Jared and his brother, as well as their friends, probably had no idea what a tremendously ambitious expedition this exploratory adventure would turn out to be.
Nimrod was one of the most wicked men in ancient history and he was the principal promoter of the Tower of Babel. Josephus, the famous historian, describes Nimrod in his book called Antiquities of the Jews. In Book 1, chapter 4 he says: "Now it was Nimrod who excited [the people] to such an affront and contempt of God.... He persuaded them not to ascribe [their prosperity] to God ... but to believe that it was their own courage which procured their happiness.... [Nimrod said] he would build a tower too high for the waters [in the future] to be able to reach [them] and that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers [in the Great Flood]."
It is interesting that the region into which the Lord had led the Jaredite colony was called the valley of Nimrod and it appears to have been a flourishing area from which Jared and his friends could select breeding stock for the promised land.