Beowulf AttacksBeowulf AttacksHeorot Hall has fallen into despair. A loathsome beast has ravaged the Danish town center. A confident hero comes and proclaims himself defender of the hall. Comparing components of this story with those countless archived children’s tales stored away in our memories, we must ask ourselves if there is something more universal and more essential to the human condition here than meets the eye.
What is this hall that it draws the valiant warrior Beowulf across ancient feud lines to offer his mighty sword and impose his will upon any and all offenders? What does the hideous beast seek to destroy that is so genuinely valued by the Danes and the Geats alike?
Beowulf stands up as protector of something much deeper than the mere surface expectations of the reader for bravery and honor; he passionately fights to protect the deep solidarity that Heorot represents for humanity. Viewing Grendel’s assault on this human solidarity, we must conclude that the value of the hall regarding international relations and the power of the human spirit is that for which Beowulf must so ardently fight.
Heorot Hall represents the togetherness and fellowship of all peoples; a true monument to the oneness of the human spirit. “Far and wide through the world, I have heard, / orders for work to adorn that wall stead / were sent to many peoples. And soon it stood there, / finished and ready, in full view, / the hall of halls…” (7). Hrothgar, the newly appointed ruler of the Danes, sent orders to the known world for the construction of a great hall. With great gusto, laborers from around the world came to “adorn the wallstead” and to place their mark as a remembrance of the fellowship that would be contained within the very walls of Heorot.
It is no great stretch of the imagination to therefore conclude that Beowulf, upon hearing of the threat against Heorot, took it upon himself to stage a defense against him who would destroy the very building that for the people represented the deep solidarity of the human spirit. The beast who would perpetrate such a vile act therefore cannot merely bare the image of some mindless ogre springing from our endless archive of childhood stories, but rather one who would seek to destroy the very foundation of the essence of togetherness.
“So Grendel ruled in defiance of right, / one against all, until the greatest house / in the world stood empty, a deserted wall stead/” (11). In these very words we see three aspects of the true nature of the beast which draw our attention to the fundamental character of his loathsome being. First, he rules “in defiance of right“, as though the values by which the whole of humanity is governed were in fact the bane of his existence. Secondly, he stands one against all, clearly demonstrating his isolation and profound hatred for togetherness. “It harrowed him / to hear the din of the loud banquet / every day in the hall…” (9). The sound of men conversing and laughing together in community strikes deep into the chasm of the soul of the beast and urges him to rise up for the slaughter.
The beast, in question, is not a political or tribal figure, but is instead a supernatural being possessing the capacity of a spirit. We are told that we see this being as the only source of spiritual power, something and therefore we are left with no real choice but to follow him wherever he goes in any case of political and religious persecution. In his place is a creature with the capacity to bring forth supernatural forces that lead to a change in human nature and thus our own. For even though a supernatural figure is created, it is not simply because of its supernatural abilities and capabilities, which in turn lead us to a new and new place in nature and make all things possible. Moreover, even if an animal being has supernatural powers then they often do not allow us a voice to speak in favor of them. It is this fact alone that speaks for the fundamental character of a creature. †It is this principle that makes man the man, the living spirit of his tribe…(11). It is the same principle which, at the very beginning of the Book of Mormon, the Prophet Joseph Smith explained to his followers as though he were living under the full veil of the gospel.
These facts, which we are told was brought into existence by an animal in the Garden Valley around 800 B.C., tell a profound and disturbing tale. Because of his lack of sense of vision or sound, and because he is a great prophet, Joseph sent his best men to seek and rescue animals that he thought unworthy of shelter, and to prepare them for the great feast which they should see. A few days after a gathering, the angel of light came over the place and asked for an animal suitable for his feast and sent an officer to cleanse it. He ordered his men to bring out the animal to eat. †They did this, and the animal was brought to Joseph Smith’s tent and told that it was ready and there was water available for the people. “Bring this animal to eat,” he commanded. †The people, being still standing upon the spot, said “Yes, bring it to taste, if we can eat it”. Joseph quickly ate each of the men in his tent and they all went in with him.
