Here in Alma 11:42, the printer’s manuscript did not have the indefinite article a before “temporal death”. The 1830 typesetter added the a. Elsewhere in the text there are
examples of “a temporal death” and “a spiritual death”. In fact, all other references to either temporal or spiritual death have a determiner of some kind:
- 2 Nephi 9:11–12
- this death of which I have spoken which is the temporal shall deliver up its dead which death is the grave and this death of which I have spoken which is
the spiritual death shall deliver up its dead which spiritual death is hell
- Alma 11:42
- and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death that all shall be raised from this temporal death
- Alma 12:16
- then cometh a death even a second death which is a spiritual death then is a time that whosoever dieth in his sins as to [the 1A|a BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST]
temporal death shall also die a spiritual death
- Alma 12:24
- and we see that death comes upon mankind yea the death which has been spoken of by Amulek which is the temporal death
- Alma 42:8–9
- now behold it was not expedient that man should be reclaimed from this temporal death … therefore as the soul could never die and the fall had brought upon all mankind
a spiritual death as well as a temporal that is / they were cut off from the presence of the Lord therefore it was expedient that mankind should be reclaimed
from this spiritual death
- Helaman 14:16
- yea behold this death bringeth to pass the resurrection and redeemeth all mankind from the first death / that spiritual death
- Helaman 14:18
- and there cometh upon them again a spiritual death yea a second death
- Mormon 9:13
- and all shall stand before his bar being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death which death is a temporal death
In one of these cases (in Alma 12:16), the 1837 edition changed the determiner from the to a; see the discussion under that passage.
Thus the original occurrence in Alma 11:42 of “temporal death” without any determiner is quite unique. Yet it turns out that when the text uses the passive verb form called to identify
something, the determiner is often unexpressed:
- Mosiah 8:13 and the things are called interpreters
- Mosiah 8:13 and whosoever is commanded to look in them the same is called seer
- Mosiah 28:16 and whosoever has the things is called seer
- Alma 16:11 and it was called Desolation of Nehors
Thus the original language in Alma 11:42, “now there is a death which is called temporal death”, is quite possible and will therefore be restored in the critical text.
