Aaning of the word "church" in the Book of Mormon is more compOther anachronisms

Critics Jerald and Sandra Tanner and Marvin W. Cowan contend that certain
linguistic properties show possible anachronisms in the text which question its
claim as a historical document.[25][26] These critics cite linguistic anachronisms
such as:

The Americanized name "Sam" 1 Nephi 2:5 and 17

The French word "adieu" Jacob 7:27
Exact copies of many verses of the King James version of the Bible, which was not
published until 1611
Gee, Roper and Tvedtnes report that the name "Sam" is found on a bronze ringmounted
seal dated in the 7th century B.C.[citation needed] They also note that the name
"Samuel" in Hebrew is a combination of two words�Shem and El. In early Hebrew, the
same letter was used for "s" and "sh" and vowels were not specified. Judges 12:6
demonstrates that the tribe of Joseph pronounced the letter that Shem began with as
"s". The Book of Mormon states that Lehi was a descendant of Joseph.[27]

Apologists contend that the anachronism of the French word adieu, and others, may
have been the result of Smith choosing the best word available to convey the
meaning of the original text.[28][29]

Craig L. Blomberg has pointed out several verses in the Book Mormon apparently
similar to biblical verses in the King James version of the Bible. According to
Blomberg, 2 Nephi 31:13 includes overt references to Acts 2:38, Matthew 3:11, 1
Corinthians 13:2, and were most likely written with their direct influence in mind.
Furthermore, Blomberg claims that 2 Nephi 31:21 contains allusions to Acts 4:12.
Blomberg summarizes his overall position on Book of Mormon anachronisms as follows:
"Indeed, the entire Book of Mormon abounds with explicit references to Christ, to
his life and ministry and to the three persons of the Godhead long before New
Testament times ... even though none of these concepts or terms ever appear in
these forms in the Old Testament or any other ancient Jewish literature."[30]

Chiasmus
Chiasmus is a form of rhetorical parallelism wherein key ideas familiar to the
reader are inverted, usually for some kind of emphasis. Chiasmus appears in many
languages, including English,[31][32] Ugaritic, Biblical Hebrew,[33] Aramaic,
Greek,[34] and Latin.[35] It is found in the Bible and other ancient Middle Eastern
poetry

Book of Mormon
Examples of chiasmus can be found in the Book of Mormon. Some have argued chiasmus
is evidence of the text's historical authenticity, suggesting it reflects the
Semitic background of Nephi and other authors of the Book of Mormon. They claim
that such findings support claims of Hebrew origins in the text on the basis that
chiasmus is often found in Hebrew texts such as the Bible.

In 1969, John W. Welch discovered a variety of instances of chiasmus in the Book of

Mormon and along with his discovery came attention to the phenomenon.[36] The most
commonly cited example of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon is the prophet Alma's
religious experience, as recorded in Alma 36. Welch claims that it is unlikely,
although not impossible,[37] that Smith knew about chiasmus at the time of the Book
of Mormon's publication,[38] which implies that chiasmus could only be present in
the text if indeed the text is a translation and not a fabrication.

Others argue that chiasmus is not necessarily evidence of Hebrew origin.[39]

Still others disagree on the extent to which chiasmus occurs in the text. With
regard to the Alma chapter 36 chiasmus, one critic alleges that Welch "fashioned a
chiasm by selecting elements from repetitious language, creatively labeling
elements, ignoring text, pairing unbalanced elements, and even including
asymmetrical elements".[40]

Welch himself offers the following caution regarding a tendency of enthusiastic

readers to see chiasmus where it is not actually present:

Some people, of course, have gone overboard with this search, and caution must be
employed; otherwise, it is possible to find chiasmus in the telephone book, and the
effort becomes meaningless �. One must be careful in this quest, however, to avoid
the problems of the 'hammer syndrome'�to the person holding a hammer, everything
looks like a nail. To the person who knows only chiasmus and no other form of
literary composition, everything may start looking like a chiasm.[41]

Hugh W. Pinnock, an LDS Church general authority, stated:

Because the study of Hebrew writing forms in the Book of Mormon can strengthen
testimony and be quite exciting, a number of researchers and laypersons have become
overly enthusiastic, much to the detriment of the subject and integrity of their
studies.[42]

Critics argue that there is no correlation between the appearance of chiasmus and
the authenticity of the Book of Mormon because, among other things, chiasmus
appears in many languages including eighteenth- and nineteenth-century English
literature.