1. BM 122 5—Alma 36 I need thee every hour--98

2. Alma 36 Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon A A B B Hebrew prophets often used a poetic literary form called “chiasmus” (ki-Az-mus). Chiasmus followed a predictable pattern of repeated words or ideas placed in a reverse order. Here is an illustration of a simple chiasmus:

3. Alma 36 Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon Read Matthew 10:39 and look for an example of Chiasmus. See the example below: He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. A A B B

4. …whosoever shall not take…the name of Christ must be called by some other name; …he findeth himself on the left hand of God. …remember also…the name that never should be blotted out except it be through transgression; therefore, take heed that ye do not transgress that the name be not blotted out... …remember to retain the name… that ye are not found on the left hand of God …know the voice by which ye shall be called and also, the name by which he shall call you. Alma 36 Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon A A B B C C Chiasmus points to a central thought or principle. Note the example Mosiah 5:10-12 below. D D E E F F except it be through transgression; therefore, take heed that ye do not transgress

5. Alma 36 Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon Alma used chiasmus to tell the story of his conversion. Compare the verse(s) in each row below (A, B, etc.) and underline in your scriptures words or phrases that relate to each other. Position Verse(s) A130 B228-29 C327 D4-526 E624 F1023 G1422 H1619-21 I1718

6. Alma 36 Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon A. Verse 1 B. Verse 2 C. Verse 3 D. Verse 4-5 E. Verse 6 F. Verse 10 G. Verse 14 H. Verse 16 I. Verse 17 I. Verse 18 H. Verse 19-21 G. Verse 22 F. Verse 23 E. Verse 24 D. Verse 26 C. Verse 27 B. Verse 28-29 A. Verse 30 Keep the commandments, prosper in the land God’s deliverance from bondage and captivity God’s support during trials, troubles, and afflictions My knowledge is of God; Born of God Seeking to destroy the church of God Laboring to bring souls unto repentance Could not open mouth, or use limbs Limbs did receive strength; manifested unto the people Soul racked with inexpressible horror Singing and praising; my soul did long to be there The pains of a damned soul Pains no more, joy marvelous light Remembering Jesus Christ, the Son of God “O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me”

7. If chiasmus can be convincingly identified in the Book of Mormon, it will testify of the book's ancient origin. No one in America, let alone in western New York, fully understood chiasmus in 1830. Joseph Smith had been dead ten full years before John Forbes's book was published in Scotland. Even many prominent Bible scholars today know little about chiastic forms beyond the name and a few passages where they might to found.

8. The possibility of Joseph Smith's noticing the form accidentally is also remote, since most biblical passages containing inverted word orders have been rearranged into natural word orders in the King James translation. Even had he known of the form, he would still have had the overwhelming task of written original, artistic chiastic sentences. Try writing a sonnet of a multi-termed chiasm yourself: your appreciation of these forms will turn to awe.

9. Alma 36 Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon “Christ is the power behind all repentance.... Alma had been touched by the teaching of his father, but it is particularly important that the prophecy he remembered was one regarding ‘the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.’ (Alma 36:17.) That is the name and that is the message that every person must hear....” (Jeffrey R. Holland, However Long and Hard the Road [1985], 85).

10. Suffering “If a person hasn’t suffered, he hasn’t repented…He has got to go through a change in his system whereby he suffers and then forgiveness is a possibility” (Spencer W. Kimball, T.S.W.K., 99) “The purpose of the personal suffering…is not to punish the transgressor, but to change him” (Dallin H. Oaks, “Sins, Crimes and Atonement, 6).

