Joseph's Heirs Were Gifted Linguists

Parallelism Styles Featured by Writers:

 

The Nephite writers were master linguists. 

While many parallelism styles exist within the Book of Mormon, some writers emphasized certain types of parallelism.

Here are some observations from their writings:

 

Lehi:                            Chiastic Parallels
Nephi:                          Anadiplosis Parallelism, Chiasm
Jacob:                          Synthetic Parallels

King Benjamin:            Janus Parallelism (Word play)

Alma:                           Beautiful Synthetic parallelisms

Helaman:                    Climactic Parallels (Parallels end in profound conclusions)
Samuel:                       Synonymous Parallels (Word repetition)
Jesus:                           Master Linguist, (Jesus' words contain world's longest chiasm)
Mormon:                     Master Linguist

 

Examples of writing styles:

Lehi-Examples of Chiasms

 

2 Nephi 1:105-111

TRANSGRESSION/FALL	A	And after that Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit,
SEPARATION FROM GOD	B		They were driven out from the garden of Eden to till the earth;
ALL HUMANITY	C		And they have brought forth children.
			Yea, even the family of all the earth;
DAYS LENGTHENED	D		And the days of the children of men were prolonged according to the will of            God,
THIS LIFE IS PROBATION TO REPENT	X		That they might repent while in the flesh;
			Wherefore, their state became a state of probation.
DAYS LENGTHENED	D`		And their time was lengthened,
			According to the commandments which the Lord God gave unto the        children of men,
ALL HUMANITY	C`		For He gave commandment that all men must repent
SEPARATION FROM GOD	B`		For He showed unto all men that they were lost
			Because of the transgression of their parents.
TRANSGRESSION/FALL	A`	And now behold if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen.
		But he would have remained in the garden of Eden

 

 

2 NEPHI 1:71-74
OFFERING OF CHRIST	A	Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah,
GRACE	B		For He is full of grace and truth;
HIS MERIT	C			Behold, He offereth Himself a sacrifice for sin
THE LAW ANSWERED	D				to answer the ends of the law
TO THE BROKEN AND CONTRITE	X					unto all those which have a broken heart and a contrite spirit
THE LAW ANSWERED	D`				And unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.
HIS MERIT	C`			Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth,
				That they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God,
				save it be through the merits
GRACE	B`		and mercy and grace
			of the Holy Messiah,
OFFERING OF CHRIST	A`	Which layeth down His life,
		according to the flesh.
		And taketh it again,
		by the power of the Spirit,

 

2 NEPHI 1:85-86
CREATION	A	Wherefore, it must needs have been created
FOR NO PURPOSE	B		For a thing of naught;
FOR NO PURPOSE	B`		Wherefore, there would have been no purpose
CREATION	A`	In the end of its creation;

 

Lehi Anadiplosis:

 

2 Nephi 1:88-2 Nephi 1:93

"And if ye shall say there is no law,

   ye shall also say there is no sin;
And if ye shall say there is no sin,

   ye shall also say there is no righteousness;
And if there be no righteousness,

   there be no happiness;
And if there be no righteousness nor happiness,

there be no punishment nor misery;
And if these things are not,

   there is no God;

(Epiphora follows:)

And if there is no God we are not,

neither the earth,

For there could have been no creation of things,

          neither to act,

          nor to be acted upon;

Wherefore, all things must have vanished away.

(LDS: 2 Nephi 2:13)

2 Nephi 1:80 

Wherefore, the ends of the law

which the Holy One hath given unto the inflicting of the punishment,

    which is affixed,

Which punishment that is affixed

    is in opposition to that of the happiness,

    which is affixed.

To answer the ends of the atonement. 

