ompendium of the
Doctrines of the Gospel_, by Franklin D. Richards and James A. Little,
article "Christ's First Coming."

3. Nephites and Lamanites.--The progenitors of the Nephite nation were
led from Jerusalem, 600 B.C., by Lehi, a Jewish prophet of the tribe of
Manasseh. His immediate family, at the time of their departure from
Jerusalem, comprized his wife Sariah, and their sons, Laman, Lemuel,
Sam, and Nephi; at a later stage of the history, daughters are
mentioned, but whether any of these were born before the family exodus
we are not told. Beside his own family, the colony of Lehi included
Zoram, and Ishmael, the latter an Israelite of the tribe of Ephraim.
Ishmael, with his family, joined Lehi in the wilderness; and his
descendants were numbered with the nation of whom we are speaking. The
company journeyed somewhat east of south, keeping near the borders of
the Red Sea; then, changing their course to the eastward, crossed the
peninsula of Arabia; and there, on the shores of the Arabian Sea, built
and provisioned a vessel in which they committed themselves to divine
care upon the waters. Their voyage carried them eastward across the
Indian Ocean, then over the south Pacific Ocean to the western coast of
South America, whereon they landed (590 B.C.).... The people established
themselves on what to them was the land of promise; many children were
born, and in the course of a few generations a numerous posterity held
possession of the land. After the death of Lehi, a division occurred,
some of the people accepting as their leader, Nephi, who had been duly
appointed to the prophetic office; while the rest proclaimed Laman, the
eldest of Lehi's sons, as their chief. Henceforth the divided people
were known as Nephites and Lamanites respectively. At times they
observed toward each other fairly friendly relations; but generally they
were opposed, the Lamanites manifesting implacable hatred and hostility
toward their Nephite kindred. The Nephites advanced in the arts of
civilization, built large cities and established prosperous
commonwealths; yet they often fell into transgression; and the Lord
chastened them by allowing their foes to become victorious. They spread
northward, occupying the northern part of South America; then, crossing
the Isthmus, they extended their domain over the southern, central and
eastern portions of what is now the United States of America. The
Lamanites, while increasing in numbers, fell unde