Forgetting Our Family History

“Hobbits have a passion for family history,” we read in The Fellowship of the Ring. That can be a good thing; we’re a lot better off when we remember lessons from the past.

But a passion for family history won’t do much good if we forget it in times of trouble.

When the band of hobbits approached a rock-chamber, they found old bones, empty jars, and broken pots, all signs of a troll-hole. At first, they wondered if the cave had been abandoned, but they soon discovered the presence of three large t...