Since then, two organizations farms and fraa have published extensive literature to show that the book of mormon translated by joseph smith jr. Several brief examples of chiasmus in the book of mormon include. Aug 18, 2017 watch book of mormon centrals new video about the discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon in john w. Oct 05, 2012 the book of mormon has many examples and, at first sight, this seems impressive. It is claimed that the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon is either coincidental, an artifact of the observer, or not impressive since examples of chiastic patterns have been found in the doctrine and covenants or other 19th century writing. This article provides an introduction to chiasmus, explaining what it is and why mormons think it is evidence for the book of mormon, giving examples from the bible, and discussing whether the book of mormon contains clear instances of chiasmus. The most famous example of this is chapter 36 of the book of alma.
Joseph smiths plagiarism of the bible in the book of mormon. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon part 2. Since that time, several other examples of chiasmus have been found in the book of mormon, and both lds and nonlds scholars have come to better understand how chiasmus was used in the bible, the book of mormon. Mormons commonly cite alma 36 as the supreme example of a long, complex chiasmus in the book of mormon. Though the book of mormon expressly states that it is written in the language of the egyptians, 1 nephi 1. Nevertheless, we would expect it to be present in central america if writings of the book of mormon peoples endured and influenced ancient groups of american peoples. Chiasmus is one of the most frequently cited evidences for the authenticity of the book of mormon. Thomasson sees center of this overarching chiasm as the atonement at alma 34.
That parallelism chiasmus existed in hebrew writing was knowsin joseph smiths day in books that were available to joseph smiith. Chapter 15 chiasmus in the book of mormon reachout trust. The book of mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the. Some of these examples may seem to be compelling, but when closely examined, they turn out to be little more than wishful thinking. Chiasmus in the book of mormon mormonism, the mormon church. This is the landmark true story of how a young missionary serving in germany, 50 years ago, discovered chiasmus in the book of mormon. The phenomenon which makes that possible is the presence of chiasmus in the book. Im not sure exactly what forum would be suitable for this thread. They claim that such findings support claims of hebrew origins in the text on the basis that. This is no doubt due to the fact that the nephites retained the hebrew language, albeit in an altered form see mormon 9. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon is one of the most significant scholarly contributions to understanding and appreciating the nephite record.
After attending a lecture in which the presence of a compositional feature called chiasmus in matthew was mentioned as an example of its hebraic style, welch began looking for chiasmus while he was reading the book of mormon in german. Why is the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon. In fact, chiasmus was not searched for and discovered in the book of mormon until the late 1960s, when lds scholar john welch learned of scholarly work on chiasmus in antiquity and hypothesized that the book of mormon might contain examples as well. Although it serves primarily as a religious text, it is to be interpreted literally as being an actual, historical record of the inhabitants of the ancient americas.
Chiasmus is a poetic form that is common in ancient hebrew texts. Book of mormon authorship has made a prima facie case for the ancient origins of the book of mormon. Hebrew poetry in the book of mormon, zarahemla record. A literary structure known as chiasmus exists in the book of mormon. The book of mormon includes many more hebraisms, such as extrapositional pronouns and idioms such as by the hand of and by the mouth of to denote instrumentality. John woodland welch, a mormon lds law and religion scholar who has written a number of learned articles on the the mormon scriptures, says the book of mormon contains a long and complex chiasmus in alma chapter 36, as well as smaller chiastic structures elsewhere in the book.
More impressive are words that have a different range of meaning in hebrew than in english. Apr 9, 2020 explore ilonaterrys board book of mormon stories, followed by 1566. If chiasmus can be convincingly identified in the book of mormon, it will testify of the book s ancient origin. The bible, old and new testaments, abound with examples and it is accepted that it is typical of one form of hebraic. It is a parallelism in structure rather than rhyme, a parallelism of thought or idea. The name of the pattern comes from the greek letter chi, x, because the pattern crosses, like an x.
