The Law and the Word of the Lord:  Our Duty and Our Quest

TWO OTHER CHIASMS

Talk  (F'89) by Sterling D. Allan

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First Additional Chiasm

a-1 Note that some of the wording here is identical
 a-2 to that in the prophecy in Third Nephi about our gentile society in general. (3 Ne. 16:15.)

. . b-1 Is the reason
. .  b-2 our society as a whole has fallen from God's favor
. .   b-3 because
. .    b-4 the salt has lost
. .     b-5 its savor?

. . . . c-1 In this same revelation in Doctrine and Covenants 103,
. . . .  c-2 the Lord promised
. . . .   c-3 that if the saints would hearken to ALL his counsels,

. . . . . . d-1 they would prevail against the kingdoms of the world and would "never cease to prevail until the kingdoms of the world are subdued under [His] feet, and the earth is given unto the saints, to posses it forever and ever." (103:7.)
. . . . . .  d-2 However, he then warned
. . . . . .   d-3 that if the saints would not hearken altogether unto his precepts and commandments

. . . . . . . . e that the kingdoms of the world would prevail against them.
. . . . . . . . . . f He reassured us that Zion will "be established,
. . . . . . . . . . . . g no more to be thrown down." (103:14.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . h-1 However, he said that this blessing will come
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .  h-2 "after much tribulation." (103:12.)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .   h-3 This prophecy in the Doctrine and Covenants
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .    h-4 is STRIKINGLY SIMILAR IN WORDING AND ESSENCE to Daniel chapter seven.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i There also, Daniel spoke of how the saints shall eventually "possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever." (7:18; compare D&C 103:7.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . j-1 He said that before the saints would be given the kingdom,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  j-2 the kingdoms of the world would prevail against them. The symbolic beast he described "shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces." (7:23.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . k It will also make "war with the saints, and...[prevail] against them" for three and a half years. (7:21,25; compare Rev. 13:5.)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l World conditions today suggest
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l that WE STAND ON THE BRINK OF THE FULFILLMENT OF THIS PROPHECY.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . k In First Nephi 14, Nephi describes the two sides of this war.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . j-1 He saw that all mankind would either belong to the church of the Lamb of God,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  j-2 or they would belong to the church of the devil. (14:10.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i People will either be convinced unto peace and life eternal

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . h-1 or they will be delivered
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .  h-2 to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds. (14:7.)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .   h-3 Accordingly, President Benson recently declared,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .    h-4 "As the issues become CLEARER and more OBVIOUS,

. . . . . . . . . . . . g all mankind will be required to align themselves
. . . . . . . . . . f either for the kingdom of God
. . . . . . . . e or with the kingdom of the devil.

. . . . . . d-1 As these conflicts rage,
. . . . . .  d-2 either secretly or openly,
. . . . . .   d-3 the righteous will be tested." (Ensign, Nov. 1988, p. 87.)

. . . . c-1 Isaiah
. . . .  c-2 prepares us for this valley of decision
. . . .   c-3 by laying down the two issues into which ALL other issues may be circumscribed.

. . b-1 He said the reason
. .  b-2 destructions will come
. .   b-3 will be "because
. .    b-4 [we] have (1) cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and (2) despised the word of the Holy One of Israel." (Isa. 5:24.)
. .     b-5 The law and the word,

a-1 though related,
 a-2 are separate things.

Second Additional Chiasm

a-1 These two, the spiritual
 a-2 and the temporal, are closely intertwined.

. . b-1 We as members of the church were set up to be a light unto the world
. .  b-2 on both issues.

. . . . c-1 On both fronts collectively
. . . .  c-2 we have not adequately fulfilled our responsibility.
. . . .   c-3 We have not held up the principles of the gospel as we should
. . . .    c-4 both by sharing it
. . . .     c-5 and by the way we live our personal lives.

. . . . . . d-1 Also, not enough of us
. . . . . .  d-2 have stood up to defend

. . . . . . . . e our originally inspired and now faltering Constitution
. . . . . . . . . . f as it has eroded before our eyes.
. . . . . . . . . . . . g These issues constitute basic reasons for the coming chastening destructions.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . h Renewing our devotion to these principles
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i will likewise save us.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . j-1 Perhaps a major purpose
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  j-2 of the chastisement to come

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . k will be to restore our determination to stand firm on both fronts.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l From the book of Helaman, we discover that THESE SAME FACTORS LAID AT THE ROOT OF A DIVISION THAT OCCURRED AMONG THE NEPHITES.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . k They too had come to despise the word of God. (Hel. 8:25.) They had also cast away the laws of Mosiah, which hold remarkable similarities to the Constitution of the United States. (Hel. 4:22.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . j-1 For these reasons,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  j-2 . . chastening destructions came upon them.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i They were delivered
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . h when they humbled themselves sufficiently
. . . . . . . . . . . . g and destroyed the Gadianton robbers from off the face of the land. (Hel. 11:10.)
. . . . . . . . . . f This ancient secret combination, like one that threatens the world today,
. . . . . . . . e had usurped the Nephite's virtuous government

. . . . . . d-1 and even "seduced the more part of the righteous
. . . . . .  d-2 until they had come down to believe in their works." (Hel. 7:4; 6:38.)

. . . . c-1 In Revelation chapter thirteen, John recorded a vision that closely resembles the one Daniel saw. He described a symbolic beast that would make war with the Saints for three and a half years. (13:5,7.)
. . . .  c-2 His graphic account suggests how influential, deceptive, and alluring this beast will be.
. . . .   c-3 Only those saints whose names are "written in the book of life"
. . . .    c-4 will not worship the beast
. . . .     c-5 and take the mark of the beast. (13:8,16.)
. . . . c(1) In the previous chapter, John described another war--
. . . . . . i the war in heaven. (12:7.)
. . . . . . . . ii Then in the same context he mentioned the war that satan will wage
. . . . . . . . . . iii yet again on the earth. (12:17.)
. . . . . . . . . . iii Indeed, the war that is now being waged on earth,
. . . . . . . . ii and which will become most intense in the days ahead,
. . . . . . i is a repeat of the war in heaven.

. . b-1 Freedom is still the crux,
. .  b-2 this time on two arenas.

a-1 The conflict is not only spiritual,
 a-2 it is also physical.

Additional Chiasms by Sterling D. Allan; October, 1992

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SEE ALSO: Regular text /Chiasm / Chiasm in Script /Triple parallel<PDF download> / Substructure /Diagram / History of  discovery / Order Reprint