Book of Mormon Geography: The wilderness near Ammonihah and Noah

Alma 49, which accounts events occurring in 72 B.C., discusses the 2nd attempt of the Lamanites to destroy the city Ammonihah. Unsuccessful, they attempted another attack upon the city Noah. In this narration, Mormon says the Lamanites “retreated into the wilderness,” and “fled into the wilderness” to return to NEPHI. What wilderness is Mormon talking about? The west wilderness no longer exists, as in Alma 27 (about 76 B.C.) it was colonized by the people of Ammon and named Jershon.

According to the 1828 Webster Dictionary, the meaning of “wilderness” in Joseph Smith’s day was:

A desert; a tract of land or region uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings, whether a forest or a wide barren plain. In the United States, it is applied only to a forest. In Scripture, it is applied frequently to the deserts of Arabia. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness forty years.

Part of Jershon still being wilderness is consistent with this definition, especially since Mormon also describes a wilderness in Manti, near the Sidon (Alma 43:27), and west of the city Mulek (Alma 52:22). Obviously, even with the settlement of Jershon, some wilderness areas remained through which the Lamanites were able to advance towards Ammonihah undetected, and through which they were able to retreat back to NEPHI. Only about four years have passed since the Ammonites colonized Jershon, and so large tracts probably were still uninhabited and undeveloped.