11. Alma 37

12. Enlarge our memory…? “The scriptures enlarge our memory by helping us always to remember the Lord and our relationship to Him and the Father. They remind us of what we knew in our premortal life. And they expand our memory in another sense by teaching us about epochs, people, and events that we did not experience personally. None of us was present to see the Red Sea part and cross with Moses between walls of water to the other side. We were not there to hear the Sermon on the Mount, to see Lazarus raised from the dead, to see the suffering Savior in Gethsemane and on the cross, and we did not, with Mary, hear the two angels testify at the empty tomb that Jesus was risen from the dead. You and I did not go forward one by one with the multitude in the land Bountiful at the resurrected Savior’s invitation to feel the prints of the nails and bathe His feet with our tears. We did not kneel beside Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove and gaze there upon the Father and the Son. Yet we know all these things and much, much more because we have the scriptural record to enlarge our memory, to teach us what we did not know. And as these things penetrate our minds and hearts, our faith in God and His Beloved Son takes root. The scriptures also enlarge our memory by helping us not forget what we and earlier generations have learned. Those who either don’t have or ignore the recorded word of God eventually cease to believe in Him and forget the purpose of their existence. You will remember how important it was for Lehi’s people to take the brass plates with them when they left Jerusalem. These scriptures were key to their knowledge of God and the coming Redemption of Christ. The other group that “came out from Jerusalem” shortly after Lehi had no scriptures, and when Lehi’s descendants encountered them some 300 or 400 years later, it is recorded that “their language had become corrupted;... and they denied the being of their Creator” (Omni 1:15, 17)Omni 1:15, 17 In Tyndale’s day, scriptural ignorance abounded because people lacked access to the Bible, especially in a language they could understand. Today the Bible and other scripture are readily at hand, yet there is a growing scriptural illiteracy because people will not open the books. Consequently they have forgotten things their grandparents knew” (Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Ensign, 32-35).

13. The Liahona 1 Nephi 16:10,16, 25-30 -curious workmanship -pointed where to go -led in the most fertile parts of the wilderness -worked according to faith, heed & diligence -a small means used to accomplish great things -plain to understand -message changed according to needs, faith and diligence Alma 37:38-42 -we learn the name! -prepared by the Lord -man can’t do it -miracles, day by day -when slothful, they didn’t progress (not a direct course)

14. The Liahona (Alma 37:38-47) Alma said to Helaman “these things are not without a shadow” (43). What did he mean? What could the Liahona possibly be a “shadow” of today?

15. The Word of God (Scripture)—A Liahona Elder W. Rolfe Kerr of the Seventy compared the words of Christ to the Liahona: “So we see, brethren and sisters, that the words of Christ can be a personal Liahona for each of us, showing us the way. Let us not be slothful because of the easiness of the way. Let us in faith take the words of Christ into our minds and into our hearts as they are recorded in sacred scripture and as they are uttered by living prophets, seers, and revelators. Let us with faith and diligence feast upon the words of Christ, for the words of Christ will be our spiritual Liahona telling us all things what we should do” (in Conference Report, Apr. 2004, 38; or Ensign, May 2004, 37).

16. Your Conscience—A Liahona President Spencer W. Kimball compared the Liahona to the light of Christ, or our conscience: “Wouldn’t you like to have that kind of a ball... ? “... The Lord gave to... every person, a conscience which tells him every time he starts to go on the wrong path.... “... Every child is given it” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1976, 117; or Ensign, Nov. 1976, 79).

17. Your Patriarchal Blessing—A Liahona President Thomas S. Monson compared the Liahona to an individual’s patriarchal blessing: “The same Lord who provided a Liahona for Lehi provides for you and for me today a rare and valuable gift to give direction to our lives.... The gift to which I refer is known as a patriarchal blessing” (Live the Good Life [1988], 36).

18. The Holy Ghost—A Liahona Just as Lehi was blessed in ancient times, each of us in this day has been given a spiritual compass that can direct and instruct us during our mortal journey. The Holy Ghost was conferred upon you and me as we came out of the world and into the Savior’s Church through baptism and confirmation. By the authority of the holy priesthood we were confirmed as members of the Church and admonished to seek for the constant companionship of “the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:17). As we each press forward along the pathway of life, we receive direction from the Holy Ghost just as Lehi was directed through the Liahona. “For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do” (2 Ne. 32:5). The Holy Ghost operates in our lives precisely as the Liahona did for Lehi and his family, according to our faith and diligence and heed. (David A. Bednar, Conference Report, Apr. 2006, 31; or Ensign, May 2006, 30–31).