According to Donald Parry, Anabasis (Greek, "to go up") is a poetical devise where there is an apparent stepping up from one sense to another, until, at the pinnacle is a culmination of thought. Because anabasis consists of an ascension of thought, it is also known as gradational or staircase parallelism. . . . A remarkable example of anabasis is found in Helaman 11:36-37. Describing the people of God, the Book of Mormon prophet demonstrates that, with each succeeding year, there was a retrogression from a state of righteousness to a condition of wickedness:
And in the eighty and second year
they began again to forget the Lord their God.
And in the eighty and third year
they began to wax strong in iniquity
And in the eighty and fourth year
they did not mend their ways
And . . . in the eighty and fifth year
they did wax stronger and stronger in their pride, and in their wickedness
Simple forgetfulness was a feature of the eighty-second year of the judges, but after a period of four years, the Nephites became full of "wickedness" and "pride." An important truth is set forth in a dramatic way. [Donald W. Parry, The Book of Mormon Text Reformatted according to Parallelistic Patterns, F.A.R.M.S., pp. xxi-xxii]