Since its publication in 1830, the book of mormon has garnered much attention. Why is the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon significant. What is chiasmus and why is it so important in the book of. The first of my three books is joshuas spiritual warfare. Welch discovered the presence of chiasmus on august 16, 1967 while on his mission in germany, a steady stream of publications since that time has thrown much light on this matter. Understanding the chiasms of joshua, a chapterbychapter examination of the intriguing chiastic structure in the book of joshua.
He is the author of several articles on literary structure in the book of mormon. It can also be seen as a rhetorical figure which employs this structure. Chiastic structure also called chiastic pattern or ring structure is a literary device 1 for chiasmus applied to narrative motifs, turns of phrase, or whole passages. I am grateful for the opportunity i had to share my faith in jesus christ and testimony of the eternal truths contained in the book of mormon. See isaiah 12, which contains two psalms that are more easily distinguished on the basis of chiastic structures. The very first three verses of first nephi reveal nephis knowledge of chiasmus. Conference sponsors book of mormon central byu studies conference cosponsors. Another example of a chiasm, also with the abba structure, is benjamin franklins axiom by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. What more can we learn from 10 of the best chiasms in the book. This complex narrative demonstrates a deliberate effort by mormon to use the parallel structure common to hebrew writing as also found in the bible. Chiasmus is a structural form that has been used in both poetry and. What can we learn from 10 of the best chiasms in the book of. So it is, in my opinion, with the issue of chiasmus in the book of mormon. While the book of mormon is richly chiastic, extensive structural chiasmus has yet to be found in any other literature in the world other than the hebrew.
Some of these examples may seem to be compelling, but when closely examined, they turn out to be little more than wishful thinking. Yesterday i was blessed to speak about the book of mormon at the library of congress and to offer a prayer at the united states senate. Professor john welch is a mormon that edited a collection of works about christian and nonchristian uses of the chiastic structure including the book of mormon. Does chiasmus appear in the book of mormon by chance.
How to write a book ring composition chiastic structure basics duration. Mormon uses a second flashback h through c to create a chiastic structure. According to most adherents of the latter day saint movement, the book of mormon is a 19thcentury translation of a record of ancient inhabitants of the american continent, which was written in a script which the book refers to as reformed egyptian. The academic study of chiasmus in modern times can be dated to the work of nils wilhelm lund who published articles in 1930 and 1931 and then a book entitled chiasmus in the new testament in 1942. Other chiasms are more complex, even spanning entire poems. The king james quotations in the book of mormon, the history of the text of the book of mormon. Chiasmus in the book of mormon in the late 1960s, a young latterday saint discovered that an ancient form of middle eastern poetry was found throughout the book of mormon, suggestive of its ancient semitic origins. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon is one of the most. Opening the book of mormon is like crossing the threshold of the temple. Thomasson sees center of this overarching chiasm as the atonement at alma 34. Chiasmus conference speakers book of mormon central. President of the foundation for ancient research and mormon studies, he has contributed to byu studies and is coauthor and general editor of the recently published book, chiasmus in antiquity. I told the brethren that the book of mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to god by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book. To celebrate the discovery of chiasmus fifty years ago, we are presenting 10 of the most interesting chiasms in the book of mormon.
While one can credit the auhtor for reading the book of mormon text carefully to find chiasmus, he does a rather poor job. And thus, the entire book of mosiah can be seen as one large chiastic structure, and one of its overall themes is how much trouble kingship can cause. Chiasmus in the book of mormon from the day the book of mormon rolled off the press in 1830, those who gave it credence asserted that it obviously read like a hebrew text. The book was republished in 1992 and the preface written by two academics summarises the reception of.
Chiasmus 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. They also point out that this style was not identified as chiasmus until after the time of. He defines eight distinct types of chiastic structures. Chiastic structures in the book of mormon meridian magazine. Noel reynolds authored two articles about his findings of chiastic structures in the book of mormon which were published in byu studies quarterly. He takes all the chiastic passages found in the book of mormon and presents them in easytoread diagrams and explanations. A new witness for christ chiastic structures in the book of mormon is an essential tool for scripture study one which deserves a place in the basic library of every lds gospel scholar. Welch, an attorney specializing in tax matters, joined the faculty of the j. The most commonly referenced pattern is a type of parallelism, called a chiasm. Unfortunately for those using chiastic structure to help prove the book of mormons ancient origins, other passages and books with no link to hebrew origins. Mormon because unintentional chiastic structure can be found in almost any passage of. In the mid 1980s, i returned to thinking about chiasmus in the book of mormon and decided to see if. Jesus christ is the crux of the chiasm, just as he is the center of the gospel and the only means. Mosiah 3 chiasmus by book of mormon central in the case of the book of mormon, chiasmus can add impressive evidence that its underlying texts manifest subtle features that are consistent with ancient writingsbut only when the proposed chiasms are identified through judicious and principled textual analysis.
