{"id":44703,"date":"2017-10-27T11:06:38","date_gmt":"2017-10-27T17:06:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=44703"},"modified":"2017-10-27T13:35:08","modified_gmt":"2017-10-27T19:35:08","slug":"style-book-mormon-mormon-style-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/10\/style-book-mormon-mormon-style-politics.html","title":{"rendered":"Style in the Book of Mormon . . . and a Mormon style in politics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The wall of Old Jerusalem, near Jaffa Gate \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0(Wikimedia Commons public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

More notes:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

It is certainly conceivable that a sensitive person might be able, consciously or unconsciously, to mimic such elementary rhetorical structures on the basis of exposure to the Bible. (Whether the semi-literate Joseph Smith of the 1820s would have been capable of such mimicry is perhaps a separate question, however.) But with the increasing subtlety and sophistication of literary forms, such mimicry becomes less and less plausible. And the Book of Mormon contains a wealth of sophisticated literary devices that are only beginning to be appreciated. The Hebraist Donald Parry, for example, has identified numerous rhetorical techniques and literary structures in the Book of Mormon that are reminiscent of the Old Testament. One of these he calls \u201cclimax,\u201d or \u201cgradation.\u201d It occurs when the same words are repeated in successive clauses or sentences, creating a sense of ascension, of climbing step by step from one level to another, with a significant climax at the conclusion. One instance, in the book of Moroni, offers an admirable summary of the basic plan of salvation:<\/span><\/p>\n

And the first fruits of repentance is<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

baptism<\/i>; and<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

baptism<\/i> cometh by faith unto<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

the fulfilling the commandments<\/i>; and<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

the fulfilling the commandments<\/i> bringeth<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

remission of sins<\/i>; and the<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

remission of sins<\/i> bringeth<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

meekness, and lowliness of heart<\/i>; and because of<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

meekness and lowliness<\/i> of heart cometh the visitation of the<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Holy Ghost<\/i>, which<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Comforter<\/i> filleth with hope and perfect<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

love<\/i>, which<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

love<\/i> endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come,<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

when all the saints shall dwell with God.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Another, from the section of the Book of Mormon that carries Mormon\u2019s own name, summarizes what German scholarship calls Heilsgeschichte<\/i>, the story of human salvation in history:<\/span><\/p>\n

Behold, he created<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Adam<\/i>, and by<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Adam<\/i> came<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

the fall of man<\/i>. And because of<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

the fall of man<\/i> came<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus Christ<\/i>, even the Father and the Son; and because of<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus Christ<\/i> came the<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

redemption of man<\/i>. And because of the<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

redemption of man<\/i>, which came by Jesus Christ,<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

they are brought back into the presence of the Lord.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

(Frankly, I can\u2019t help but think of the temple in connection with the passage just above.)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

A few hours ago, I posted several links to articles about Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) that prominently mentioned his Mormonism<\/a> as a factor in his resistance to President Donald J. Trump and Trumpism. \u00a0(See \u201cCharacter, Literary and Otherwise.\u201d<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s another, by Laurie Goodstein, writing in the\u00a0New York Times<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFlake\u2019s Speech Bore Marks of Mormon Faith<\/a>, Not Just Politics\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

You might also\u00a0find interesting these other items from the\u00a0New York Times<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFull Transcript: Jeff Flake\u2019s Speech on the Senate Floor\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs G.O.P. Bends Toward Trump, Critics Either Give In or Give Up\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And this, from National Review<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Towering Jeff Flake\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Like Jay Nordlinger, I have been a conservative and had been a Republican for decades longer than Donald Trump has ever claimed to be one. \u00a0And, like Jay Nordlinger, I sorrowfully left the Republican Party in 2016. \u00a0Or, rather, to paraphrase David Whitmer, it left me<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And, the way things are looking, I may not be back very soon. \u00a0Unfortunately, though, I haven\u2019t found a new political home.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Finally, an item from the Weekly Standard<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cExit Flake:\u00a0A conservative bows out.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Posted from Jerusalem, Israel<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 More notes: \u00a0 It is certainly conceivable that a sensitive person might be able, consciously or unconsciously, to mimic such elementary rhetorical structures on the basis of exposure to the Bible. (Whether the semi-literate Joseph Smith of the 1820s would have been capable of such mimicry is perhaps a separate question, however.) But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nStyle in the Book of Mormon . . . and a Mormon style in politics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    More notes:   It is certainly conceivable that a sensitive person might be able, consciously or unconsciously, to mimic such elementary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/10\/style-book-mormon-mormon-style-politics.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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