“When we have undergone this mighty change, which is brought about only through faith in Jesus Christ and through the operation of the Spirit upon us, it is as though we have become a new person. Thus, the change is likened to a new birth. … You have forsaken lives of sin, sometimes deep and offensive sin, and through applying the blood of Christ in your lives, have become clean. You have no more disposition to return to your old ways” (Benson, “Mighty Change of Heart,” 4).
“Chiasmus, sometimes called an inverted parallelism, is a Hebrew literary form where words or ideas are arranged in a certain order and then repeated in reverse order. This repetition emphasizes important ideas and words. In addition, the writer’s main idea is often located at the center of the chiasmus.
“Alma used chiasmus to tell the story of his conversion to his son Helaman. The presence of Semitic literary forms such as chiasmus in the Book of Mormon is an external witness that the book is what the Prophet Joseph Smith taught that it is: a translation of an ancient text written in a Middle Eastern language.
“The following chart will help you recognize the chiasmus in Alma 36. For convenience, positions are designated in the chart from left to right, starting with the letter A and ending with the letter P. Thus, the thought expressed in the beginning verse of the chiasmus, Alma 36:1 (labeled position A), is repeated in the last verse of the chiasmus, Alma 36:30 (also in position A). The thought in Alma 36:2 (labeled position D) is repeated in verse 29 (also in position D), and so forth.
A . Give ear to my words (v. 1)
B . Keep the commandments of God, and ye shall prosper in the land (v. 1)
C . Do as I have done (v. 2)
D . Remember the captivity of our fathers, for they were in bondage (v. 2)
E . He surely did deliver them (v. 2)
F . Trust in God (v. 3)
G . Supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions (v. 3)
H . Lifted up at the last day (v. 3)
I . I would not that ye think that I know of myself— but of God (v. 4)
J . Born of God (v. 5)
K . I went about seeking to destroy the church of God (v. 6)
L . Neither had I the use of my limbs (v. 10)
M . I thought that I might not be brought to the presence of my God (v. 15)
N . The pains of a damned soul (v. 16)
O . Harrowed up by the memory of my many sins (v. 17)
P . I remembered one Jesus Christ, a Son of God (v. 17)
P . I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God (v. 18)
O . Harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more (v. 19)
N . Joy as exceeding as was my pain (v. 20)
M . My soul did long to be there (in the presence of God) (v. 22)
L . My limbs received strength again (v. 23)
K . I labored to bring souls to repentance (v. 24)
J . Born of God (v. 26)
I . My knowledge is of God (v. 26)
H . Supported under trials, troubles, and afflictions (v. 27)
G . Trust in him (v. 27)
F . He will deliver me and raise me up (vv. 27–28)
E . He has delivered them out of bondage and captivity (v. 28)
D . Retain a remembrance of their captivity (v. 29)
C . Know as I do know (v. 30)
B . Keep the commandments of God, and ye shall prosper (v. 30)
A . This according to his word (v. 30)
“Notice that the central message of the chiasmus focuses on the time in Alma’s life when he experienced great pain and sorrow and turned to Jesus Christ for relief (see Alma 36:17–18)” (Book of Mormon Student Manual [2009], 232).
John W. Welch, the scholar who first wrote about chiasmus in the Book of Mormon, observed: “Rarely in Book of Mormon studies has a concept captured the imagination and fascination of scholars and readers more than has the presence of chiasmus in that book. The basic concept of chiasmus is readily grasped, and in certain texts its presence can be easily and obviously demonstrated. Novice readers may spot the clear and simple examples of chiasmus without difficulty, although puzzling over the task of unraveling, digesting, and displaying the more complex and sometimes nebulous examples of chiasmus challenges even the most sophisticated literary analysts. Many people, in studying both the Bible and the Book of Mormon, have found the search for chiasms to be almost irresistible. Some people are intrinsically fascinated by the form and are propelled by the prospects of discovering some new aspect of their text, of uncovering some new insight into its meaning, or of adding some new level of appreciation for the possible organizing structures that lie embedded behind the words of its passages.” (“What Does Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon Prove?” 200–202).