1 Nephi 15:30 Textual Variants

and the brightness thereof was like unto the brightness of a ﬂaming fire which [ascendeth 01ABCDEFGHIKLMNOPQRST|ascended J] up unto God forever and ever and hath no end

The 1888 LDS large-print edition accidentally set the present-tense ascendeth as the past-tense ascended, probably because of the preceding past-tense was. Nonetheless, the following presenttense hath (“and hath no end”) shows that this eternal ﬂaming fire should be referred to in the present tense. Similar passages also use the present-tense ascendeth:

Nephi 9:16 whose ﬂames ascendeth up forever and ever
Jacob 6:10 and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever
Mosiah 2:38 whose ﬂames ascendeth up forever and ever
Mosiah 3:27 and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever
Alma 12:17 whose ﬂames ascendeth up forever and ever

Also see the discussion regarding separateth under 1 Nephi 15:28.

Summary: Maintain the present-tense ascendeth in 1 Nephi 15:30.

Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon, Part. 1

References