The earliest text here reads respects rather than the expected singular respect. Joseph Smith emended the plural to the singular in his editing for the 1837 edition. A similar instance is found later in the book of Alma:
We note here that the preposition after respect(s) varies: to in Alma 1:30 and of in Alma 16:14. We also find this same variation textually between to and of in a passage near the end of the Book of Mormon:
Here the noun is respecter, the agent form derived from the verb respect.
David Eddington has suggested (personal communication, 20 December 2004) that the preposition in Moroni 8:12 should read of instead of to. The preposition in modern English is definitely of, as indicated by the two editions (the 1841 British edition and the 1874 RLDS edition) that independently changed the preposition in Moroni 8:12 to of. Nonetheless, the occurrence of to here in Alma 1:30 provides further support that the Book of Mormon use of to with respect(s) and respecter is intended.
There is evidence in earlier English for both the prepositions to and of in these expressions, although most examples use the preposition of. For instance, the online Oxford English Dictionary provides eight instances of “respect of persons”, but there is one instance of “respect to persons”. That single occurrence is found under partiary in the OED and dates from an Early Modern English dictionary of difficult words, Glossographia:
Literature Online provides numerous examples of “respect to persons”, including the following from near the time of the Book of Mormon translation:
One early example of “respect to persons” is found in the King James Bible (1611):
The King James Bible also has examples with the preposition of, with eight of “respect of persons” and one involving the noun respecter:
The evidence argues that either to or of may be used with respect and respecter.
The one other question is whether we ever get the plural form respects in this construction, such as “respects of persons” (as in Alma 16:14) or “respects to persons” (as in Alma 1:30). According to Literature Online , there is one example of the plural usage “respects of persons” in Francis Bacon’s Resuscitatio, dating from 1657. Mark Davies has provided me with the citation for this instance of the plural respects:
This latter sort, for the most part, are Men, of young years, and superficiall Understanding; Carried away, with partiall respects of Persons; Or with the Enticing Appearance, of Godly Names, and Pretences: Pauci res ipsas …
The plural usage appears to be possible, even though the only example I have been able to find thus far of this usage dates from the 1600s. But as discussed under Mosiah 19:24, there is evidence that the vocabulary of the original Book of Mormon text dates from the 1500s and 1600s. In any event, the plural respects is clearly used twice in the earliest Book of Mormon text (“having no respects to persons” here in Alma 1:30 and “without any respects of persons” in Alma 16:14); on the other hand, there are no instances at all of the singular noun respect in the earliest text.
Summary: Restore the unusual use of the plural respects in Alma 1:30 (“respects to persons”) as well as in Alma 16:14 (“respects of persons”); also accept the unusual use of the preposition to in Alma 1:30 (“respects to persons”) and in Moroni 8:12 (“respecter to persons”).