"You ought to . . . Become acquainted with the language of the scriptures and the teachings of the scriptures" (Elder Marion G. Romney, Book of Mormon Student Manual, pp. 437-38).
I. Grammar and Structure
A. Hyperbaton (word order variations): 3 Nephi 25:2
"But unto you that fear my name, shall the Son of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings." [ = But the Son of Righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings unto you that fear my name.]
B. Anacoluthon (interruption of thought): Mosiah 9:1
"I, Zeniff,
having been taught in all the language of the Nephites,
and having had a knowledge of the land of Nephi, or of the land of our fathers' first inheritance,
and having been sent as a spy among the Lamanites
that I might spy out their forces,
that our army might come upon them and destroy them--
but when I saw that which was good among them I was desirous that they should not be destroyed."
C. Parenthesis (insertion of thought): Alma 40:13
"And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil--for behold, they have no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather than good; therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them, and take possession of their house--and these shall be cast out into outer darkness."
D. Ellipsis (words left out): Alma 44:21
"the number of their dead was exceedingly great, both on [the part of] the Nephites and on [the part of] the Lamanites."
E. Polysyndeton (multiple conjunctions):
2 Ne 9:28
"O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men!"
Mormon 8:39
Why do ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, and the sick and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not?
F. Asyndeton (deletion of conjunctions): 2 Nephi 19:6
"his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, [and] The Prince of Peace."
G. Parison (parallel structures): Jarom 1:3
"it is expedient that much should be done among this people,
because of the hardness of their hearts,
and the deafness of their ears,
and the blindness of their minds,
and the stiffness of their necks;
nevertheless, God is exceedingly merciful unto them, and has not as yet swept them off from the face of the land.
H. Antecedents (identify pronoun references, etc.): Mosiah 21:2-5
"the Lamanites began again to be stirred up in anger against the Nephites, and they began to come into the borders of the land round about. Now they durst not slay them, because of the oath which their king had made unto Limhi; but they would smite them on their cheeks, and exercise authority over them; and began to put heavy burdens upon their backs, and drive them as they would a dumb ass -- Yea, all this was done that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled. And now the afflictions of the Nephites were great, and there was no way that they could deliver themselves out of their hands, for the Lamanites had surrounded them on every side."
I. Isocolon (same number of syllables in successive units):
3 Nephi 1:13
"Lift up your heads, [4 syllables]
and
be of good cheer . . . " [4 syllables]
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II. Lexis and Semantic Figures
A. Litotes (understatement): Alma 10:4
"And behold, I am also a man of no small reputation among all those who know me; yea, and behold, I have many kindreds and friends, and I have also acquired much riches by the hand of my industry."
B. Antithesis (antonyms; opposite meanings): Ether 4:18
"he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned; and signs shall follow them that believe in my name."
C. Pleonasm (synonyms; similar meanings): Mormon 9:6
"cry mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day."
D. Pairs and Triads:
Moroni 7:13
"But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God."
Helaman 14:21
"there shall be thunderings and lightnings for the space of many hours, and the earth shall shake and tremble . . . "
Alma 38:5
"ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day."
E. Periphrasis (circumlocution): 1 Nephi 11:33
"And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world." [ = "crucified"]
F. Parallelism (of meaning):
3 Nephi 22:7-8
[A]"For a small moment have I forsaken thee,
[B]but with great mercies will I gather thee.
[A]In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment,
[B]but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee . . . "
Alma 41:14
"Therefore, my son,
[A]see that you are merciful unto your brethren;
[B]deal justly,
[C]judge righteously,
[D]and do good continually;
and if ye do all these things then shall ye receive your reward;
[A]yea, ye shall have mercy restored unto you again;
[B]ye shall have justice restored unto you again;
[C]ye shall have a righteous judgment restored unto you again;
[D]and ye shall have good rewarded unto you again."
G. Chiasmus: Alma 41:13-14
"the meaning of the word restoration is to bring back again evil for evil,or carnal for carnal, or devilish for devilish--
[A]good for that which is good;
[B]righteous for that which is righteous;
[C]just for that which is just;
[D]merciful for that which is merciful.
