed the Nephite capital of Zarahemla. Nephite society was corrupt and weak, full of liars, cheaters, thieves, and murderers. By the time of Helaman 5, the Nephite society and people were corrupt beyond measure and abandoned by God. (see Helaman 4:24)

It is into this breach that the brothers Nephi and Lehi throw themselves.

They know that more people in their society loved good over evil, that their laws were corrupt, and that the Nephites were a stubborn people who were ripened for destruction. Faced with such corruption and evil, the brothers do the only thing that makes sense – they preach the Gospel. Starting a massive missionary tour of the remaining Nephite lands they go to every city and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ everywhere. They face down their dissenters and by the power of the Holy Spirit convert many to or back to the truth. But this is only the prologue to their greatest triumphs. From here they journey into the Lamanite lands to try and convert them to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Even before the decades long war against the Nephites the Lamanites were described as “a wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people,” who “have taught their children that they should hate [the Nephites], and that they should murder [the Nephites], and that they should rob and plunder [the Nephites], and do all they could to destroy [the Nephites]; therefore they have an eternal hatred towards the children of Nephi.” (Mosiah 10:11-17) Imagine how that hatred must have grown after decades of violence and a war in which every Lamanite mother must have lost a son to the “evil Nephites” and endless anti-Nephite propaganda must have been spread to ensure the hatred of the Nephites continued to burn strong among the Lamanites so they would continue to wage war against the Nephites. To intentionally choose to go preach to a blood-thirsty people who have sworn to kill you and everyone like you must have seemed like madness to those who knew Lehi and Nephi, no less crazy than Théoden’s decision to launch a charge into the heart of the numerically superior and overwhelmingly more powerful orc army on the verge of victory at Helm’s Deep. If they had disappeared into some Lamanite ditch no one would have been surprised.

But Lehi and Nephi did it any way.

The brothers first journeyed to the newly conquered Zarahemla and began to preach to the victorious Lamanite occupiers. The scriptures tell us that there “were eight thousand of the Lamanites who were in the land of Zarahemla and round about baptized unto repentance, and were convinced of the wickedness of the traditions of their fathers.” (Helaman 5:19) After taking such a massive risk – defeated exiles preaching to victorious conquerors who have been indoctrinated with a bloodthirsty hatred of the exiles at the site of their greatest triumph doesn’t seem like something that smart of an idea – Lehi and Nephi reaped massive rewards. Flush with such startling success they looked farther south, to the Land of Nephi, territory that had been ruled by Lamanites by this point for the better part of a millennium. Having faced the threat in Zarahemla and seen such success, the brothers decided to journey into the heart of darkness itself.

Things don’t go as easily.

They’re immediately arrested by the Lamanite military, thrown into a prison, and tortured by starvation. Left for “many days” (Helaman 5:22) without food, the brothers would have undoubted be too weak to defend themselves or fight back. Perhaps they would have even been suffering from the mental and emotional disturbances that come from starvation as the lack of nutrients prevents the brain from functioning well. This seems purposeful because it was at this point that the Lamanite soldiers decided to murder Lehi and Nephi. Make them weak, make them crazy, then kill them when it is easiest to do so. Everything, it seems, was about the turn out exactly as the cynics must have predicted. Nephi and Lehi would be killed, their heads mounted on pikes, and the Lamanites would get another victory.

But it didn’t happen that way.

Instead, Nephi and Lehi stood up, prepared to meet their end as faithful servants of God and a miracle happened. rather, miracles happened. They were encircled by fire and an earthquake shakes the prison as a thick darkness fell upon it. The voice of Christ is heard from it chastising the Lamanite guards and calling them to repentance. Lehi and Nephi are seen conversing with God. Angels come down and minister to the people in prison. And after so many miracles the guards and prisoners are moved to repentance and conversion. Transformed they go out and tell everyone who will listen to them what they’ve both seen and heard. Lamanites by the multitudes are converted to the Gospel.

^{Nephi and Lehi Encircled by a Pillar of Fire by Brianna Shawcroft}

The outcome of this?