In the first place, we have demonstrated the extensive existence of chiasmus in the book of mormon. Remarkable book of mormon evidences hidden in plain sight. Aug 11, 2009 i first heard about chiasmus in the book of mormon as a student at byu. His findings were truly surprising, revealing that clear, distinct, and elegant passages of. A number of hebraisms exist in the structure of the book of mormon. The second article is a long, technical response with full documentation. To see this for ourselves, we had best begin with an example of chiasmus. The idea is that joseph had literary license to kind of wing it as he translated. Book of mormonanthropologylanguagehebraismschiasmus. We can all think of examples in our lives of people who are difficult to love.
For example, in the 1830 edition of the book of mormon, the original text of what is now alma 37. Perhaps the most interesting of these is his proposal chiasmus in the book of mormon and elsewhere that a very substantial chiasmus has been found in the book of mormon, at alma chapter 36. This revised and expanded edition also includes covering up the black hole in the book of mormon. Chiasmus is a sophisticated literary device that ranges from the most simple, as illustrated above, to complex examples. What the book of mormon says about evil there are those who cannot believe in god because there is so much evil and suffering in the world. What is chiasmus and why is it so important in the book of. Chiasmus in the book of mormon lds church is true blog. Chiasms appear in greek, latin, english and other languages, but it. The book of mormon is full of examples of faith, of which nephi is just one. Yale anthropologist marion schwartz noted that in the americas the whitetailed deer is a good example of an animal.
They especially cannot believe that a loving god could allow the tragedies and disasters that plague the planet. Another famous author of the book of mormon who creatively employed the principles of chiasmus to great advantage was alma the younger. Given that the book of mormon appears to be describing volcanic activity around 33 a. Many of these chiasms have been identified and discussed, 3 but very little research has been done on the use of chiasmus in other ancient american writings. The book of mormon the church of jesus christ of latterday saints.
Welch discovered the presence of chiasmus on august 16, 1967 while on his mission in germany, and since that time, chiasmus has served as a profound witness for the beauty and complexity of the book of mormon. For many additional examples of chiasmus from the writings of nephi, see the article, nephis convincing of christ through chiasmus. Book of mormon difficulties, contradictions and explanations. The book of mormon and the king james bible wikipedia. Chiasmus and book of mormon textual studies deseret book. Joseph smith had been dead ten full years before john forbess book was published in scotland. The loose translation theory is the theory that most lds apologists favor to explain why there are problems in the book of mormon text, such as anachronisms, kjv mistakes, etc. However, i was able to verify the pattern in ew bullingers figures of speech used in the bible that presented some biblical. Chiasmus is frequently found in the bible, but it was used in ancient greek and latin literatures and other sacred. As i was working on the text alignment in the mid90s, i remembered this paper because of the distinct pattern it described. Why the message behind the book of mormon musical is so.
Serving in the lds south german mission at the time, in the city. Those who were not so credulous insisted that it obviously read like anything but a hebrew text. Furthermore, while it is common in the bible, old and new testaments, as well as the book of mormon, it is by no means restricted to these. Nephi had faith in the lord when he said, i will go and do the things which the lord. The first article here is a short, relatively nontechnical response to this claim. It is claimed by many within the lds church that special literary patterns found in hebrew writing are also found in the book of mormon, which they feel helps prove that book comes from ancient jewish origins and not from joseph smiths mind the most commonly referenced pattern is a type of parallelism, called a chiasm. In the process of this journey to the promised land, which we eventually discover to be the americas, nephi, the righteous son of lehi, is the only member of the family that does not murmur, or question, the decisions and direction of god. Chiasmus in the book of mormon judaicaworld archives.
The term chiasmus is never used, but this book clearly shows that hebrew poetic styles were recognized and studied even before joseph smiths time. Chiasmus in the book of mormon philosophies of men. Love in the book of mormon religious studies center. It is found in the bible and the quran and other ancient documents. It is basically inverted parallelism where words, phrases, or concepts are introduced in ascending order and then repeated in descending order. What can we learn from 10 of the best chiasms in the book of mormon. The more lines in a chiasmus, the more likely it is the result of composition and not extemporaneous off the cuff speech or streamofconsciousness writing. No one in america, let alone in western new york, fully understood chiasmus in 1830.
