Alma 51:25 Textual Variants

The original manuscript has the subject pronoun he after the conjunction but. While copying into the printer’s manuscript, Oliver Cowdery accidentally dropped the pronoun. As noted under Mosiah 24:11, either reading will work here in Alma 51:25. More specifically, we note that elsewhere in the original text, in three cases of an initial clause beginning with “it came to pass” followed later by a but-clause, the subject is explicitly repeated (as a pronoun), but in four cases the potentially repeatable subject is ellipted:

repeated subject

• Alma 14:4
  • but it came to pass that they did not but they took them and bound them with strong cords
• Alma 53:7
  • and it came to pass that he did no more attempt a battle with the Lamanites in that year but he did employ his men in preparing for war
• Alma 57:9
  • and it came to pass that we did camp round about the city for many nights but we did sleep upon our swords and keep guards

ellipted subject

• Mosiah 24:12
  • and it came to pass that Alma and his people did not raise their voices to the Lord their God but did pour out their hearts to him
• Alma 14:20
  • and it came to pass that they departed and went their ways but came again on the morrow
• Helaman 10:12
  • and behold now it came to pass that when the Lord had spoken these words unto Nephi he did stop and did not go unto his own house but did return unto the multitudes which were scattered about upon the face of the land
• Ether 14:29
  • and it came to pass that they came forth but were driven again

In these examples, the subject can be explicitly repeated as a pronoun or ellipted. In the case of Alma 51:25, the critical text will therefore follow the reading in 𝓞, the earliest textual source.