Alma 46:31 Textual Variants

The original manuscript has the phrase “with his tents”. Oliver Cowdery accidentally omitted this phrase when he copied the text into the printer’s manuscript. The 1981 LDS edition restored it. Here the 1830 signature (the 23rd, not the 22nd) was proofed against 𝓟, not 𝓞; thus the phrase was not restored at that time. (For the overall evidence that the 1830 edition was proofed against 𝓞 for the 22nd signature, see under Alma 42:31.)

One might wonder whether the pronoun his in “with his tents” is an error for their. Modern readers tend to interpret the his as referring to Moroni’s own personal tents rather than all the tents of his army. But usage elsewhere in the Book of Mormon demonstrates that the singular his here is not only acceptable but expected—and, in fact, the reference is to the tents of Moroni’s whole army, not Moroni’s own personal tents. This singular possessive pronoun his occurs when the subject is a singular; when the subject is a plural, we get their:

• Alma 51:32
  • Teancum and his men did pitch their tents in the borders of the land Bountiful and Amalickiah did pitch his tents in the borders on the beach by the seashore
• Ether 14:28
  • and they pitched their tents in the valley of Corihor and Coriantumr pitched his tents in the valley of Shurr
• Ether 15:8
  • wherefore when they came to these waters / they pitched their tents and Shiz also pitched his tents near unto them

Thus the use of his in the phrase “with his tents” in Alma 46:31 is perfectly acceptable since the subject of the clause is the singular he (namely, Moroni).