2 Nephi 33:12 Textual Variants

Royal Skousen
and I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us if not all may be saved in his kingdom at [that 1ABCDEFGHIJLMNOPQRST|the K] great and last day

Here the 1892 RLDS edition replaced the demonstrative that with the definite article the in the phrase “that great and last day”, probably accidentally. The 1908 edition restored the that to the RLDS text. The immediately preceding verse specifically refers to the day of judgment:

Thus the use of that is perfectly appropriate in verse 12. Elsewhere in the text we get the same kind of initial reference to the day of judgment followed by the demonstrative that:

There is one other example where the has replaced that in the expression “that great and last day”. The 1905 LDS edition initiated this change, probably accidentally:

In this case, the incorrect use of the has persisted in the LDS text. Like 2 Nephi 33:12 and Mormon 9:6, this particular instance also has a preceding reference to the day of judgment, at least by implication:

On the other hand, there are two cases in the original text of “the great and last day”; for each of these, there is no preceding reference to the day of judgment:

Thus the use of the demonstrative that is wholly appropriate in 2 Nephi 33:12, Helaman 12:25, and Mormon 9:6. For further discussion, see Helaman 12:25.

Summary: Maintain in 2 Nephi 33:12 the use of the that in “that great and last day”, the reading of the earliest extant text; the that is supported by a preceding reference to the day of judgment.

Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon, Part. 2

References