Alma 2:30 Textual Variants

The 1830 typesetter accidentally replaced protect with preserve, the more common expression in the Book of Mormon. The 1908 RLDS edition restored the original verb protect to the RLDS text. Elsewhere there are six passages where the text specifically refers to “preserving people”:

• Omni 1:2 I fought much with the sword to preserve my people
• Mosiah 7:20 and hath kept and preserved his people even until now
• Alma 2:21 that he might preserve his people from being destroyed
• Alma 3:8 that thereby the Lord God might preserve his people
• Alma 48:16 but in doing good in preserving his people
• 3 Nephi 4:29 may the Lord preserve his people in righteousness

The change of protect to preserve in verse 30 was probably influenced by the occurrence of preserve earlier in verse 21.

There is one other passage that refers to “protecting people”:

• 3 Nephi 4:30
  • may the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob protect this people in righteousness so long as they shall call on the name of their God for protection

Thus there is no strong reason to argue that the occurrence of protect in Alma 2:30 (“to save and protect this people”) is incorrect. Note also that the phrase “save and preserve” is redundant, unlike “save and protect”.