Alma 14:15 Textual Variants

Here in the printer’s manuscript, Oliver Cowdery initially wrote them which, but then he corrected the them to these by overwriting the m with se, giving these which. The flow of ink for the overwriting is somewhat heavier. Oliver may have initially written them simply because he didn’t expect any following relative clause. But it is also possible, at least theoretically, that Oliver decided to edit the nonstandard them which to these which. However, in 29 other instances of original them which (where which is restrictive and directly modifies them), Oliver never once emended the them to these or those, as in five other examples where them is not preceded by a preposition (as here in Alma 14:15):

• 1 Nephi 17:40 (1837 change to those)
  • and he loveth [them 01A|those BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] [which 0A|which >js who 1|who BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] will have him to be their God
• 3 Nephi 9:10 (1837 change to those)
  • because of their wickedness in casting out the prophets and stoning [them 1A|those BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] [which >js whom 1|which A|whom BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] I did send to declare unto them concerning their wickedness and their abominations
• 3 Nephi 27:31
  • for I mean them [which 1A|who BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] are now alive
• Mormon 9:31
  • condemn me not because of mine imperfection neither my father because of his imperfection neither them [which >js who 1|which A|who BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] have written before him
• Ether 12:16 (1920 LDS change to those)
  • yea and even all they which wrought miracles wrought them by faith even those which were before Christ and also [them 1ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQS|those RT] [which 1A|who BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] were after

Thus it is very doubtful that Oliver’s correction of them to these in Alma 14:15 is the result of editing. Instead, his change is very probably a correction to the reading of the original manuscript.

In the 1840 edition, the these here in Alma 14:15 was changed to those. This change may reflect Joseph Smith’s editing for that edition, or it may simply be a typesetting error based on the much higher frequency in the Book of Mormon text of “those who(m)/which” than “these who(m)/which” (181 versus 6 in the original text). Another possible cause of the 1840 change is the occurrence in the preceding verse of “those who” (the reading of the 1837 edition, which served as the copytext for the 1840 edition); there the text also refers to being cast into the fire:

• Alma 14:14
  • now it came to pass that when the bodies of those [which >js who 1|which A|who BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] had been cast into the fire were consumed …

As far as Alma 14:15 is concerned, the second printing of the 1852 LDS edition introduced the those into the LDS text. This change is most probably the result of consulting the 1840 edition when the 1852 stereotyped plates were corrected for the second printing.

As explained under Mosiah 28:1, the critical text will in each case use the earliest textual sources for determining whether the text reads these or those. Here in Alma 14:15, the critical text will restore the original these.