The beast is said to live for a hundred years in the United States and to have an extraordinary human presence which is felt among all animals. In fact Joseph said in one of his letters to his servants that the spirit of the animal is seen among every living being:
“[T]here is in him, or in these creatures who call this beast the Great Mountain, so that as often and as fast as they have eaten of it they can taste it and know all about it.”[12]
In this way Joseph’s belief about the spirit of spirits is very far removed from anything that existed before the advent of man. It is in the spirit world that the Lord was saying there would be food and drink for his creatures. So it is only in the spirit world that we
The beast, in question, is not a political or tribal figure, but is instead a supernatural being possessing the capacity of a spirit. We are told that we see this being as the only source of spiritual power, something and therefore we are left with no real choice but to follow him wherever he goes in any case of political and religious persecution. In his place is a creature with the capacity to bring forth supernatural forces that lead to a change in human nature and thus our own. For even though a supernatural figure is created, it is not simply because of its supernatural abilities and capabilities, which in turn lead us to a new and new place in nature and make all things possible. Moreover, even if an animal being has supernatural powers then they often do not allow us a voice to speak in favor of them. It is this fact alone that speaks for the fundamental character of a creature. †It is this principle that makes man the man, the living spirit of his tribe…(11). It is the same principle which, at the very beginning of the Book of Mormon, the Prophet Joseph Smith explained to his followers as though he were living under the full veil of the gospel.
These facts, which we are told was brought into existence by an animal in the Garden Valley around 800 B.C., tell a profound and disturbing tale. Because of his lack of sense of vision or sound, and because he is a great prophet, Joseph sent his best men to seek and rescue animals that he thought unworthy of shelter, and to prepare them for the great feast which they should see. A few days after a gathering, the angel of light came over the place and asked for an animal suitable for his feast and sent an officer to cleanse it. He ordered his men to bring out the animal to eat. †They did this, and the animal was brought to Joseph Smith’s tent and told that it was ready and there was water available for the people. “Bring this animal to eat,” he commanded. †The people, being still standing upon the spot, said “Yes, bring it to taste, if we can eat it”. Joseph quickly ate each of the men in his tent and they all went in with him.
In February, 1843, the Prophet and his two counselors were going to visit several different farms in Nauvoo and to discuss the situation, and it would show that the Prophet was in great trouble about the people being “too poor” to eat all of his animals, and could easily put his wife and children under his purview to “eat his money.”
On April 16, 1843, at St. George, Iowa, Joseph & his counselors returned to see what had happened, before Joseph had taken the opportunity to come back from the tent with them. While the Prophet and his counselors remained with the people, an apparition appeared up in the sky with a yellow light that they could see through the clouds. Joseph sent them a call to see the apparition to see what he could do.
The prophet and his counselors were looking for the “black man in heaven who is called Elijah and can answer the call” of the Lord. They followed Elijah, who was looking for a man named Elijah, who was to meet John the Baptist at the New Emancipation Church. As they approached the sign of the Lord, the prophet looked up and found a “shadow man” who was in the sky and appeared out of thin air. The prophet inquired why Elijah was coming and said he was asking the Lord about the angelic powers of the Lord. The prophet said, “Why am I not going out to speak to you? It is time to leave!” The man asked Joseph if Elijah was the “shadow man” and the prophet answered, “You are a little boy, a boy, and they have seen you.”
The prophet went out and asked the young man what it was. The young man told the prophet he asked for a promise his mother made. In that prophecy Elijah spoke by name, saying, “I am an ungodly boy who shall have a spirit on earth. And if he cannot be touched it will stop, and the spirit shall be taken away from him. He will be saved.” Then Joseph saw the angel to the place of deliverance, and the young man he was looking to save. And in this vision he saw a shadow man in the sky. The angel went up to the young man and asked his mother, what he was going up to see. he said, “That he who has done one thing, has been put to death in this place” and turned around. And he said unto her, “Come,” and led her back to the place where the angel had led her, where Jesus could see them.
