Book of Mormon Feast
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Library Tour of 2 Nephi 11
2 Nephi 11
1 And now, Jacob spake many more things to my people at that time; nevertheless only these things have I caused to be written, for the things which I have written sufficeth me.
2 And now I, Nephi, write more of the words of Isaiah, for my soul delighteth in his words. For I will liken his words unto my people, and I will send them forth unto all my children, for he verily saw my Redeemer, even as I have seen him.
3 And my brother, Jacob, also has seen him as I have seen him; wherefore, I will send their words forth unto my children to prove unto them that my words are true. Wherefore, by the words of three, God hath said, I will establish my word. Nevertheless, God sendeth more witnesses, and he proveth all his words.
4 Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him.
5 And also my soul delighteth in the covenants of the Lord which he hath made to our fathers; yea, my soul delighteth in his grace, and in his justice, and power, and mercy in the great and eternal plan of deliverance from death.
6 And my soul delighteth in proving unto my people that save Christ should come all men must perish.
7 For if there be no Christ there be no God; and if there be no God we are not, for there could have been no creation. But there is a God, and he is Christ, and he cometh in the fulness of his own time.
8 And now I write some of the words of Isaiah, that whoso of my people shall see these words may lift up their hearts and rejoice for all men. Now these are the words, and ye may liken them unto you and unto all men.
Poetic Parallelisms in the Book of Mormon – The Complete Text Reformatted. Donald W. Parry.
Neil A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. 2007.
The writings of Isaiah are, of course, heavy with Hebrew parallelism. As Nephi introduces Isaiah’s writings, he does so with a chiasm. This and hundreds of other chiasmi in the Book of Mormon are delineated in Parry’s indispensable book.
Parry notes, “A vitally significant perspective to bear in mind when reviewing the forms of this book is this: there is no poetic, parallelistic, repetitious form or figure of speech that should become more important than the Book of Mormon’s chief message, which is to convince “the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God” (Book of Mormon title page). Rather, all of these forms and figures are designed to present this message regarding Jesus Christ and his gospel in an unforgettable, understandable, artistic, and fascinating way. The forms and figures gave writers of scripture unique methods of expression as they set forth religious doctrines, tenets, and principles. Apparently, the prophets and writers of the scriptures employed the repetition of alternating parallel lines for the purpose of reinforcing their teachings and doctrines. By hearing something repeated twice, albeit in different words, the hearer or reader is more apt to understand and remember the doctrine being taught. In this way, the teaching is conveyed with more impact, more force, and a greater level of intensity. But still, the forms and figures are not more than a means to an end, and that end is to impart truths regarding Jesus Christ, his atoning sacrifice, and his plan of happiness. The form of the message should never become of greater consequence than the message.”
