This is a verse much neglected by those who attempt to tell the story of the scattering of Israel. Here Nephi, speaking nearly six hundred years before the birth of Christ, indicates that the ten tribes have for the most part already been scattered “to and fro upon the isles of the sea. ”When the resurrected Christ visited the Nephites he told them that he was going to show himself to the “lost tribes of Israel” (3 Nephi 17:4). Obviously such a visit would be limited to that remnant of scattered Israel worthy to stand in the presence of the resurrected Lord. And since they had already scattered themselves “to and fro upon the isles of the sea,” various visits would need to be made. This may account for the multitude of nations and peoples today who have traditions that Christ once visited them.