Category: language
My Hypothesis Overturned: What Typos May Tell Us About the Book of Abraham
In my previous post, “The Smoking Gun for Joseph’s Translation of the Book of Abraham, or Copied Manuscripts from an Existing Translation?,” I suggested that examination of the “smoking guns”…
Fifty Years of Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon: The Story of Its Discovery
One of my favorite stories from the world of Book of Mormon studies is the discovery of chiasmus in the text by a young missionary serving in Germany. Fifty years…
Dusting Off the Chiasmus in Alma 36: The “Loose” Parts May Have More Structure Than We Thought
Part 3 of my series on dust-related themes in the Book of Mormon has just published: “‘Arise from the Dust’: Insights from Dust-Related Themes in the Book of Mormon (Part…
Dusting Off a Famous Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon, Alma 36
Executive Summary In exploring Noel Reynolds’ hypothesis that some material in the Book of Moses may have been present on the brass plates that Nephi used, I wondered if Nephi…
What A Non-LDS Scholar Said about Chiasmus
I recommend reading http://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1131&index=1 to the scholarly book, Chiasmus in Antiquity, edited by John Welch. The full text of that intriguing book is available free online at the Maxwell Institute….
Two Paths in a Complex Book
In my last post, I discussed the issue of war in the Book of Mormon and the diverse experiences it covers. One reader commented that the Book of Mormon doesn’t…
Chiasmus in Helaman 16? An Observation from My 16-Year-Old Son
The other night my wife, our youngest son (age 16) and I were reading Helaman 16 in the Book of Mormon. I was in a bit of a hurry and…
New Statistical Study of Chiasmus: Chance or Design?
Even wonder what the probability is that a given chiasmus occurred by chance rather than design? A new publication applies careful statistical analysis to help resolve this issue. The work…
Joseph Smith and the Comoros Islands?
An LDS Website, Gerald Smith’s LDS Evidences, provides useful information in responding to an interesting question: Did Joseph Smith copy the names “Moroni” and “Cumorah”? It is interesting that the…