You don't know the Book of Mormon until you've read and assimilated the wealth of information in this book!

A significant development during the second half of the 20th century was the growing awareness and understanding of chiasmus in ancient literature. This form of inverted parallelism has been found in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and in many other ancient writings. It has intrigued many students of ancient writing. This bibliography cites articles and books that discuss chiasmus in scripture and other literature. Thirty years in the making, it is the most exhaustive work of its kind ever completed. It lists about 900 works on chiasmus by author and title and includes full publication information. Researchers can also search by category: Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, and other literature. This resource includes an appendix on identifying and evaluating chiastic patterns in a given text.

This study is devoted to the tracing of the Hebrew literary influence of the Greek text of the New Testament. It discusses specifically one form, the extensive use of the inverted order called chiasmus, a form that seems to be a part of Hebrew thought itself, whether in poetry or in prose. Originally published in 1942. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

In this interdisciplinary work, William L. Davis examines Joseph Smith's 1829 creation of the Book of Mormon, the foundational text of the Latter Day Saint movement. Positioning the text in the history of early American oratorical techniques, sermon culture, educational practices, and the passion for self-improvement, Davis elucidates both the fascinating cultural context for the creation of the Book of Mormon and the central role of oral culture in early nineteenth-century America. Drawing on performance studies, religious studies, literary culture, and the history of early American education, Davis analyzes Smith's process of oral composition. How did he produce a history spanning a period of 1,000 years, filled with hundreds of distinct characters and episodes, all cohesively tied together in an overarching narrative? Eyewitnesses claimed that Smith never looked at notes, manuscripts, or books—he simply spoke the words of this American religious epic into existence. Judging the truth of this process is not Davis's interest. Rather, he reveals a kaleidoscope of practices and styles that converged around Smith's creation, with an emphasis on the evangelical preaching styles popularized by the renowned George Whitefield and John Wesley.

The X figure is ubiquitous in contemporary culture, but attempts to explain our fixation with X are rare. This book argues that the origins and meanings of X go far beyond alphabets and archetypes to remembered feelings of body movements - movements best typified in the performance of “spread-eagle” as a posture or gesture. These body memories are then projected onto other patterns and dynamics to help us make sense of the world. The argument is accomplished using a blend of insights from linguistic anthropology, cognitive linguistics, rhetoric culture and process semiotics to bring together revealing clues from languages, cultures and thinkers around the world. Chief among the uses and experiences of X are its tendencies to involve us in surprising reversals and blends. In ancient times the X-pattern was discussed as “chiasmus”, a figure which, according to Maurice Merleau-Ponty, informs the most basic elements of our bodily experience, calling into question polarized dichotomies such as subject versus object. Pushed to extremes, presumed opposites like these tend to reverse suddenly. Likewise, blended experiences of our bodily extremities - arms and legs, toes and fingers, hands and feet - provide a plausible source of grounding for unique human abilities like analogy and double-scope conceptual integration. The book illustrates these dynamics by drawing attention to uses of X in history, prehistory and daily life, from sports and advertising to world mythology and languages around the world. The Semiotics of X is the first step towards developing a larger argument on the important but neglected role that chiasmus plays in cognition. It aims to inspire continued exploration on the figure, with the full expectation that chiasmus will become for the 21st century what metaphor became for the 20th century: a revolution in thinking about the way we think.

Since 1830, millions of people have read the Book of Mormon and become convinced that Joseph Smith's account of its ancient origins is correct. Others, however, assume that the book must be a fraud. The Book of Mormon describes peoples, cultures, history, and lands largely unknown to the 19th-century world. But today we enjoy a relative wealth of information about those times and peoples, providing a background against which the Book of Mormon's claims of ancient origin can be tested. This volume brings together a collection of initial efforts to mount such tests. Although first published in 1982, these nine essays have not been outdated or refuted by subsequent studies. The evidence and conclusions they put forward are just as persuasive today as when they were first published.

This is a famous educational text by Gilbert J. Hunt presenting an account of the War of 1812 in the style of the King James Bible. It starts with President James Madison and the congressional declaration of war and then describes the Burning of Washington, the Battle of New Orleans, and the Treaty of Ghent.

For readers of the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin's speech is a treasure trove of inspiration, wisdom, eloquence, and spiritual insight. King Benjamin's Speech: "That Ye May Learn Wisdom" is the most substantial collection of studies ever to focus exclusively on this landmark address. The contributors examine this speech in the multifaceted contexts in which it was delivered: as a classic speech of a departing leader near the time of his death, as the focus of an annual festival season mandated anciently under the law of Moses, as part of a covenant renewal ceremony delivered within the sacred precinct of the Nephite temple in Zarahemla, and as preparation for the coronation of a new king. Historical and linguistic tools and information are employed in these essays to help the reader to better grasp the speech's historical setting, its doctrinal implications, its literary qualities, its influence then and now, and its overall brilliance.