A Scriptural Psalm of Chiasmus

Hey y'all! Sending you my best from Arizona! This week's post is going to be a little different than usual... The idea did not come from a previous concept developed on my mission, but from a class project that I submitted this week.

Funny enough, in the hustle and bustle of my Finals has me thinking, eating, and breathing educational principles. So, with that as my inspiration, I want to share with you a poem I wrote for my Pearl of Great Price course. If you are unfamiliar with what a chiamus is, I will explain it afterwards, but that's what this is:

"The Pearl of Great Price - A Scriptural Psalm of Chiasmus"

¹Wilt thou, in Glory, show Thy face,

²And grant dominion to me?

³Let my remnant bless this place,

⁴And forgive my trespass to Thee.

⁵Help me tame that vile snake,

⁶And see my noble worth.

⁷Set me roaring for Thy sake,

⁸To cleanse the wicked Earth.

⁹Let me note the planet’s girth,

¹⁰My plea, to mountains shake.

¹¹Show unto me my great pre-birth,

¹²Let my light, from darkness, break.

¹³Clear me unashamedly,

¹⁴Bless my offer with Thy grace,

¹⁵And give unto me freely,

¹⁶Until I see Thy face.

-Cale Kenneth Montoya (12-14-23)

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¹Moses 1:2 (The Pearl of Great Price - Standard Works)

²Moses 2:26

³Moses 3:21-22

⁴Moses 4:15-27

⁵Moses 5:23

⁶Moses 6:31-35

⁷Moses 7:10-13

⁸Moses 8:28-30

⁹Abraham 1:31

¹⁰Abraham 2:6,12,17

¹¹Abraham 3:22-23

¹²Abraham 4:3-5

¹³Abraham 5:19

¹⁴Facsimile 1

¹⁵Facsimile 2, Figure 7

¹⁶Facsimile 3

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There exists a style of literature that was often used by the ancient biblical peoples. It is a hebrew style of writing known as “Chiasmus” and it consists of elaborate sentence patterns that were probably even used in speech. Throughout all of the Holy Scriptures within the Standard Works, chiasmus is identifiable. What it is, is the formatting of a certain paragraph, verse, or set of verses that begins with a certain principle and ends with a certain principle; Each principle in between is then mirrored by a similar principle, i.e. the second principle mentioned in the set of verses matches the second-to-last principle, the third principle matches the third to last principle, etc…

Scholars have used this to identify patterns in the Bible and Book of Mormon and it is often highlighted with a method that resembles some form of visual chart. The most common chart used in identifying a chiasmus is what looks like a vertical obtuse triangle, principles mirrored and meeting directly in the middle. Above, you will see that as the author of this poem, I formatted it in a similar style so you can easily identify the mirrored principles on each set of lines until they meet with nearly the same sentences.

Additionally, each line of this carefully crafted poem is not only a psalm of some sort addressing God the Father, but they are themed on the basis of chapters in the Pearl of Great Price. As you have probably been able to tell, each chapter, and even the facsimiles, are accounted for in every line of the poem in succession, i.e. Moses 1, then Moses 2, then Moses 3, etc… (See the footnotes for reference).

The poem also takes on a symbolic style. It is written mainly from the perspective of a prophet, for Moses, Enoch, and Abraham spoke to God face to face and all of them felt inadequate and humbled by their given calling. The poem shows the desperation and desire of such an individual and how important it is to rely on God in all that we do. After all, that is His work and His glory! (Moses 1:37)

-Cale K. Montoya