Ether 2:5

And it came to pass that the Lord commanded them that they should go forth into the wilderness, yea, into that quarter where there never had man been. And it came to pass that the Lord did go before them, and did talk with them as he stood in a cloud, and gave directions whither they should travel.—

The Lord told them to go into the wilderness. They were to go to a place where no one had ever been. The Lord went before them. He stood in a cloud and talked with them. He told them which way to travel.

The Lord told them to go into the wilderness, into territory where no one had ever been. The Lord went ahead of them, speaking from a cloud and giving them directions.