Just really quick, if you haven't seen or read The Lord of the Rings then some of this, especially when I refer to characters, won't make sense. (And I'm going by the plot in the movie because I haven't read the books...yet.)
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So, I watched Lord of the Rings The Two Towers a little while ago and I was really struck by Gollum.
Now, we all know Gollum as the possessed, evil, mad character; but there's a scene in The Two Towers where Gollum is fighting with himself. And it just really got to me that Gollum had a good side, he was just so possessed by his dark side. And then he changes, he becomes Smeagol, an actually loveable character.
It seems that Frodo looked past the overpowering Gollum and saw the terrified, lonely, abused Smeagol. If this can't teach us about judgment and seeing people's potential even when they can't see it for themselves, then I don't know what can.
Although Gollum ends up winning in the end, this just goes to show what a little trust and care can do. Frodo saw who Gollum/Smeagol could become. As it says in 1 Samuel 16:7 "the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."
Dieter F. Uchtdorf said that the "topic of judging others could actually be taught in a two-word sermon.
When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding
grudges, or wanting to cause harm, please apply the following: Stop it! It’s
that simple. We simply have to stop judging others and replace
judgmental thoughts and feelings with a heart full of love for God and
His children. God is our Father. We are His children. We are all
brothers and sisters. I don’t know exactly how to articulate this point
of not judging others with sufficient eloquence, passion, and
persuasion to make it stick. I can quote scripture, I can try to expound
doctrine, and I will even quote a bumper sticker I recently saw. It was
attached to the back of a car whose driver appeared to be a little
rough around the edges, but the words on the sticker taught an
insightful lesson. It read, “Don’t judge me because I sin differently
than you.”"1
Isn't that great? If you find yourself judging someone else, stop it!
Everyone has been judgmental but that doesn't mean we can't stop. We should stop. We need to stop.
Judging is a form of bullying, but we won't get into that topic because that's for another time.
When Faramir tricks Frodo into admitting that Gollum/Smeagol is his companion and Faramir captures Gollum/Smealgol, Gollum starts questioning Smeagol about Frodo's loyalty because they believe he tricked them.
In The Return of the King, Smeagol still seems to be doubting himself for a little while. And, again, even though it was a facade, Frodo refused to believe that Smeagol was in the wrong. This says a lot about how deep Frodo's trust in Smeagol was; which is why Smeagol's betrayal in the end is so terrible.
We all tend to be like Sam, we doubt and we see the outside appearance. (Sam is one of my favorite characters so don't get me wrong here.) We tend to judge and compare. And judging and comparing is normal, natural human behavior, we just have to make sure that it doesn't blind us of the things that are important.
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1 https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/the-merciful-obtain-mercy?lang=eng
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