Helaman 12:13–14,16–18 Textual Variants

For each of these if-clauses, Joseph Smith (in his editing of the text for the 1837 edition) made sure that the subjunctive verb form was selected rather than the indicative form. For all verbs except be, the subjunctive verb form is equivalent to the infinitive form; thus we get the verb forms say and hide with third person singular subjects. The indicative verb forms, on the other hand, end in either -(e)th or its equivalent -(e)s (in modern English), thus saith and hideth in this passage. In the first two cases (in verses 13 and 14), Oliver Cowdery originally wrote the subjunctive form say in the printer’s manuscript, although he immediately corrected the example in verse 13 to saith (spelled as saieth). He did not correct the example in verse 14 to saith, although the 1830 typesetter did. The original manuscript apparently had the indicative verb form for four of these five cases (all but the one in verse 14)—and maybe even that one was actually saith rather than say, given Oliver’s tendency to write say instead of saith (as exemplified in verse 13). For another case where Oliver initially wrote say in 𝓟 rather than the correct saith, see the nearby discussion under Helaman 12:26.

As already noted, the current text is systematic here in Helaman 12:13–14, 16–18 in its use of the subjunctive verb form. As discussed under Mosiah 2:38, in the Book of Mormon the finite verb in an if-clause typically takes the indicative -(e)th ending rather than the subjunctive form, although that too is possible. The evidence discussed under Mosiah 2:38 shows that both indicative and subjunctive forms are possible in if-clauses and that we should let the earliest textual sources for each passage determine the correct reading. Applying that procedure here in Helaman 12:13–14, 16–18, the -(e)th forms should be restored in four out of the five cases; only in the second case, in verse 14, does the earliest extant text (the printer’s manuscript) read say rather than saith.