The phenomenon which makes that possible is the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon. The chiastic structure, according to welch, is as follows. They also provide useful background information and other insights. A forum for exmormons and others who have been affected by mormonism to share news, commentary, and comedy about the mormon church. 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 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. Because mormons claim that examples of chiastic writing in the book of mormon help authenticate the 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.
It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. Chiasmus is a sophisticated literary device that ranges from the most simple, as illustrated above, to complex examples. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Joseph smith had been dead ten full years before john forbess book was published in scotland. Chiasmus in the book of mormon thoughts and truth from.
In his book, early mormonism and the magic world view, d. 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. Book of mormon literature the encyclopedia of mormonism. Oct 26, 2012 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. An instance of this form, called a chiasm, presents two or more literary elements, and then restates them in reverse order. While there, on preparation day, he attended a lecture given by a german bible scholar.
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. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon is one of the most significant scholarly contributions to understanding and appreciating the nephite record. Select one of the links above to view examples of chiasmus in various books of the book of mormon. Chiasmus is a type of parallelism in which the second half of the text parallels in reverse order the first half. Chiasmus is an invertedparallel literary form that was employed by ancient hebrew biblical writers, among others. They claim that such findings support claims of hebrew origins in the text on the basis that. 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. Some of these examples may seem to be compelling, but when closely examined, they turn out to be little more than wishful thinking. 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 and book of mormon textual studies kindle edition. This discovery has had a profound impact on book of mormon. Chiasmus in the book of mormon thoughts and truth from the.
Chiasmus in the book of mormon is evidence of an ancient origin, not conclusive proof. Containing both plain and veiled language, the book of mormon is a spiritually and literarily powerful book that is direct yet complex, simple yet profound. Chiasmus and book of mormon textual studies kindle edition by various authors. Quinn points out that robert lowths study of chiasmus in the bible from 1787 was available in an american edition by 1815, well. Apr 21, 2016 the chiasmus outline looks very good in relation to this criterion. Contrary to past mormon claims, chiasmus was not unknown at the time of joseph smith. 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 consid.
Items do not represent the official views of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints or of book of mormon central. Jul 20, 2014 mormons claim that examples of chiastic writing in the book of mormon help authenticate the book. Oct 03, 2017 we had a guest on our show and many of you know him already. The book of mormon has many examples and, at first sight, this seems impressive. Those who were not so credulous insisted that it obviously read like anything but a hebrew text.
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. Chiasmus in the book of mormon mormonism, the mormon. This poetical form, chiasmus, a type of inverted parallelism, reaches highly artistic heights in the book of mormon and is difficult to ascribe to chance. 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. A hebraism is a reflection of a hebrew idiom or word in a translation language. Quinn points out that robert lowths study of chiasmus in the bible from 1787 was available in an american edition by 1815, well before the 1830 publication of 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. Dec 26, 2010 in his book, early mormonism and the magic world view, d. The book of mormon, indeed a marvelous work and a wonder, is rich beyond our present appreciation. While the book of mormon is richly chiastic, extensive structural chiasmus has yet to be found in any other literature in the world other than the hebrew. No one in america, let alone in western new york, fully understood chiasmus in 1830. Chiasmus in the book of mormon book of mormon central.
The most powerful and beautiful example of chiasmus in the book of mormon and perhaps anywhere. 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. We had a guest on our show and many of you know him already. Items in the bmc archive are made publicly available for noncommercial, private use. Chiasmus in the book of mormon lds church is true blog. The first example of this found in the book of mormon is mosiah 5. He is the author of several articles on literary structure in the book of mormon. In the simplest, broadest sense, a chiasmus is a literary device that uses inverted parallelism, which can be labelled as. Stephen smoot is back and he is going deep on this episode. Chiasmus in the book of mormon judaicaworld archives. Chiasmus are found in the bible, and are considered a style element of ancient hebrew writing.
