4 And we did sojourn for the space of many years, yea, *even eight years in the wilderness. (*592 B.C.)
Eight years in the wilderness, living off the land and faith
seems like an awful long time, especially considering it was just temporary.
One obvious reason for them being out there so long is that periods of rebellion
could have slowed things down because the Liahona only worked according to
faith, diligence, and obedience (see 1 Nephi 16:28). This is why the children
of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before being allowed to enter
their promised land (see Numbers 14:26–35; Deuteronomy 8:2). It could have just
been tough and slow, but eight years really seems an awful long time to travel
straight through about 1500–2000 miles. We know they stopped and camped for
periods of time, such as in the Valley of Lemuel. Whatever the reason, by the
end, they were tough and prepared to settle a new land. In fact, after all they
had been through and done without, they may have thought the Americas were easy
by comparison. There they would have food in abundance, they would have wood
for burning and building, there would be rain, and resources in general were
more abundant. I think the Lord was preparing them in many ways, but not least
of those was just learning how to survive off the land, and to establish a
social order.