(LDS: 2 Nephi 2:10)

 

 

Nephi-Examples of Chiasms

2 Nephi 11:58-73

SHALL APPEAR	A	And after that Christ shall have risen from the dead He shall show Himself unto you my children and my beloved brethren
HIS WORDS	B	And the words which He shall speak unto you shall be the law which ye shall do
NEPHI BEHOLDS	C	For behold I say unto you that I have beheld that many generations shall pass away
THE GENERATIONS	D	And there shall be great wars and contentions among my people
SIGNS GIVEN	E	And after that the Messiah shall come there shall be signs given unto my people of         His birth and also of His death and resurrection And great and terrible shall that day be unto the wicked
PERISH	F	for they shall perish
CAST OUT PROPHETS	G	And they perish because they cast out the prophets and the saints and stone them and slay them
CENTER OF CHIASM	X	Wherefore the cry of the blood of the saints shall ascend up to God from the ground against them                    Wherefore all they that are proud and that do wickedly the day that cometh shall burn them up saith the Lord of Hosts                    for they shall be as stubble
CAST OUT PROPHETS	G	And they that kill the prophets and the saints
PERISH	F	the depths of the earth shall swallow them up saith the Lord of Hosts And mountains shall cover them             And whirlwinds shall carry them away             And buildings shall fall upon them and crush them to pieces and grind them to powder
SIGNS GIVEN	E	And they shall be visited with thunderings and lightnings and earthquakes and all manner of destructions           For the fire of the anger of the Lord shall be kindled against them and they shall be as stubble           And the day that cometh shall consume them saith the Lord of Hosts
THE GENERATIONS	D	O the pain and the anguish of my soul for the loss of the slain of my people
NEPHI BEHOLDS	C	For I Nephi hath seen it And it well nigh consumeth me before the presence of the Lord     But I must cry unto my God Thy ways are just
HIS WORDS	B	But behold the righteous that hearken unto the words of the prophets and destroy them not but look forward unto Christ with steadfastness for the signs which are given notwithstanding all persecutions Behold they are they which shall not perish
JESUS APPEARS	A	But the Son of Righteousness shall appear unto them and He shall heal them

 

Nephi Anadiplosis:

2 Nephi 11:49-2 Nephi 11:50

Wherefore, we speak concerning the law,

that our children may know the deadness of the law;
And they,

by knowing the deadness of the law, may look forward unto that life which is in Christ and know for what end the law was given;

(LDS: 2 Nephi 25:27)

2 Nephi 11:53-2 Nephi 11:55

And the words which I have spoken shall stand as a testimony against you,

For they are sufficient to teach any man the right way;
For the right way is to believe in Christ

   and deny Him not,

For by denying Him

    ye also deny the prophets and the law.
(Epiphora follows:)

And now behold, I say unto you that the right way

   is to believe in Christ and deny Him not;

And Christ is the Holy One of Israel.

(LDS: 2 Nephi 25:29)

2 Nephi 11:62-2 Nephi 11:63

And great and terrible shall that day be unto the wicked, for they shall perish;
And they perish because they cast out the prophets and the saints

and stone them and slay them;

(LDS: 2 Nephi 26:3)

2 Nephi 11:1-2 Nephi 11:3

Now I, Nephi, do speak somewhat concerning the words which I have written,

which have been spoken by the mouth of Isaiah;
For behold, Isaiah spake many things

which were hard for many of my people to understand,

For they know not concerning the manner of prophesying among the Jews,
For I, Nephi, have not taught them many things concerning the manner of the Jews,

For their works

     were works of darkness

and their doings

     were doings of abomination.

(LDS: 2 Nephi 25:2)

2 Nephi 11:52-2 Nephi 11:56

And now behold, my people, ye are a stiff-necked people;

Wherefore, I have spoken plain unto you,

     that ye cannot misunderstand;
And the words which I have spoken

 shall stand as a testimony against you,

For they are sufficient to teach any man the right way;
For the right way is to believe in Christ

and deny Him not,

For by denying Him

ye also deny the prophets and the law.

