Mormon was a place in the borders of the land of Nephi, named after King Noah3, set in a forested area infested at times by wild beasts and containing a fountain of pure water with a thicket of small trees nearby (Mosiah 18:4–5, 30). Alma1, hiding there from Noah’s searches, gathered those who believed his preaching of Abinadi’s words and baptized about 204 souls in the waters of Mormon, forming the church of Christ, ordaining priests, and instructing the converts (Mosiah 18:13–30). When Alma and his people learned that Noah’s army was coming, they took their families and departed into the wilderness, by then numbering about 450 (Mosiah 18:34 –35).
The prophet-historian Mormon was named after this land, where Alma1 established the first church among the Nephites after their transgression (3 Ne. 5:12). Preaching to the people of Zarahemla, Alma2 recalled the events at the waters of Mormon, where his father had baptized and the converts were delivered out of the hands of Noah (Alma 5:3 –13).