Helaman 14:3 Textual Variants

One wonders if the indicative verb form was (“as if it was day”) is a mistake for the subjunctive were (“as if it were day”). Here the 1830 edition and the printer’s manuscript agree, so the original manuscript undoubtedly read was (𝓞 is not extant for most of this passage). But perhaps the was is an error for were that entered the text as Joseph Smith dictated the text to Oliver Cowdery.

Normally in the text, we get were rather than was in subordinate as if clauses where the subject is it. There are nine examples in the text with were, as in the following example in the very next verse:

• Helaman 14:4
  • therefore there shall be one day and a night and a day as if it were one day and there were no night

Even so, there is one other example in the text with was:

• 3 Nephi 8:6
  • and there was terrible thunder insomuch that it did shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder

In this instance, as in Helaman 14:3, both 𝓟 and the 1830 edition are firsthand copies of 𝓞, so once more we have an example of the indicative was in 𝓞 (and presumably in the original text). In contrast to this second example with was, two of the ones with were refer to the earth dividing asunder:

• 1 Nephi 17:45
  • wherefore he hath spoken unto you like unto the voice of thunder which did cause the earth to shake as if it were to divide asunder
• Helaman 5:33
  • and the walls did tremble again and the earth shook as if it were about to divide asunder

Even though were is more frequent than was in this context, was is still possible. For each case of “as if it was/were … ”, we follow the earliest textual sources.