A they humble themselves b and become as little children, c and believe that salvation. The structure of a chiasmus is pretty simple, so they arent difficult to craft. Aug 11, 2009 i first heard about chiasmus in the book of mormon as a student at byu. 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. In chiasmus, the words do not have to be repeatedthe second sentence does not just reverse. The adoption of biblical archaisms in the book of mormon and other. This repetition emphasizes important ideas and words, in addition. The existence of chiasmus parallelism in the book of mormon tells nothing about whether it is an ancient work. Chiasmus in the book of mormon mormonism, the mormon church.
Book of mormonevidenceshebraismschiasmus fairmormon. From gaechters many examples, there seemed to be no doubt that matthew in fact used chiasmus and that it was more hebraic than greek in nature. The book of mormon is rich with chiasmus, which is a symmetric structure that looks. Indeed, the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon may be evidence of joseph smiths own literary style and genius. They also provide useful background information and other insights. 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. 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. Those who were not so convinced insisted that it obviously read like anything but a hebrew text. Time now for a few final evaluations of what we have learned about chiasmus in the book of mormon.
Video on the discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon. 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. Some other useful resources include the video of john welchs lecture, chiasmus in the book of mormon a masterful 54minute lesson that could be a valuable resource for a class or any serious student of the book of mormon. Chiasmus is one of the most frequently cited evidences for the authenticity of the book of mormon. Chiasmus as used in the book or mormon are similar to. Such simple examples of chiasmus are well known in english speech. Chiasmus for students and children admin january 7, 2018 figures of speech leave a comment 1,523 views survey proves that not even one in ten people would know what a chiasmus is. Stephen smoot is back and he is going deep on this episode. These verses from the book of mormon use chiasmus to build an argument for. Im not sure exactly what forum would be suitable for this thread. 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. That parallelism chiasmus existed in hebrew writing was knowsin joseph smiths day in books that were available to joseph smiith. It is entirely possible that descendants of the book of mormon peoples knew of the device and used it in their own records.
The chiasmus in the book of mormon are highly structured features, some of. The book of mormon does indeed have authentic semitic constructions in it, but lds need to tread cautiously in establishing them. Example sentences from wikipedia that use the word chiasmus. The first chapter of the book claims that it was written in the language of the egyptians but according to the learning of the jews 1 nephi 1. Both chiasmus and antimetabole can be used to reinforce antithesis. No one in america, let alone in western new york, fully understood chiasmus in 1830. Chiastic definition and synonyms of chiastic in the english. When john kennedy constructed his famous bromide, ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country, he went to the well of antithesis for his active ingredient. The chiastic structure, according to welch, is as follows. 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. I initially made it in the forum where i found the original. Chiasmus, the book of mormon, and the aquarian gospel.
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. 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. For some it is a work of ancient origin, for others it is a dubious hoax full of inaccuracies and anachronisms. To see this for ourselves, we had best begin with an example of chiasmus. Chiasmus chiasmus defined chiamus examples rhetorical chiasmus chiasmus defined chiamus examples rhetorical devices esl british pronunciation. In the first place, we have demonstrated the extensive existence of chiasmus in the book of mormon beyond any possible doubt. 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.
There, the text uses a word which is ambiguous in hebrew meaning. Chiasmus in the book of mormon thoughts and truth from the. 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. A scripture wellknown to latterday saints is a good example of a. Textual evidences for the book of mormon religious. 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, and additional ancient texts from both the old and new worlds. We now turn to the question of chiasmus in the book of mormon. Book of mormon commentary alma 36 page 2 of 12 chiasmus sometimes called an inverted parallelism, is a hebrew literary form where words or ideas are arranged in a certain order and then repeated in reverse order. 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. 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. Actually, all that became obvious was the failure of both believers and unbelievers to cite much specific evidence.
Chiasmus in the book of mormon mormonism, the mormon. From the day the book of mormon rolled off the press in 1830, those who gave it credence asserted that it obviously read like a hebrew text. Be sure to read john welchs chapter, chiasmus in the book of mormon. Select one of the links above to view examples of chiasmus in various books of the book of mormon. Chiasmus and book of mormon textual studies deseret book.
