She walked her beloved dog
They went to the butcher shop
She got her dog a bone to chew
His wagging tail thanked her for the bone
They walked home from the butcher shop
The dog knew she loved him as they walked
This improvised example took real effort to create (and extensive revision), and it is lousy, awkward communication. It takes serious effort to employ this literary device. Getting the first stanza and the last stanza to reference a similar idea, and the second and second to last also reference similar ideas, etc., is a taxing interruption to the typical linear flow of composition.
Joseph Smith dictated the whole Book of Mormon during the translation process without going back to repeat himself or make corrections, without notes or manuscript. He was very busy with other concerns during the approximately sixty five working days the translation occupied. To compose chiasmus and incorporate it into a narrative without a manuscript or opportunity to slow down or think it through would have required literary genius not often found on the edge of frontier America in the 1820s. His explanation was that he received divine power to translate what had already been written by someone else.
The entire chapter of Alma 36 is chiasmus; the first and last verses use similar vocabulary and broach similar subjects, the second and second to last verse do the same, the third and third to last, and so on until we reach the middle of the chapter.
Many examples of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon, like Alma 36, are reciprocal; the pattern is a symmetrical repetition, like the following:
A
B
C
D
D
C
B
A
Or,
Up
Big
Run
Fly
Fly
Run
Big
Up
This kind of repeating, mirror image chiasmus, where similar ideas, words, and phrases parallel each other in reverse order, is not the only kind found in the Book of Mormon.
There is also antithetic chiasmus in the Book of Mormon—it involves paralleled opposites, like the following:
Up
Big
Run
Fly
Fall
Crawl
Small
Down
Instead of finding the exact same ideas repeated in reverse order, we find their opposites, the antithesis, repeated in reverse order. Up is the antithesis of Down; Big is to Small; Run is to Crawl; Fly is to Fall.
Antithetic Chiasmus in Ether 4
Alma 36 is a masterpiece of same-to-same chiasmus. The entire chapter of Ether 4 is the antithetic type, made of phrases that are literary foils, opposites.
Below all 19 verses in Ether 4 are rearranged so that the matching opposites are fitted together side by side. There is some flexibility here—the boundaries of the verses do not exactly contain all the matching parallels, but it comes fairly close to that.
Opposite words and phrases are italicized, followed by parenthetical notes that explain why they seem to belong side by side. Each verse retains its numbering to keep us from getting lost as we work our way from the outer ends of the chapter to its center:
1 And the Lord commanded the brother of Jared to go down out of the mount from the presence of the Lord, and write the things which he had seen; and they were forbidden to come unto the children of men until after that he should be lifted up upon the cross; and for this cause did king Mosiah keep them, that they should not come unto the world until after Christ should show himself unto his people.
19 And blessed is he that is found faithful unto my name at the last day, for he shall be lifted up to dwell in the kingdom prepared for him from the foundation of the world. And behold it is I that hath spoken it. Amen.
(Ups and downs are juxtaposed. Going down from God’s presence contrasts with dwelling permanently in His kingdom.)
2 And after Christ truly had showed himself unto his people he commanded that they should be made manifest.
18 Therefore, repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and believe in my gospel, and be baptized in my name; for he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned; and signs shall follow them that believe in my name.
(Christ shows Himself empirically to one group, and openly manifests His appearance to the brother of Jared; He commands another group to believe, to have faith.)
3 And now, after that, they have all dwindled in unbelief; and there is none save it be the Lamanites, and they have rejected the gospel of Christ; therefore I am commanded that I should hide them up again in the earth.
17 Therefore, when ye shall receive this record ye may know that the work of the Father has commenced upon all the face of the land.
(One group is universally apostate and in unbelief; the next group knows for certain that the work of the Father has commenced everywhere. The record is hidden in the earth in one verse, received in the other.)
4 Behold, I have written upon these plates the very things which the brother of Jared saw; and there never were greater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared.
16 And then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. Remember, when ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed.
(Moroni is writing the private record of a personal manifestation to the brother of Jared; John’s writings and revelations will be made manifest publicly.)
5 Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he commanded me that I should seal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the interpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord.
15 Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you—yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel.
(Moroni is obedient; we are in a state of hardness of heart. He has sealed up these great revelations; we are to rend the veil of unbelief to receive great and marvelous things.)
6 For the Lord said unto me: They shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord.
14 Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief.
(The Gentiles are a foil to the house of Israel, both contrasted against each other throughout scripture. These great things “shall not go forth” to the Gentiles (until they repent); “it shall be made manifest unto” the house of Israel (after they believe). The Gentiles must become clean; the house of Israel is in ignorance because of unbelief.)
7 And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are.
13 Come unto me, O ye Gentiles, and I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief. 12 And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that will not believe my words will not believe me—that I am; and he that will not believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world.
(Verse 7 lines up with opposites in 13 and 12. First we read in 7 of exercising faith in Christ and becoming sanctified; then we read about not believing His words in 13. When they “exercise faith” in Him, He will “manifest” great things and unfold “all” His “revelations;” they are currently “hid up because of unbelief.” Jesus Christ mentions His titles in verses 7 and 12—“the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth;” “I am the Father, I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world.” Exercising faith and receiving manifestations and revelations contrasts with not believing and knowledge which is consequently hidden.)
8 And he that will contend against the word of the Lord, let him be accursed; and he that shall deny these things, let him be accursed; for unto them will I show no greater things, saith Jesus Christ; for I am he who speaketh. 9 And at my command the heavens are opened and are shut; and at my word the earth shall shake; and at my command the inhabitants thereof shall pass away, even so as by fire.
10 And he that believeth not my words believeth not my disciples; and if it so be that I do not speak, judge ye; for ye shall know that it is I that speaketh, at the last day. 11 But he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear record. For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men to do good.
(8 and 9 comprise one block; 10 and 11 are their mirror opposite segment. In 8, Jesus warns that “I am he who speaketh.” In 10, we read “…and if it so be that I do not speak…” In 8 He says He will “show no greater things” to those who deny the Book of Mormon’s testimony of Him; in 11 he says that he that believeth will He visit “with the manifestations of [His] Spirit. In 9 Jesus talks about destroying the inhabitants of the earth with earthquakes and fire; in 11 He “persuadeth men to do good.”)
We have reached the center of the symmetry.
Evidences Seen and Unseen
It is a struggle to keep up, merely to summarize this. Composing anything comparable to it would be difficult, even without time constraints and with the opportunity to revise it afterward. Doing it in one pass the way Joseph Smith dictated it would require divine intervention.
The amazing thing about all this complexity in the Book of Mormon is that it does not dilute, nor detract from, the consistent doctrinal message: Jesus Christ is our Savior, and faith in Him is a prerequisite to being saved, progressing spiritually, and learning new truth.
In Ether 4 Jesus tells us He is still waiting to give us revelation, if only we will believe and repent. He will still give us revelation as fast as we can prepare to receive it. He also affirms that the Book of Mormon is His word to the world, “Another Testament of Jesus Christ.”
Internal evidences like chiasmus are not meant to be the foundation of our faith. Instead, they confirm faith we have already exercised by following the promptings of the Spirit. Without that still small voice, seeing empirical evidence is insufficient to sustain us. Faith can grow better when fed with spiritual food than it can on tangible evidence. Tangible evidence comes more readily as we exercise faith and follow spiritual promptings.
“For I am God…and I will show miracles, signs, and wonders, unto all those who believe on my name” (D&C 35:8).
