Geography: Distances in the Book of Mormon are measured by time. Thus, Ammon’s journey from Zarahemla to Nephi took forty days. However, this route was obviously not the most direct, since Alma and his converts made essentially the same journey in reverse, accompanied by women, children, and flocks, in only twenty-one days (Mosiah 18:1–7; 23:1–3; 24:20, 25).
History: The journey of Mosiah1 and his people began from the land of Nephi in haste and apparent danger. While they may have had a general idea of which direction to go, they had no specific destination in mind. They did not map their route and almost certainly did not travel directly to Zarahemla. Similarly, we can conclude that Ammon’s group did not have a map or knowledge of a trade route. Apparently, there had been no attempts to communicate directly, either for personal or commercial reasons. The people of Zarahemla know nothing of Zeniff’s group and have no relations with the Lamanites in the land of Nephi.
The forty days may either be a literal record, meaning that they had to spend approximately half of their time searching for the land, or it may be a symbolic number indicating a long time—perhaps the forty years’ wandering of the children of Israel or a tenfold multiplication of four in the Mesoamerican system. However, it may also be an approximation, a figure rounded off for convenience. Certainly Ammon’s group would have gathered all available information about landmarks that Mosiah1’s people passed and how long their journey took. The length of time required could not have been a precise distance, but knowing the approximate time required would tell Ammon when they might have traveled too far.