A new poetic parallelism in the Book of Helaman

[Bernard Gui]

One of my favorite versions of the Book of Mormon is Donald Parry's "Poetic Parallelisms in the Book of Mormon."

Brother Parry highlights the many poetic parallel forms that are found in the text. This provides insight into the way the various

authors formed their thoughts in parallelistic poetry, and expresses these thoughts more clearly and forcefully.

 For example, this "simple alternate" form in Alma 5:34:

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a   Come unto me and ye shall partake

   b   of the fruit of the tree of life;

a   yea, ye shall eat and drink

   b   of the bread and the waters of life freely.

 

 

And this chiasmus in 2 Nephi 9:28:

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A   O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men!

   B   When they are learned they think they are wise,

      C   and they hearken not unto the counsel of God,

      C   for they set it aside,

   B supposing they know of themselves,

A   wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not.

 

 

My favorite poetic parallel form is the stair step, climax, or anadiplosis, where the reader is

led step by step to an important conclusion. There are at least 24 examples of this form, such as this one in Alma 42:23:

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....if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed

and God would cease to be God.

But God ceaseth not to be God,

and mercy claimant the penitent,

and mercy cometh

because of the atonement;

and the atonement

bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead;

and the resurrection of the dead 

bringeth back men into the presence of God;

and thus they are restored into his presence,

to be judged according to their works, according to the law and justice.

 

 

So, reading the Book of Helaman, chapter 3 verse 35, I found what I think is another example of this stair step form

which describes the step by step process through which the humble Nephites endured the increasing persecution of their

unrighteous brethren :

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Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft

and did wax stronger and stronger in their humilty,

and firmer and  firmer in the faith of Christ,

unto the filling of their souls with joy and consolation,

yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts,

which  sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God.

 

 

A beautiful exposition how fasting and prayer, becoming humble, and seeking faith bring purification and sanctification....because they yielded their hearts to God.

This is a good path for us to consider today during our troubling times.

 

 

 

Edited December 22, 2015 by Bernard Gui

[Bernard Gui]

Donald W. Parry. Poetic Parallelisms in the Book of Mormon: The Complete Text Reformatted. 

The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, Brigham Young University, 2007.

[Robert F. Smith]

Richard Bushman has pointed out that the Book of Mormon is almost post-modern in its self-conscious recognition of some phenomena:

Note the awareness in III Nephi 26:5b

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being on a parallel,
the one on the one hand
and the other on the other hand

This is not the only place in which the editor seems fully aware of what he is doing:  When quoting I Nephi 1:8 in Alma 36:22, or quoting Mosiah 3:8 in Helaman 14:12.

Just so, in the midst of the chiasm of the entire book of Second Nephi, the author actually explicitly declares what he has said:

II Ne 2:3-10 ∥31:17 (“I have told you”)

II Ne 6:8 ∥25:10 (“hath been told them”)

I have an article in preparation on such editorial features of the  Book of Mormon.

[Bernard Gui]

Please let us know when you publish it. I have written an essay on the stair step/anadiplosis forms.

Many of them explain the plan of salvation

. 

Edited December 22, 2015 by Bernard Gui

[consiglieri]

I have long found the Book of Mormon a literary treasure in many aspects, and these that you point out reflect why I feel this way.

I well remember back in 1989 "discovering" a massive and intricate chiasmus in the Book of Alma.  The end of a long sermon ended the way it began.  Then I saw that the second part of the sermon matched the penultimate section.

I mapped the whole thing out with increasing excitement and enthusiasm.

I kept wondering if anybody else had ever seen this.

It was several days after I was done that I found out Jack Welch was way ahead of me.

It was Alma 36.

But I still remember the excitement of discovery!

Merry Christmas!!!

[Robert F. Smith]

8 hours ago, Bernard Gui said:

Please let us know when you publish it. I have written an essay on the stair step/anadiplosis forms.

Many of them explain the plan of salvation

. 

If you would like to see it published, PM me.  I know some people who would be interested.

[Robert F. Smith]

Master Yoda on the opposite path to the Dark Side, from Star Wars:

“Fear leads to anger.

Anger leads to hate.

Hate leads to suffering.”