Narrative: Mormon had skimmed over years twenty-two through twenty-five after the Gadianton defeat as containing nothing important to his narrative (3 Ne. 5:7). Now in the twenty-sixth year, the people return to their homes. They had remained at least four years, concentrated in their defensive stronghold. While Mormon does not comment on the Gadiantons during these four years, it seems likely that they were still a threat, since otherwise there would be no reason for not returning immediately to their homes. Mormon says nothing about what conditions must have changed to allowing the return. Were the Nephites simply unwilling to endure their cramped conditions longer? Had something external made the Gadiantons less threatening?
There is no specific reason to suppose that four years did not mean four literal years except for the importance of the number four in Mesoamerican culture. (See commentary accompanying Mosiah 7:2.) The number suggests the possibility that the number is a “perfect” amount of time, symbolic rather than historically accurate. Mormon may therefore be highlighting this passage as a symbol of prosperity’s return.
Mormon’s description of the Nephites’ return stresses their prosperity. They brought with them “their gold, and their silver, and all their precious things,” items they had presumably taken into the stronghold with him. Mormon’s purpose in detailing these items, however, is to stress that they had been righteous, fulfilling their part of the foundational promise (3 Ne. 5:1–3), and that Yahweh had therefore fulfilled his part by ensuring that they prospered, even under siege conditions. It is not that Yahweh’s blessings must be manifest in wealth, but rather that the cycle of blessings has prosperity as one of its typical manifestations. They were righteous; therefore, they were prosperous. Mormon elaborates on this theme for the next several verses.