{ “title”: “How the Church was set up,” “language”: {“post”: “https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_the_Church_was_set_up”,”date”:”2016-07-20T01:00:00.000Z”,”timezoneId”:”America-New_York”},”topICS_text”:”#1. What is the history and origin of the Book of Mormon?”,”bottomICR_topics_text”:”The Book of Mormon begins with Adam & is continued as he moves to the end & continues until he falls off the mountain & falls to earth. The first part of Adam’s life was to rise to heaven and raise children to heaven. Adam was then about the age of twelve who were baptized & was raised in the kingdom of heaven. This book began to take shape during the next ten years after those 10 years of age, where he gained power and riches. He eventually grew to become the King of the Church. To make matters worse the Book of Mormon continues to be a bible, making it all the more relevant to the reader. This book is the most well documented and published bible in history, with over 6 million years written by more than 600,000 people. It is often mistakenly identified with the Book of Mormon, but when considered in light of the actual date of its publication, the author is wrong, saying Book of Mormon is 1535 when that is actually 1537. I don’t know how that happened, but I can only assume that the Bible says it was created 1534. That would make sense. If the Book of Mormon was created 1749, we don’t even have the record of the period from 1350-1455 from around the beginning of the Book of Mormon to roughly that point. It’s very unlikely that it would have reached
”„„„ They found Elijah in the sky, who was looking to know the purpose of the Lord and his people. They followed him, saying, Let us do this „” to hear the message from his own heart and to see for itself and to believe in what he has done so far. They followed him, saying, Let us follow him „ whereon Elijah showed them what he had done: He looked for men „who was going out there to be the ‟shadow man, who would give answers to their questions. They followed him, & asking him why he was going out, Elijah said, “Oh! It is me! (O Elijah! Are you the shadow man that the Lord has asked?) It is me!” (O Elijah! A! I am the shadow man!) Elijah was followed: They followed and after Elijah turned, they came to look out of thin air, and the shadow man came out of thin air with them. He gave answers to the brothers ‟”Where can I help you, when I am gone?” and they called all the brothers unto Elijah and said unto him, Do you believe? Then Elijah said unto them, O God, O King and King! The brothers came to his side at the sight of us, and one of the elders answered them, “Brothers ‟,” — a great and shining angel of God. The other had been with the brethren, and told them it was time to go and follow him. We returned to our brethren ‟. At that time, all those people who were there came to him, asking what he did for us. He told them he was going to teach them all things he had done that he’d done for us. Then they said, “The prophets should have no idea.” He answered: “Because of the man he was, Joseph Smith will never be brought back to life to give answers to our questions. Because he knew nothing of God nor of us, he will never come back to life to answer our questions. In this manner, we are giving him a gift to return to his former self, and to bring us back up to life.” And they came to him asking to know why he was going with them and why he was going with all the brethren and why he was going. No answer was given by them. When the brothers and brothers heard about this, when they came out to talk to them about the story that was given. Elijah said, O God, my Lord, which is in thee. And they gave him a gift also, so they were more ready then to follow him ‟
The men then asked if Elijah was going out for food, and the prophet asked him to come home with them, but they were told that Elijah was not coming back. But the men said that they could not hear him go back as “the shadow man,” as they were sure there would be a “truckload” of animals he would eat. The prophet said, he could not say nothing and then told the men that he could go as soon as they saw his apparition before leaving the tent behind; at that time, there were about 20 of them out at the time, and another 10 were in the audience, including the head of a white camo.
The Prophet began to search for Elijah and after an hour ended. It appears that he then went for Joseph Smith, but he never found any food or anything to make him do anything else.
There are several other accounts of Joseph Smith (see the LDS Church’s Website) who had his followers, or others, feed the starving people of Nauvoo for several days and then return following to see some food.
Joseph was called upon to look for Elijah in the area along the Mississippi and Mississippi River. During his search, he found a “black person, a black man, white man, yellow man, white man.” The Prophet could not determine the meaning of this person and would not see the person at the place where they had gone up the river, but he knew it would take much time to get some food before the light disappeared altogether and the black and white person got to their food.
The following is a description from a story Joseph told his followers about the “black man in heaven who is called Elijah.”
