There are numerous examples of direct parallelism among the proverbs, e. Since then, two organizations farms and fraa have published extensive literature to show that the book of mormon translated by joseph smith jr. Oct 05, 2012 chiasmus is a figure of speech by which the order of the words in the first of two parallel clauses is reversed in the second oxford companion to english literature, 1985 ed. Foundation for ancient research and mormon studies, isbn 9780934893251 hugh w. 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. In fact, many nursery rhymes have this same type of structure e. Book of mormonevidenceshebraismschiasmus fairmormon. So it is, in my opinion, with the issue of chiasmus in the book of mormon. Thomasson sees center of this overarching chiasm as the atonement at alma 34.
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. A significant development during the second half of the 20th century was the growing awareness and understanding of chiasmus in ancient literature. This form of inverted parallelism has been found in. Pinnock of the first quorum of the seventy, although feeling that such study is faithpromoting, also cautioned.
It is entirely possible that descendants of the book of mormon peoples knew of the device and used it in their own records. Aug 11, 2009 i first heard about chiasmus in the book of mormon as a student at byu. A literary structure known as chiasmus exists in the book of mormon. One way of identifying a chiastic quote is to mark the repeated words or phrases with the letters abba.
Jan 01, 2004 in 1967 chiasmus was discovered in the book of mormon, and the findings were published in byu studies. Chiasmus in the book of mormon mormonism, the mormon church. Serving in the lds south german mission at the time, in the city. Select one of the links above to view examples of chiasmus in various books of the book of mormon. 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.
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. 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. 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. A new translation with interpretive keys from the book of mormon. Oct 03, 2017 the crew talks about chiasmus in book of mormon. Chiasmus in the book of mormon or the book of mormon does it again new era, 1972 february. The existence of chiasmus parallelism in the book of mormon tells nothing about whether it is an ancient work. It is basically inverted parallelism where words, phrases, or concepts are introduced in ascending order and then repeated in descending order. This volume features articles on hebraisms and chiasmus in. Aug 18, 2017 watch book of mormon centrals new video about the discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon in john w. 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.
Ancient hebraic poetry found in the book of mormon is set. Does chiasmus appear in the book of mormon by chance. What more can we learn from 10 of the best chiasms in the book. Welch discovered a variety of instances of chiasmus in the book of mormon and along with his discovery came attention to the phenomenon. 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. Some of these examples may seem to be compelling, but when closely examined, they turn out to be little more than wishful thinking. They claim that such findings support claims of hebrew origins in the text on the basis that. The discovery of chiasmus in the bom by common consent. For this article i am going to discuss an ancient literary form known as chiasmus. This compilation of groundbreaking book of mormon articles is selected from over fifty years of lds scholarship published by byu studies. Jan 01, 2012 if you engage lds apologists long enough, eventually youre bound to come across the topic of chiasmus in the book of mormon. Here the text of the book of mormon has been reformatted to highlight many of its parallel structures, including chiasmus. 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. Chiasmus in the book of mormon book of mormon central.
Chiasmus in the book of mormon thoughts and truth from the. Chiasmus in the book of mormon brigham young university. 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. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon part 2. 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 followed. 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. The phenomenon which makes that possible is the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon. It is a parallelism in structure rather than rhyme, a parallelism of thought or idea. Chiasmus is one of the most frequently cited evidences for the authenticity of the book of mormon. Chiasmus was popular in the ancient languages like greek, latin, and especially hebrew. 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.
Now, 50 years since welchs discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon, we see that his find is. It is derived from the greek word chiazo, which denotes the letter x. Time now for a few final evaluations of what we have learned about 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. Chiasmus in the book of mormon thoughts and truth from. A new and valuable resource for exploring parallelism in the book of mormon is poetic parallelisms in the book of mormon.
