Mormon records that in the land of Zarahemla, king Benjamin, the son of king Mosiah (the first), “had somewhat of contentions among his own people.” And there were “many dissensions away unto the Lamanites” (W of M 1:12, 16). The Lord in a revelation recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants concerning the coming forth of his gospel by way of the Book of Mormon, speaks of these specific Nephite dissenters at the time of king Benjamin, stating some “had become Lamanites because of their dissensions” (D&C 10:48).

It appears some Nephites were not content with the tenets of their religion nor with what they found in the land of Zarahemla—possibly a less-desirable environment or the challenge of new and more numerous neighbors—so they desired to return south to their previous home in the land of Nephi, even though they earlier abandoned that land because of conflicts and wars. Thus, “a certain number … went up into the wilderness to return to the land of Nephi; for there was a large number who were desirous to possess the land of their inheritance” (Omni 1:27–30; Mosiah 9:1–19).

Why did the Nephite dissenters and many others not seek a nearby river basin in the land of Zarahemla for settlement rather than traveling all the way back through the challenging narrow strip of wilderness to their old homes in the Lamanite-controlled land of Nephi? Again we propose the same answer: There were no other river basins. To the north of the narrow strip of wilderness in the land of Zarahemla there was only one significant watercourse—the river Sidon.