Another phrase that is instrumental in determining the geography is the term "thence." The term "thence" has a very specific meaning. It is used 11 times in the Book of Mormon. In every single usage, it means to leave one place to go to another place. For example, in Helaman 2:77 [5:14], "And they did remember his words; and therefore they went forth, keeping the commandments of God, to teach the word of God among all the people of Nephi, beginning at the city Bountiful; and from thence forth to the city of Gid; and from the city of Gid to the city of Mulek." The consistency in its meaning is instrumental in interpreting that the land southward is a distinct area with boundaries. The term is used to describe the land southward in Helaman 2:78 [5:16], "And even from one city to another, until they had gone forth among all the people of Nephi, who were in the land southward; and from thence into the land of Zarahemla, among the Lamanites."

The phrase "came forth" and "come forth" are phrases with a very similar meaning as "thence" although not used as consistently as the term "thence." They mean to come out of a place. The phrase "came forth" is used five times. Four of the times it directly describes people leaving a place. The fifth time it is used is to describe serpents that came out of the place where they were. The phrase "come forth" is used three times, once to mean people leaving a place, once figuratively to leave the waters of Judah, and once again figuratively to describe a cockatrice (a snake) coming out of a serpent's root.

The nature of English grammar is to interpret the phrase "land southward" as a general area south of a reference point, not as a specific area with boundaries. However, to interpret the phrase "land southward" as an area without boundaries is to contradict the meaning of the term "thence" and the consistency of the grammar in the Book of Mormon. The result is an inescapable conclusion that the land southward has boundaries and thus becomes a "new" land much like the land Bountiful. It is a land with larger boundaries than a typical land, but it does have boundaries. When you read the commentaries about the land southward in this new light, you will see that the information in the Book of Mormon is consistent with it being a defined area.