(Epiphora follows:)
And now behold, I say unto you that

the right way is to believe in Christ and deny Him not;

And Christ is the Holy One of Israel.
Wherefore, ye must bow down before Him and worship Him with all your might, mind and strength and your whole soul;

And if ye do this, ye shall in no wise be cast out;

(LDS: 2 Nephi 25:29)

2 Nephi 11:49-2 Nephi 11:51

Wherefore, we speak concerning the law, that our children may know the deadness of the law;
And they, by knowing the deadness of the law,

may look forward unto that life which is in Christ

     and know for what end the law was given;

(Epiphora follows:)
And after that the law is fulfilled in Christ,

 that they need not harden their hearts against Him

when the law had ought to be done away.

2 Nephi 14:3-2 Nephi 14:4

And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels

save it were by the Holy Ghost?

Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost,

wherefore, they speak the words of Christ.
Wherefore, I said unto you:

(Epiphora follows:)

Feast upon the words of Christ,

For behold, the words of Christ

will tell you all things what ye should do.

(LDS: 2 Nephi 32:3)

2 Nephi 14:7-2 Nephi 14:8

Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ;

And there will be no more doctrine given

until after that He shall manifest Himself unto you in the flesh;
And when He shall manifest Himself unto you in the flesh,

The things which He shall say unto you shall ye observe to do.

(LDS: 2 Nephi 32:6)

 

 

Jacob Anadiplosis:

 

2 Nephi 6:11-2 Nephi 6:14

For as death hath passed upon all men

to fulfill the merciful plan of the great Creator,

there must needs be a power of resurrection,
And the resurrection must needs come unto man

     by reason of the fall,
And the fall came

     by reason of transgression;
And because man became fallen (i.e. transgression), they were cut off from the presence of the Lord;

(LDS: 2 Nephi 9:6)

Jacob 2:22-Jacob 2:24

Think of your brethren like unto yourselves

and be familiar with all

and free with your substance,

that they may be rich like unto you;
But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God;
And after that ye have obtained a hope in Christ,

ye shall obtain riches if ye seek them.

And ye will seek them for the intent to do good:

to clothe the naked and to feed the hungry,

and to liberate the captive,

and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.
(LDS: Jacob 2:19)

 

 

Alma was a wordsmith:

 

Alma 17:9 

And the angel spake more things unto me which were heard by my brethren,

But I did not hear them,

For when I heard the words - If thou wilt be destroyed of thyself, seek no more to destroy the church of God,

 I was struck with such great fear and amazement,

   Lest perhaps that I should be destroyed,

That I fell to the earth and I did hear no more. 

(The shift in destroyed of thyself vs destroy the church of God is a Janus parallelism, or play on words)

(LDS: Alma 36:11)

 

Alma 17:79 

For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ,

   Which will point to you a strait course to eternal bliss,

As it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass,

   Which would point unto them a strait course to the Promised Land. 

(The Janus parallelism involves the comparison between giving heed to the word of Christ and giving heed to the compass, and the strait course to the promised land vs the strait course to eternal life.)

(LDS: Alma 37:44)

 

Alma 17:81-Alma 17:82

O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way,

for so was it with our fathers.

For so was it prepared for them that if they would look they might live.

Even so it is with us the way is prepared –

   And if we will look we may live forever.
(Janus parallelism:  the subtle shift in looking at a compass, vs looking at Christ to live forever.

One to live physically, the other to live eternally)

(LDS: Alma 37:46)

 

Alma 21:57 And he saith:

Even as this remnant of garment of my son hath been preserved,

So shall a remnant of the seed of my son be preserved by the hand of God

   and be taken unto Himself,

While the remainder of the seed of Joseph shall perish,

   even as the remnant of his garment. 

(Janus Parallelism:

1. "Even as this remnant of garment of my son hath been preserved" - The remnant of the garment is preserved.
2. "So shall a remnant of the seed of my son be preserved by the hand of God and be taken unto Himself" - The parallelism continues, indicating that a remnant of the seed of Joseph will be preserved by God.
3. "While the remainder of the seed of Joseph shall perish, even as the remnant of his garment" - The contrast comes in, stating that the remaining seed of Joseph will perish, drawing a comparison to the fate of the remnant of his garment.)

