Grant Hardy on recent scriptural changes

After looking at “The King James Bible and the Future of Missionary Work” for Dialogue last summer, Grant Hardy now looks at the recent scriptural changes for Faith Promoting Rumor at Patheos, lamenting that accuracy has been unfortunately delayed in  “The 2013 Adjustments to the Book of Mormon.”

Here’s an excerpt:
“…So for the Book of Mormon, the 2013 adjustments are a holding pattern. I look forward to the day when the Church will return to trajectory set in 1981 of “bring[ing] the material into conformity with prepublication manuscripts and early editions edited by the Prophet Joseph Smith.” Perhaps in that future, more fully revised edition, we will also get indications of the original, longer chapter divisions (since the original manuscript suggests that those breaks were written on the Gold Plates, and hence were intended by Nephi, Mormon, and Moroni), and maybe even a return to paragraphs—the formatting of the Book of Mormon during Joseph Smith’s lifetime.
In the meantime, go ahead and write the following changes into your triple combination or quad. Someday, if the Church’s past commitment to scriptural accuracy is any indication, they will be part of the official Book of Mormon. (In the list below, the first reading is that of the current edition; the second is from the earliest extant manuscript: O = original manuscript, P = printer’s manuscript.)
1 Ne. 8:27 – those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit, P; those who had come up and were partaking of the fruit, O
1 Ne. 8:31 – multitudes feeling their way, P; multitudes pressing their way, O
1 Ne. 12:18 – the word of the justice of the Eternal God, P; the sword of the justice of the Eternal God, O
1 Ne. 15:16 – remembered again among the house of Israel, P; numbered again among the house of Israel, O
1 Ne. 15:35 – the Devil is the preparator of it, P; the Devil is the proprietor of it, O
1 Ne. 15:36 – the wicked are rejected from the righteous, P; the wicked are separated from the righteous, O
1 Ne. 17:3 – he doth provide . . . means, P; he doth provide . . . ways and means, O
1 Ne 19:2 – genealogy of his fathers, 1830; genealogy of his forefathers, O, P
1 Ne 19:4 – this have I done and commanded my people what they should do, 1837; this have I done and commanded my people that they should do, O, P
1 Ne. 22:8 – being nourished by the Gentiles, P; being nursed by the Gentiles, O
1 Ne. 22:12 – their inheritance, P; their first inheritance, O
2 Ne. 1:5 – the Lord have covenanted this land unto me, P; the Lord hath consecrated this land unto me, O
2 Ne. 4:26 – if the Lord . . . hath visited men in so much mercy, 1830; if the Lord . . . hath visited me in so much mercy, P
2 Ne. 24:25 – I will bring the Assyrian in my land, P; I will break the Assyrian in my land, O
Jacob 7:26 – born in tribulation in a wilderness, 1830; born in tribulation in a wild wilderness, O, P
Mosiah 26:9 – Alma did not know concerning them, but there were many witnesses, 1920; Alma did know concerning them, for there were many witnesses, P
Enos 1:20 – with a short skin girdle about their loins, 1837; with a short skin girded about their loins, P
Alma 2:30 – to save and preserve this people, 1830; to save and protect this people, P
Alma 17:1 – he met with the sons of Mosiah, 1830; he met the sons of Mosiah, P
Alma 19:30 – she clasped her hands, 1830; she clapped her hands, P
Alma 24:20 – for the purpose of destroying the king, P; for the purpose of dethroning the king, O
Alma 27:27 – they were among the people of Nephi, P; they were numbered among the people of Nephi, O
Alma 31:35 – many of them are our brethren, 1837; many of them are our near brethren, O, P
Alma 32:2 – they began to have success among the poor class of people, P; they began to have success among the poorer class of the people, O
Alma 33:21 – that ye might be healed, P; that ye might behold, O
Alma 37:37 – and if ye do these things, 1830; and if ye always do these things, O, P
Alma 39:13 – acknowledge your faults and that wrong which ye have done, 1920; acknowledge your faults and repair that wrong which ye have done, O
Alma 41:5 – the one raised to happiness, P; the one restored to happiness, O
Alma 42:2 – he drew out the man, P; he drove out the man, O
Alma 43:14 – those descendants were as numerous nearly as were the Nephites, P; now those dissenters were as numerous nearly as were the Nephites, O
Alma 43:38 – now and then a man fell among the Nephites by their swords, P; now and then a man fell among the Nephites by their wounds, O
Alma 47:13 – if he would make him, Amalickiah, a second leader over the whole army, P; if he would make him, Amalickiah, the second leader over the whole army, O
Alma 49:28 – because of his matchless power, P; because of his miraculous power, O
Alma 51:15 – he sent a petition . . . desiring that he should read it, 1830; he sent a petition . . . desiring that he should heed it, P
Alma 54:13 – we have only sought to defend ourselves, P; we have only sought to defend our lives, O
Ether 1:41 – gather together . . . thy families, 1830; gather together . . . thy family, P”
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