The missionaries began their journey into the southern wilderness during the last year of King Mosiah's reign, or 91 B.C. They took along with them their bows and arrows and other instruments of destruction, not to force their way into the Lamanitish stronghold, but that they might obtain food while in the wilderness.
“These Are the Circumstances Which Attended Them in Their Journeyings”
Notwithstanding their high purpose in serving the Lord by taking the Gospel Message to the untutored and savage Lamanites, He, through His wise and timely judgment permitted the missionaries to undergo a period, as it were, of divine preparation. We often think that He has forgotten us, or is unmindful of our tasks when He, in His greater understanding, allows us to be almost overwhelmed by the storms of life. But, He has not, nor is He! The hardships and the tribulations through which they passed in their journey to the Lands of the Lamanites served but to prepare them for greater trials which were to follow. Their trials seemed to multiply in their way; their minds as well as their bodies suffered from the effects of hunger, thirst, and fatigue; they pondered in the spirit whether to continue on or return to lives of plenty which awaited them in their father's house in Zarahemla. At times they thought their resolve seemed rash. However, they pressed forward.