One of my favorite cinematic moments comes near the climax of “The Return of the King” in The Lord of the Rings series (nope, I never finished reading the actual book).

Frodo and Gollum struggle for possession of the ring near the ledge above the lava where Frodo was to drop the ring to destroy it. At one point, they both tumble over the side and eventually, Gollum chooses the ring over his own safety and falls toward the lava below, clutching it on the way down.

Frodo is left hanging from the side of the cliff. His friend Sam rushes to help him.

Give Me Your Hand

Sam reaches for Frodo, but he cannot quite reach him.

“Give me your hand!”

“Take my hand!” Sam cries desperately.

Frodo reaches, but his hand slips away.

Still drawn to the power of it, Frodo looks down at the ring beginning to sink in the lava.

“No! Don’t you let go!” yells Sam.

“Don’t let go. Reach!”

Expending the last of everything he has left, Frodo reaches.

He grabs Sam’s hand.

And Sam, giving everything he has left as well, pulls Frodo to safety.

The great struggle with the ring is over. Frodo is safe.

Hanging on the Ledge

In our struggle with life, sometimes we are hanging on a ledge. We need someone to stretch out their hand to us so we can grab on and be pulled up. 

God is merciful. That message is repeated over and over in the scriptures.

Yes, he is a God of justice and when we continue to sin while “his anger is not turned away”, his “hand is stretched out still” waiting for us to reach for Him.¹

His Hand Is Stretched Out Still

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said:

“To all of you who think you are lost or without hope, or who think you have done too much that was too wrong for too long, to every one of you who worry that you are stranded somewhere on the wintry plains of life and have wrecked your handcart in the process, this conference calls out Jehovah’s unrelenting refrain, ‘[My] hand is stretched out still’. ‘I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them,’ He said, ‘[and even if they] deny me; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them, … if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long, saith the Lord God of Hosts’ His mercy endureth forever, and His hand is stretched out still. His is the pure love of Christ, the charity that never faileth, that compassion which endures even when all other strength disappears.”²

The Lord gives us many chances. He wants to. He’s waiting for us to grab hold of that outstretched hand. Let’s not blow it. Maybe some of us could make more of an effort to reach a little farther. For some of us, it may take every last ounce of energy and effort we possess. But I can hear Him calling  to each of us:

“Give me your hand!”

“Take my hand!”

“No! Don’t you let go!”

“Don’t let go. Reach!”

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1. see 2 Nephi  19: 12, 17, 21; 20: 4
2. Jeffrey R. Holland, “Prophets in the Land Again,” General Conference, October 2006