The printer’s manuscript reads here with the preposition of before choice, thus treating choice as a noun. The 1830 compositor, sensing that the of was in error, crossed out this preposition in 𝓟 and set the expected expression “a land choice above all other lands”.
In only one case do we get choice as a noun in the Book of Mormon (in 1 Nephi 7:15: “if ye have choice”), yet there it does not occur as the object of a preposition. The use of the preposition of here in Ether 2:15 seems strange because we expect the adjective choice in expressions involving land. In such cases, choice occurs either in a following relative clause modifying land or in premodifying position (before land ):
“land which is was choice”
“a choice land”
Finally, there is one indirect reference to “a good spot of ground” being choice:
Interestingly, there are no examples where choice occurs immediately after land as a postmodifier except here in the current text for Ether 2:15. But the reading “a land choice above all other lands” closely parallels two examples of “a choice land” listed above except that the adjective choice postmodifies land rather than premodifies it:
It is possible that the use of “land of promise” earlier in this chapter led Oliver Cowdery to accidentally insert an of to give “land of choice”, either in the original manuscript or when copying into the printer’s manuscript:
For another case where Oliver Cowdery apparently inserted an extra of, see under 3 Nephi 9:9 (there he seems to have changed an original “the king Jacob” to “the king of Jacob”). Also see the discussion under Alma 5:48 regarding the intrusive of in the phrase “the Son of the Only Begotten of the Father”.
On , we can find modern-day examples of “a land of choice above all other lands” (or its equivalent). Interestingly, all three with this specific language come from Latter-day Saints:
(Note that in the last example, “a land of choice” parallels an immediately preceding “a land of promise”.) One could argue that these modern-day instances of “a land of choice” are referring to the land as a land of opportunity, a land where people have more choice. Also note that this phraseology, “a land of choice”, could not come from any printed edition of the Book of Mormon since the of was removed by John Gilbert, the 1830 compositor, prior to his setting the text for this passage. Instead, these examples suggest a natural tendency to add the of to “a land choice above all other lands”, thus changing choice from an adjective to a noun.
Ultimately, my sense is that in Ether 2:15 the of is intrusive. Usage everywhere else in the text supports choice being used adjectivally in expressions like this one. The of may have been inserted under the influence of the phrase “land of promise” earlier in the chapter. Related to this may have been a tendency to avoid having choice postmodify the noun land. The critical text will therefore accept the 1830 compositor’s decision to remove the preposition of from this unique instance in the text of “a land of choice”.
Summary: Accept the 1830 compositor’s decision to delete the of before choice in Ether 2:15 (giving “a land choice above all other lands”); usage elsewhere in the text strongly supports this emendation.