These two verses reveal that the priests were previously unaware of the ritual or that it took place in this particular location, since they “discovered” the women there. After this initial discovery they apparently they continued their observations on more than one occasion, waiting until “but few of them gathered together to dance.”
Because the priests were in Lamanite territory, they had already made the decision to raid the Lamanites for women. Fearing both Limhites and Lamanites, there would be no other reason to be near Shemlon. They may have been seeking women engaged in some isolating activity, such as bathing, doing laundry at the river, etc. The ritual dance spot fit perfectly into their plans.
Text: It is not clear how Mormon learned this information. The Lamanite king’s accusation to Limhi, and Gideon’s quick deduction about what had really happened, would have supplied the general facts of the abduction. Limhi may have speculated on or reconstructed these events, later confirmed by information Alma’s people transmitted when they joined the Nephites and Limhites at Zarahemla. Certainly there would be no contemporary record created by the priests themselves in Limhi’s (or Alma’s) possession that would have served as Mormon’s source. Mormon may have been supplying a firmer historical description than would have been available contemporaneously.
Culture: While the abduction of twenty-four women suggests an approximate number of priests, an exact numeric match seems improbable. However, it is unlikely that the priests outnumbered the women, since otherwise they would have simply waited for a ritual occasion when more women came to the dancing place. But since these priests had likely practiced polygamy (or concubinage), a scenario in which women outnumbered men, giving some of them more than one wife, seems likely.