wherefore by laboring with our [mights 1ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQS|might RT] their blood might not come upon our garments
The original text of the Book of Mormon has numerous instances of plural mights where in modern English we expect the singular might. The plural form, in fact, is the normal one
in the original text, providing we are dealing with a plurality of people and there are no adjoining conjuncts that are semantically related to might. In all, there are 12 instances of
mights in the earliest textual sources. Besides the one here in Jacob 1:19, we have these instances:
- Jacob 5:61
- that we may labor diligently with our [mights 1ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQS|might RT] in the vineyard
- Jacob 5:62
- wherefore let us go to and labor with our [mights 1ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQS|might RT] this last time
- Jacob 5:71
- go to and labor in the vineyard with your [mights 1ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQS|might RT]
- Jacob 5:71
- and if ye labor with your [mights 1ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQS|might RT] with me ye shall have joy in the fruit …
- Jacob 5:72 (𝓞 is not extant here)
- and it came to pass that the servants did go to it and labor with their mights
- Alma 26:5
- for ye did thrust in the sickle and did reap with your [mights 1ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQS|might RT]
- Alma 44:17
- yea and the Lamanites did contend with their swords and their [mights 01ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQS|might RT]
- Alma 56:15
- and I found Antipus and his men toiling with their [mights 01ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQS|might RT] to fortify the city
- Alma 56:37
- when they saw the army of Antipus pursuing them with their [mights 01ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQS|might RT] they did not turn to the right nor to the left
- Mormon 2:4
- and it came to pass that we did fortify the city with our [mights 1ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQS|might RT]
- Ether 15:24
- and they contended in their [mights 1ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQS|might RT] with their swords and with their shields all that day
Each instance is of the form “ mights”, where the preposition is either with or in and the plural possessive pronoun is our, your, or their.
The editors for the 1920 LDS edition changed all but one of these instances of mights to the expected singular, might. The only surviving case of mights in the LDS text
is in Jacob 5:72; undoubtedly this exception was simply missed in the editing for the 1920 edition. The critical text will retain all 12 cases of the original mights.
On the other hand, there are seven cases where the earliest text reads might instead of mights. In two of these cases (each marked below with an asterisk), Oliver Cowdery
initially wrote the plural mights when he copied the text from 𝓞 into 𝓟. In both cases, he erased the plural s, so we can tell that these two corrections were immediate. And in
one of the two (in Alma 58:13), the original manuscript is extant and reads in the singular, thus showing in that case that Oliver’s correction in 𝓟 restored the original singular might.
All of these examples show that in the earliest extant text the singular might is also found in plural contexts:
- Jacob 7:25 (𝓞 is not extant here)
- wherefore the people of Nephi did fortify against them with their arms and with all their might
- * Mosiah 10:19
- I did stimulate them to go to battle with their [mights >% might 1|might ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] putting their trust in the Lord
- Alma 2:36 (𝓞 is not extant here)
- and the Nephites did pursue them with their might and did slay them
- Alma 19:16 (the end of might is extant in 𝓞)
- and it came to pass that they did call on the name of the Lord in their might
- * Alma 58:13
- and thus we did go forth with all our [might 0ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST|mights >% might 1] against the Lamanites
- Helaman 9:3 (𝓞 is not extant here)
- and it came to pass that they ran in their might and came in unto the judgment seat
- 3 Nephi 3:16 (𝓞 is not extant here)
- and they did exert themselves in their might to do according to the words of Lachoneus
Of course, when dealing with only one person, the text has only might:
- The Words of Mormon 1:18
- wherefore with the help of these king Benjamin by laboring with all the might of his body and the faculty of his whole soul …
- Mosiah 9:18
- and God did hear our cries and did answer our prayers and we did go forth in his might
Finally, when there are adjoining conjuncts that are semantically related to might (words like strength, mind, dominion, power, and majesty), we get only the singular
might, irrespective of whether there is one person or many:
- 1 Nephi 22:24
- and the Holy One of Israel must reign in dominion and might and power and great glory
- 2 Nephi 21:2 (Isaiah 11:2)
- and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him the spirit of wisdom and understanding the spirit of counsel and might the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the
Lord
- 2 Nephi 25:29
- wherefore ye must bow down before him and worship him with all your might mind and strength and your whole soul
- Mosiah 2:11
- to serve thee with all the might mind and strength which the Lord hath granted unto me
- Alma 5:50
- yea the Son of God cometh in his glory and in his might majesty power and dominion
- Alma 12:15
- we must come forth and stand before him in his glory and in his power and in his might majesty and dominion
- Alma 39:13
- that ye turn to the Lord with all your mind might and strength
- Mormon 4:8
- they did again boast of their own strength and they went forth in their own might and took possession again of the city Desolation
- Moroni 10:32
- and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness and love God with all your might mind and strength then is his grace sufficient for you
Mormon 4:8 does not fit in well in this list. Nonetheless, there is a connection (although not conjunctive) with the previous strength (“of their own strength”). Also note the use of
own (“in their own might”); this is the only occurrence of might that is modified by own.
