The population of the people of Suran continues to expand, so they begin to build cities in all the region round about the temple. Ahkman lists these cities, but they seem to be in an odd order. The first ones are mentioned after the location of the temple, and the last are said to be close to Katagan on the north coast. So it appears these cities are listed in a rough hierarchy or order of distance from the temple, which is in the city of Suran at the far southwest of their land. The north "suburbs" are Set, Abrahama, and Zedek (note the Biblical names), and the east ones are Garal and Bori. The next rung is comprised of Lisayja to the northeast, Yapinyat to the north, and Srindam in the east. The final "outliers" near Katagan are Batas in the north and the city of the Tower in the east, which... has a big tower. Note that there are no cities to the south or west, probably due to geographical or political boundaries, such as mountains, ocean, tribal territories, etc. (My current thoughts are mountains to the west and other tribes to the south.)
Ahkman quickly mentions the seven primary rites they'd been commanded by the Lord in the records to perform at the temple, and all were required to comply so as to be obedient to God. (I wonder how they walked the line of requirement without falling into compulsion -- probably following the same principles laid out at the end of D&C 121.) These ordinances are Washing, Adoption, Sacrifices, the Teaching, Marriage, Ordination, and Healing. We'll delve into these specifically in the next few chapters, but each should be easily recognizable to LDS readers. (Remember. the modern endowment ceremony has been highly condensed down from the original several-hours-long ordinance full of teachings, lectures, and discussions. The ordinance of adoption, as practiced during Joseph Smith and Brigham Young's time, also has been discontinued.)
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