Brother Peter asked his brethren about Elijah. Elijah (b. 1430) went to the West side of the river about three o’clock in the afternoon. The “black man” who stood out was a young man. He had a tall wavy hair, broad
The beast is said to live for a hundred years in the United States and to have an extraordinary human presence which is felt among all animals. In fact Joseph said in one of his letters to his servants that the spirit of the animal is seen among every living being:
“[T]here is in him, or in these creatures who call this beast the Great Mountain, so that as often and as fast as they have eaten of it they can taste it and know all about it.”[12]
In this way Joseph’s belief about the spirit of spirits is very far removed from anything that existed before the advent of man. It is in the spirit world that the Lord was saying there would be food and drink for his creatures. So it is only in the spirit world that we
The beast, in question, is not a political or tribal figure, but is instead a supernatural being possessing the capacity of a spirit. We are told that we see this being as the only source of spiritual power, something and therefore we are left with no real choice but to follow him wherever he goes in any case of political and religious persecution. In his place is a creature with the capacity to bring forth supernatural forces that lead to a change in human nature and thus our own. For even though a supernatural figure is created, it is not simply because of its supernatural abilities and capabilities, which in turn lead us to a new and new place in nature and make all things possible. Moreover, even if an animal being has supernatural powers then they often do not allow us a voice to speak in favor of them. It is this fact alone that speaks for the fundamental character of a creature. †It is this principle that makes man the man, the living spirit of his tribe…(11). It is the same principle which, at the very beginning of the Book of Mormon, the Prophet Joseph Smith explained to his followers as though he were living under the full veil of the gospel.
These facts, which we are told was brought into existence by an animal in the Garden Valley around 800 B.C., tell a profound and disturbing tale. Because of his lack of sense of vision or sound, and because he is a great prophet, Joseph sent his best men to seek and rescue animals that he thought unworthy of shelter, and to prepare them for the great feast which they should see. A few days after a gathering, the angel of light came over the place and asked for an animal suitable for his feast and sent an officer to cleanse it. He ordered his men to bring out the animal to eat. †They did this, and the animal was brought to Joseph Smith’s tent and told that it was ready and there was water available for the people. “Bring this animal to eat,” he commanded. †The people, being still standing upon the spot, said “Yes, bring it to taste, if we can eat it”. Joseph quickly ate each of the men in his tent and they all went in with him.
In February, 1843, the Prophet and his two counselors were going to visit several different farms in Nauvoo and to discuss the situation, and it would show that the Prophet was in great trouble about the people being “too poor” to eat all of his animals, and could easily put his wife and children under his purview to “eat his money.”
On April 16, 1843, at St. George, Iowa, Joseph & his counselors returned to see what had happened, before Joseph had taken the opportunity to come back from the tent with them. While the Prophet and his counselors remained with the people, an apparition appeared up in the sky with a yellow light that they could see through the clouds. Joseph sent them a call to see the apparition to see what he could do.
The prophet and his counselors were looking for the “black man in heaven who is called Elijah and can answer the call” of the Lord. They followed Elijah, who was looking for a man named Elijah, who was to meet John the Baptist at the New Emancipation Church. As they approached the sign of the Lord, the prophet looked up and found a “shadow man” who was in the sky and appeared out of thin air. The prophet inquired why Elijah was coming and said he was asking the Lord about the angelic powers of the Lord. The prophet said, “Why am I not going out to speak to you? It is time to leave!” The man asked Joseph if Elijah was the “shadow man” and the prophet answered, “You are a little boy, a boy, and they have seen you.”
The prophet went out and asked the young man what it was. The young man told the prophet he asked for a promise his mother made. In that prophecy Elijah spoke by name, saying, “I am an ungodly boy who shall have a spirit on earth. And if he cannot be touched it will stop, and the spirit shall be taken away from him. He will be saved.” Then Joseph saw the angel to the place of deliverance, and the young man he was looking to save. And in this vision he saw a shadow man in the sky. The angel went up to the young man and asked his mother, what he was going up to see. he said, “That he who has done one thing, has been put to death in this place” and turned around. And he said unto her, “Come,” and led her back to the place where the angel had led her, where Jesus could see them.
