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. In this class welch discovered that new testament scholars had recently become aware of an hebrew literary form called chiasmus. Those who were not so convinced insisted that it obviously read like anything but a hebrew text. 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. Chapter 15 chiasmus in the book of mormon reachout trust. Book of mormonanthropologylanguagehebraismschiasmus. Opening the book of mormon itself, we find that it more than fulfills our expectations. 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. Book of mormonevidenceshebraismschiasmus fairmormon. A there is an intelligent omnipotent being, who is selfexistent and infinitely b good and benevolent matter eternally existed. The book of mormon, testifying of its past, 34, 12344321 and 123456654321. Oct 05, 2012 the book of mormon has many examples and, at first sight, this seems impressive.
This compilation of groundbreaking book of mormon articles is selected from over fifty years of lds scholarship published by byu studies. A forum for exmormons and others who have been affected by mormonism to share news, commentary, and comedy about the mormon church. Chiasmus in the book of mormon while on a mission in germany in 1967 john welch attended a catholictaught class on the new testament. Examples of chiasmus can be found in the book of mormon. Chiasmus in the book of mormon philosophies of men. Welch discovered a variety of instances of chiasmus in the book of mormon and along with his discovery came attention to the phenomenon. Chiasmus and book of mormon textual studies deseret book. It is found extensively in the bible and is also to be found in the book of mormon, ipso facto, etc. 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.
The book of mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the. 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. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. For example, and it came to pass that as i, nephi, went forth to slay food, behold.
They also provide useful background information and other insights. They claim that such findings support claims of hebrew origins in the text on the basis that. The chiasmus in the book of mormon are highly structured features, some of. In 1967 chiasmus was discovered in the book of mormon, and the findings were published in byu studies. Chiasmus in the book of abraham pearl of great price central. Actually, all that became obvious was the failure of both believers and unbelievers to cite much specific evidence.
What is chiasmus and why is it so important in the book of. The king james quotations in the book of mormon, the history of the text of the book of mormon. An outline of the textual structure of the book of mormon. Finally, the clip covers a little about why this was an important discovery and what chiasmus in the book of mormon could mean. This discovery has had a profound impact on book of mormon. 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. Much has been said about the use of chiasmus in the book of mormon. 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. Mormon included in his compilation the first six books as they were written. But o, what damned minutes tells he oer who dotes, yet doubts.
Video on the discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon. In the book of mormon, jesus previous life is as the lord omnipotent. 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. Thus, the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon would reveal new ways in which the book of mormon is true to itself, true to its general cultural origins, and truly a remarkable piece of religious literature in its own right.
The presence of chiasmus in mayan texts may only disclose that the rhetorical device can emerge independently in the writings of an isolated ancient culture. While there, on preparation day, he attended a lecture given by a german bible scholar. If chiasmus can be convincingly identified in the book of mormon, it will testify of the book s ancient origin. The most commonly cited example of chiasmus in the book of mormon is the prophet almas religious experience, as recorded in alma 36. In the last fifty years, hundreds of chiasms from the book of mormon have been proposed and studied. Chiasmus is a sophisticated literary device that ranges from the most simple, as illustrated above, to complex examples. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon part 2. Joseph smith had been dead ten full years before john forbess book was published in scotland. Chiasmus in the book of mormon book of mormon central. 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. The second article is a long, technical response with full documentation. Chiasmus, or inverted parallelism, is a twopart literary structure or system in which the second half is a mirror image of the first, i.
This form of inverted parallelism has been found in the bible, the book of mormon, and in many other ancient writings. The book of mormon comprises fifteen books, each named after its principal writer. Serving in the lds south german mission at the time, in the city. Studies of the book of mormon is a collection of essays written at the beginning of the 20th century though not published until 1985 by b. Furthermore, while it is common in the bible, old and new testaments, as well as the book of mormon, it is by no means restricted to these. 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. Aug 11, 2009 i first heard about chiasmus in the book of mormon as a student at byu.
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 in the book of mormon byu scholarsarchive. 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. 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. Before chiasmus, we all tended to read the book of mormon, and the bible for. Chiasmus in the book of mormon religious studies center. The first article here is a short, relatively nontechnical response to this claim. Stephen smoot is back and he is going deep on this episode.
Those who were not so credulous insisted that it obviously read like anything but a hebrew text. 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. Aug 18, 2017 wednesday was the fiftieth anniversary of welchs discovery. Jubilee marks 50 years from book of mormon chiasmus. No one in america, let alone in western new york, fully understood chiasmus in 1830.