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. What is chiasmus and why is it so important in the book of. Why is the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon. Chiasmus in the book of mormon judaicaworld archives. But knowing about parallelism and being able to write mosiah 25 or alma 36 are two very different. Book of mormonanthropologylanguagehebraismschiasmus.
A classic example of the rhetorical value of a chiasmus is seen in the hebrew psalm 82. In the past forty years book of mormon scholars have produced much textual evidence for a vorlage of ancient near eastern descent for the received text of the book of mormon. 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. It is also found throughout the quran and the book of mormon.
So it is, in my opinion, with the issue of chiasmus in the book of mormon. In august 1967, fifty years ago this month, john welch was a young latterday saint on his mission in germany. 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. Our thesaurus has the opposite words and antonyms for chiasmus that youre looking for. Chiasmus in alma 36 handouts for alpine north stake book. The bible, old and new testaments, abound with examples and it is accepted that it is typical of one form of hebraic. This discovery has had a profound impact on book of mormon. A number of hebraisms exist in the structure of the book of mormon.
Chiasmus as verbal judo the root pattern is called chiasmus because diagrammed, it forms an x, and the greek name for x is chi. The basic construct state is seen, for example, in 2 nephi 25. It reminds me more of the example of chiasmus cited in the ces letter than something written by a master of the form like isaiah. Aug 22, 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. This adam clarke information gives grist for the mill of those who think joseph wrote the book of mormon, for sure. The most commonly cited example of chiasmus in the book of mormon is the prophet almas religious experience, as recorded in alma 36. Bro doug maughans book of mormon doctrines and evidences class ppt. Old testament examples could be given of similar construction which would. Chiasmus is a sophisticated literary device that ranges from the most simple, as illustrated above, to complex examples.
All you have to do is make up the first half of the sentence, and then flip a couple of words around for the second half. John welch, who discovered chiasmus in the book of mormon in 1967 wrote the following. 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. Some of these examples may seem to be compelling, but when closely examined, they turn out to be little more than wishful thinking.
Chiasmus as used in the book or mormon are similar to those written in the bible, an ancient hebrew writing. What can we learn from 10 of the best chiasms in the book of mormon. 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 king james quotations in the book of mormon, the history of the text of the book of mormon. If chiasmus can be convincingly identified in the book of mormon, it will testify of the book s ancient origin. 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. Chapter 15 chiasmus in the book of mormon reachout trust. 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. Chiasmus in the book of mormon philosophies of men. Aug 18, 2017 wednesday was the fiftieth anniversary of welchs discovery. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon is one of the most.
They claim that such findings support claims of hebrew origins in the text on the basis that. Yr 12 chemistry topics for an essay sep 2016 what are some chemistry essay topics. The book of mormon, testifying of its past, 34, 12344321 and 123456654321. Hebraisms that could have been known to joseph smith. Chiasmus in the book of mormon book of mormon central.
In this class welch discovered that new testament scholars had recently become aware of an hebrew literary form called chiasmus. Chiasmus in the book of mormon my sunday school teacher jared demke, from west covina. Does chiasmus appear in the book of mormon by chance. In classic rhetoric, this figure of speech can be differentiated from an antimetabole, which is repetition of words in.
Chiasmus in the book of mormon is both a necessary and a natural way of explaining some things in. In chiasmus, the clauses display inverted parallelism. Jan 01, 2004 in 1967 chiasmus was discovered in the book of mormon, and the findings were published in byu studies. Chiasmus and the poetic pagination authentic boredom. Now, 50 years since welchs discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon, we see that his find is. Oct 05, 2012 because mormons claim that examples of chiastic writing in the book of mormon help authenticate the book. 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. Alma makes this spiritual turning point the literary focal point of this entire chapter, one of the finest examples of chiastic composition anywhere in world literature. Since then, two organizations farms and fraa have published extensive literature to show that the book of mormon translated by joseph smith jr. Oct 03, 2017 we had a guest on our show and many of you know him already. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon part 2. The assumption that the book of mormon is western literature is not universally held. In this passage, every single phrase is mirrored by a related phrase.
