Mosiah 7-8; 21:22-24 (about 121 B.C.)

Sometime during the expedition of king Limhi’s search party, king Mosiah (the second), the grandson of the first Mosiah who initially led the people out the land of Nephi to the land of Zarahemla, sent “sixteen of their strong men,” led by Ammon, to find the people of Zeniff who had journeyed to the land of Nephi (also known as the land of Lehi-Nephi) during the reign of his grandfather (Mosiah 7:2). Ammon’s group “knew not the course they should travel in the wilderness to go up to the land of Lehi-Nephi; therefore they wandered many days in the wilderness, even forty days did they wander” (Mosiah 7:4). It would appear that Ammon’s group forged an unfamiliar route to complete their arduous 200-mile journey. Knowing there were Lamanites on the western side of the narrow strip of wilderness, we assume that Ammon’s group would have either followed an eastern route or a route down the center of the land. Given the extended length of time that was taken to get to the land of Nephi, we assume they followed an unfamiliar central route through the more difficult and rugged terrain of the narrow strip of wilderness.

When Ammon’s group arrived in the land of Nephi, after journeying 40 strenuous days, they were greeted with open arms and rejoicing by the people of Zeniff and questioned as to the status of their families in the land of Zarahemla they had not seen for more than two generations. King Limhi “caused that Ammon should stand up before the multitude, and rehearse unto them all that had happened unto their brethren from the time that Zeniff went up out of the land even until the time that he himself came up out of the land. And he also rehearsed unto them the last words which king Benjamin had taught them” (Mosiah 8:2-3).