2 Nephi 1:20 Textual Variants

Here the originally dictated text in 𝓞 shows a shift from my to his. In the first inasmuch-clause, Lehi directly quotes the words of the Lord, but in the second inasmuch-clause, Lehi shifts to his own words. Oliver Cowdery had some difficulty writing down the second clause. The transcript of 𝓞 shows two levels of correction:

• 2 Nephi 1:20 (combining lines 4 and 5 on page 48 of 𝓞; from is not extant)

my keep^ commandments my but in as much as ye will not ^ ye shall be cut off frompresance

Initially, Oliver got ahead of himself and wrote the second clause with an ellipsis: “but in as much as ye will not / ye shall be cut off from his presance”. He then corrected what he had just written (the level of ink flow is unchanged) by supralinearly inserting the missing “keep his commandments”. But then somewhat later Oliver apparently realized that in going from the first to the second inasmuch-clause, the text had shifted from first person to third person, so he crossed out both instances of his and supralinearly inserted my, thus making the second clause into a direct quote. The original manuscript here is severely damaged, and it is difficult to determine whether the two supralinear my’s were written with heavier ink flow. (The crossouts of the two his’s do not appear to have been done with particularly heavier ink flow.) The important point here is that Oliver’s initial supralinear correction (“keep his commandments”) would probably never have occurred unless Joseph Smith had actually dictated his both times. In other words, the initial correction implies that the original text for the second clause read “but inasmuch as ye will not keep his commandments / ye shall be cut off from his presence”.

This promise of the Lord’s that by keeping the commandments one would prosper is found throughout the Book of Mormon. Initially, the Lord’s promise is given in a direct quote and is stated positively:

• 1 Nephi 2:19–20 (Nephi quoting the Lord)
  • and it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me saying … and inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper and shall be led to a land of promise
• 1 Nephi 4:14 (Nephi quoting the Lord)
  • I remembered the words of the Lord which he spake unto me in the wilderness saying that inasmuch as thy seed shall keep my commandments they shall prosper in the land of promise

The first time the promise is referred to in 2 Nephi, it is still positively stated but now indirectly:

• 2 Nephi 1:9 (Lehi to his sons)
  • wherefore I Lehi have obtained a promise that inasmuch as they which the Lord God shall bring out of the land of Jerusalem shall keep his commandments they shall prosper upon the face of this land

Later on in 2 Nephi 1, we get the first occurrence of the promise in a negative form. Yet this passage also includes the positive form of the promise. In the earliest form of the text, the initial positive statement of the promise is a direct quote, while the negative statement of the promise is indirect:

• 2 Nephi 1:20 (Lehi to his sons)
  • and he hath said that inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land but inasmuch as ye will not keep his commandments ye shall be cut off from his presence

It is as if the Lord gave only the positive form of the promise and that the negative form of the promise was formulated by Lehi himself. Yet the next reference to the promise (in 2 Nephi 4) includes both the negative and positive forms, and in this instance both are direct quotes:

• 2 Nephi 4:4 (Lehi to Laman’s children)
  • for the Lord God hath said that inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land and inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence

Oliver Cowdery’s editing of 2 Nephi 1:20 makes the text conform to the language of 2 Nephi 4:4.

Elsewhere we have five additional passages where the promise occurs in both a positive and a negative form. In two cases, both forms are directly quoted:

• Alma 9:13 (Alma to the people of Ammonihah, quoting the Lord’s words to Lehi)
  • behold do ye not remember the words which he spake unto Lehi saying that inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land and again it is said that inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord
• Alma 50:19–20 (Mormon’s commentary, quoting the Lord’s words to Lehi)
  • yea we can behold that his words are verified even at this time which he spake unto Lehi saying … and inasmuch as they shall keep my commandments they shall prosper in the land but remember inasmuch as they will not keep my commandments they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord

In two cases, both forms of the promise are indirectly quoted:

• Alma 36:30 (Alma to Helaman)
  • for ye had ought to know as I do know that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land and ye had ought to know also that inasmuch as ye will not keep the commandments of God ye shall be cut off from his presence
• Alma 38:1 (Alma to Shiblon)
  • for I say unto you even as I said unto Helaman that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land and inasmuch as ye will not keep the commandments of God ye shall be cut off from his presence

Finally, in one case we get precisely the same construction as the original text in 2 Nephi 1:20— namely, the positive form of the promise is directly quoted and then the negative form of the promise is indirectly quoted:

• Alma 37:13 (Alma to Helaman)
  • and he saith if ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land but if ye keep not his commandments ye shall be cut off from his presence

In fact, in the 1953 RLDS edition for this last example, the two occurrences of the possessive pronoun his were edited to my, just like Oliver Cowdery’s editing of 2 Nephi 1:20. Clearly, there has been a strong tendency to remove the shifting from a direct quote to an indirect one. For further discussion, see Alma 37:13.

To complete this analysis, I list a number of single references to the Lord’s promise to Lehi elsewhere in the text; most are positive and are indirect quotes:

positive and direct:

• Jarom 1:9 (Jarom quoting the Lord)
  • but the word of the Lord was verified which he spake unto our fathers saying that inasmuch as ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land negative and direct:
• Omni 1:6 (Amaron quoting the Lord)
  • yea he would not suffer that the words should not be verified which he spake unto our fathers saying that inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall not prosper in the land

positive and indirect:

• Mosiah 1:7 (king Benjamin to his sons)
  • and I would that ye should keep the commandments of God that ye may prosper in the land according to the promises which the Lord made unto our fathers
• Mosiah 2:22 (king Benjamin to his people)
  • and he hath promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land
• Mosiah 2:22 (king Benjamin to his people)
  • therefore if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you
• Alma 36:1 (Alma to Helaman)
  • for I swear unto you that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land
• Alma 48:15 (Mormon’s commentary)
  • or in other words if they were faithful in keeping the commandments of God that he would prosper them in the land
• Alma 48:25 (Mormon’s commentary)
  • for the promises of the Lord were if they should keep the commandments they should prosper in the land
• 3 Nephi 5:22 (Mormon’s commentary)
  • and inasmuch as the children of Lehi hath kept his commandments he hath blessed them and prospered them according to his word