According to Hugh Nibley, one of the things that argues for an eastern course of travel for the Jaredites is the great length of the journey: "for this many years we have been in the wilderness" (Ether 3:3). Such a situation calls not only for vast expanses to wander in, but a terrain favorable to cattle-raising nomads and a region "in which there never had man been" (Ether 2:5), conditions to which the Asiatic rather than the European areas conform. [Hugh Nibley, The World of the Jaredites, p. 181]
Ether 3:6 The Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger ([Illustration]): The Brother of Jared Sees the Finger of the Lord. [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gospel Art, #318]