Chiasmus in mayan texts book of mormon archaeological forum. Joseph smith published the book of mormon in 1830 in western new york. Chiasmus in the book of mormon mormonism, the mormon. Now comes the question of chiasmus in the book of mormon. Published in the new era, february 1972, pages 611. She told me about a special event honoring her brother jack welchs discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon.
This discovery has had a profound impact on book of mormon. That parallelism chiasmus existed in hebrew writing was knowsin joseph smiths day in books that were available to joseph smiith. Book of mormon evidences, part 2 presents more of the factors that suggest the book of mormon may be an ancient document. 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 discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon is one of the most significant scholarly contributions to understanding and appreciating the nephite record. This article provides an introduction to chiasmus, explaining what it is and why mormons think it is. Wednesday was the fiftieth anniversary of welchs discovery. 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. Includes six copies as well as letters to the editor and handwritten notes. Joseph smiths plagiarism of the bible in the book of.
Mormon scholars and apologists argue that there are impressive examples of chiasmus in the book of mormon that. Chiasmus and book of mormon textual studies byu studies. Examples of chiasmus can be found in the book of mormon. If you analyze its structure, it is a massive chiasmus with mosiah 3. This form of inverted parallelism has been found in the bible, the book of mormon, and in many other ancient writings. Chiasmus is both a necessary and natural way of understanding book of mormon literature. Chiasmus is a poetic form that is common in ancient hebrew texts. It is found in the bible and the quran and other ancient documents. For those unfamiliar with the term, chiasmus is an ancient literary device that has been found in greek, latin, and hebrew writings.
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. Book of mormonanthropologylanguagehebraismschiasmus. The better chiasmus in the book of mormon than even the beautiful one in alma 36 is king benjamins speech. 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. 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. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad. Chiasms appear in greek, latin, english and other languages, but it was most highly. It is a continuation of book of mormon evidences, part one. In addition, he has also published extensively on the history and role of chiasmus in sacred literature. May 17, 2008 the latest journal of book of mormon studies, 162 2007, features a personal remiscence by jack welch of his discovery of chiasmus in the bom on wednesday, august 16, 1967. 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. Chapter 15 chiasmus in the book of mormon reachout trust.
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. I initially made it in the forum where i found the original. Foundation for ancient research and mormon studies. Welch was just a young missionary on germany at the time. Welch first identified chiasmus in the book of mormon in 1967. The most commonly cited example of chiasmus in the book of mormon is the prophet almas religious experience, as recorded in alma 36. Bishop lowth, whose lectures on hebrew poetry in 1741. Chiasmus is an elegant literary device where parallel phrases are inverted. Chiasmus in the book of mormon religious studies center. Im not sure exactly what forum would be suitable for this thread. He has since spent much time studying chiasmus in the book of mormon, the bible, and other sacred literature. 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.
In the simplest, broadest sense, a chiasmus is a literary device that uses inverted parallelism, which can be labelled as a b b a. Elder holland speaks at book of mormon chiasmus conference. More often than not, the prophets of the book of mormon use chiasmus as a device through which they can focus our attention. In the first place, we have demonstrated the extensive existence of chiasmus in the book of mormon beyond any possible doubt. 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. 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. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the discovery of chiasmus, an ancient poetic writing style, in 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.
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. What can we learn from 10 of the best chiasms in the book of mormon. Although there are excellent examples of chiasmus in the bible, there are also passages that some biblical scholars think are chiasmus and other. 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. Recognizing parallelisms and chiasmus in the scriptures. The chiastic structure, according to welch, is as follows. Smith actually knew about chiasmus when he translated the book of mormon in, although some other people at that time did if he did not know about chiasmus, then its presence in the book might be. Aug 29, 2017 in august 1967, fifty years ago this month, john welch was a young latterday saint on his mission in germany. Kwaku has a moment during this episode and ian questions whether or not ubiquitous is actually a word. Video on the discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon. 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. Chiasmus and book of mormon textual studies deseret book. The discovery of chiasmus in the bom by common consent, a. A great jubilee celebration is being held at byu this week to commemorate it ive.