Chiasmus in book of mormon

The wednesday evening chiasmus jubilee will feature guest speakers, musical numbers, and special presentations on chiasmus in the book of mormon. Chiasmus are found in the bible, and are considered a style element of ancient hebrew writing. The chiastic structure, according to welch, is as follows. Chiasmus in the book of mormon or the book of mormon does it again new era, 1972 february. 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. The pattern chiasmus creates here serves to reiterate and elaborate upon ideas. 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.

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. Those who were not so credulous insisted that it obviously read like anything but a hebrew text. 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. 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. Some of these examples may seem to be compelling, but when closely examined, they turn out to be little more than wishful thinking. 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 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. Chiasmus and book of mormon textual studies kindle edition by various authors. In 1967 chiasmus was discovered in the book of mormon, and the findings were published in byu studies. 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 is both a necessary and natural way of understanding book of mormon literature. The most commonly cited example of chiasmus in the book of mormon is the prophet almas religious experience, as recorded in alma 36.

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 in the book of mormon mormonism, the mormon. Free admission preregistration encouraged chiasmus. Chiasmus, the book of mormon, and the aquarian gospel. This is the landmark true story of how a young missionary serving in germany, 50 years ago, discovered chiasmus in the book of mormon. 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. 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. Chiasmus in the book of abraham pearl of great price central. More often than not, the prophets of the book of mormon use chiasmus as a device through which they can focus our attention. Jubilee marks 50 years from book of mormon chiasmus. The historical record has yielded no direct evidence that joseph smith actually knew about chiasmus when he translated the book of mormon in 1829, although some other people at that time did. Welch discovered a variety of instances of chiasmus in the book of mormon and along with his discovery came attention to the phenomenon. Chiasmus is one of the most frequently cited evidences for the authenticity of the book of mormon.

For this article i am going to discuss an ancient literary form known as chiasmus. Chiasmus in the book of mormon religious studies center. Chiasmus in the book of mormon is evidence of an ancient origin, not conclusive proof. Does chiasmus appear in the book of mormon by chance.

In the first place, we have demonstrated the extensive existence of chiasmus in the book of mormon beyond any possible doubt. Chiasmus is an elegant literary device where parallel phrases are inverted. Chiasms appear in greek, latin, english and other languages, but it. 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. 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. 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. Chiasmus is a literary form which is used extensively in the bible. Time now for a few final evaluations of what we have learned about chiasmus in the book of mormon. Welch, chiastic syllabus of the book of mormon, aba.

Sep 01, 2015 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. Essentially, chiasmus is a kind of highly structured repetition. That parallelism chiasmus existed in hebrew writing was knowsin joseph smiths day in books that were available to joseph smiith. Chiasmus was popular in the ancient languages like greek, latin, and especially hebrew. Welch 1946 discovered chiasmus in the book of mormon and founded the foundation for ancient research and mormon studies farms. In 1967, while serving in the lds south german mission, welch and his companion attended a lecture in the catholic priesterseminar which talked about the use of chiasmus in. This process, termed conceptual chiasmus, uses a crisscrossing rhetorical structure to cause an overlapping of intellectual space.

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 can be used in the structure of entire passages to parallel concepts or ideas. Chiasmus in the scriptures biblical chiasm exchange. Chiasmus in the book of mormon judaicaworld archives.

A literary structure known as chiasmus exists in the book of mormon. Chiasmus in the book of mormon mormonism, the mormon church. Chiasmus is an invertedparallel literary form that was employed by ancient hebrew biblical writers, among others. In the first place, we have demonstrated the extensive existence of chiasmus. 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 amazing true story of how chiasmus was discovered in the. Book of mormonevidenceshebraismschiasmus fairmormon. 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. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon is one of the most significant scholarly contributions to understanding and appreciating the. The most famous example of this is chapter 36 of the book of alma. 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. 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.

The phenomenon which makes that possible is the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon. Welch, chiasmus in the book of mormon, in book of mormon authorship. Sep 18, 2015 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. Chiasmus and book of mormon textual studies kindle edition. Serving in the lds south german mission at the time, in the city. The following books all have more chiasmus than the book of mormonsense and sensibility 1811, around the world in 80 days 1872, alice in wonderland 1865, the adventures of sherlock holmes 1892, a tale of two cities 1859, the iliad of homer, the view of the hebrews 1823, the late war between the unites states and great britain. 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.

Welch discovered the presence of chiasmus on august 16, 1967 while on his mission in germany. What is chiasmus and why is it so important in the book of. While there, on preparation day, he attended a lecture given by a german bible scholar. 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. Jubilee marks 50 years from book of mormon chiasmus discovery.

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. What more can we learn from 10 of the best chiasms in the book. 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. Select one of the links above to view examples of chiasmus in various books of the book of mormon. Why is the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon significant. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon part 2. Chiasmus and the book of mormon utah lighthouse ministry.

Examples of chiasmus can be found in the book of mormon. Possible evidence of authenticity ancient hebrew middle eastern poetry in the book of mormon. This discovery has had a profound impact on book of mormon. It is also found throughout the quran and the book of mormon. Why is the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon. They claim that such findings support claims of hebrew origins in the text on the basis that chiasmus is often found in hebrew texts such as the bible. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Oct 26, 2012 see in particular the chapter on chiasmus. Aug 21, 2017 one such proof for manycelebrated this week with a jubilee and twoday conference sponsored by byu studies and book of mormon centralis the discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon 50 years ago. Interestingly, the book of mormon, which claims to have its literary roots in the ancient middle east, shows many excellent examples of what appear to be deliberate, crafted chiasmus. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading chiasmus and book of mormon textual studies.

Religious studies center, brigham young university, 1982, 3352. Welch published the first study of chiasmus in the book of mormon,1 hundreds of additional book of mormon chiasms have been proposed. 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. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon part 2, knowhy. Welch 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. A there is an intelligent omnipotent being, who is selfexistent and infinitely b good and benevolent matter eternally existed. 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, a steady stream of publications since that time has thrown much light on this matter. Chiasmus in the book of mormon lds church is true blog.

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. Such simple examples of chiasmus are well known in english speech. Book of mormonanthropologylanguagehebraismschiasmus. 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. 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. In this passage, every single phrase is mirrored by a related phrase. 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. The book was republished in 1992 and the preface written by two academics summarises the reception of the original book. It is just one of several complex forms of literary parallelism that are common to other ancient semitic writings. Indeed, the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon may be evidence of joseph smiths own literary style and genius. So it is, in my opinion, with the issue of chiasmus in the book of mormon. 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. The proposed chiasmus has eight as, three bs, and one c, which works out to a strong a grade average.

Chiasmus in the book of mormon byu scholarsarchive. Jan 01, 2004 in 1967 chiasmus was discovered in the book of mormon, and the findings were published in byu studies. Contrary to past mormon claims, chiasmus was not unknown at the time of joseph smith. Chiasmus is an ancient near eastern writing style found in the bible and other ancient texts in which a list of ideas is presented in a. The existence of chiasmusparallelism in the book of mormon tells nothing about whether it. It is found in the bible and the quran and other ancient documents. The book of mormon has many examples and, at first sight, this seems. Since then, two organizations farms and fraa have published extensive literature to show that the book of mormon translated by joseph smith jr. 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 that time, a steady stream of publications has greatly illuminated this profound and ancient literary feature. One such proof for manycelebrated this week with a jubilee and twoday conference sponsored by byu studies and book of mormon centralis the discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon 50 years ago. 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 the discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon is one of the most significant scholarly contributions to understanding and appreciating the nephite record. 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.