One poetic form used in the Bible is known as “climax,” which is the Greek word for “ladder.” According to Donald W. Parry, literary climax “occurs when the same word or words found at the end of one clause are repeated at or near the beginning of the next clause.” The sequence forms a kind of “ladder” of expression. In Mormon 9:12–13, for example, note the sequencing and repeating of the words Adam, fall of man, Jesus Christ, redemption of man, and so on. A biblical example of climax is found in Joel 1:3–4.
Many climaxes are found in the book of Mormon (see also 1 Nephi 15:13–20, 33–35; 2 Nephi 1:13; Mosiah 2:17–19; Alma 42:17–20; Helaman 5:6–8; Ether 3:15–16), attesting to the fact that this book is part of the ancient world of the Bible. The poetic form of climax in the Bible was not discovered until more than six decades after the publication of the Book of Mormon. (See Echoes, 166–169.) We can see how effective this literary device is in emphasizing the doctrines of salvation in the passage quoted above (Mormon 9:12–13).