Chiasmus in the book of mormon byu scholarsarchive. 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. Serving in the lds south german mission at the time, in the city. Critics such as jerald and sandra tanner argue that chiasmus in the book of mormon are a.
Yet most of this material has provided only necessary and not sufficient evidence for this vorlage. Chiasmus in mesoamerican texts book of mormon central. It was also seen in sanskrit, mesopotamian, chinese and egyptian texts. Does the book of mormon contain jewish literary techniques. Also consider that there are several examples in the book of mormon, including alma 36, which is one of the best chiasmus anywhere.
What is chiasmus and how is it used in the book of mormon. Chiasms appear in greek, latin, english and other languages, but it. A literary structure known as chiasmus exists in the book of mormon. But in the case of the chiasms from the book of mormon, these objections can be tossed aside as unconvincing, unsatisfactory, unimaginative, and unintelligent. Chiastic form can give order, emphasis, and completeness to longer passages, such as in the 58th psalm. Welch discovered the first instance of chiasmus in the book of mormon in 1967.
Never let a fool kiss you or a kiss fool you mardy grothe 1999. Scholars have found, with the aid of computers, very complex forms of chiasmus in the book of mormon extending over many verses or even chapters. 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 phenomenon which makes that possible is the presence of chiasmus 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. Chiasmus is both a necessary and natural way of understanding book of mormon literature. Welch published the first study of chiasmus in the book of mormon,1 hundreds of additional book of mormon chiasms have been proposed. It is basically inverted parallelism where words, phrases, or concepts are introduced in ascending order and then repeated in descending order. 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. Book of mormon 1879 lds versification title page simmons, letter, a 1 2 b 1 2 b 1 2 a 1 2. Learn more through the examples of chiasmus, as given in this article.
A concise definition of chiasmus along with usage tips, an expanded explanation. For example, many long and complex chiasmi have been found in shakespeare. Apr 21, 2016 in several articles, i have examined specific cases of alleged chiasmus in the book of mormon. The testimony of the apostles october 12, 2016 november 9, 2016 mark j. 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. This compilation of groundbreaking book of mormon articles is selected from over fifty years of lds scholarship published by byu studies. The pattern chiasmus creates here serves to reiterate and elaborate upon ideas. Criteria for identifying and evaluating the presence of chiasmus jstor. This is the landmark true story of how a young missionary serving in germany, 50 years ago, discovered chiasmus in the book of mormon. A there is an intelligent omnipotent being, who is selfexistent and infinitely b good and benevolent matter eternally existed.
Welch discovered the presence of chiasmus on august 16, 1967 while on his mission in germany. In hebrew, theres two nouns with an implied of, but english uses an adjective. Since that time, a steady stream of publications has greatly illuminated this profound and ancient literary feature. In the simplest, broadest sense, a chiasmus is a literary device that uses inverted parallelism, which can be labelled as a b b a. 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.
Definition and examples of chiasmus figure of speech. Sanderson on january 1, 2000, the first presidency and quorum of the twelve of apostles of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints released a public statement to commemorate the birth of jesus christ two millennia. Video on the discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon book. Welch, a study relating chiasmus in the book of mormon to chiasmus in the. 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. Clear explanation of when and how to write a chiasmus. 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. For this article i am going to discuss an ancient literary form known as chiasmus. Examples of parallelism and chiasmus in the book of mormon. Joseph smith had been dead ten full years before john forbess book was published in scotland.
Chiasmus in the book of mormon religious studies center. Chiasmus in the book of mormon while on a mission in germany in 1967 john welch attended a catholictaught class on the new testament. 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. Examples of chiasmus can be found in the book of mormon. 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. A line of latin verse in the form adjective a adjective b verb noun a. Remarkable book of mormon evidences hidden in plain sight. These verses from the book of mormon use chiasmus to build an argument for embracing god. In order for material in the book of mormon to be sufficient evidence for an ancient near eastern vorlage, as i am using. For those unfamiliar with the term, chiasmus is an ancient literary device that has been found in greek, latin, and hebrew writings. In 1967 chiasmus was discovered in the book of mormon, and the findings were published in byu studies. Chiasmus and the book of mormon utah lighthouse ministry.
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