Jershon was no longer protected from Lamanite territory by the buffer zone, once the Zoramites in Antionum defected. Only the perhaps unorganized and therefore less threatening “wilderness” lay between them and the settled Lamanite region, but the Lamanites of that wilderness were now affiliated with a city and an organization. Jershon lay exposed to danger.
The leaders in Zarahemla promptly had the people of Ammon withdraw from Jershon into Melek, leaving Jershon to the Nephite armies. Since the Nephite army—not actively fighting but poised for the inevitable conflict—would require sustenance, no doubt some Jershon farmers remained, and soldiers, if it looked safe, no doubt also helped in the fields. Perhaps, also, some of these farmers were Nephites who continued their labors but who would immediately spring to arms when the Lamanite-Zoramite army began its invasion.