Religious studies center, brigham young university, 1982, 3352. This discovery has changed the way we forever approach book of mormon scholarship. Our mission is to encourage, sponsor, and publish serious, faithful, gospelrelated materials. Thomasson sees center of this overarching chiasm as the atonement at alma 34. Welch reported his discovery of manyelement chiasms in the book of mormon, which joseph smith testified to have translated from plates written anciently by hebrew descendants. Chiasmus is an invertedparallel literary form that was employed by ancient hebrew biblical writers, among others. These newest books in the book of mormon critical text project analyze every basic type of editorial change or grammatical variation in the book of mormon, beginning with the handwritten manuscripts and considering every major printed edition. 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 considered as evidence for the authenticity of the book as a modern translation of. His mother later recalled that, even into his late teens, he seemed much less.
The tests of authenticity they employ rely on analytical techniques borrowed from such diverse disciplines as history, literature, statistics, and ancient near eastern studies. 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. Watch skousens lecture series on the book of mormon. An understanding of the chiastic construction of alma 36 also impressively. For those unfamiliar with the term, chiasmus is an ancient literary device that has been found in greek, latin, and hebrew writings. Mormonism and the temple academy for temple studies. Shipp was not trying to disprove chiasmus claims in the book of mormon, his study shows that joseph smith had picked up both the rhythm of chiasmus and parallelism.
Now, 50 years since welchs discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon, we see that his find is. Welch, chiasmus in the book of mormon, byu studies 10, 1 autumn 1969. Welch, chiasmus in the book of mormon, brigham young university studies 10 no. 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. Much is owed in the chiasmus story to hugh nibley for teaching a whole generation of lds scholars. So it is, in my opinion, with the issue of chiasmus in the book of mormon. Welch, criteria for identifying and evaluating the presence of chiasmus, journal of book of mormon studies 42 1995. For his first published article on the subject, see john w. 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. The existence of chiasmusparallelism in the book of mormon. Recognizing parallelisms and chiasmus in the scriptures. 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. In his 1832 first vision account, joseph claims that he had studied the bible since he was twelve, so it is quite conceivable he picked up this style from his studies. Chiasmus in the book of mormon mormonism, the mormon.
If you engage lds apologists long enough, eventually youre bound to come across the topic of chiasmus in the book of mormon. The existence of chiasmus parallelism in the book of mormon tells nothing about whether it is an ancient work. Byu studies quarterly volume 10issue 1 article 10 111970 chiasmus in the book of mormon john w. Papers from the fifth annual book of mormon symposium book of mormon symposium series byu rel studies center on. Welch argues in favor of ancient origins for book of mormon chiasmus, demonstrating. What does chiasmus in the book of mormon prove book of mormon authorship revisited. It is found in the bible and the quran and other ancient documents.
Some historical background is provided by john welch in his classic and groundbreaking article, chiasmus in the book of mormon, byu studies, vol. Aug 11, 2009 i first heard about chiasmus in the book of mormon as a student at byu. Faculty members from the byu religious education department discuss the writings and teachings of the book of mormon prophets in this 63part series. Tate, the typology of the exodus pattern in the book of mormon, in literature of belief. In this concluding section of his speech, the people enter into a covenant with god and are called the children of christ. Joseph smith published the book of mormon in 1830 in western new york. Published in the new era, february 1972, pages 611. In 1967 chiasmus was discovered in the book of mormon, and the findings were published in byu studies. Charting the book of mormon byu studies wars scripture reading, scripture study, family. The first page of the book claims that it was written in the language of the egyptians but according to the learning of the jews. Chiasmus is one of the most frequently cited evidences for the authenticity of the book of mormon. The jubilee followed the firstever academic conference on chiasmus where eminent scholars from jewish, catholic, evangelical, and latterday saint faith. Did chiasmus appear in the book of mormon by chance. Chiasmus in the book of mormon mormonism, the mormon church.
