Mormon gives these details, first to document the historical occurrence, and second, to emphasize the symbolism of rebuilding Zarahemla, formerly the chief city. However, it does not figure as the seat of government unless, possibly, Mormon 1:6 is construed as meaning that it is the capital.
According to Mormon’s description, the Savior’s visit makes everything better. The gospel spreads across “all the face of the land.” Everyone is converted. Wars stop. Ruined cities are rebuilt, and past glories return. Jesus, the Atoning Messiah, renews his people, bringing temporal peace and prosperity. When he comes again as the Triumphant Messiah, the same pattern will occur; but that time, the effects will be permanent.
Redaction: The years that Mormon counts in verse 6 reveal an interesting pattern. He uses the years thirty-eight and thirty-nine to create the link to the actual chronology of the events that followed the Messiah’s visit. The next set of years, however, is given to highlight the pattern, not the specific years. Mormon has two sets of years where each year is precisely a decade after the earlier date (forty-one/ fifty-one, forty-two/fifty-two, forty-nine/fifty-nine). Mormon gives this entire list of eight specific years with absolutely no information attached. It is simply a string of numbers. This pattern will be repeated in verse 14.
I hypothesize that he names years for which there are no events to signal that these empty years are place-holders in a pattern. He has moved from “real time” into “symbolic time,” or from history into story. The repetition of seven-year gaps (42–49, 52–59) suggests that he is deliberately using the spacing symbolically, likely to mark a “week of years.”
Chronology: The fifty-ninth year correlates to A.D. 55.