11 And it came to pass that we did gather together whatsoever things we should carry into the wilderness, and all the remainder of our provisions which the Lord had given unto us; and we did take seed of every kind that we might carry into the wilderness.
12 And it came to pass that we did take our tents and depart into the wilderness, across the river Laman.
These verses make me wonder just how big the company was. How
long would it have taken to pack and load not just the tents and provisions,
but everything, including seeds for
the future? They had no plan to return, and they didn’t know where they were
going or how long it would take to get there. We know there were at least 16 at this time, that we can
actually identify: Lehi and Sariah, Ishmael and his wife (1 Nephi 7:6), four sons
of Lehi and four daughters of Ishmael for their wives, Zoram and another
daughter of Ishmael for his wife (vs. 7). We also know that Ishmael had at
least two sons and their families (1 Nephi 7:6). We don’t know how large their
families were exactly. Later on we find out that Jacob and Joseph were born in
the wilderness (1 Nephi 18:7), and that Nephi had sisters, but we don’t know if
they were born in the wilderness or not (2 Nephi 5:6). We don’t know if Jacob and
Joseph were born yet when they left the valley. We also don’t know anything
about servants, but I’m sure that if they didn’t let Zoram go back, they would
have brought any servants they had with them, and possibly made them free, as
they did with Zoram. This party could easily have been around 50 people strong.
How would you plan for a trip like that?
