Harry Potter and the Underground Lake

Ten years ago when our family was enthusiastically following the "Harry Potter" series by J. K. Rowling, I was impressed. along with many other fans, with the Christian parallels built into the overall "Potter" tale.  In 2009 I wrote this little discussion of the striking similarities between Dumbledor's suffering and death on the night of his visit with Harry to the underground lake and Christ's suffering and death as recorded in the New Testament.  Here it is.

Thoughts from "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"

The Underground Lake

Written Aug 2009

Rowling, a student of the scriptures, does a masterful job of weaving thoughts and episodes from the life of Christ  into her stories to give them a familiar ring and to help the reader remember the Savior and see applications of principles of the Gospel in the lives of her characters.  One clear example of this is found in the adventure of Dumbledore and Harry on the night of their visit to the underground lake where they seek one of the hidden horcruxes.  This night also turns out to be the night of Dumbledore's death.

Here are seven connections between Rowling's story of that evening and events from the life of the Savior.

1.         In the course of Dumbledore's evening he goes from visiting a subterranean lake to landing on the Astronomy Tower, the highest point on Hogwart's Castle, where he also dies.  In this Dumbledore follows the course of Christ who went from the lower parts of the earth, through his death on the cross, to a place far above all.  Paul describes Christ's dramatic change of elevation in his letter to the Ephesians:

Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 

(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

                                                                                    Eph 4: 8-10

There are two possible meanings to Christ's going below all things.  One is that he made himself more humble than any man has by accepting humiliation and suffering while he was actually a God.  He assures the Prophet Joseph that   . . . if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.

The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?  D&C 122:7-8.

The second sense in which the Savior descended below all is in his descending into the spirit world of the dead, if that place can be thought of as below all things.  After this visit to the lower parts of the earth he ascends, by way of His death, to the throne of the Father to be exalted.  This seems to be the meaning addressed in Paul's message to the Ephesians.

2.         Dumbledore follows Christ in having to drain the Bitter Cup to the very bottom - a feat that immediately strikes us as more than humanly possible.  This is a clear reference to Christ's suffering being likened to a cup that He must drink.   There is no alternative; the cup must be drunk.  No other person or action can accomplish the atonement for mankind.  Christ's 1^st person testimony in D&C 19 is the clearest reference to the cup. 

Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.                                        D&C 19:18-19

Matthew also records Jesus' reference to His suffering as a cup to be drunk.

But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.

                                                                                    Matt 20:22

And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

                                                                                    Matt 26:39

Interestingly, when we commit sin we are said to be filling the Cup of Our Iniquity.  The cup that Jesus had to drink!

Mine indignation is soon to be poured out without measure upon all nations; and this will I do when the cup of their iniquity is full.   D&C 101:11

If we are not repentant we may have to drink our own bitter cup, one which we have filled through our transgressions.  This, in fact, was Dumbledore's experience as he drained the cup 12 times.

The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: Rev. 14:10

3.         Harry is to Dumbledore like the angel who attends Christ in Gethsemane, comforting him, helping him through the agony.  Luke is the only gospel writer who mentions the presence of the angel at Gethsemane.

Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.

                                                                                    Luke 22:42-43

Without Harry's help Dumbledore could not have finished emptying the basin.  Christ may not have been as dependent on his angelic visitor for completion of His suffering, but we suppose that the angel was a help to him.

4.         Ron, Hermione, and Ginny are left behind as Peter, James, and John were left at the gate of Gethsemane. 

Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.

And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.

Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

                                                                                    Matt 26:36-38

In the text Peter, James and John were charged only to watch, wait and to stay awake. They may have also been expected to guard the gate and watch for the enemies of the Savior who Jesus knew would be coming.  In a sort of parallel charge Ron, Hermione and Ginny were instructed to watch Draco and Snape and to alert the castle if any Death Eaters showed up.  They were even given Harry's Felix Felicis potion to keep them safe in their dangerous watch.

5.         We learn later in "Hallows" that, in drinking the cup, Dumbledore experiences the suffering of remorse for his own mis-deeds; his succumbing to the temptations of power and fame that brought about the death of his sister, Ariana.  Christ's suffering, of course, was caused by our mis-deeds, not his, but the concept of suffering for sin is clear in Dumbledore's anguished cries while drinking the potion, and we are duly warned that if we are not careful we may have to drink the cup of our own iniquities.

6.         Following the drinking of the "Bitter Cup" Dumbledore is attacked by an evil army of Inferi which, even after his suffering, he is still able to defeat.  This evil army reminds us of the Jewish elders and rulers who, together with a veritable army of temple guards and Roman soldiers, confront Jesus immediately following the completion of His suffering in the garden.  The similarity between the two experiences ends there as Jesus allows himself to be taken by the illegal midnight guards while Dumbledore defeats and escapes from the bewitched Horcrux guards.

