1 Nephi 16:12 Textual Variants

Here the 1830 typesetter changed the past-tense departed to depart, perhaps accidentally. The original text has examples of the past-tense auxiliary verb did conjoined with a following simple past-tense verb form:

• 1 Nephi 8:11 I did go forth and partook of the fruit thereof
• 1 Nephi 8:22 they did come forth and commenced in the path
• 1 Nephi 8:24 they did come forth and partook of the fruit of the tree

In his editing for the 1837 edition, Joseph Smith changed these three past-tense forms in 1 Nephi 8 to the base form of the verb. Such stylistic editing is, of course, unnecessary. (See the discussion under 1 Nephi 8:11.)