Alma 32:17 Textual Variants

Royal Skousen
if thou [wilt 01ABDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST|will C] show unto us a sign from heaven …

Here in the phrase “if thou wilt”, the 1840 edition introduced the subjunctive modal verb form will in place of the wilt of the earliest textual sources (the two manuscripts and the first two editions). But subsequent editions in the RLDS textual tradition (which derives from the 1840 edition) have the original wilt. Actually, the Book of Mormon text allows instances of both “if thou wilt” and “if thou will” (see the discussion under Alma 22:16). Here in Alma 32:17, we follow the earliest reading, “if thou wilt”.

Summary: Maintain in Alma 32:17 the original occurrence of the indicative wilt in “if thou wilt”.

Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon, Part. 4

References