So it is, in my opinion, with the issue of chiasmus in the book of mormon. 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. Contrary to past mormon claims, chiasmus was not unknown at the time of joseph smith. Chiasms appear in greek, latin, english and other languages, but it. Chiasmus in the book of mormon religious studies center. 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. Select one of the links above to view examples of chiasmus in various books of the book of mormon. Chiasmus in the book of abraham pearl of great price central. Serving in the lds south german mission at the time, in the city. An instance of this form, called a chiasm, presents two or more literary elements, and then restates them in reverse order. It is just one of several complex forms of literary parallelism that are common to other ancient semitic writings. Chiasmus in the book of mormon judaicaworld archives. The most famous example of this is chapter 36 of the book of alma.
Chiasmus in the book of mormon book of mormon central. Sep 18, 2015 chiasmus are found in the bible, and are considered a style element of ancient hebrew writing. Book of mormonevidenceshebraismschiasmus fairmormon. It is found in the bible and the quran and other ancient documents. Chiasmus in the book of mormon is evidence of an ancient origin, not conclusive proof. Chiasmus in the book of mormon mormonism, the mormon. 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. 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. Chiasmus and book of mormon textual studies kindle edition by various authors. 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. The book of mormon has many examples and, at first sight, this seems. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon is one of the most significant scholarly contributions to understanding and appreciating the nephite record. Does chiasmus appear in the book of mormon by chance.
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. Welch discovered the presence of chiasmus on august 16, 1967 while on his mission in germany. 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. His research into literary forms in ancient scriptures led him to the original discovery in 1967 of chiasmus in the book of mormon. 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. 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 mormon byu scholarsarchive. It is also found throughout the quran and the book of mormon. Time now for a few final evaluations of what we have learned about 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. Jan 01, 2004 in 1967 chiasmus was discovered in the book of mormon, and the findings were published in byu studies. Indeed, the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon may be evidence of joseph smiths own literary style and genius.
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. While there, on preparation day, he attended a lecture given by a german bible scholar. Chiasmus in the book of mormon mormonism, the mormon church. How else, except by chiasmus, can we explain the postponed interpretation of the vision of the tree of life. 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. Chiasmus is an elegant literary device where parallel phrases are inverted. A there is an intelligent omnipotent being, who is selfexistent and infinitely b good and benevolent matter eternally existed. Chiasmus, the book of mormon, and the aquarian gospel. 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, and since that time, chiasmus has served as a profound witness for the beauty and complexity of 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. 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. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading chiasmus and book of mormon textual studies.
In the first place, we have demonstrated the extensive existence of chiasmus. 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. 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. 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. That parallelism chiasmus existed in hebrew writing was knowsin joseph smiths day in books that were available to joseph smiith. Those who were not so credulous insisted that it obviously read like anything but a hebrew text. In this passage, every single phrase is mirrored by a related phrase. Chiasmus in the book of mormon or the book of mormon does it again new era, 1972 february. Since then, two organizations farms and fraa have published extensive literature to show that the book of mormon translated by joseph smith jr. The amazing true story of how chiasmus was discovered in the.
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. Examples of chiasmus can be found in the book of mormon. What is chiasmus and why is it so important in the book of. 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, or inverted parallelism, is a twopart literary structure or system in which the second half is a mirror image of the first, i. The most commonly cited example of chiasmus in the book of mormon is the prophet almas religious experience, as recorded in alma 36. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon part 2. 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 was republished in 1992 and the preface written by two academics summarises the reception of the original book. The wednesday evening chiasmus jubilee will feature guest speakers, musical numbers, and special presentations on chiasmus in the book of mormon. 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. Since that time, a steady stream of publications has greatly illuminated this profound and ancient literary feature. 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.
Chiasmus is both a necessary and natural way of understanding book of mormon literature. This discovery has had a profound impact on book of mormon. Chiasmus can be used in the structure of entire passages to parallel concepts or ideas. Oct 26, 2012 see in particular the chapter on chiasmus. Chiasmus in the scriptures biblical chiasm exchange. 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.
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. Religious studies center, brigham young university, 1982, 3352. What more can we learn from 10 of the best chiasms in the book. These verses from the book of mormon use chiasmus to build an argument for embracing god. In the first place, we have demonstrated the extensive existence of chiasmus in the book of mormon beyond any possible doubt. Chiasmus is a literary form which is used extensively in the bible. 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. Why is the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon significant. In 1967 chiasmus was discovered in the book of mormon, and the findings were published in byu studies. For this article i am going to discuss an ancient literary form known as chiasmus. In a chiasmus, the text contains repetitions that are structured to form a precisely. 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. Welch 1946 discovered chiasmus in the book of mormon and founded the foundation for ancient research and mormon studies farms. 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.
Jubilee marks 50 years from book of mormon chiasmus discovery. 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. Chiasmus and the book of mormon utah lighthouse ministry. More often than not, the prophets of the book of mormon use chiasmus as a device through which they can focus our attention. A literary structure known as chiasmus exists in 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. 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. This process, termed conceptual chiasmus, uses a crisscrossing rhetorical structure to cause an overlapping of intellectual space. Welch, chiastic syllabus of the book of mormon, aba. Chiasmus is one of the most frequently cited evidences for the authenticity of the book of mormon. Chiasmus are found in the bible, and are considered a style element of ancient hebrew writing. The pattern chiasmus creates here serves to reiterate and elaborate upon ideas. 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 in the book of mormon lds church is true blog. 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. Such simple examples of chiasmus are well known in english speech. 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. 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. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon part 2, knowhy.
This is the landmark true story of how a young missionary serving in germany, 50 years ago, discovered chiasmus in the book of mormon. 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. Possible evidence of authenticity ancient hebrew middle eastern poetry in the book of mormon. 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. Free admission preregistration encouraged chiasmus. Essentially, chiasmus is a kind of highly structured repetition.
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. Book of mormonanthropologylanguagehebraismschiasmus. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. 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. Chiasmus is an invertedparallel literary form that was employed by ancient hebrew biblical writers, among others. 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 chiastic structure, according to welch, is as follows. Chiasmus and book of mormon textual studies kindle edition. 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. 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. 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. Chiasmus was popular in the ancient languages like greek, latin, and especially hebrew. 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. The examples are strong enough that they are difficult to explain if we assume that.
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