The Nephites were marrying and having many children. In fact, they were “multiplying exceedingly fast,” a characteristic of living in a healthy, happy environment.
4 Nephi 1:11 says they “were married, and given in marriage.” What does that mean? Did a man and a woman just go off on their own and say, “We are married?” This is written in the passive voice—they were married by someone with authority. The man and the woman are being brought together by authority to become one. They both were married and were equally given in marriage. There is great unity in this Nephite description of marriage.
Verse 11 also states they were “blessed according to the multitude of the promises which the Lord had made unto them.” Where are those promises given? Did the Resurrected Lord ever promise a multitude of blessings to his people? Yes, the promised blessings are in 3 Nephi 20–22, when Jesus talked about the promises and blessings of Abraham and Jacob, and the blessings Jesus quoted from Isaiah 54. These, indeed, are a multitude of blessings. One of the promises of Abraham was that he would have great posterity—a multitude, and thus Abram’s name was changed to Abraham, which means “father of many”—a multitude.