Wall Words

1. Form Analyzed
I chose to look at the language used by Samuel the Lamanite, particularly the use of repetition.

2. Passage Analyzed
I looked at the verses from Helaman chapter 13, verses 5 through 11.

3. Annotated Text

4. Breakdown / Listing of things found:
Samuel the Lamanite warns of some kind of destruction or loss in 6 different sentences, but also promises them with a way to be saved 5 different times.

5. Interpretation: 
Imagine being responsible for an entire peoples' salvation, through a one-time-only warning from the Lord. You'd want to make sure they got the message, right? Especially if you're on top of a wall trying to yell at them. In both his words and the Lord's words, Samuel explains that destruction awaits them unless they repent, and then repeats that idea a good handful of times. "Bad things are coming unless you repent...and unless you repent bad things will come." Also, by using both his words and the Lord's he provides the "two witnesses" that are required for these words to be established.

6. Connections / Questions:
Repetition appears all over the Book of Mormon, particularly as prophets explain things to the people. Words of Nephi (as Elijah pointed out in his blog post) and even Jesus Christ come to mind. I wonder if there's any pattern to the repetition, or is it just naturally given?

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."