Here we have two minor typos in the history of the text. In the first instance, the compositor for the 1841 British edition mis-set thy children as my children. This typo continued in the LDS text until it was removed in the second printing of the 1852 edition, either by reference to the 1840 edition or simply because “thou art merciful unto my children” just doesn’t make much sense here.
The second typo involves the loss in the 1874 RLDS edition of the conjunction and before the final clause “thou wilt hear them”. The 1908 RLDS edition restored the and to the RLDS text. As suggested by Ross Geddes (personal communication, 27 July 2004), the original occurrence of the and here could be interpreted as one more instance in the Book of Mormon text of the Hebrewlike use of and following a subordinate clause. In other words, the subordinate clause could be interpreted as belonging to the following main clause rather than the preceding main clause. Such an interpretation would require a revision in the punctuation for this verse:
This kind of Hebraistic construction has generally been removed from the text. So if this interpretation is accepted in the critical text, the omission of the and would be an appropriate revision in the standard text: “when they cry unto thee to be heard of thee and not of men / thou wilt hear them”. This interpretation works better than the current one since it directly states that the Lord hears the prayers of those who sincerely pray to him. Earlier, in verse 5, there is another example of this same Hebraistic construction, one that has never been removed from the text:
The critical text will therefore recommend that each case of the extra and in verses 5 and 8 be treated as connecting the immediately preceding when-clause to the following main clause. For further discussion of the Hebraistic and, see under hebraisms in volume 3.
Summary: Maintain in Alma 33:8 the original phrase thy children as well as the and immediately preceding the final clause, “thou wilt hear them”; this and is probably one of the Hebraistic and ’s that are found in the earliest text and are used to connect the following main clause to the immediately preceding subordinate clause (another example of this usage is found in verse 5); in the standard text, the punctuation in Alma 33:8 would need to be adjusted to show that the when-clause belongs to the following main clause, not the preceding one.