Lehi has been told by the Lord that this promised land will be kept hidden from the rest of the world for a period of time so it will not be overrun with strangers. Lehi has also been promised that so long as the people are righteous they will prosper in this land. However, both Lehi and Nephi had seen a vision of the apostasy of their descendants so they knew that tremendous calamities would come as judgments of God if they became corrupt and apostatized.