Watch book of mormon centrals new video about the discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon in john w. That parallelism chiasmus existed in hebrew writing was knowsin joseph smiths day in books that were available to joseph smiith. Chiasmus is both a necessary and natural way of understanding book of mormon literature. Does chiasmus appear in the book of mormon by chance. Chiasmus in the book of mormon religious studies center.
The most famous example of this is chapter 36 of the book of alma. 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. Chiasmus in the book of mormon the discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon is one of the most significant scholarly contributions to understanding and appreciating the nephite record. 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. 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. Why is the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon significant. For example, many long and complex chiasmi have been found in shakespeare. What more can we learn from 10 of the best chiasms in the book. Solomon spaulding wrote a manuscript that is now missing some critics believe it is the actual source of the book of mormon had another book, manuscript found, in which appears the following chiasmus.
The professor discussed the work of father paul gaechter, a catholic priest who had written a book titled, the literary art in the gospel of matthew. Select one of the links above to view examples of chiasmus in various books of the book of mormon. To see this for ourselves, we had best begin with an example of chiasmus. The chiasmus in the book of mormon are highly structured features, some of which are 17 levels deep alma 36. A literary structure known as chiasmus exists in the book of mormon. These verses from the book of mormon use chiasmus to build an argument for embracing god. 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.
Oct 05, 2012 does this lend weight to mormon claims. Book of mormon 1879 lds versification title page simmons, letter, a 1 2 b 1 2 b 1 2 a 1 2. Contrary to past mormon claims, chiasmus was not unknown at the time of joseph smith. Indeed, the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon may be evidence of joseph smiths own literary style and genius. 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. 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. Chiasmus in the book of mormon mormonism, the mormon church. The existence of chiasmus parallelism in the book of mormon tells nothing about whether it is an ancient work. Such simple examples of chiasmus are well known in english speech. 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. 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.
Welch claims that it is unlikely, although not impossible, 33 that smith knew about chiasmus at the time of the book of mormons publication, 34 which implies that chiasmus could only be present in the text if indeed the text is a translation and not a fabrication. Definition, usage and a list of chiasmus examples in common speech and literature. Chiasmus and the book of mormon utah lighthouse ministry. 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 is a sophisticated literary device that ranges from the most simple, as illustrated above, to complex examples. Oct 03, 2017 we had a guest on our show and many of you know him already. Welch noted in 1995, there are varying degrees of chiasticity, and while many proposed chiasms are impressive and interesting. Hebrew poetry in the book of mormon, zarahemla record. They also provide useful background information and other insights. The first example of this found in the book of mormon is mosiah 5. Examples are the apparent presence of jewish festivals in the book of mormon, and extensive and precise chiasmus. The phenomenon which makes that possible is the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon. Welch wrote his masters thesis on chiasmus and continued study on the subject.
Royal skousen, the original language of the book of mormon. In chiasmus, the words do not have to be repeatedthe second sentence does not just reverse. Chiasmus in the book of mormon book of mormon central. Chiasmus in the book of abraham pearl of great price central. If this was the only sort of chiasmus to be found in the book of mormon, then it would be weak evidence, at best, of any sort of ancient origin for the text. Jesus said, the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
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. Chiastic form can give order, emphasis, and completeness to longer passages, such as in the 58th psalm. The chiastic structure, according to welch, is as follows. 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. 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. We build enduring faith in jesus christ by making the book of mormon accessible, comprehensible, and. The book of mormon, indeed a marvelous work and a wonder, is rich beyond our present appreciation. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon part 2. What can we learn from 10 of the best chiasms in the book of. Before chiasmus, we all tended to read the book of mormon, and the bible for that matter, as plain texts, not seeing scriptural words connected with their context and style. For some it is a work of ancient origin, for others it is a dubious hoax full of inaccuracies and anachronisms. Examples of chiasmus can be found in the book of mormon. John welch tells the remarkable story of being a young missionary and discovering chiasmus.
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 in the book of mormon byu scholarsarchive. The second article is a long, technical response with full documentation. All of the long, complex examples that mormon scholar john welch has analyzed turn out on closer inspection not to be good examples of chiasmus at all.