7.         Upon returning to his home, Hogwarts, Dumbledore is killed by one of his best friends, Severus Snape. He knew his death was coming and he knew who would do it.  He was prepared for it.  His death came about as a result of his trying to save his friends by disarming Horcruxes.  Christ, upon returning to his city, Jerusalem, also was killed by his friends, at least those who should have been his friends as he referred to them through the Old Testament prophet Zecharias.

And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

                                                                                    Zech 13:6

Christ's death came about because he was trying to save his friends, the whole human family, from captivity with Satan.  Christ knew his death was coming and he was prepared for it.  And just as Dumbledore's death marked the beginning of the end of Voldemort, Christ's death dealt a binding blow to Satan as now all mankind had a way prepared whereby they could return to the presence of their Heavenly Father.

It is well to note that Dumbledore does not represent Christ in the story, but his experiences remind us of and point our attention to the experiences of Christ in enabling our salvation.  What Dumbledore does to help Harry become capable of defeating Voldemort reminds us of what Christ does to make us capable of defeating Satan.  Dumbledore has to die so that Harry can become perfected.  This story is taken out of The Great Story of the Plan of Salvation.

Teaching As The Savior Taught - Patternism

Teaching As The Savior Taught: A Less-Obvious Pattern

In Hugh Nibley’s work, ‘Temple And Cosmos”, he refers to what he considers a relatively modern technique of historical analysis called “patternism.”¹  The idea is that anciently-accepted practices, particularly in this instance practices connected with the uses of temples, are found to be repeated in patterns throughout history.  The ancient teachings are seen to be the basis for modern thought and practice.

There are many interesting non-temple examples of this.  Consider the case of Gideon’s army of 300 men facing the 10,000 (+) of the Midianites. ² This is repeated in the account of the 300 Spartan warriors facing the 10,000 (+) Persians at the battle of Thermopylae,³  and in Tolkein’s hopeless setting of the battle of Helm’s Deep where Rohan’s 300 farmers and farriers take on the 10,000(+) host of Isengard.⁴

The case of parallel occurrences that has recently struck me as an example of patternism starts with the ministry of the Savior to his apostles in Palestine following his resurrection.  In Acts we read that Jesus “shewed himself alive (to his apostles) after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:”⁵  This brief reference to Jesus’ spending forty days with the apostles in undisclosed instruction “pertaining to the kingdom of God” has baffled Bible scholars for centuries.  What could have been the topics of instruction?  Does this verse refer to a literal period of time or is to be understood only metaphorically?  Surely it is not possible that some actual teachings were imparted that have since been lost to the church. 

Quoting from Hugh Nibley again, this time from his work entitled, “Evangeliium quadraginta dierum: The Forty-Day Mission of Christ”;  “The theme of the forty days has always been a disturbing one.  For many scholars the possibility of such an event as that indicated in Acts 1:3 is not even to be discussed, for others such things are tolerable only as myths, while some are frank enough to admit that they simply don’t like the story.”⁶ 

While in today’s accepted cannon there is no reference to the topics of the forty-day teachings, there are certain apocryphal sources discovered largely in the last 150 years that make reference to this new-testament event.  Nibley explains that the apocryphal texts start by answering the most likely questions asked by the apostle’s to the resurrected Lord: “Where did you go and what did you see?”⁷  The records describe Christ’s visit to the spirits of the dead,⁸ his preaching to them,⁹ their receiving of the ordinance of baptism,¹⁰ and subsequent progression upwards to realms of glory, eventually returning to the eternal home where they had existed before coming to earth.¹¹

This process is described as part of a plan laid down at the creation of the world.¹²  The plan includes a series of rites and ordinances including baptism,¹³ washing and anointing,¹⁴ receiving a sacred garment,¹⁵ a sacral meal,¹⁶ and in the cases of some couples, a marriage ceremony.¹⁷  In the records referred to all of these forty-day rites are related to the temple.¹⁸

The exact number of forty days may refer to a less-fixed period of time.  The number ‘forty’ is frequently met with in sacred history as, for example, Elijah fasting for forty days (1 Kings 19:8) the Israelites wandering for 40 years (Exodus 16:35, Numbers 14:33), Moses’ fasting on Mt. Sinai for 40 days (Deut. 9:9), and Christ’s forty-day fast following his baptism (Matt. 4:2), among others.  If these durations were not all exactly forty units in length they probably refer to periods of approximately that number.