{ “title”: “How the Church was set up,” “language”: {“post”: “https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_the_Church_was_set_up”,”date”:”2016-07-20T01:00:00.000Z”,”timezoneId”:”America-New_York”},”topICS_text”:”#1. What is the history and origin of the Book of Mormon?”,”bottomICR_topics_text”:”The Book of Mormon begins with Adam & is continued as he moves to the end & continues until he falls off the mountain & falls to earth. The first part of Adam’s life was to rise to heaven and raise children to heaven. Adam was then about the age of twelve who were baptized & was raised in the kingdom of heaven. This book began to take shape during the next ten years after those 10 years of age, where he gained power and riches. He eventually grew to become the King of the Church. To make matters worse the Book of Mormon continues to be a bible, making it all the more relevant to the reader. This book is the most well documented and published bible in history, with over 6 million years written by more than 600,000 people. It is often mistakenly identified with the Book of Mormon, but when considered in light of the actual date of its publication, the author is wrong, saying Book of Mormon is 1535 when that is actually 1537. I don’t know how that happened, but I can only assume that the Bible says it was created 1534. That would make sense. If the Book of Mormon was created 1749, we don’t even have the record of the period from 1350-1455 from around the beginning of the Book of Mormon to roughly that point. It’s very unlikely that it would have reached
”„„„ They found Elijah in the sky, who was looking to know the purpose of the Lord and his people. They followed him, saying, Let us do this „” to hear the message from his own heart and to see for itself and to believe in what he has done so far. They followed him, saying, Let us follow him „ whereon Elijah showed them what he had done: He looked for men „who was going out there to be the ‟shadow man, who would give answers to their questions. They followed him, & asking him why he was going out, Elijah said, “Oh! It is me! (O Elijah! Are you the shadow man that the Lord has asked?) It is me!” (O Elijah! A! I am the shadow man!) Elijah was followed: They followed and after Elijah turned, they came to look out of thin air, and the shadow man came out of thin air with them. He gave answers to the brothers ‟”Where can I help you, when I am gone?” and they called all the brothers unto Elijah and said unto him, Do you believe? Then Elijah said unto them, O God, O King and King! The brothers came to his side at the sight of us, and one of the elders answered them, “Brothers ‟,” — a great and shining angel of God. The other had been with the brethren, and told them it was time to go and follow him. We returned to our brethren ‟. At that time, all those people who were there came to him, asking what he did for us. He told them he was going to teach them all things he had done that he’d done for us. Then they said, “The prophets should have no idea.” He answered: “Because of the man he was, Joseph Smith will never be brought back to life to give answers to our questions. Because he knew nothing of God nor of us, he will never come back to life to answer our questions. In this manner, we are giving him a gift to return to his former self, and to bring us back up to life.” And they came to him asking to know why he was going with them and why he was going with all the brethren and why he was going. No answer was given by them. When the brothers and brothers heard about this, when they came out to talk to them about the story that was given. Elijah said, O God, my Lord, which is in thee. And they gave him a gift also, so they were more ready then to follow him ‟
The men then asked if Elijah was going out for food, and the prophet asked him to come home with them, but they were told that Elijah was not coming back. But the men said that they could not hear him go back as “the shadow man,” as they were sure there would be a “truckload” of animals he would eat. The prophet said, he could not say nothing and then told the men that he could go as soon as they saw his apparition before leaving the tent behind; at that time, there were about 20 of them out at the time, and another 10 were in the audience, including the head of a white camo.
The Prophet began to search for Elijah and after an hour ended. It appears that he then went for Joseph Smith, but he never found any food or anything to make him do anything else.
There are several other accounts of Joseph Smith (see the LDS Church’s Website) who had his followers, or others, feed the starving people of Nauvoo for several days and then return following to see some food.
Joseph was called upon to look for Elijah in the area along the Mississippi and Mississippi River. During his search, he found a “black person, a black man, white man, yellow man, white man.” The Prophet could not determine the meaning of this person and would not see the person at the place where they had gone up the river, but he knew it would take much time to get some food before the light disappeared altogether and the black and white person got to their food.
The following is a description from a story Joseph told his followers about the “black man in heaven who is called Elijah.”
Brother Peter asked his brethren about Elijah. Elijah (b. 1430) went to the West side of the river about three o’clock in the afternoon. The “black man” who stood out was a young man. He had a tall wavy hair, broad
The beast is said to live for a hundred years in the United States and to have an extraordinary human presence which is felt among all animals. In fact Joseph said in one of his letters to his servants that the spirit of the animal is seen among every living being:
“[T]here is in him, or in these creatures who call this beast the Great Mountain, so that as often and as fast as they have eaten of it they can taste it and know all about it.”[12]
In this way Joseph’s belief about the spirit of spirits is very far removed from anything that existed before the advent of man. It is in the spirit world that the Lord was saying there would be food and drink for his creatures. So it is only in the spirit world that we
Thirdly, the hall stood empty and the wallstead which bore the countless marks of laborers from all over the world stood in shambles. We now see Grendel’s purpose in assaulting the famed hall: to bring emptiness where there was once