Alma 26:28–30 Textual Variants

Royal Skousen
and now behold we have come and been forth amongst them and we have been patient in our sufferings and we have suffered every privation yea we [have 1ABCDEFGHIJLMNOQRT| KPS] traveled from house to house … and we have entered into their houses and taught them and we have taught them in their streets yea and we [have 01ABCDEFGIJLMNOQRT| HKPS] taught them upon their hills and we have also entered into their temples and their synagogues and taught them and we have been cast out and mocked and spit upon and smote upon our cheeks and we have been stoned and taken and bound with strong cords and cast into prison and through the power and wisdom of God we have been delivered again and we have suffered all manner of afflictions

In this passage, the RLDS text has twice removed the have, once in verse 28 and once more in verse 29 (the first in the 1892 edition, the second in the 1874 edition). In each of these two cases, the original we have was preceded by a yea (although it is difficult to believe that the yea had much to do with loss of the perfect have). It appears that these two omissions were unintended, at least when they first entered the RLDS text. Surprisingly, the 1908 RLDS edition did not restore either of these have’s, even though they are in 𝓟. Neither have is fully extant in 𝓞, but in each case there is clearly room for the have between extant fragments of 𝓞. The critical text will, of course, maintain the persistent occurrence of the perfective we have throughout this passage.

Summary: Maintain in Alma 26:28–30 the continuous use of the perfect auxiliary have.

Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon, Part. 4

References