This is a very amazing chapter. The chance that the structure was
not purposely written as chiasmus is so small that this chapter alone stands by
itself as proof that chiasmus was an important writing method used by the
ancient B of M writers.
A few notes: There is a very beautiful central focus in the
chiasmus on asking for and accepting the mercy of Christ into one’s heart
There is and emphasis on the fear of the judgement for one’s sins.
There is an emphasis on remembering the fathers and their deliverance from bondage and Alma’s deliverance from afflictions These are important
elements to the Passover feast
(There is a nested chiasmus at the top of the chapter formed by, my son - my words, I, keep the commandments, I, my son - my words. This heading
section also links to the bottom with son, I, keep the commandments, and according to
the Lords words)
There is also another possible emphasis on commandments that occurs between three days/nights where he was racked with sins remembering that he had not kept
the commandments. The first Passover occurred after 3 days and 3 nights of
darkness.
The wise son question at Passover is “What is the meaning of the
testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you?” (Deuteronomy
6:20)
I personally like the contrast between fearing the presence of God and then longing to be with God and the joy that
Alma felt once being born of God (saved).
A - 1 My son, give ear to my words;
B - 1 for I swear unto you,
2 that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of
God
3 ye shall prosper in the land.
C - 2 I would that ye should do as I have done, in remembering the captivity of our
fathers;
D - for they were in bondage, and none could deliver them except it was the God
of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he surely did deliver them in their afflictions.
A - 3 And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou
art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me;
E – for I do know that whosoever
shall put their trust in God
a) shall be supported
b) in their trials, and their troubles,
c) and their afflictions,
d) and shall be lifted up
at the last day.
F - 4 And I would not that ye think that I know of myself—
not of the temporal
but of the spiritual,
not of the carnal
mind but of God. (antithetical)
G- 5 Now, behold, I say unto you,
a if I had not
been born of God
b I should not have known these things;
a but God has, by the mouth of his holy angel,
b made these things known unto me, not of any worthiness of myself; (simple alternate)
H - 6 For I went about with the sons of Mosiah, seeking
to destroy the church of God; but behold, God sent
I - a) his holy angel to stop us by the way.
b) 7 And behold, he spake unto us,
as it were the voice of thunder,
and the whole earth did tremble beneath our feet;
d) and we all fell to the earth,
for the fear of the Lord came upon us.
8 But behold, the voice said
unto me:
Arise.
And I arose
and stood up,
a) and beheld the angel. (There is a chiasmus above, angel, voice, earth tremble, we fell to earth, voice, angel)
b) 9 And he said unto me:
c) If thou wilt of thyself be destroyed, seek no more to destroy the church of God.
d) 10 And it came to pass that I fell to the earth;
(and it was for the
space of three days
(and three nights
(that I could not open my mouth,
(neither had I the
use of my limbs. (this may form a
central idea for the I - section
nested within the extended alternate pattern)
a) 11 And the angel
b) spake more things unto me,
which were heard
by my brethren,
but I did not hear
them;
for when I heard
the words—
c) If thou wilt be destroyed of thyself, seek no more to destroy the church of God—I was struck with
such great fear and amazement lest perhaps I should be destroyed,
d) that I fell to the earth
and I did hear no more. (extended
alternate)
J – a) 12 But I was racked
b) with eternal torment,
c) for my soul was harrowed up to the
greatest degree and
a) racked with all my sins.
13 Yea, I did
remember all my sins and iniquities,
b) for which I was tormented
c) with the pains of hell; yea, I
saw that I had rebelled against my God,
and that I had not
kept his holy commandments.
14 Yea, and I had
murdered many of his children, or rather led them away unto destruction; yea,
and in fine so great had been my iniquities,
x) that
the very thought of coming into
the presence of my God
y) did rack my soul with inexpressible
horror.
y) 15
Oh, thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct both soul and body,
x) that
I might not be brought to stand in the presence
of my God, to be judged
of my deeds.
16 And now, for three days (there may be a link between three
days/nights and the anguish occurring during this time)
and for three nights((also possibly that he had not
kept the commandments which has a link to the beginning and end of this chapter)
a) was I racked,
b) even with the pains
of a damned soul.
K - 17 And it came to
pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by
the memory of my many sins,
L – a) behold, I
remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people
concerning
b) the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God,
to atone for the sins of the world. [center of the chiasmus]
L' – a) 18 Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought,
I cried within my heart:
b) O Jesus, thou
Son of God, have mercy
on me,
who am in the gall of bitterness,
and am
encircled about by the everlasting
chains of death. (simple alternate)
K' - 19 And now, behold,
when I thought this,
a I could remember my pains
b no more;
a yea, I was harrowed
up by the memory of my sins
b
no more. (simple
alternate)
J' - 20 And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold;
yea, my soul was
filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!
a 21 Yea, I say unto you, my son,
b that there could be nothing so exquisite
and so bitter
c as were my pains.
a Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the
other hand,
b there can be nothing
so exquisite and sweet
c as was my joy. (extended alternate and contrasting)
x)
22 Yea, methought I saw,
even as our father Lehi saw,
y) God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless
concourses of angels,
y)
in the attitude of singing and praising their God;
z)
yea, and my soul did long to be there. (note
in J above God is on the outside of the pattern and here on the inside or
opposite)
I' - 23 But behold, my limbs did receive their strength again, and I stood upon my feet,
and did manifest unto
the people that I had been born of God.
H’ - 24 Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored
without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance;
G’ - a) that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste;
b) that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
25 Yea, and now
behold, O my son,
a) the Lord doth
give me exceedingly
great joy in the fruit of my labors; 26 For
because of the word which he has imparted unto me,
b) behold, many have been born of God, (simple alternate)
c and have tasted
d as I have tasted,
c and have seen eye to eye
d as I have seen;
F' - therefore they
do know of these things of
which I have spoken,
as I do know; and the knowledge which I have is of God.
E' - a) 27 And I have been supported
b) under trials and troubles of every kind,
c) yea, and in all manner of afflictions; yea,
y) God has delivered me from prison, and from bonds, and from death;
E' - z)
yea, and I do put my trust in him,
y) and he will still deliver me.
d) 28 And I know that he will raise me up at the last day, to dwell with him
in glory;
D' - yea, and I will praise him forever, (It’s interesting how the word delivered is blended with Alma’s afflictions above and our fathers beneath whereas at the top in D it’s
separate)
a for he has brought
our fathers out of Egypt,
and he has
swallowed up the Egyptians in the Red Sea;
and he led
them by his power into the promised land;
b yea, and he has delivered them out of bondage and captivity
c from time to time.
a 29 Yea, and he has also brought our fathers out of the land of
Jerusalem;
b and he has also, by his everlasting power, delivered them out of bondage and
captivity,
c from time to time even down to the present day; (extended
alternate)
C’ - a and I have always retained
b in remembrance
their captivity;
a yea, and ye also ought to retain
b in remembrance, as I have done, their captivity. (simple alternate)
B’ - 30 But behold, my son, this is not all;
1 for ye ought to know as I do know,
2 that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of
God
3 ye shall prosper in the land;
1 and ye ought to know
also,
2 that inasmuch as ye will not keep the commandments of God
3 ye shall be cut off from his
presence. (extended alternate)
A' - Now this is
according to his word
(Arranged by Timothy Riggs)