Therefore, my son,
[D]see that you are merciful unto your brethren;
[C]deal justly,
[B]judge righteously,
[A]and do good continually . . . "
H. Oxymoron (paradox; juxtaposition of contradicting ideas):
3 Nephi 12:44"love your enemies . . . "
KJV:"he that is greatest among you shall be your servant" (Matt 23:11; see also Matt 5:3, 5:5, 5:44).
I. Pun (two words that sound the same but have different meanings):
3 Nephi 22:1"Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear . . . "
J. Soriasmus (combination of words derived from different languages, especially Germanic and Romance vocabulary in English):
Moroni 7:47"charity [< Latin] is the pure love [< Germanic] of Christ"
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III. Word Repetition and Variation
A. Epanalepsis (general repetition): 3 Nephi 19:25
"And it came to pass that Jesus blessed them as they did pray unto him; and his countenance did smile upon them, and the light of his countenance did shine upon them, and behold they were as white as the countenance and also the garments of Jesus; and behold the whiteness thereof did exceed all the whiteness, yea, even there could be nothing upon earth so white as the whiteness thereof."
B. Epizeuxis (immediate repetition): Helaman 5:47
"Peace, peace be unto you, because of your faith in my Well Beloved, who was from the foundation of the world."
C. Anaphora (beginning of successive units): 2 Nephi 33:6
"I glory in plainness;
I glory in truth;
I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell."
D. Epistrophe (end of successive units): Alma 33:19
"behold a type was raised up in the wilderness,
that whosoever would look upon it might live.
And many did look and live."
E. Symploce (beginning and end of units): 2 Ne 25:26
"And we talk of Christ,
we rejoice in Christ,
we preach of Christ,
we prophesy of Christ . . . "
F. Anadiplosis (begins and ends one unit): 3 Nephi 22:13
"And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord;
and great shall be the peace of thy children."
G. Epanadiplosis (end of one unit begins next unit): Alma 34:14
"And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice;
and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal."
H. Climax (linked repetitions):
Mormon 9:12-13
[A]"Behold, he created Adam,
[A > B]and by Adam came the fall of man.
[B > C]And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ,
even the Father and the Son;
[C > D]and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man.
[D > E]And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord . . . "
Moroni 8:25-26
[A > B]"And the first fruits of repentance is baptism;
[B > C]and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling the commandments;
[C > D]and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth remission of sins;
[D > E]And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart;
[E > F]and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost,
[F > G]which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love,
[G > H]which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God."
I. Antimetabole (A-B-B-A inversion): 3 Nephi 25:6
[A B]"And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children,
[B A] and the heart of the children to their fathers . . . "
J. Polyptoton (different forms of same root): Omni 1:26
"I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved."
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IV. Sound Repetition and Variation
A. Sonance (general repetition of vowels and consonants): Jacob 3:2
"O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love; for ye may, if your minds are firm forever."
B. Assonance (repeated vowels): Mormon 8:28
"Yea, it shall come in a day when the power of God shall be denied, and churches become defiled and be lifted up in the pride of their hearts; yea, even in a day when leaders of churches and teachers shall rise in the pride of their hearts . . . "
C. Consonance (repeated consonants): 1 Nephi 1:4
"and in that same year there came many prophets, prophesying unto the people that they must repent . . . "
D. Alliteration (consonant repetition at the beginning of words):
2 Nephi 4:33
"O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness!"
E. Homeoteleuton (repeated consonants at the end of words):
3 Nephi 14:7-8
"Ask, and it shall be given unto you;
seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
For every one that asketh, receiveth;
and he that seeketh, findeth;
and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened."
F. Rhyme (same sound cluster at end of words): 3 Nephi 22:2
"lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy stakes . . . "
G. Paromeon (same sounds at beginning and end of words): Alma 37:6
"but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass . . . "
H. Antimetabolic sequence (inversion of repeated sounds): Alma 15:8
"If thou believest in the redemption of Christ
thou canst be healed."
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