Book of Mormon Borrowings from the New Testament
Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 3:38 am
Wikipedia defines “parallelisms” in rhetoric as “giving two or more parts of the sentences a similar form so as to give the whole a definite pattern.” I propose that the following examples are rhetorical parallelisms. Each begins with a citation from the Book of Mormon, that is followed by the Book of Mormon quote to which it applies, followed by a parallel quote in the New Testament, and followed, finally, by the citation to the New Testament quote. (The previous sentence is an example of parallelism in grammar bty.)
I ask the following questions: (1) Do these parallelisms create a pattern establishing that Joseph Smith copied New Testament words and phrases as he was translating or writing, as the case may be, the Book of Mormon?; (2) If the answer to the first question is in the affirmative, what does this tell us about how to Book of Mormon was created?; and (3) Would it be helpful if I produced hundreds of these parallelisms between Book of Mormon and New Testament phrases and sentences?
1. 1 Nephi 1:14: “Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty”; “Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty”: Revelation 15:3
2. 1 Nephi 2:10: “steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord” “steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord” 1 Cor. 15:58.
3. 1 Nephi 2:18: “being grieved because of the hardness of their hearts”; “being grieved for the hardness of their hearts”: Mark 3:5.
4. 1 Nephi 2:24: “to stir them up in the ways of remembrance”; “to stir you up by putting you in remembrance” 2 Peter 1:13.
5. 1 Nephi 3:20: “spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets… since the world began”; “spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began”: Acts 3:21.
6. 1 Nephi 5:8: “Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath…delivered them out of the hands of Laban”; “Now I know of a surety, that the LORD hath…delivered me out of the hand of Herod”: Acts 12:11.
7. 1 Nephi 5:18: “all nations, kindreds, tongues and people”; “every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people”: Revelation 11:9.
8. 1 Nephi 10:8-10: “for there standeth one among you whom ye know not; and he is mightier than I, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. And much spake my father concerning this thing. And my father said he should baptize in Bethabara, beyond Jordan; and he also said he should baptize with water; even that he should baptize the Messiah with water. And after he had baptized the Messiah with water, he should behold and bear record that he had baptized the Lamb of God, who should take away the sins of the world”; “but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; he it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world”: John 1:26-27.
9. 1 Nephi 10:8: “cry in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight”; “the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord”: John 1:23.
10. 1 Nephi 10:18: “he is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever”; “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever”: Heb. 13:8.
I ask the following questions: (1) Do these parallelisms create a pattern establishing that Joseph Smith copied New Testament words and phrases as he was translating or writing, as the case may be, the Book of Mormon?; (2) If the answer to the first question is in the affirmative, what does this tell us about how to Book of Mormon was created?; and (3) Would it be helpful if I produced hundreds of these parallelisms between Book of Mormon and New Testament phrases and sentences?
1. 1 Nephi 1:14: “Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty”; “Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty”: Revelation 15:3
2. 1 Nephi 2:10: “steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord” “steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord” 1 Cor. 15:58.
3. 1 Nephi 2:18: “being grieved because of the hardness of their hearts”; “being grieved for the hardness of their hearts”: Mark 3:5.
4. 1 Nephi 2:24: “to stir them up in the ways of remembrance”; “to stir you up by putting you in remembrance” 2 Peter 1:13.
5. 1 Nephi 3:20: “spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets… since the world began”; “spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began”: Acts 3:21.
6. 1 Nephi 5:8: “Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath…delivered them out of the hands of Laban”; “Now I know of a surety, that the LORD hath…delivered me out of the hand of Herod”: Acts 12:11.
7. 1 Nephi 5:18: “all nations, kindreds, tongues and people”; “every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people”: Revelation 11:9.
8. 1 Nephi 10:8-10: “for there standeth one among you whom ye know not; and he is mightier than I, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. And much spake my father concerning this thing. And my father said he should baptize in Bethabara, beyond Jordan; and he also said he should baptize with water; even that he should baptize the Messiah with water. And after he had baptized the Messiah with water, he should behold and bear record that he had baptized the Lamb of God, who should take away the sins of the world”; “but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; he it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world”: John 1:26-27.
9. 1 Nephi 10:8: “cry in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight”; “the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord”: John 1:23.
10. 1 Nephi 10:18: “he is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever”; “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever”: Heb. 13:8.
