3 Nephi 8:20 Textual Variants

and it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon the face of all the land insomuch that the inhabitants thereof which had [NULL >+ not 1|not ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST] fallen could feel the vapor of darkness

Here in the printer’s manuscript, Oliver Cowdery initially omitted the not. He later supplied it, apparently when he proofed 𝓟 against 𝓞. (The supralinear not was written with a duller quill, and the level of ink ﬂow is somewhat heavier.) The 1830 edition, also a firsthand copy of 𝓞, has the not. And of course, the not is necessary since only those still alive could have felt the vapor of darkness. What is interesting about this error is that it also occurred in 1 Nephi 12:5, where the text refers precisely to this same event at the time of the Savior’s death:

1 Nephi 12:5
- and it came to pass that after I saw these things I saw the vapor of darkness that it passed from off the face of the earth and behold I saw the multitudes which had [not 0T| 1ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRS] fallen because of the great and terrible judgments of the Lord

In that instance, Oliver did not notice his omission of the not as he copied from 𝓞 into 𝓟 (nor during proofing).

Summary: Maintain in 3 Nephi 8:20 the required not in “insomuch that the inhabitants thereof which had not fallen could feel the vapor of darkness”.

Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon, Part. 5

References