To review, the letter X is actually the Greek letter Chi. Xmas has been used for hundreds of years in religious writing, where the X represents a Greek chi, the first letter of Χριστος, “Christ.” So Xmas was a code phrase for Christ or Christmas.
Symbolically let’s look at another thing. Chi is the first part of the word Chiasmus, which is the figure of speech in which two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversal of structures in order to make a larger point; that is, the clauses display inverted parallelism. The center point is typically the most important point in the parallelism or Chiasmus. Hence, the letter X represents the intersection of the two legs of the letter X and would be the climatic point to be made.
In the Book of Mormon and other scriptures, most of the Chiasmus start with a phrase and idea and the intersection point or climactic point is usually about Christ. Then the reverse order of the proceeding ideas is laid out in beautiful parallelism. Alma Chapter 36 is one of the best examples of Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon and the intersection point is verse 17 when it declares that Christ atoned for the sins of the world! Merry Christmas!
a. My son, give ear to my words (1)
b. Keep the commandments and ye shall prosper in the land (1)
c. Do as I have done (2)
d. Captivity of our fathers–their bondage (2)
e. He surely did deliver them (2)
f. Trust in God (3)
g. Support in trials, troubles, and afflictions (3)
h. I know this not of myself but of God (4)
i. Born of God (5)
j. Alma seeks to harm the church (6)
k. Limbs paralyzed (10)
l. Fear of the presence of God (14)
m. Pains of a damned soul (16)
n. Alma remembers Jesus Christ (17)
o. Christ will atone for the sins of the
world (17)
n. Alma calls upon Jesus Christ (18)
m. Joy as exceeding as the pain (20)
l. Longing to be with God (22)
k. Use of limbs returns (23)
j. Alma seeks to bring souls unto God (24)
i. Born of God (26)
h. My knowledge is of God (26)
g. Supported under trials, troubles, and afflictions (27)
f. Trust in him (27)
e. He will deliver me (27)
d. Egypt–captivity (28-29)
c. Know as I do know (30)
b. Keep the commandments and ye shall prosper in the land (30)
a. This is according to his word (30)
From John Welch lightplanet.com