Alma 24:10 Textual Variants

Here the earliest extant source, the printer’s manuscript, reads “these our many sins and murders”; the 1830 typesetter replaced these with those. Although either reading is theoretically possible, the original these makes sense since the king has just mentioned (in the previous verse) their sins and murders:

• Alma 24:9
  • we have been convinced of our sins and of the many murders which we have committed

Also note the use of these earlier in verse 10: “that we might repent of these things”. Thus the repeated use of these in verse 10 helps hold the discourse together.

There is considerable evidence in the history of the text of mix-ups between these and those. See under Mosiah 28:1 for a list of instances where the 1830 typesetter accidentally mixed up the demonstrative determiners. In each instance, the critical text will restore the reading of the earliest textual sources (namely, these here in Alma 24:10).