(LDS: Alma 46:24)

 

Samuel the Lamanite spoke beautiful Synonymous parallels:

 

Helaman 5:36-48

Yea, you will say that he is a false prophet

And that he is a sinner and of the devil

Because he testifieth that your deeds are evil.

But behold, if a man shall come among you and shall say,

Do this and there is no iniquity, do that and ye shall not suffer ' –

Yea, he will say Walk after the pride of your own hearts,

Yea, walk after the pride of your eyes

And do whatsoever your heart desireth

And if a man shall come among you and say this,

 

Ye will receive him and ye will say that he is a prophet;

Yea, ye will lift him up and ye will give unto him of your substance –

Ye will give unto him of your gold and of your silver,

And ye will clothe him with costly apparel -

And because he speaketh flattering words unto you and he saith that all is well,

And then ye will not find any fault with him.

O ye wicked and ye perverse generation.

Ye hardened and ye stiff-necked people.

How long will ye suppose that the Lord will suffer you?

Yea, how long will ye suffer yourselves to be led by foolish and blind guides?

Yea, how long will ye choose darkness rather than light?

Yea, behold, the anger of the Lord is already kindled against you.

Behold, He hath cursed the land because of your iniquity;

And behold, the time cometh that He curseth your riches;

That it becometh slippery,

That ye cannot hold them;

And in the days of your poverty, ye cannot retain them;

And in the days of your poverty, ye shall cry unto the Lord;

And in vain shall ye cry,

For your desolation is already come upon you,

And your destruction is made sure.

 

And then shall ye weep and howl in that day, ' saith the Lord of Hosts.

And then shall ye lament, and say:

O that I had repented

   And had not killed the prophets

   And stoned them and cast them out.

Yea, in that day shall ye say:

O that we had remembered the Lord our God in the day that He gave us our riches.

   And then they would not have become slippery, that we should lose them.

   For behold, our riches are gone from us-

   Behold, we layeth a tool here and on the morrow it is gone;

   And behold, our swords are taken from us in the day we have sought them for battle;

Yea, we have hid up our treasures

And they have slipped away from us because of the curse of the land.

 

'O that we had repented in the day that the word of the Lord came unto us.

For behold, the land is cursed,

And all things are become slippery,

And we cannot hold them.

 

Helaman 5:65-66

And ye shall hear my words! For, for this intent I have come up upon the walls of this city,

That ye might hear and know of the judgments of God which doth await you because of your iniquities;

And also that ye might know the conditions of repentance;

 

And also that ye might know of the coming of Jesus Christ the Son of God,

the Father of heaven and of earth,

the Creator of all things from the beginning;

And that ye might know of the signs of His coming,

to the intent that ye might believe on His name;

 

Helaman 5:79-80

And behold, there shall be great tempests,

And there shall be many mountains laid low, like unto a valley,

And there shall be many places which are now called valleys which shall become mountains, whose height thereof is great;

 

And many highways shall be broken up,

And many cities shall become desolate,

And many graves shall be opened and shall yield up many of their dead;

And many saints shall appear unto many.

 

 

 

Jesus' words, perfect parallels:

3 Nephi 4:49 

And ye shall offer up unto Me no more the shedding of blood.

   Yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away,

For I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.

   And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto Me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. 

(Janus Parallelism: A physical sacrifice vs a spiritual sacrifice)

(LDS: 3 Nephi 9:20)

3 Nephi 13:47 

For whoso receiveth not the words of Jesus,

   and the words of them which He hath sent,

receiveth not Him.

And therefore, He will not receive them at the last day.

And it would be better for them if they had not been born. 

(Janus parallelism in this passage. The contrasting pairs include:

1. Receiveth not the words of Jesus vs. Receiveth the words of Jesus
2. Receiveth not the words of them which He hath sent vs. Receiveth the words of them which He hath sent
3. Will not receive them at the last day vs. Will receive them at the last day
4. Better for them if they had not been born vs. Better for them if they had been born)