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. Such simple examples of chiasmus are well known in english speech. An outline of the textual structure of the book of mormon by j. 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. Indeed, the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon may be evidence of joseph smiths own literary style and genius. 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. For those unfamiliar with the term, chiasmus is an ancient literary device that has been found in greek, latin, and hebrew writings. Includes six copies as well as letters to the editor and handwritten notes. It is in a sense, a forecasting of matthews dual jesus. See, for example, the debate, a couple of years ago, when richard. 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. Some of these examples may seem to be compelling, but when closely examined, they turn out to be little more than wishful thinking. The chiastic structure, according to welch, is as follows. And i would that ye should remember also, that this is the name that i said i should give unto you that never should be blotted out, except it be through transgression.
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. Poetic structures and textual criticism of the book of mormon. Time now for a few final evaluations of what we have learned about chiasmus in the book of mormon. In some cases, the authors undoubtedly intended to use that form for literary effect that is, by design. Ostler as sistant professor of church history and doctrine, byu from revelations of the restoration. 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. The amazing true story of how chiasmus was discovered in. There are many references to steel in the book of mormon. The book of mormon the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. So it is, in my opinion, with the issue of chiasmus in the book of mormon. Chiasmus in the book of mormon or the book of mormon does it again new era, 1972 february. A commentary on the doctrine and covenants and other modern revel ations salt lake city, ut.
Chiasmus in the book of mormon mormonism, the mormon. A number of details from the book of mormon text appear to support a view of the book as a rather literal translation from an ancient document. Chiasmus is both a necessary and natural way of understanding book of mormon literature. An instance of this form, called a chiasm, presents two or more literary elements, and then restates them in reverse order. 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. Jan, 2015 once again i bring up the appearance of the parallel poetic form climax, gradation parallelism, or anadiplosis in the book of mormon. The most important way nephi used it, however, was to testify of christ. Jan 11, 2016 and it has john all over the face of it. Welch reported his discovery of manyelement chiasms in the book. I bring it up once more because i have come to believe it is evidence that joseph smith did not author the book of mormon. Chiasmus is one of the most frequently cited evidences for the authenticity of the book of mormon. Oct 03, 2017 we had a guest on our show and many of you know him already. When adding biographies, be sure to add a category link seen at bottom of this edit page so that it will be added.
Before the announcement in a 1988 publication of two bone samples, there was no archaeological evidence to confirm the existence of lions in that region. Mormons claim that examples of chiastic writing in the book of mormon help authenticate the book. Fairmormon is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing welldocumented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. 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. Because mormons claim that examples of chiastic writing in the book of mormon help authenticate the book. To see this for ourselves, we had best begin with an example of chiasmus. Nevertheless, we would expect it to be present in central america if writings of the book of mormon peoples endured and influenced ancient groups of american peoples. For example, the delaware indians named the cow after the deer, and the miami indians labeled sheep, when they were first seen, lookslikea cow. 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 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. This month marks 50 years since the ancient hebrew writing format chiasmus was discovered in the book of mormon by john welch while he was a missionary serving in regensburg, germany, in 1967. It is basically inverted parallelism where words, phrases, or concepts are introduced in ascending order and then repeated in descending order. The most famous example of this is chapter 36 of the book of alma.
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. 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. 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. Over the last fifty years, alma 36 has, by far, been the most celebrated and studied example of chiasmus in the book of mormon. 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. It was also seen in sanskrit, mesopotamian, chinese and egyptian texts.
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. 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. 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 421. Since then, two organizations farms and fraa have published extensive literature to show that the book of mormon translated by joseph smith jr. The phenomenon which makes that possible is the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon. A literary structure known as chiasmus exists 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. 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. The complete text reformatted takes the entire text of the book of mormon and reformats it so that readers can clearly identify its poetic forms. Chiasmus conference speakers book of mormon central.
The book of mormon has excited very little enthusiasm outside of. Apr 21, 2016 in several articles, i have examined specific cases of alleged chiasmus in the book of mormon. 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. 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. This is an odd phrase, and one that seems almost creedal in its intent. For some it is a work of ancient origin, for others it is a dubious hoax full of inaccuracies and anachronisms. In the simplest, broadest sense, a chiasmus is a literary device that uses inverted parallelism, which can be labelled as a b b a. Chiasmus in mayan texts book of mormon archaeological forum. 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 bible and the book of mormon work together to invite all people to follow jesus. Chiasmus, the book of mormon, and the aquarian gospel. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to.
I initially made it in the forum where i found the original. Jesus said, the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. Select one of the links above to view examples of chiasmus in various books of the book of mormon. Im not sure exactly what forum would be suitable for this thread. Welch noted in 1995, there are varying degrees of chiasticity, and while many proposed chiasms are impressive and interesting. Chiasmus and the book of mormon utah lighthouse ministry. The assumption that the book of mormon is western literature is not universally held. For example, the bible teaches about one lord, one faith, one baptism.
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. A significant development during the second half of the 20th century was the growing awareness and understanding of chiasmus in ancient literature. 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 is an invertedparallel literary form that was employed by ancient hebrew biblical writers, among others. Chiasmus in the book of mormon judaicaworld archives. Chiasmus balances words or phrases with similar, though not identical, meanings.