Recognizing parallelisms and chiasmus in the scriptures. This chart illustrates the deep structure of alma 36. Chiasmus in the scriptures biblical chiasm exchange. I was aware of their writings, but at that time did not feel the need to read them. In mosiah 1824, these spiritual lessons include the critical need for. It can be seen simply as a structural element which describes the parallels in inverted order. If it turns out that there are no genuine complex chiasms in the book of mormon, that conclusion would not prove the book false or inauthentic. Thus it seems that we are able to meet the demands of an exceptionally strong conditional here. This claim, as well as all claims to historical authenticity of the book of mormon, are rejected by nonlatter day saint historians and scientists. Chiasmus appears to have begun as a structural form which then developed into an intriguing rhetorical device which has been used sporadically in prose and.
In the first place, we have demonstrated the extensive existence of chiasmus in the book of mormon beyond any possible doubt. Chiasmus itself can be understood in two distinct ways. As is generally true, wherever chiasmus demonstrably exists, its potential impact on interpretation and textual analysis stands to be profound, 20 and thus, as is the case with much of ancient literature, the design and depth of the book of mormon often comes to light only when the book is studied with chiastic and other ancient literary. The chiastic structure, according to welch, is as follows. Book of mormonevidenceshebraismschiasmus fairmormon. Boundaries, the chiasmus corresponds to a distinct unit of text and its literary structure. Those who were not so convinced insisted that it obviously read like anything but a hebrew text. Its language is unlike anything else in the book of mormon. Book of mormon scholarship is usually prepared and for book of mormon believers and is rarely, ifever, seen by others. A new translation with interpretive keys from the book of mormon. A literary structure known as chiasmus exists in the book of mormon. Chiastic book of mormon geography book of mormon evidence.
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. Chiasmus is in a literature if and only if its roots are hebraic. Various structures of chiasmus are commonly seen in ancient literature to emphasize, parallel, or contrast concepts or ideas. So basically, the mormon argument is that the bom is true because js copied the literary structure of the bible when he wrote the bom or as they say it the bom must truly be ancient because it uses the same literary structure as the kjv bible. In the literal category, 165 chiastic elements are in the first half of the book and 165 corresponding words, or phrases lead away from the central element in identical reverse order.
Welch was the first to notice chiastic structures in the book of mormon. Imbedded within first nephi are 107 chiastic structures. Many passages in the bible exhibit chiastic structure. Chiasmus is a form of parallelism used as a poetical structure in some ancient writings from the middle east and greece note 1. I still work with software i develop my own webpages and am continually looking at gods word to find more hidden gems but my passion is to spread the word.
The book of mormon introduction 1981 edition states. In addition, in the midst of all this coming and going, many important doctrinal and personal lessons can be learned. Apparently, the entire book of mormon is designed as a chiasm, a divine architecture reflecting not only ancient hebrew poetry, but the lords signature upon it. One of the conclusions is that because both the bible and the book of mormon have the chiastic structure, then this gives validity to. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon is one of the most significant scholarly contributions to understanding and appreciating the nephite record. A further phenomenon that we can see in the structure of the 58th psalm is the importance of the chiastic turning point. Leading book on chiasm john welch, the leading authority on the chiastic structure of the book of mormon has edited a book titled chiasmus antiquity which is providing a unique witness of the book of mormon. Firstly, he has no discussion on methodology and the like, instead, he treates chiasmus and chiastic structures as one and the samethey are not, however, contra popular belief among lds and nonlds usually critics alike. We have no choice but to treat the book of mormon, especially its earliest sections, as chiastic literature that is cognate and congruent in its form with early hebraic poesy. Over the last fifty years, alma 36 has, by far, been the most celebrated and studied example of chiasmus in the book of mormon. Concerning this record the prophet joseph smith said.
The lds apologetic argument that the book of mormon contains complex chiasms is a positive argument in which the chiasms are thought to be good evidence for the authenticity of the book of mormon. Chiasmus in the book of mormon religious studies center. An anonymous author similarly suggests that chiasms in the book of mormon are the result of the incredible amount of repetition contained therein, and are well within the bounds of probability. The verse contains 9 sentences which exhibit chiasmus, but perhaps more interesting is that it is found in the longest chapter of the quran, albaqara, which itself contains a fractal chiastic structure in its 286 verses, i. Some lds writers are trying to establish the historicity of the book of mormon by maintaining that it contains a poetic style, sometimes used in the bible, called chiasmus see. About chiasmus, the nature of truth, the natural world. Chiasm bookstore recommended books about chiastic structure. Several mormon authors wrote articles about chiasmus, finding even more chiastic structures, even more evidences. Book of mormon chiastic structure meridian magazine.