As discussed under 2 Nephi 3:18, there is some question here whether the also should be assigned to the preceding clause (as “and they saith also”) or to the following clause (as “also we will not believe thy words”). Given the preceding text, either interpretation will work:
But as noted under 2 Nephi 3:18, also does not typically occur right before a subject pronoun unless there is an immediately preceding and. The only exception is in a biblical quote, 2 Nephi 16:8 (which cites Isaiah 6:8): “also I heard the voice of the Lord”. Yet even in that instance, the scribe in 𝓟, Oliver Cowdery, first wrote and also (see the discussion under 2 Nephi 16:8). On the other hand, there is conclusive evidence for cases where also must be assigned to the end of saying- clauses that introduce a quote:
In each of these instances, the quote is introduced by the subordinate conjunction that, thus forcing the reader to interpret the also as modifying the preceding verb say. Internal evidence therefore argues that here in Alma 9:4 the also should be assigned to the verb say. The 1830 typesetter’s decision to place a comma after the also is therefore likely correct; the change in the 1920 LDS edition to a colon makes explicit that the following quote is a direct one.
Summary: Internal textual evidence shows that in Alma 9:4 the also most probably belongs to the preceding clause (“and they saith also”), not the following one (as if it read “also we will not believe thy words”); the punctuation for Alma 9:4 in the printed editions has always followed this interpretation.