Alma 1:26 Textual Variants

Here the 1830 typesetter accidentally added the narrative connector now, perhaps because of its frequent usage in the nearby preceding text, although in none of these cases do we have a preceding and:

• verse 21 now there was a strict law among the people of the church that …
• verse 23 now this was in the second year of the reign of Alma
• verse 25 now this was a great trial to those that did stand fast in the faith

Of course, and now is very frequent as a narrative connector in the Book of Mormon, occurring about 650 times in the text. For another example where now was accidentally added after and, see under Mosiah 19:5; there Oliver Cowdery momentarily added the now as he was copying from 𝓞 into 𝓟. In each case involving and and now as narrative connectors, the critical text will follow the earliest textual reading. Here in Alma 1:26, the 1837 edition removed the intrusive now, probably because Joseph Smith noticed that 𝓟 itself lacked the now when he compared 𝓟 with the 1830 edition in preparation for the 1837 edition.