Interactive Narrating

We don’t see a lot of spoken word in its truest sense. Only in a few instances do we have literal communicated dialogue. 

Pg 554 We have Ammaron’s commission to Mormon as a young boy.

“I percieve that thou art a sober child, and art quick to observe, therefore, when ye are about twenty and four years old I would that ye should remember the things that ye have observed concerning this people and when ye are of that age go to the land Antum, unto a hill which shall be called Shim; and there have I deposited unto he Lord a ll the sacred engravings concerning this people. And behold, ye shall take the Plates of nephi unto yourself, and the remainder shall ye leave in the place where they are and ye shall engrave on the Plates of Nephi all the things that ye have observed concerning this people.”

Detailed Dialogue from Ammaron provides us with specific knowledge of what Mormons quest and purpose is to be. From here on though we don’t get great interaction from the characters to their peers. 

Other Dialogue mainly consists of words from God himself. As the people have become wicked God gives this instruction “Cry unto this people. Repent ye, and come unto me, and be ye baptized, and build up again my church, and ye shall be spared.”

Aside from these examples it is hard to draw a true sermon from Mormon. He spends much of his time as a very involved and detailed narrator as to the things that have happened. In a sense he is speaking to the future generations about avoiding the same downfall as his people. But again it isn’t true spoken word. Even his lamentation at the end gives the perception of being towards specific people but its recorded in more of a historical account rather then an actual speech. 

Fiery Rhetoric- Jacob's Call to Repentance

1. Form Analyzed

I decided to look at language, specifically the repetition and imagery Jacob uses to make his words more vivid in the sermon

2. Passage Analyzed

Within my section (2 Nephi 9-18), I focused on the words of Jacob, spoken to the people of Nephi, found in verses 39-45 in chapter 9

3. Annotated Text





















4. Breakdown 
Jacob repeats "Remember" five times, uses the word truth three times in verse 40 alone, and repeats imagery related to shaking four times in the passage

5. Interpretation:
Jacob is determined to make his people understand the seriousness of eternal judgement.  His use of strong exhortations and vivid imagery of shaking off guilt and the chains of the adversary urge the listener to deeply consider their own salvation.

6. Connections / Questions:
I would be interested to compare these exhortations with the repeated invitations Nephi extended to his brothers to chose the right.  It seems to me that Jacob is both more direct and outwardly focused on the sins of his audience in his oratory whereas Nephi at least appears to put more emphasis on his own example and positive actions to more indirectly encourage his brothers  ("I will go and do", "If the Lord commanded all things I could do them").  Certainly he doesn't depict the final judgement and the "binding chains" of the adversary in such a colorful way.  Perhaps Jacob's more direct approach in this vivid call to repentance was brought on by the falling away of Laman and Lemuel and the separation that had taken place only a few chapters before.  It could be he feared the same fate for the people as a whole at this time.

Interestingly enough, Nephi does come close in some ways to this style of expression in 2 Nephi 4. As Eliza noted in her post, Nephi also heavily relies on repetition and even uses self-applied imagery of groaning, weeping, and drooping in relation to sin- quite similar in ways to Jacob's imagery of "shaking."