“The First Ship Did Also Return”

Alan C. Miner

The fact that "the first ship did also return" (Alma 63:7) raises some questions. In Alma 63:10 it says that Corianton had gone forth to the land northward "to carry forth provisions unto the people who had gone forth into that land." This might imply that there was some communication and knowledge, not only of the people who had gone by ship, but also of the people who had gone by foot. We also might assume that those people in the land northward were in a place which was not quite so abundant as to duplicate the cultural needs met in the land of Bountiful or the land of Zarahemla such that provisions needed to be sent to them.

Step by Step Through the Book of Mormon: A Cultural Commentary

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