Book of Mormon Poet
Poetry in the BoM

Chiasmus · Helaman 6:7–13

Peace in Both Lands

A year’s record, not a sermon: the sixty-fourth year of the reign of the judges, folded into nine layers. Peace opens and closes it. At the apex, Zedekiah and the Lord stand together — in Hebrew, the -yah of the name is the Lord.

  1. A

    And behold, there was peace in all the land.6:7

  2. B

    The Nephites did go into whatsoever part of the land they would, and did have free intercourse, to buy and to sell, and to get gain, according to their desire.6:7–8

  3. C

    They became exceedingly rich, both the Lamanites and the Nephites.6:9

  4. D

    They did have an exceeding plenty of gold, and of silver, and of all manner of precious metals, both in the land south and in the land north.6:9

  5. E

    Now the land south was called Lehi, and the land north was called Mulek.6:10

  6. F

    Which was after the son of Zedekiah; for the Lord did bring Mulek into the land north, and Lehi into the land south.6:10

  7. E′

    And behold, there was all manner of gold in both these lands, and of silver, and of precious ore of every kind.6:11

  8. D′

    There were also curious workmen, who did work all kinds of ore and did refine it.6:11

  9. C′

    And thus they did become rich.6:11

  10. B′

    They did raise grain in abundance, both in the north and in the south. Their women did toil and spin, and did make all manner of cloth.6:12–13

  11. A′

    And thus the sixty and fourth year did pass away in peace.6:13

Why the form matters

Welch judged it among the finest examples in the book. It may be a yearly summary Mormon lifted whole from the large plates. The center only fully rhymes in Hebrew, which is a quiet argument about the language of the record.