Alma 17:1–2 Textual Variants

Here the 1830 compositor accidentally added the preposition with. This extra with was probably the result of the compositor’s eye straying down from the words Sons of Mosiah in one line of 𝓟 to the same Sons of Mosiah in the following line, where there was an occurrence of with:

• Alma 17:1–2 (printer’s manuscript, page 210, lines 24–25)
  • he met the Sons of Mosiah ajourneying towards the land of Zarahemla at the time now these Sons of Mosiah were with Alma the Angel first appeared unto

The with was then accidentally copied into the previous clause as the 1830 compositor set the type, thus creating a unique expression for the Book of Mormon: “he met with the sons of Mosiah”. Nowhere else in the Book of Mormon do we have the expression “to meet with someone”. Instead, we have 51 occurrences of “to meet someone”, including originally here in Alma 17:1. There is one example of “to meet with”, but only in the idiomatic “he met with a disappointment” (in Alma 51:31), which does not involve meeting people. Finally, there are two references in the text to this same meeting of Alma and the sons of Mosiah, and in both these cases the with is lacking:

• Alma 27:16
  • and it came to pass that as Ammon was going forth into the land that he and his brethren met Alma over in the place of which has been spoken
• Alma 27:19
  • now the joy of Alma in meeting his brethren was truly great

The 1908 RLDS edition removed the extra with here in Alma 17:1, as will the critical text.