Chiasmus and the book of mormon

It no longer contains current data and will be sunset by april 30, 2020. Kwaku has a moment during this episode and ian questions whether or not ubiquitous is actually a word. Chiasmus in the book of mormon religious studies center. His findings were truly surprising, revealing that clear, distinct, and elegant passages of. Chiasmus in the book of mormon lds church is true blog. Chiasmus in the book of mormon brigham young university. Indeed, the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon may be evidence of joseph smiths own literary style and genius. Chiasmus, the book of mormon, and the aquarian gospel. This year marks 50 years since the discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon on august 16, 1967. Why is the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon significant. Chiasmus, or inverted parallelism, is a twopart literary structure or system in which the second half is a mirror image of the first, i.

Chiasmus are found in the bible, and are considered a style element of ancient hebrew writing. Chiasmus in the book of mormon book of mormon central. Both chiasmus and antimetabole can be used to reinforce antithesis. 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. Chiasmus in the book of mormon judaicaworld archives. Chiasmus is an elegant literary device where parallel phrases are inverted. Welch discovered the presence of chiasmus on august 16, 1967 while on his mission in germany,2 a steady stream of publications since that time has thrown much light on this matter.

The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon is one of the most significant scholarly contributions to understanding and appreciating the nephite record. Since chiasmus occurs in many languages its use in the book of mormon does not prove either its semitic origin or that it is a style peculiar to inspired ancient scripture. In fact, many nursery rhymes have this same type of structure e. In the first place, we have demonstrated the extensive existence of chiasmus in the book of mormon beyond any possible doubt. Welch speaks during the chiasmus jubilee, showing his markings in the book of mormon after he found the chiasm in alma 36. 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. Chiasmus is a poetic form that is common in ancient hebrew texts. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon part 2. 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. Does chiasmus appear in the book of mormon by chance. 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. 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 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. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon is one of the most significant scholarly contributions to understanding and appreciating the.

Chiasmus and book of mormon textual studies deseret book. The most famous example of this is chapter 36 of the book of alma. The existence of chiasmus parallelism in the book of mormon tells nothing about whether it is an ancient work. While there, on preparation day, he attended a lecture given by a german bible scholar. Should we consider it contrived that ishmael is mentioned only twice in the entire book of mormon and that these two occurrences just happen to fall symmetrically around 1 nephi 11 1 ne. Out of the top matches, we discovered a book called the late war between the united states and great britain, a scriptural style account of the war of 1812 published in new york in 1816. Chiasms appear in greek, latin, english and other languages, but it was most highly developed in hebrew. In the early, stilldark hours of the morning, august 16, 1967, a young john w. 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. In the first half those who make the greatest use of the form are nephi, benjamin, and alma the younger. Why is the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon. The most commonly cited example of chiasmus in the book of mormon is the prophet almas religious experience, as recorded in alma 36. Dec 19, 2019 chiasmus, or inverted parallelism, is a twopart literary structure or system in which the second half is a mirror image of the first, i.

Jubilee marks 50 years from book of mormon chiasmus discovery. So to celebrate the discovery of chiasmus fifty years ago, we at book of mormon central will present 10 of the most interesting chiasms in the. So it is, in my opinion, with the issue of chiasmus in the book of mormon. Foundation for ancient research and mormon studies, isbn 9780934893251 hugh w. No one in america, let alone in western new york, fully understood chiasmus in 1830. The full text of this book is available free online at the maxwell institute. Jubilee marks 50 years from book of mormon chiasmus. I loved the video, but i disagree with gregs closing statement chiasmus in the book of mormon is evidence that it is an ancient work and not a 19th century work. Welch was a missionary serving in regensburg, germany, and chiasmus was an ancient literary technique he had only recently learned about. Another famous author of the book of mormon who creatively employed the principles of chiasmus to great advantage was alma the younger. Chiasmus is one of the most frequently cited evidences for the authenticity of the book of mormon.

The first page of the book claims that it was written in the language of the egyptians but according to the learning of the jews. If chiasmus is evidence of hebrew style in the bible, it must be evidence of hebrew style in the book of mormon. 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. 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. Welch recalled in the video gaechters fatherly words after welchs explanation of the chiasms he had found in the book of mormon.

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. The chiastic structure, according to welch, is as follows. Oct 03, 2017 the crew talks about chiasmus in book of mormon. His research into literary forms in ancient scriptures led him to the original discovery in 1967 of chiasmus in the book of mormon. This writting style was essentially unknown in joseph smiths time. Book of mormonanthropologylanguagehebraismschiasmus. An excellent scholarly resource on chiasmus in the middle east, the book of mormon, and elsewhere is the book, chiasmus in antiquity, edited by john welch. To celebrate this 50th anniversary, throughout july and august book of mormon central will publish one knowhy each week that discusses chiasmus and its significance and value to understanding the bible, the book of mormon, and other ancient literatures. It is just one of several complex forms of literary parallelism that are common to other ancient semitic writings. Chiasmus in the scriptures biblical chiasm exchange. The professor discussed the work of father paul gaechter, a catholic priest who had written a book titled. We also believe the book of mormon to be the word of god. Apr 21, 2016 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.

