Following great success in Zarahemla, Nephi and Lehi decided to go south into Lamanite territory—the land of Nephi. Generations before, Ammon and the four sons of Mosiah had gone to the land of Nephi at a time when there had not been much, if any, previous contact between Nephites and Lamanites. At that time, there was resentment between the two nations and the Lamanites were very defensive. Any Nephite coming into Lamanite territory was thrown in jail until it could be determined who they were and the purpose of their presence in Lamanite lands.
Now, generations later, Nephi and Lehi were going into an even worse possible enemy situation. However, there was possibly one bright spot among the hostilities and takeovers between the two nations over the previous years—there were instances of mercy and good faith shown by a few Nephites to the Lamanites. Twenty-two years previous, in the forty-first year of the judges, Moronihah defeated some Lamanites who had come in to invade the center of the land of Zarahemla. Very much in character with his father, captain Moroni, Moronihah showed mercy and “caused that the Lamanites who had been taken prisoners should depart out of the land in peace” (Helaman 1:33). Perhaps Nephi and Lehi were helped by some of those former prisoners who could vouch for them and report that Nephites were not all bad.
The two missionaries could travel wherever they wanted in the land of Zarahemla, but now they were in enemy territory and were quickly arrested. We do not know if they had any opportunity to preach before they were arrested.
Interestingly, just a year following these events, the Nephites and Lamanites changed their travel policies, allowing open borders. Both Nephites and Lamanites were given freedom to travel as well as openly trade in both the land north and the land south. This very dramatic change, which was caused by Nephi and Lehi’s success, is discussed below in the section on Helaman chapter 6.