[I]t was not meet for him, Lehi, that he should take his family into the wilderness alone; but that his sons should take daughters to wife, that they might raise up seed unto the Lord in the land of promise.
Thus did Ishmael and his unnamed wife and five daughters (7:6) become the joint progenitors of the early Book of Mormon peoples. The phrase "raise up seed unto the Lord" echoes the polygamy escape clause recorded at Jacob 2:31: "For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things."
About This Commentary
This is a personal chapter-by-chapter commentary on the Book of Mormon, emphasizing historical and doctrinal features of the text.