Today mormon scholars have recognised that this literary form was known at that time but still insist it is unlikely that smith was aware of it. Discussed in detail in my thesis, a study relating chiasmus in the book of mormon to chiasmus in the old testament, ugaritic epics, homer and selected greek and latin authors m. Some of these examples may seem to be compelling, but when closely examined, they turn out to be little more than wishful thinking. The book of mormon has many examples and, at first sight, this seems. So it is, in my opinion, with the issue of chiasmus in the book of mormon. 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. 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. 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. No one in america, let alone in western new york, fully understood chiasmus in 1830. In chiasmus, the clauses display inverted parallelism. Chiasmus in the book of mormon philosophies of men. This compilation of groundbreaking book of mormon articles is selected from over fifty years of lds scholarship published by byu studies. Other examples of the book of mormon s premodern nature appear in richard l.
The assumption that the book of mormon is western literature is not universally held. Because mormons claim that examples of chiastic writing in the book of mormon help authenticate the book. This is the landmark true story of how a young missionary serving in germany, 50 years ago, discovered chiasmus in the book of mormon. They claim that such findings support claims of hebrew origins in the text on the basis that. Oct 26, 2012 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. Found ancient plates, translated it and had many witnesses like the bom. 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.
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. In the first place, we have demonstrated the extensive existence of chiasmus in the book of mormon beyond any possible doubt. Nov 09, 2011 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 book of mormon, testifying of its past, 34, 12344321 and 123456654321. Both chiasmus and antimetabole can be used to reinforce antithesis. If chiasmus can be convincingly identified in the book of mormon, it will testify of the book s ancient origin. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon is one of the most significant scholarly contributions to understanding and appreciating the nephite record. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon is one of the most. Bushman, the book of mormon and the american revolution, in bma, 189212.
While there, on preparation day, he attended a lecture given by a german bible scholar. Seven were presented over the last two weeks, 3 and now we present the final three. Chiasmus in the book of mormon mormonism, the mormon. Whether anyone had a name for it or not is beside the point. The most commonly cited example of chiasmus in the book of mormon is the prophet almas religious experience, as recorded in alma 36.
This discovery has had a profound impact on book of mormon. A much longer and very elegant biblical example of chiasmus is leviticus 24. Perhaps welch could have strengthened his premise by demonstrating that the parallel members in the book of mormon consist of semitic word pairs, the basis of ancient hebrew poetry. So to celebrate the discovery of chiasmus fifty years ago, we at book of mormon central present 10 of the most interesting chiasms in the book of mormon. 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. In the last fifty years, hundreds of chiasms from the book of mormon have been proposed and studied. 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. In 1967 chiasmus was discovered in the book of mormon, and the findings were published in byu studies. In this passage, every single phrase is mirrored by a related phrase. An instance of this form, called a chiasm, presents two or more literary elements, and then restates them in reverse order. 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. Another intriguing example of chiasmus occurs in helaman 6. 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. Examples of parallelism and chiasmus in the book of mormon.
Mormons commonly cite alma 36 as the supreme example of a long, complex chiasmus in the book of mormon. In the first place, we have demonstrated the extensive existence of chiasmus in the book of mormon. It was also seen in sanskrit, mesopotamian, chinese and egyptian texts. Welch practically since the day the book of mormon rolled off the press in 1830, those who believed in the book asserted that it. Time now for a few final evaluations of what we have learned about chiasmus in the book of mormon. What can we learn from 10 of the best chiasms in the book. The pattern chiasmus creates here serves to reiterate and elaborate upon ideas. Chiasmus, the book of mormon, and the aquarian gospel. Chiasmus, or inverted parallelism, is a twopart literary structure or system in which the second half is a mirror image of the first, i. The phenomenon which makes that possible is the presence of chiasmus in the book.
Actually, the only thing that became obvious was the fact that neither the believers nor the unbelievers were citing very many specific examples. 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. Chiasm is not just simple repetition it also involves an intensification or an aspect of completion in the second half. So if chiasmus is proof of the ancient origin and truthfulness of the book of mormon, then it must mean the book of the law of the lord is also true, and we have all joined the wrong. Sep 01, 2017 this is the landmark true story of how a young missionary serving in germany, 50 years ago, discovered chiasmus in the book of mormon.
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. What is chiasmus and why is it so important in the book of. 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. Joseph smith had been dead ten full years before john forbess book was published in scotland. 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 is one of the most frequently cited evidences for the authenticity of the book of mormon. The first article here is a short, relatively nontechnical response to this claim. Chiasmus in the book of mormon judaicaworld archives. Since then, two organizations farms and fraa have published extensive literature to show that the book of mormon translated by joseph smith jr. Book of mormonevidenceshebraismschiasmus fairmormon. Chiasmus is an invertedparallel literary form that was employed by ancient hebrew biblical writers, among others.
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