Geography: This is a new story about the contact between the Lamanites and Almaites from the perspective of the Lamanite army which has been following Limhi’s people. They have been “lost in the wilderness for many days.” It is not known how this information comes to be on the Nephite plates. It is quite doubtful that a Lamanite army would confess to the Almaites that they had been lost. It is possible that being “lost” is a literary device that allows an army to pursue Limhi and miss them yet find Alma. With the size of Limhi’s fleeing population, it is hard to come up with a scenario in which they could disappear without leaving a trace. Perhaps the Lamanite army had simply reached the extent to which it was willing to search for the Limhites. Perhaps this army that discovers the Almaites was not the same one. Because we have the story from Nephite sources, we cannot be certain of the story that Lamanite sources would tell.
Redaction: Mormon uses the word “now” as a verbal marker to begin a new subject, a process we have seen on several other occasions. (See commentary accompanying 1 Nephi 1:19–20.) Mormon is consulting a record that Alma (or his appointee) created. It may have been physically separate from the large plates or it may have been copied into the large plates. It was, however, a record from the perspective of Alma’s people and would not have had access to direct information about the Lamanite troop movements or the reasons for them.