This brings us to the parallel events that took place during the final few weeks or months of Joseph Smith’s mortal life.  As Jesus spent the final weeks of his close association with his selected apostles before ascending to perhaps other assignments and duties, teaching them the things of the kingdom of God, specifically the details of the Plan of Salvation for the living and the dead, centered around the ordinances of the temple, just so, Joseph spent the final months before his martyrdom in close association with his selected apostles teaching them these same doctrines, rites, and ordinances related to the plan of salvation and the temple.

In an article by Ronald K. Esplin published in 1981¹⁹ professor Esplin explains that at the death of Joseph Smith a critical factor in the outcome of the succession in the leadership of the church was the instruction and keys given to the apostles, at least to nine of them, by Joseph Smith, authorizing them to administer the sacred ordinances of the soon-to-be-completed Nauvoo Temple.  None of the contenders for the leadership of the church who opposed Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve had received this sacred instruction or these advanced priesthood keys, specifically the keys to administer the sealing power.

Prof. Esplin wrote; “During his final months Joseph Smith completed the introduction of all temple ordinances, the implementation of new institutional patterns, and the preparation of the Twelve to administer these things in his absence.”²⁰   Sometime during the last week of March, 1844, Joseph met with the Twelve to transfer the leadership of the church to them.  “I roll the burthen and responsibility of leading this church off from my shoulders on to yours.  Now, round up your shoulders and stand under it like men; for the Lord is going to let me rest a while.”²¹ At that same meeting of March 1844, just three months before the martyrdom, Joseph conferred “the keys of the sealing power” on Brigham Young, who was president of the Quorum of the Twelve. The prophet taught them that this was the “last key”, the “most sacred of all,” and that it pertained “exclusively to the first presidency.”²²

So here is a pattern.  In completing his introduction of the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time the Savior, in his instruction to his apostles during his final weeks with them, gave them the higher keys and ordinances of salvation for both the living and the dead.  Likewise, in completing the introduction of the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times, Joseph Smith, during his final weeks with them, gave his apostles those same keys and ordinances.  This pattern may have been repeated in previous dispensations, but because the teachings are sacred and not made known to the general public, they are not included in commonly-accepted surviving records. 

We may not see this pattern repeated again as the dispensation launched by Joseph Smith is destined to be the final dispensation, from which there will be no total apostasy and no loss of sacred things.  These teachings should not only survive but perhaps be added to in the future as all things are gathered together in anticipation of the Savior’s return.

References:

1.     Nibley, Hugh. Temple and Cosmos, Ed. by Don E. Norton, Deseret Book, 1992, p 25.

2.     Judges 7:7  The number 10,000 is not expressly mentioned but is elsewhere used to represent any number beyond count, as expressed in verse 12.  The great war at Cumorah is an example of the use of the number 10,000 to represent a very large army but not necessarily an exact count.

3.     Herodotus.  There were actually perhaps 700 men arrayed on the side of Greece, but the 300 Spartans receive the most notoriety.

4.     Tolkein, J.R.R., Lord of The Rings, The Two Towers.  Ballantine Books, 1954. p 172.  In his book Tolkein allows 1000 men of Rohan arrayed against tens of thousands of Isengard.  In the movie version (New Line Cinema, 2004) Legolas offers an actual count:  300 against 10,000, apparently in deference to the pattern mentioned.

5.     Acts 1:3

6.     Nibley, Hugh.  Evangeliium quadraginta dierum: The Forty-Day Mission of Christ.  First published in Vigiliae christianae 20, 1966.  Most recently published in When The Lights Went Out, FARMS, 2001, p 49-50.  See internal refs. 1, 2, &3.

7.     Ibid. p 55.

8.     Ibid. p 55 see internal ref. 63.

9.     Ibid. p 55 see internal ref. 64.

10.  Ibid. p 55 see internal ref. 65.

11.  Ibid. p 55 see internal ref. 67.

12.  Ibid. p 56 see internal ref. 71.

13.  Ibid. p 56 see internal ref. 76.

14.  Ibid. p 56 see internal ref. 77.

15.  Ibid. p 56 see internal ref. 78.

16.  Ibid. p 57 see internal ref. 79.

17.  Ibid. p 57 see internal ref. 80.

18.  Ibid. p 57 see internal ref. 82.

19.  Esplin, Ronald K. Joseph, Brigham and the Twelve: A succession of Continuity.  BYU Studies 21. No. 3 (1981).

20.  Ibid. p 10.

21.  Ibid. p 14-15 see internal ref. 66.

22.  Ibid. p 15 see internal ref. 68.