Frodo stood at the top of the cliff. The ring was in his hand. He had come SO far, past the point of exhaustion.. it was all now.. ALL here..
After facing ongoing action and tradgedy, Luke stood before Darth Vader..
Both experienced every hit, climbed every rock...Show down time. Destroy Darth Vader. Chuck the ring.
But Frodo holds the ring.. and Luke hesitates to destroy Darth Vader. Can it be, that even when we've accomplished so much- when we are on the verge of a finale in our lives, a grand decision- and we've done EVERYTHING we need to do to get there- that the TEST is still on? At the last minute?
Yep.
A misconception I developed was that the end of the mission would get easier. This is false. I feel greater peace, but the fight doesn't stop here. It only intensifies. And so what happens when we crack- when Frodo decides to take the ring for himself, when Luke truly contemplates joining the dark side?
You FALL to your knees in prayer, as I do more and more often, and pray your soul out!!! If you are in such awful pressure and agony that you have to cry, beg, or shriek in your silent places to Heavenly Father, do it. Because IN the despair that is allotted to you, through whatever form it may come, however crushing it may be- the Savior WILL heal you enough to bear it. You have to ask. Job hit LOW.. and recovered. The Savior hit the LOWEST.. and DEFINITELY recovered. Father in Heaven will tell you what to do, who to talk to, where to find his consoling words in the scriptures when you turn to him- and IN your weakness, your power will return to you sufficient for survival.
Frodo and Luke had one other thing going for them. The commission to destroy the ring and the Force- or in other words, their temple covenants : ) My covenants are key to having the strength to lift others when I can no longer lift myself. It is the key to never quitting.
So Golom attacks weary Frodo.
And Evil Sith electrifies writhing Luke.
but then..
The ring is cast into the lava..
Darth Vader destroys Sith and his heart changes.
You know the end.. and the joy they both get, is greater than they could have hoped for.
How did this happen, metaphorically? Because Luke and Frodo KEPT their temple covenants. It rescued hundreds. Baptized. Brought to the temple. Loved. Because of enduring to the end, even in the end. No matter how beaten down, how long, how dark it gets...when we keep our covenants we have access to the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. I know this. I know it with my whole heart and I see it every day. Every. single. hour.
"For the Eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be fulfilled." Mormon 8:22