Chiasmus refers to a sequence of elements of a sentence or verse, paragraph, chapter or even book which are then repeated and developed but in reverse order. Alma makes this spiritual turning point the literary focal point of this entire chapter, one of the finest examples. Examples of chiasmus can be found in the book of mormon. The phenomenon which makes that possible is the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Aug 29, 2017 in august 1967, fifty years ago this month, john welch was a young latterday saint on his mission in germany. Chiasmus was popular in the ancient languages like greek, latin, and especially hebrew. The book of mormon, testifying of its past, 34, 12344321 and 123456654321.
Book of mormon 1879 lds versification title page simmons, letter, a 1 2 b 1 2 b 1 2 a 1 2. A forum for exmormons and others who have been affected by mormonism to share news, commentary, and comedy about the mormon church. Chiasmus in the book of abraham by book of mormon central. For example, the bible teaches about one lord, one faith, one baptism. Title page of the book of mormon chapter heading 1 nephi 1 an account of their sufferings 1 nephi 1 i, nephi, having been born 1 nephi 4 he promised and he also made an oath 1 nephi 14 angel tells nephi of blessings and curses. I initially made it in the forum where i found the original. Over the last fifty years, alma 36 has, by far, been the most celebrated and studied example of chiasmus in the book of mormon. In 1967 chiasmus was discovered in the book of mormon, and the findings were published in byu studies. It was alma the younger whose conversion to the lord was so powerful and rich that it affected an entire generation at the time it happened and has since become one of the most inspirational stories recorded in the book of mormon. The presence of chiasmus in mayan texts may only disclose that the rhetorical device can emerge independently in the writings of an isolated ancient culture. Welch argues in favor of ancient origins for book of mormon chiasmus, demonstrating that public awareness of this style was slight in america when the book of mormon was translated. Does chiasmus appear in the book of mormon by chance.
Chiasmus in mayan texts book of mormon archaeological forum. Chiasmus in the scriptures biblical chiasm exchange. The bible and the book of mormon work together to invite all people to follow jesus. Bishop lowth, whose lectures on hebrew poetry in 1741 first introduced the name parallelism for the hebrew poetic style, pointed out that this structure, based as it is on meaning, survives translation into the prose of any language with. These book of mormon stories have been written espe cially for. It is found extensively in the bible and is also to be found in the book of mormon, ipso facto, etc. The use of chiasmus is popular in greek, latin and english languages, especially in shakespeares works, the hebrew texts of the bible, analects of confucius and the book of mormon.
Also examined is the solomon spalding theory, common phrases, chiasmus hebrew poetic form, influence of freemasonry and folk magic, and the problems with the loss of the first 116 pages of the book of mormon manuscript. This discovery has had a profound impact on book of mormon. Chiasmus in the book of mormon book of mormon central. Book of mormon, absorbed the idiom of the king james bible and used it in his. Select one of the links above to view examples of chiasmus in various books of the book of mormon. Chiasmus is an elegant literary device where parallel phrases are inverted. Oct 03, 2017 the crew talks about chiasmus in book of mormon. Chiasmus in the book of mormon religious studies center. It fails, however, to respond to scholarly criticism in some crucial areas. Chiasmus in the book of mormon 73 name he used for chiasmus in 1854 however john forbesforbes4forbess completed a much more extensive study the symmetrical structures of scripture with the publication of this book it is possible to begin speaking of relatively widespread awareness of chiasmic forms in the bible a wave of other writers fol lowed forbes and in 1860 a section on chiasmus.
It is entirely possible that descendants of the book of mormon peoples knew of the device and used it in their own records. Chiasmus in the book of mormon mormonism, the mormon. The book of mormon is replete with adverbial usage of the adjective exceeding as in exceeding great joyinstead of exceedinglyin 1 ne. Plain and precious persuading from a prophet of god by david e. This volume features articles on hebraisms and chiasmus in the book of mormon, as well as articles discussing emendation of the text, naturalistic assumptions, wordprint analyses, variations between copies of the first edition, and more. It is claimed by many within the lds church that special literary patterns found in hebrew writing are also found in the book of mormon, which they feel helps prove that book comes from ancient jewish origins and not from joseph smiths mind. Kwaku has a moment during this episode and ian questions whether or not ubiquitous is actually a word. Practically since the day the book of mormon rolled off the press in 1830, those who believed in the book asserted that it obviously read like a hebrew text. Chiasmus in the book of mormon the mormon chapbook. In the first place, we have demonstrated the extensive existence of chiasmus in the book of mormon beyond any possible doubt. Chiasmus is both a necessary and natural way of understanding book of mormon literature. But o, what damned minutes tells he oer who dotes, yet doubts. Chiasmus balances words or phrases with similar, though not identical, meanings. Because mormons claim that examples of chiastic writing in the book of mormon help authenticate the book.
