In 2 Nephi 5:15, 17, Joseph Smith replaced four that-clauses with infinitive clauses. A nearby example of this same kind of stylistic editing is found in 2 Nephi 5:3. Besides the
awkwardness of the original construction for modern English readers, Joseph may have also been reacting to the modal verb should, which could be misinterpreted as being conditional (that
is, Nephi’s people should do these things, but they weren’t required to).
Elsewhere Joseph Smith removed this particular kind of awkwardness only occasionally. One other example of this kind of editing (involving the verb forbid ) is found near the end of the
text:
- Mormon 1:17
- but I did remain among them but I were forbidden [that I should >js to 1|that I should A|to BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] preach unto them
Elsewhere in the text, we have numerous unedited examples like the original text in 2 Nephi 5:15, 17—namely, examples where the verb teach or cause is followed by a noun phrase
and then the words “that they should”:
to teach someone that they should do something
- 2 Nephi 33:10
- for they are the words of Christ and he hath given them unto me and they teach all men that they should do good
- Mosiah 10:17 (three conjoined that-clauses)
- and thus they have taught their children that they should hate them and that they should murder them and that they should rob and
plunder them
- Mosiah 12:37
- and have ye taught this people that they should do all these things
- Mosiah 13:25
- have ye taught this people that they should observe to do all these things
- Mosiah 24:6
- but they taught them that they should keep their record
- 4 Nephi 1:38
- and they did teach their children that they should not believe
to cause someone that they should do something
- Mosiah 6:7
- and king Mosiah did cause his people that they should till the earth
- Alma 21:3 (two conjoined that-clauses)
- therefore they did cause the Lamanites that they should harden their hearts that they should wax stronger in wickedness and their abominations
- Alma 60:17
- and they are murdering our people with the sword … and also carrying them away captive causing them that they should suffer all manner of afflictions
- 3 Nephi 2:3
- and Satan did go about leading away the hearts of the people tempting them and causing them that they should do great wickedness in the land
- Mormon 3:5
- I did cause my people that they should gather themselves together at the land Desolation
- Ether 9:33 (two conjoined that-clauses)
- the Lord did cause the serpents that they should pursue them no more but that they should hedge up the way
The examples with conjoined that-clauses especially show that there is nothing difficult about the conjoined that-clauses that were originally in 2 Nephi 5:15, 17.