And as many as were convinced did lay down their weapons of war, and also their hatred and the tradition of their fathers.
And it came to pass that they did yield up unto the Nephites the lands of their possession.
^{Helaman 5:51-52}

Two short lines, yet so much impossibility made reality! Not only are the Lamanites converted, not only do they abandon the false history taught to them by their ancestors, not only do they forsake the propaganda they’ve been fed their entire lives, not only do they turn from the world to Christ, but they also give up all the lands they had taken from the Nephites. Those decades of war? All that treasure spent? All those lives lost? All the blood, sweat, and tears? Given up! Why? Because the Lamanites were converted to Christ, realized the horrors of their actions, and repented of them. What Captain Moroni with all his flags, all the nation’s money, all his arms, all his stratagems, and all his warriors could not accomplish despite decades of war we see Lehi and Nephi do in less than a year. By preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ the brothers converted their enemies into their friends, established justice, saved lives, and brought peace. Truly, as Alma taught, “the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them.” (Alma 31:5)

To the reckless hatred of the world we must respond with reckless peace.

The Doctrine and Covenants

Church history is full of stories that illustrate the power of the Saints to stand up to and withstand the violent hatred of the world. From the very start the Saints were subject to a brutality that eventually rose to genocidal levels as attempt after attempt was made to exterminate them. As a result, there is a wealth of stories to draw upon, but here I want to look at a lesser known story about the Restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood. The actual date of the event is unknown, but some good historical work by Dr. Larry Porter has shown that it took place sometime in later May 1829. The best story we have about the circumstances of the events that led to the Restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood comes from an account by Addison Everett, who joined the church early on and claimed to have heard this story related by Joseph Smith himself:

“I heard the following conversation between Joseph and Hyrum a few days before they were martyred. … Oliver Cowdery was spoken of and Joseph went on to state that ‘at Coalville [Colesville] he and Oliver were under arrest on charge of Deceiving the people and in court he stated that the first miracle done was to create this earth. About that time his attorney told the court that he wanted to see Mr. Smith alone a few moments. When alone Mr. Reid said that there was a mob in front of the house and hosting [hoisting] the window, Joseph and Oliver went to the woods in a few rods, it being night, and they traveled until Oliver was exhausted and Joseph almost carred [carried] him through mud and water. They traveled all night and just at the break of day Oliver gave out entirely and exclaimed O Lord, How long Brother Joseph have we got to endure this thing.’
“Brother Joseph said that at that very time Peter, James and John came to them and ORDAINED THEM to the APOSTLESHIP.
“They had 16 or 17 miles to travel to get back to Mr. Hale’s, his father-in-law, and Oliver did not complain any more of fatigue.
“Now, brother Huntington, I have told you what I heard Bro. Joseph tell almost the last time I ever heard him talk.
“It is a source of satisfaction and pleasure to me to have seen and heard the Prophet of God.”

^{Excerpt from Restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood by Walter Rane. None of the versions of this scene have Joseph or Oliver dirty enough.}

Dr. Alonzo Gaskill, professor of Church history and doctrine at BYU, cites this story in his book The Lost Language of Symbolism (pgs. 302-303) and connects them with D&C 128: 20, which reads:

The voice of Michael on the banks of the Susquehanna, detecting the devil when he appeared as an angel of light! The voice of Peter, James, and John in the wilderness between Harmony, Susquehanna county, and Colesville, Broome county, on the Susquehanna river, declaring themselves as possessing the keys of the kingdom, and of the dispensation of the fulness of times!

Dr. Gaskill summarizes these events thusly:

Lucifer tried to deceive Joseph and Oliver in their frightened and exhausted state [caused by fleeing all night through the woods] by giving them a false revelation. At that very moment Adam [Michael] appeared and cast Satan out. He the introduced Peter, James, and John as the messengers that Joseph and Oliver should give heed to. Joseph and Oliver were then ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood.
^{The Lost Language of Symbolism (pg.303)}

It strikes me how much this is like the Endowment. It must have done the same for Dr. Gaskill because after the above quotation he points out that D&C 128 with its reference to Lucifer’s attempt to deceive the Prophet and Oliver is immediately followed by D&C 129 which details how to discern a true angel from God and a fallen angel appearing deceptively as an angel of light. This notably has to do with shaking hands with the angel, a bizarre thing unless you have been endowed.

In any case, this story teaches a few lessons about how to stand against the reckless hatred of the world. God may require a great deal from you. Like Oliver, the Father may even push you to your breaking point, when you’re on the verge of utter collapse and then past it to where you can only continue forward by being carried by those stronger than you. It is at this moment that Satan and his ilk will do their best to deceive you in whichever ways they can, tailoring their temptations to what they think will work best against you. But this is His church. He has called the Prophets and Apostles that lead it. He protects it and empowers it with His Priesthood power to guide us. The Savior is at the helm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and it is He that directs it. If we have trust in these truths then we will not be led astray by Satan, no matter what form he takes to entice us away.

To the reckless hatred of the world we must respond with reckless faith.