So it is, in my opinion, with the issue of chiasmus in the book of mormon. In chiasmus, the clauses display inverted parallelism. If this is a genuine chiasmus, welch is correct in saying that the book of mormon appears to reflect ancient rhetorical styles and that such a long and complex chiasmus is unlikely to have been. Some claim 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. The second article is a long, technical response with full documentation. The first article here is a short, relatively nontechnical response to this claim. One of the main types of evidence to which mormons appeal in support of the authenticity of the book of mormon as ancient israelite literature is the rhetorical feature called chiasmus. What more can we learn from 10 of the best chiasms in the book. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon would have a profound impact on academic efforts to study of the book of mormon as an authentic ancient hebrew text. Those who were not so credulous insisted that it obviously read like anything but a hebrew text. Chiasmus in the book of mormon may, therefore, help readers more deeply appreciate the literary brilliance of the book while simultaneously increasing confidence in its authenticity as an ancient text and elevating faith in its concerted testimony of jesus christ, who is. The most famous example of this is chapter 36 of the book of alma. His first identification of chiasmus in the book of mormon was in mosiah 5, but examples of chiastic style have since been found throughout the book. 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.
The authors find that examples of chiasmus in the book of abraham or the doctrine and covenants are likely to be due to chance, but several wellknown examples of chiasmus in the book of mormon appear to be intentional with a high level of confidence. Chiasmus is a sophisticated literary device that ranges from the most simple, as illustrated above, to complex examples. They also provide useful background information and other insights. 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. Jesus said, the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. The inverse parallelism that is the defining characteristic of chiasmus is thought to be difficult if not impossible to explain if joseph smith was the author. This compilation of groundbreaking book of mormon articles is selected from over fifty years of lds scholarship published by byu studies. To see this for ourselves, we had best begin with an example of chiasmus. For example, many long and complex chiasmi have been found in shakespeare. Chiasmus and book of mormon textual studies deseret book. Whether anyone had a name for it or not is beside the point.
This video gives a brief description of a writing style called chiasmus, and tells the story of how one 20yearold latterday saint missionary first discovered its existence in the book of mormon. Chiasmus in the book of mormon is both a necessary and a natural way of explaining some things in the book of mormon that go unaccounted for otherwise. If chiasmus can be convincingly identified in the book of mormon, it will testify of the books ancient origin. Chiasmus in the book of mormon religious studies center. Joseph smith building auditorium brigham young university provo, ut 84604 the wednesday evening chiasmus jubilee will feature guest speakers, musical numbers, and special presentations on chiasmus in the book of mormon. The complex examples within the book of mormon show much greater sophistication than a childs nursery rhyme mosiah 3.
This is the landmark true story of how a young missionary serving in germany, 50 years ago, discovered chiasmus in the book of mormon. 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. 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. In 1967 chiasmus was discovered in the book of mormon, and the findings were published in byu studies. 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.
A much longer and very elegant biblical example of chiasmus is leviticus 24. Some of these examples may seem to be compelling, but when closely examined, they turn out to be little more than wishful thinking. Chiasmus is the term for a rhetorical device in which a sentence or phrase is followed by a sentence or phrase that reverses the structure and order of the first one. A scripture wellknown to latterday saints is a good example of a. Because mormons claim that examples of chiastic writing in the book of mormon help authenticate the book. Serious study of the book of mormon by latterday saints is flourishing today as never before. Actually, the only thing that became obvious was the fact that neither the believers nor the unbelievers were citing very many specific examples. Recognizing the booklength chiastic patterns in the book of mormon. What can we learn from 10 of the best chiasms in the book of. The most commonly referenced pattern is a type of parallelism, called a chiasm. Chiasmus is a rhetorical device in which two or more clauses are balanced against each other by the reversal of their structures in order to produce an artistic effect.
David noel freedman, in his preface to chiasmus in antiquity. Chiasmus in the book of mormon is both a necessary and a natural way of explaining some things in. Chiasm is not just simple repetition it also involves an intensification or an aspect of completion in the second half. Book of mormonevidenceshebraismschiasmus fairmormon. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon part 2. Chiasmus in the book of mormon byu scholarsarchive. What can we learn from 10 of the best chiasms in the book of mormon.
Welch published the first study of chiasmus in the book of mormon,1 hundreds of additional book of mormon chiasms have been proposed. Why is the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon significant. Prior to this, he served in the presidency of the seventy beginning in august 1998 and as a member of the first quorum of the seventy beginning in 1993. Chiastic form can give order, emphasis, and completeness to longer passages, such as in the 58th psalm. The amazing true story of how chiasmus was discovered in. It was also seen in sanskrit, mesopotamian, chinese and egyptian texts. Chiasmus in the book of mormon or the book of mormon does it again new era, 1972 february. Does chiasmus appear in the book of mormon by chance. The phenomenon which makes that possible is the presence of chiasmus in the book. Todd christofferson has been a member of the quorum of the twelve apostles of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints since april 2008. Chiasmus in the scriptures biblical chiasm exchange.
What is chiasmus and why is it so important in the book of. Mormons commonly cite alma 36 as the supreme example of a long, complex chiasmus in the book of mormon. Now, 50 years since welchs discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon, we see that his find is still reverberating in scholarly publications on the book of mormon. The phenomenon which makes that possible is the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon. Before chiasmus, we all tended to read the book of mormon, and the bible for that matter, as. Select one of the links above to view examples of chiasmus in various books of the book of mormon. Chiasmus in the book of mormon book of mormon central.
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. Chiasmus in the book of abraham pearl of great price central. 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. 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 was particularly popular in the literature of the ancient world, including hebrew, greek, ancient kiche maya, and latin, where it was used to articulate the balance of order within the text. 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.
Since then, two organizations farms and fraa have published extensive literature to show that the book of mormon translated by joseph smith jr. This discovery has had a profound impact on book of mormon. Book of mormon 1879 lds versification title page simmons, letter, a 1 2 b 1 2 b 1 2 a 1 2. Chiasmus in the book of mormon mormonism, the mormon. Chiasmus, the book of mormon, and the aquarian gospel. Of course, hundreds of other examples could be cited which may be found in the bibliography. Definition, usage and a list of chiasmus examples in common speech and literature.
A literary structure known as chiasmus exists in the book of mormon. A few nonlatterday saint scholars have been impressed by the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon. 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. Chiasmus in the book of mormon judaicaworld archives. 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. Chiasmus and the book of mormon utah lighthouse ministry. Joseph smith had been dead ten full years before john forbess book was published in scotland. Chiasmus in the book of mormon philosophies of men. Chiasmus and the book of mormon by sandra tanner 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.
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