Here we have two instances of the common mix-up between whither and whether in the text (see the list under 1 Nephi 22:4). In the first instance in this passage, Oliver Cowdery wrote whither in 𝓟 (and perhaps also in 𝓞). But whether is obviously correct here since the text follows with an if- clause that assumes a preceding whether (namely, “and if he will drive us out of the land”). The 1830 compositor made the correct substitution of whether when he set the type.
In the second instance, the typesetter for 1841 British edition replaced the obviously correct whither with whether (perhaps under the influence of the preceding whether). Surprisingly, the subsequent LDS edition (1849) copied the incorrect whether, but the next LDS edition (1852) restored the correct whither.
Summary: Maintain in Ether 1:38 the first use of whether and the second of whither; the context easily resolves the choice between whether and whither in both these cases.