Teaching Choral Concepts

Review

     Chiasmus is a literary form which is used extensively in the Bible. The structure of the chiasmus comprises sets of identical or related words, phrases or concepts; the second set is a repetition of the first, but it is used in inverse order, as A,B-B,A. Matthew 19:30 contains a well-known chiasmus: "But many that are the first shall be last; and the last shall be first." Many chiasma are extensive and involve a central theme as well as numerous layers of related sets.

     Chiasma are not readily apparent to readers of the scriptures who are untrained in their identification. In fact, chiasmus as a literary form was virtually unknown to Bible scholars when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was restored through Joseph Smith. It is obvious that Joseph was unaware of the form when he recorded the revelations of the Doctrine and Covenants, yet those revelations contain over 220 chiasma-many of them complex and sophisticated. They comprise over one third of the total book.

     In Language of the Lord, Clay Gorton makes a powerful case that chiasma are a characteristic of the speech pattern of the Lord, and that their existence in the Doctrine and Covenants is strong evidence that those scriptures constitute divine revelation.

     The book is a significant contribution to D&C scholarship. It defines eight distinct types of chiastic structures, compares chiasma in the Doctrine and Covenants with those in the Book of Mormon, and presents detailed analyses of the extensive chiastic forms in D&C sections 11 and 76. Then, entire chapters are devoted to each of the various types of D&C chiasma, complete with easy-to-read diagrams and explanations of every D&C chiastic instance. The Bibliography on chiastic structure is the most extensive reference list on the topic in print worldwide.

     Language of the Lord is an essential tool for scripture study-one which deserves a place in the basic library of every LDS gospel scholar. It also constitutes a powerful challenge to anti-Mormon critics, who must now provide a rational explanation for the existence of the 224 identified D&C chiasma if they deny the divine origin of the Doctrine and Covenants.

Table of Contents

Sequential Index of Chiasma, 6

Introduction, 9
Chiastic Form Unknown to Joseph Smith, 9
Chiasmus--A Compelling Evidence of the Divine Origin of the Doctrine and Covenants, 10

1. What is a Chiasmus?, 11
Basic Chiastic Structures, 11
     Type One: Identical Phrases, 12
     Type Two: Identical Words, 12
     Type Three: Parallel Concepts, 13
     Type Four: Positive to Negative, 13
     Type Five: Mixed or Hybrid, 14
     Type Six: Chiasma Containing Parallelisms as Chiastic Elements, 16
     Type Seven: Interdigitated Chiasmus and Parallelism, 18
     Type Eight: Interleaved or Included Chiasma, 19
Literary Comparisons: Non-scriptural Chiasma, 20
Purposes of Chiasma in Ancient Literature, 22

2. Use of the Chiastic Form in the Doctrine and Covenants, 25
Comparison of Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants Chiasma, 25
Guidelines for Evaluating Chiasma, 26
A Chiastic Analysis of Doctrine and Covenants 11, 27
The Evaluation of Doctrine and Covenants 11 According to the Welsh Criteria, 30
Joseph Smith Could Not Have Originated the Chiastic Style in the Doctrine and Covenants, 34
The Frequency of Occurrences of D&C Chiasma, 35
Achiastic Analysis of Doctrine and Covenants 76, 36
How D&C 76 Was Received and Recorded, 46

3. Extension of the Concept of the Divine Origin of the Chiastic Form to the Book of Mormon, 49
Literary Divisions of the Book of Mormon, 49
Ground Rules for Evaluating Chiasma Authorship in the Book of Mormon, 51
Evidence that Nephi and Lehi Did Not Originate the Chiastic Form in the Book of Mormon, 53
Evidence that Mormon and Moroni Did Not Originate the Chiastic Form in the Book of Mormon,  56
The Scriptures Testify of Their Own Chiasticity, 58

4. Complex Chiasma in the Doctrine and Covenants, 59
Simple Parallelisms, 59
Parallel-Chiasma Combinations, 60
Chiasma Within Chiasma, 62
Interdigitated Parallelism and Chiasmus, 65
Overlapping Chiasma, 65
Additional Considerations, 69

5. The Simple Chiastic Form in the Doctrine and Covenants-
   Two-Element Chiasma, 71
Code for Identifying Chiasma in the Doctrine and Covenants, 71

6. The Simple Chiastic Form in the Doctrine and Covenants-
   Three-Element Chiasma, 87

7. The Simple Chiastic Form in the Doctrine and Covenants-
   Multiple-Element Chiasma, 119
Four-Element Chiasma, 119
Five-Element Chiasma, 151
Six-Element Chiasma, 174
Seven-Element Chiasma, 190
Eleven-Element Chiasma, 198

8. Chiasma Containing Two-Element Parallelisms As One of the Chiastic                              Elements, 203
Two-Element Chiasma, 203
Three-Element Chiasma, 207
Four-Element Chiasma, 219
Five-Element Chiasma, 230
Six-Element Chiasma, 236
Seven-Element Chiasma, 238
Nine-Element Chiasma, 245

9. Chiasma Containing Three-to-Six-Element Parallelisms As One of the                                Chiastic Elements, 253
Three-Element Parallelisms, 253
Four-Element Parallelisms, 268
Five-Element Parallelisms, 278
Six-Element Parallelisms, 283

10. Chiasma Containing Parallelisms in Two or More Mirror Elements, 289
Double Parallelisms, 289
Triple Parallelisms, 311
Quadruple Parallelisms, 316
Interdigitated Parallelisms and Chiasma, 321

Bibliography, 323
Index, 350

Order Information

Title:

Language of the Lord--
New Discoveries of Chiasma in the Doctrine & Covenants

Author:

H. Clay Gorton

Retail Price:

$19.98

Available:

Now

ISBN:

0-88290-475-2

Order Number (SKU):

1033

Pages:

352

Size:

6" x 9"

Binding:

Hardbound with jacket