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In Mormonism, the Small Plates of Nephi (pronounced nee-fie) are alleged to be a collection of writings created by ancient inhabitants of the American Continent. Mormons believe that some of these writings were compiled and abridged by a prophet named Mormon along with his son Moroni, into a single record. They believe that this record was translated by Joseph Smith and is now available as The Book of Mormon.
Narrative
According to the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Nephi was a prophet who, along with his family and a few others, left Jerusalem and came to the New World. Once they arrived there, he was given the task of keeping a record of the spiritual state of his posterity; and also a record of the socio-political environment. Additionally, he was to cause the records to be handed down, and maintained, from generation to generation.
To fulfill these obligations, Nephi created two sets of metal plates, upon which he and those who inherited the burden could engrave the appropriate text. One set of plates was called the Small Plates of Nephi. They were designed to hold the spiritual record of the people. The other was called the Large Plates of Nephi. Those plates were to be used for the history of the people: their wars, kings, etc.
In the Book of Mormon, the first six divisions (which are called books), starting with the First Book of Nephi and ending with the Book of Omni, are said to be a translation from the Small Plates of Nephi.
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