In Alma 30:47 Alma warns Korihor that "it is better that thy soul should be lost than that thou shouldst be the means of bringing many souls down to destruction." According to Kelly Ogden, the reader should compare this statement with the warning of the angel to Nephi: "it is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief" (1 Nephi 4:13). [D. Kelly Ogden, "Answering the Lord's Call," in Studies in Scripture: Book of Mormon, Part 1, pp. 28, 33]
“It is Better That Thy Soul Should Be Lost ”
According to John Welch and Heidi Parker, in subjecting the anti-Christ Korihor to divine punishment, Alma invoked some legal justification termed the "one for many" principle:
But behold, it is better that thy soul should be lost than that thou shouldst be the means of bringing many souls down to destruction, by thy lying and by thy flattering words . . . (Alma 30:47)
Interestingly, this "one for many" principle had precedence in Nephite history. When Nephi was constrained by the Spirit to slay Laban, the Spirit gave the justification that "it is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief" (1 Nephi 4:13).
During New Testament times, Caiaphas ironically invoked this principle in arguing for Jesus' death (see John 11:49-50).
More important to the validity of the Book of Mormon, however, we find this "one for many" principle in 2 Samuel 20, and in Jewish oral tradition regarding events in 2 Chronicles 36. This would have been both before and during the lifetime of Nephi and the opening scenes of the Book of Mormon narrative. Thus, Alma's comments were based on very firm cultural and legal precedent. [See the commentary on 1 Nephi 4:13]. [John W. Welch and Heidi H. Parker, "Better That One Man Perish," in FARMS Update: A Report on Research in Progress, Number 118, in Insights, June 1998]