Nephi notes while in the land of Bountiful (Dhofar) that he "did strive to keep the commandments of the Lord, and [he] did exhort [his] brethren to faithfulness and diligence" (1 Nephi 17:15). One might wonder how far his example and his preachings extended. In other words, was there any missionary activity by Nephi or Lehi while in the land of Bountiful (Dhofar)? The Dhofar region, or "land Bountiful" as Nephi describes it, was inhabited by the people of 'Ad. The incense trade brought to this region wealth beyond compare. Anciently the Dhofar region was called Ophir, and Isaiah referred to its wealth in the highest superlatives (see Isaiah 23:12). Interestingly, he also made his comparison in the context of the ultimate destruction of the wicked and the triumph of righteousness. Considering this backdrop of Dhofar (Bountiful), wealth and prophetic exhortations which included warnings of destruction because of unrighteousness, the Book of Mormon student might find the following commentary by Potter and Wellington intriguing.
They write that one Arabian poet mused over what it might have been like "had I been a man of the race of "Ad and of Iram" (Fasad, which sits at the western edge of the land of the "Adites):
Roast flesh, the glow of fiery wine,
To speed on camel fleet and sure . . .
White women statue-like that trail
Rich robes of price with golden hem,
Wealth, easy lot, not dread of ill . . .
Legend has it that the people of 'Ad were destroyed rapidly. According to the Koran this punishment was meted out as a divine retribution for their pride. The people of Iram, led by their worldly king Shadad, were destroyed because of their refusal to heed the message of the prophet Hud. One might ask, Who was Hud (pronounced "Hood"). Nicholar Clapp's answer to this question is enlightening:
And "Hud" comes from the root HWD: "to be Jewish." This linkage is clearly reflected in the Arabic of the Koran, where "Hud" is not just the name of a prophet but is a collective noun denoting the Jews. Was Hud Jewish? He could well have been . . . It is no stretch of the imagination to believe that a Jewish trader or even a rabbi could have made his way to Ubar and preached the religion of a single God. (Italics added)
Potter and Wellington note that concerning the possibility of Jews traveling along the trail to Ubar, and thence to Dhofar, Clapp wrote:
It wouldn't have been at all unusual for a wandering Jew to visit Ubar, or even for a faction of the People of 'Ad to have subscribed to Jewish beliefs. Historically, there were several opportunities for Judaism to have penetrated Arabia. As early as the time of Solomon (950 B.C.), Jewish envoys and traders may have travelled the Incense Road. And in one tradition, following their exile to Babylon (587 and 538 B.C.) a contingent of Jews migrated to Dhofar (and Ubar?) and thence to southwestern Yemen, where they quietly survive to this day in the valley of the Wadi Habban.
[George Potter and Richard Wellington, Discovering the Lehi-Nephi Trail, Unpublished Manuscript, 2000, pp. 174, 176] [See the commentary on 1 Nephi 18:8; 2 Nephi 23:12]
Note* Could the prophet Hud have had any connection to Nephi? And could the preaching have been concerning the Creator Jehovah, the Son of God coming to earth as the Messiah along with a prophecy of destruction if there was no repentance? Whatever the case, at least we find a confirmation of Nephi's story that "it was no stretch of the imagination to believe that a Jewish trader or even a rabbi could have made his way to Ubar and preached the religion." [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]