Ether 6 and 7

I don't have many insights today, mostly just some questions that I suppose I'll never had answered. First of all, how did the Jaredites know how long it took them to reach the promised land?

Ether 6:11

And thus they were driven forth, three hundred and forty and four days upon the water.

I guess thinking about it now it doesn't make sense that they would ever be underwater for a whole day. So perhaps they could have seen the sun each day and marked the passage of time that way.

My second question is whether the people of Jared had any written record. The oldest written record that I know about is the writings of Abraham. That were translated by Joseph Smith in the Pearl of Great Price. But one of the Jaredite people was named Noah. So it seems that either they had a record of Noah or at least an oral tradition.

Ether 6:17

And they were taught to walk humbly before the Lord; and they were also taught from on high.

It seems that they had continuing revelation but did they have any scriptures? If anyone has an answer for me, maybe something I have overlooked let me know in the comments.

The last thought I had when reading the scriptures is how connected religion is with the government and politics. We often teach and hear that America was founded with freedom of religion and freedom of speech to create an atmosphere where the gospel could be restored to the earth. In Ether 7, Shule is the king and his people are wicked. Many prophets start calling the people to repentance but the people revile them and persecute them.

Ether 7:25

And he (Shule) did execute a law throughout all the land, which gave power unto the prophets that they should go whithersoever they would; and by this cause the people were brought unto repentance.

So Shule gave the prophets the right to go and preach wherever they wanted and through that the people repented and became righteous. So the government and political atmosphere can have a great deal of effect on the righteousness of the people. It might not affect it directly but it creates an atmosphere that either supports or hinders righteousness. It is our responsibility to support governments and laws that foster righteousness within our own communities and nations.