Mighty Man led a group that went up from Zarahemla into the wilderness to return to the land of Nephi, the land of their fathers’ inheritance, during the time recorded in the book of Omni. Amaleki calls him “a strong and mighty man, and a stiffnecked man,” who caused a contention among his followers; all but fifty were slain in the wilderness, and the survivors returned to Zarahemla (Omni 1:28).
Zeniff, who later led his own expedition back to the land of Nephi, was a member of this earlier company and described its leader. Sent as a spy among the Lamanites, Zeniff wanted his people to make a treaty with them and contended with his brethren over it; the leader, “an austere and a blood-thirsty man,” ordered Zeniff slain. Zeniff was rescued amid heavy fighting in which father fought against father and brother against brother until the greater number of the company was destroyed, and the survivors returned to Zarahemla (Mosiah 9:2).