Many latterday saints point out that the use of chiasmus in the book of mormon is proof that joseph smith translated a script that was hebrew in origin, since the chiasmus had not yet been discovered when the book of mormon was translated in 1829. Book of mormonevidenceshebraismschiasmus fairmormon. Some have argued chiasmus is evidence of the texts historical authenticity, suggesting it reflects the semitic background of nephi and other authors of the book of mormon. Chiasmus, or inverted parallelism, is a twopart literary structure or system in which the second half is a mirror image of the first, i. It was also seen in sanskrit, mesopotamian, chinese and egyptian texts. The adoption of biblical archaisms in the book of mormon and other. Mormons claim that examples of chiastic writing in the book of mormon help authenticate the book. For this article i am going to discuss an ancient literary form known as chiasmus. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to adherents, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. It is claimed that the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon is either coincidental, an artifact of the observer, or not impressive since examples of chiastic patterns have been found in the doctrine and covenants or other 19th century. Wednesday was the fiftieth anniversary of welchs discovery. For example, the book of mormon prophet might have meant tapir and joseph described it as horse.
For those unfamiliar with the term, chiasmus is an ancient literary device that has been found in greek, latin, and hebrew writings. The use of a preposition to produce an adverb is common in hebrew, and is likewise common in the book of mormon, from which the following have been extracted as examples. Ancient literary forms in the book of mormon byu scholarsarchive. Time now for a few final evaluations of what we have learned about chiasmus in the book of mormon. Video on the discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon.
So it is, in my opinion, with the issue of chiasmus in the book of mormon. It no longer contains current data and will be sunset by april 30, 2020. This compilation of groundbreaking book of mormon articles is selected from over fifty years of lds scholarship published by byu studies. A complex chiasmus consists of several lines that extend the parallelism beyond two pairs of parallel elements. However, a recently recognized phenomenon in the book of mormon has now made it possible for us to cite many specific examples of passages in the book of mormon which bear the distinct stamp of an ancient hebraic literary form. At remarks given at brigham young university wednesday, john welch, who first identified the ancient writing style chiasmus in the book of mormon, said, the. Welch discovered the presence of chiasmus on august 16, 1967 while on his mission in. Elder cunningham, who has never read the book of mormon, is pressured into making up. Parrys the book of mormon text reformatted according to parallelistic patterns, farms, provo, utah, 1992, which also includes an excellent essay on semitic poetry in general and the role of chiasmus. Sloan, journal of book of mormon studies, volume 6, issue 2, 1997. Lds church members are taught that the book of mormon bom is scripture, as well as a true record of the inhabitants of the americas from about 2200 bc to 420 ad. And thats because the x shape captures the structure of the chiastic phrase. A striking example of anaphora is jacobs repealed wo unto found in 2 nephi 9.
The king james quotations in the book of mormon, the history of the text of the book of mormon. The chiastic structure, according to welch, is as follows. Only a few book of mormon examples were given, but no bibical examples or hebrew studies. Elder holland speaks at book of mormon chiasmus conference. Chiasmus is a biblical literary form, where the writer lists certain key words or ideas in one order, and then goes back and repeats them in the opposite order. Book of mormon stories the church of jesus christ of latterday. The existence of chiasmus parallelism in the book of mormon tells nothing about whether it is an ancient work. Welch discovered the presence of chiasmus on august 16, 1967 while on his. The discovery of apparent instances of complex chiasmus in the book of mormon. Chiasmus in the book of mormon byu scholarsarchive. Chiasmus or or chiasmus as it may also be pronounced is named after chi, the ancient greek word for the letter x. Now, 50 years since welchs discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon, we see that his find is.
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