In Alma 50:6, Mormon states that the Nephites prepared "strongholds round about every city in all the land." One might wonder whether the phrase "round about" refers to: (1) the nature of these fortifications (timber, picket fortifications that were built completely around "every city"); or (2) the building up of a national defensive perimeter ("round about every city in all the land"). Presumably this phrase means all the cities that the Nephites had control over; however, it is worth noting that eight years later (see Alma 53:3-4) Bountiful apparently had no such fortification, even though it was clearly a Nephite possession. Perhaps the meaning of "round about" in the original verse meant just those major cities positioned on the borders exposed to attack by the Lamanites; or perhaps Bountiful was not considered part of the land of Zarahemla or the "land" of the Nephites. [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]