Welch discovered the presence of chiasmus on august 16, 1967 while on his mission in germany. The most powerful and beautiful example of chiasmus in the book of mormon and perhaps anywhere. Welch tells the story of his discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon during the chiasmus jubilee celebrating the 50year anniversary of the discovery. Chiasmus is both a necessary and natural way of understanding book of mormon literature. Chiasmus, a rhetorical device used prevalently in the bible and in other ancient literatures, was relegated to the intellectual subconsciousness of modern western civilization until the midnineteenth century. Time now for a few final evaluations of what we have learned about chiasmus in the book of mormon. Aug 16, 2016 the discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon is one of the most significant scholarly contributions to understanding and appreciating the nephite record. While one can credit the auhtor for reading the book of mormon text carefully to find chiasmus, he does a rather poor job. More often than not, the prophets of the book of mormon use chiasmus as a device through which they can focus our attention.

What is chiasmus and why is it so important in the book of. 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. 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 mormonism, the mormon church. The phenomenon which makes that possible is the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon. Chiasmus in the book of mormon mormonism, the mormon. Oct 26, 2012 an excellent scholarly resource on chiasmus in the middle east, the book of mormon, and elsewhere is the book, chiasmus in antiquity, edited by john welch. Between 1817 and 1819 it was marketed for the use of schools throughout the. Sep 18, 2015 chiasmus are found in the bible, and are considered a style element of ancient hebrew writing. The book of mormon is filled with poetic hebrew parallelism. In the first place, we have demonstrated the extensive existence of chiasmus. In 1967 chiasmus was discovered in the book of mormon, and the findings were published in byu studies. Joseph smith had been dead ten full years before john forbess book was published in scotland. Since that time, a steady stream of publications has greatly illuminated this profound and ancient literary feature.

A literary structure known as chiasmus exists in the book of mormon. Like the bible, the book of mormon has a very repetitive style. Chiasmus is an invertedparallel literary form that was employed by ancient hebrew biblical writers, among others. Chiasmus appears to have begun as a structural form which then developed into an intriguing rhetorical device which has. It is a parallelism in structure rather than rhyme, a parallelism of thought or idea. 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. 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 can be defined most simply as an inverted type of. 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. Welch discovered a variety of instances of chiasmus in the book of mormon and along with his discovery came attention to the phenomenon. The proposed chiasmus has eight as, three bs, and one c, which works out to a strong a grade average. It is found in the bible and the quran and other ancient documents.

If youve read the book of mormon, you know that nephi and other book of mormon prophets quoted extensively from isaiah. 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. That parallelism chiasmus existed in hebrew writing was knowsin joseph smiths day in books that were available to joseph smiith. This discovery has had a profound impact on book of mormon. In chiasmus, the clauses display inverted parallelism. 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. Nov 09, 2011 since its discovery in the book of mormon in 1967, it has fascinated latterday saints. 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. Book of mormonevidenceshebraismschiasmus fairmormon. Supporters of the book of mormon claim it uses chiasmusa figure of speech utilizing inverted parallelismand claim it is evidence to support the books ancient origin. Thomasson sees center of this overarching chiasm as the atonement at alma 34. 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.

In october 20, the authors conducted a data analysis comparing the book of mormon to over 100,000 books from the pre1830s era. This is the landmark true story of how a young missionary serving in germany, 50 years ago, discovered chiasmus in the book of mormon. Jan 01, 2004 in 1967 chiasmus was discovered in the book of mormon, and the findings were published in byu studies. Some of these examples may seem to be compelling, but when closely examined, they turn out to be little more than wishful thinking. Welch speaks during the chiasmus jubilee celebrating the 50th anniversary of his discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon.

Serving in the lds south german mission at the time, in the city. 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. 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. Hebrew poetry in the book of mormon, zarahemla record. The existence of chiasmusparallelism in the book of mormon. Chiasmus was first recognized by a handful of scholars in 1820, but not wellknown until 1942.

Chiasmus in the book of mormon is evidence of an ancient origin, not conclusive proof. Be sure to read john welchs chapter, chiasmus in the book of mormon. 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. Joseph smith published the book of mormon in 1830 in western new york. For this article i am going to discuss an ancient literary form known as chiasmus. Since then, two organizations farms and fraa have published extensive literature to show that the book of mormon translated by joseph smith jr. Chiasmus was popular in the ancient languages like greek, latin, and especially hebrew. If chiasmus can be convincingly identified in the book of mormon, it will testify of the books ancient origin. 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.

The book was republished in 1992 and the preface written by two academics summarises the reception of the original book. Pinnock of the first quorum of the seventy, although feeling that such study is faithpromoting, also cautioned. Chiasms may appear anywhere in the book of mormon, although they predominantly typify the style of the first half of the book. Chiasmus in the book of abraham by book of mormon central.