It is claimed by many within the lds church that special literary patterns found in hebrew writing are also found in the book of mormon, which they. 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 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. It is just one of several complex forms of literary parallelism that are common to other ancient semitic writings. The most commonly cited example of chiasmus in the book of mormon is the prophet almas religious experience, as recorded in alma 36. Jun 16, 2008 the book of mormon, indeed a marvelous work and a wonder, is rich beyond our present appreciation. It is claimed by many within the lds church that special literary patterns found in hebrew writing are also found in the book of mormon, which they feel helps prove that book comes from ancient jewish origins and not from joseph smiths mind. 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. If you engage lds apologists long enough, eventually youre bound to come across the topic of chiasmus in the book of mormon. For those unfamiliar with the term, chiasmus is an ancient literary device that has been found in greek, latin, and hebrew writings. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from.
John welch brought much of chiastic structure in the book of mormon to the forefront. Chiasmus in the book of mormon mormonism, the mormon church. It is found extensively in the bible and is also to be found in the book of mormon, ipso facto, etc. In the simplest, broadest sense, a chiasmus is a literary device that uses inverted parallelism, which can be labelled as a b b a. Video on the discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon. For the book of mormon, first published in 1830, the translation language is english. Chiasmus and book of mormon textual studies deseret book. It is used here by king benjamin to describe the turning around that occurs when ones life is converted to. Mormons claim that examples of chiastic writing in the book of mormon help authenticate the book. Inclusion within the bmc archive does not imply endorsement.
Chiasmus in the book of mormon religious studies center. 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. Book of mormon 1879 lds versification title page simmons, letter, a 1 2 b 1 2 b 1 2 a 1 2. In 1967 chiasmus was discovered in the book of mormon, and the findings were published in byu studies. 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. Michael quinn obliterates welchs claims in a footnote. Aug 18, 2017 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 compilation of groundbreaking book of mormon articles is selected from over fifty years of lds scholarship published by byu studies. 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. Chiasmus is one of the most frequently cited evidences for the authenticity of the book of mormon. I first heard about chiasmus in the book of mormon as a student at byu. Since then, two organizations farms and fraa have published extensive literature to show that the book of mormon translated by joseph smith jr.
A literary structure known as chiasmus exists in 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. The most commonly referenced pattern is a type of parallelism, called a chiasm. If chiasmus can be convincingly identified in the book of mormon, it will testify of the book s ancient origin.
Why is the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon significant. When joseph was translating the record, he could not have known of such things. Examples are the apparent presence of jewish festivals in the book of mormon, and extensive and precise chiasmus. Does chiasmus appear in the book of mormon by chance. In a chiasmus, the text contains repetitions that are structured to form a precisely.
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. Welch discovered a variety of instances of chiasmus in the book of mormon and along with his discovery came attention to the phenomenon. It is basically inverted parallelism where words, phrases, or concepts are introduced in ascending order and then repeated in descending order. Book of mormonanthropologylanguagehebraismschiasmus. The recent discovery in the book of mormon of its characteristically ancient literary structure or technique known as chiasmus. President of the foundation for ancient research and mormon studies, he has contributed to byu studies and is coauthor and general editor of the recently published book, chiasmus in antiquity. Such simple examples of chiasmus are well known in english speech.
Examples of chiasmus can be found in the book of mormon. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon part 2. 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. Chiasmus in the book of mormon while on a mission in germany in 1967 john welch attended a catholictaught class on the new testament. Chiasmus is in a literature if and only if its roots are hebraic. 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 discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon is one of the most significant scholarly contributions to understanding and appreciating the.
It is unknown if there are other apparent instances of chiasmus in the aquarian gospel. 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. The word order of this passage is undeniably chiastic. In this class welch discovered that new testament scholars had recently become aware of an hebrew literary form called chiasmus. Welch, chiastic syllabus of the book of mormon, aba. Thus it seems that we are able to meet the demands of an exceptionally strong conditional here. What can we learn from 10 of the best chiasms in the book of mormon.
Mormon scholars and apologists argue that there are impressive examples of chiasmus in the book of mormon that joseph smith could not have composed and certainly could not have dictated off the cuff. Book of mormonevidenceshebraismschiasmus fairmormon. 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. Does chiasmus prove anything about the book of mormon. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading chiasmus and book of mormon textual studies. Some people, of course, have gone overboard with this search, and caution must be employed. 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. 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 fol lowed forbes and in 1860 a section on. Chiasmus and the book of mormon utah lighthouse ministry. It no longer contains current data and will be sunset by april 30, 2020.
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