Narrative: The sequencing of events at this point in time is interesting. After the defeat of the Gadianton army in the twenty-second year, Mormon notes the passage of the twenty-second to twenty-fifth years where there is nothing important to his narrative (3 Nephi 5:7). Now in the twenty-sixth year the people return to their homes. This gives us four years during which the Nephites continued to concentrate in a defensive position rather than returning to their previous holdings.
While Mormon does not say anything about the Gadiantons at this point, we may surmise that although there had been this great defeat of the Gadianton army, that they had not ceased to exist, and that they were still in a position to be a possible threat. Without any threat at all, it is doubtful that the Nephites would have endured the concentrated conditions of their desperate defensive position. When the circumstances indicated that there was no longer a viable threat, then they would have returned. It is interesting that it should have taken four years, and as is typical, Mormon tells us nothing of this most interesting historical question.
When they return they return prosperous. Mormon’s description of the return of the people has two aspects to it. The first is the historical veracity. Of course the people did return. However, the second aspect is qualitative, not simply reporting. When they return they return with “their gold, and their silver, and all their precious things.” This particular part of the description is not given for the sake of veracity, but for a more spiritual purpose.
Mormon has described the salvation of the people because of their righteousness. He emphasized that righteousness in 3 Nephi 5:1-3. The return with wealth is a further indication that they have prospered and are blessed. It is not that blessings must be manifest in wealth, but rather that the cycle of blessings has this end as one of its typical manifestations. They were righteous therefore they were prosperous. Mormon will elaborate on this theme in the next several verses.