3 Nephi 23:4 Textual Variants

Royal Skousen
therefore give heed to my words write the things which I have told you and according to the [time 1ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRT|times S] and the will of the Father they shall go forth unto the Gentiles

There was a strong tendency in the 1953 RLDS edition to create plural forms. In this passage, the singular time was changed to times. Usage elsewhere in the Book of Mormon text supports the singular time. Consider, for instance, its use in 1 Nephi 10:3, where the passage refers to a specific future event that the prophets have prophesied about: “according to the own due time of the Lord”. In 1 Nephi 10:3 the text is referring to the specific time when the Jews will return from their captivity in Babylon. Similarly, here in 3 Nephi 23:4, the text is referring to the specific time when the Lord will reveal the words of the Book of Mormon.

For a list of other cases where the 1953 RLDS edition changed a singular to the plural, see under 2 Nephi 7:3.

Summary: Retain the singular time in 3 Nephi 23:4 (“according to the time and the will of the Father”), the earliest extant reading and what we expect for a single future event.

Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon, Part. 6

References