Marlatt Outdoors

To illustrate the chiastic structure in Alma 36, I will break down the passage into elements (A, B, C, etc.) and then show how these elements are mirrored in the second half of the text. Please note that the full chapter is quite long and contains a more extended chiastic structure; for the purpose of this example, we’ll use a condensed version:

1. (A) My son, give ear to my words;
   • (B) keep the commandments of God
     • (C) that ye shall prosper in the land.
       • (D) I would that ye should do as I have done,
         • (E) in remembering the captivity of our fathers;
           • (F) for they were in bondage, and none could deliver them
             • (G) except it was the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;
             • (G’) and he surely did deliver them in their afflictions.
           • (F’) And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth,
         • (E’) and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me;
       • (D’) for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God
     • (C’) shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions
   • (B’) and shall be lifted up at the last day.
2. (A’) And it came to pass that I was three days and three nights in the most bitter pain and anguish of soul; and never, until I did cry out unto the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy, did I receive a remission of my sins. But behold, I did cry unto him and I did find peace to my soul.

This structure, where each element in the first half corresponds to an element in the second half, is a form of chiasmus, a rhetorical device that is commonly found in ancient Hebrew texts. Its presence in Alma 36 is one of the reasons why some scholars argue for the Hebraic origins of the Book of Mormon.