Chiasmus in the book of mormon book of mormon central. Chiasmus is an invertedparallel literary form that was employed by. To celebrate this day, we held a gala event on august 16th, for a chiasmus jubilee hosted and organized by byu studies and book of mormon central. Pinnock of the first quorum of the seventy, although feeling that such study is faithpromoting, also cautioned. Roberts 18571933, a general authority of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church, which examine the validity of the book of mormon as a translation of an ancient american source. See the article entitled recent book of mormon news for links to excellent videos shown during and resulting from the remarkable chiasmus jubilee held on byu campus on august 16, 2017. What is chiasmus and how is it used in the book of mormon. Byu studies and book of mormon central held a twoday conference on byus campus on tuesday, august 15th and wednesday, august 16th. As one indicator only, the publication of serious studies on or about the book of. Each of the halfhour episodes covers several chapters from the book of mormon. I first heard about chiasmus in the book of mormon as a student at byu. Chiasmus in the book of mormon or the book of mormon does it again new era, 1972 february.
Foundation for ancient research and mormon studies, isbn 9780934893251 hugh w. Since the publication of the book of mormon in 1830, members and leaders of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints have expressed numerous opinions about the specific locations of the events discussed in the book. 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. Chiasmus and book of mormon textual studies byu studies. 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. The latterday saint movement studies research guide highlights essential resources in the study of all religious groups associated with joseph smith, jr. This form, however, was not widely appreciated as a hallmark of ancient writing in the middle east until this century. A great jubilee celebration is being held at byu this week to commemorate it. 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. Byu as a freshmen in 1964, i signed up for nibleys honors book of mormon class, which covered his approach to the book of mormon, published in hardback that year. That parallelism chiasmus existed in hebrew writing was knowsin joseph smiths day in books that were available to joseph smiith. Book of mormonanthropologylanguagehebraismschiasmus.
Foundation for ancient research and mormon studies. Serious study of the book of mormon by latterday saints is flourishing today as. Chiasmus in the book of mormon brigham young university. The adoption of biblical archaisms in the book of mormon and other. Now comes the question of chiasmus in the book of mormon. It is basically inverted parallelism where words, phrases, or concepts are introduced in ascending order and then repeated in descending order. 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. I was years old when jack welch, then a graduate student at byu and now the editor in chief of byu studies, published his discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon in byu studies. Chiasmus and book of mormon textual studies deseret book.
Like the book of matthew in the bible, king benjamins. Book of mormon authorship religious studies center. Chiasmus in the book of mormon religious studies center. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon is one of the most significant scholarly contributions to understanding and appreciating the nephite record. Aug 29, 2017 for his first published article on the subject, see john w. 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, 2004 in 1967 chiasmus was discovered in the book of mormon, and the findings were published in byu studies.
Chiasmus appears often in the book of mormon, another proof of its authenticity as an ancient hebrew text. Since john welchs discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon in 1967. The phenomenon which makes that possible is the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon. The internal consistency of these descriptions is one of the striking features of the book of mormon. I can still remember my fathers excitement as he told me that an ancient hebrew literary form had been discovered in the book of mormon, and that joseph smith. Oct 03, 2017 we had a guest on our show and many of you know him already. Does chiasmus appear in the book of mormon by chance. Since then, two organizations farms and fraa have published extensive literature to show that the book of mormon translated by joseph smith jr. King benjamin uses chiasmus several times in his great speech in mosiah 25. 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. This database includes records of those publications within byu studies of a literary nature.
The religious studies center is the publishing arm of religious education at brigham young university. The law of witnesses in 2 nephi religious studies center. About the book in this volume, nine latterday saint scholars each address the question of book of mormon authorship from a different approach. Some of these examples may seem to be compelling, but when closely examined, they turn out to be little more than wishful thinking. Means, motive, and opportunity this year marks the 50th anniversary of the discovery of chiasmus, an ancient poetic writing style, in the book of mormon. Includes six copies as well as letters to the editor and handwritten notes. 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 was. Each tab specializes in a particular area of scholarship in the field. For this article i am going to discuss an ancient literary form known as chiasmus. The chiastic structure, according to welch, is as follows. Guidelines for such analysis can be found at john w.
The temple, the book of revelation, and joseph smith. We had a guest on our show and many of you know him already. In the second lecture, the printed editions, skousen discussed his analysis of twenty printed editions of the book of mormonfifteen published by the lds church, four by the rlds church now the community of christ, and one private edition published in 1858 by james wright in new york city. Royal skousen, the original and printers manuscripts, february 26, 20. Forty years later,journal of book of mormon studies. This compilation of groundbreaking book of mormon articles is selected from over fifty years of lds scholarship published by byu studies. Welch, chiasmus in the book of mormon, in book of mormon authorship.
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