Chapters 17 to 27 describe the missionary labors of the sons of King Mosiah II who was the last king over the people of Nephi prior to the peaceful transition of the nation from a monarchy to a republican form of government.

The Nephites wanted to know what had happened to some of them who had taken a trip back to the land of Nephi in an attempt to reclaim it.

Limhi tells this group their story and shows the Record of Zeniff, who was the leader of the first group to try to reclaim the land of Nephi.

There have been two conflicting accounts as to whether the angel who appeared to Smith in 1823 and directed him to the golden plates was named Moroni or Nephi.

As a further complication, Mary Whitmer, mother to one of the Three Witnesses and four of the Eight Witnesses, said she had a vision of the golden plates, shown to her by an angel whom she always called " Brother Nephi ", who may or may not have been the same angel to which Smith referred.

The moral and general civilizational decline of the Nephites is reflected in the fact that with the exception of Abinadom who writes slightly more than his father Chemish, each successive author from Nephi to Abinadom writes less than his predecessor.

Much like Mormon ( who may have taken Amaleki as his model ), this last historian of the civilization that lasted for 400 years in the land of Nephi rose to the occasion and, filled with a sense of longing for what has been lost, eloquently recounted the last days of the Nephite people in their ancestral homeland, the land of Nephi.

As had happened previously, the Lord told the king ( who appears to be a spiritual leader as well as a secular leader ) to lead the righteous Nephites out of the land of Nephi, their ancestral home for the previous 400 years, to a new place.

Besides the persecution of the saints, Nephi sees that people who comprise the great and abominable church among the Gentiles would also be involved with taking " away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious ; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away.

" According to the book, it was written by the ancient prophet Nephi, son of Lehi, who lived around 600 BC.

Nephi leaves the area with those who listen to him and travel far away to establish another settlement.

At this time, the people with Laman and Lemuel and others who remained behind had their skin turn dark, as a sign that the people of Nephi are not to mix with them until they repent.

Nephi predicts the translation of the Book of Mormon and of the Three Witnesses who would testify that it was true.

Within the context of the Book of Mormon, the Nephites were a group of people descended from or associated with Nephi, the son of the prophet Lehi who left Jerusalem at the urging of God c. 600 BC and traveled with his family to the Western Hemisphere, arriving in the present-day Americas c. 589 BC.

* Roger Boisjoly, the aerospace engineer who predicted the Challenger disaster, was a resident of Nephi for many years and died there.

At one point one writer stated that any who are enemies of his people are called Lamanites, and any who are friends are called Nephites: " But I, Jacob, shall not hereafter distinguish them by these names, but I shall call them Lamanites that seek to destroy the people of Nephi, and those who are friendly to Nephi I shall call Nephites, or the people of Nephi, according to the reigns of the kings.

He was also one of the authors who wrote on the Plates of Nephi, which Mormon purportedly abridged.

Nephi, the writer of First and Second Nephi, forged the plates to keep a record of the history of his people, to write down prophecies and spiritual teachings, and make a record of Jesus Christ.

From First Nephi to the end of Omni, the book is a first person narrative of the writers ( although there are many quotations ).

The First Book of Nephi () is the first book of the Book of Mormon.

Its full title is The First Book of Nephi: His Reign and Ministry.

The book is usually referred to as First Nephi and abbreviated as " 1 Ne .".

The last parts of First Nephi contain some teachings from Nephi to his people concerning Jesus Christ.

First Nephi contains many vital doctrines to Mormonism in general.

Although in the book of First Nephi Jesus is never identified by name, he is identified as the son of God, a great prophet, the messiah, and the savior of the world.

In First Nephi, Nephi tells of his father Lehi prophesying that Jerusalem would be destroyed by the Babylonians.

Perhaps the most potentially controversial part of the First Book of Nephi is the misunderstanding that has resulted from descriptions trying to define the " great and abominable church " that Nephi sees among the " nations and kingdoms of the Gentiles "( I Nephi 13: 3-8 ).

* The Book of Mormon: The First Book of Nephi

Unlike the First Book of Nephi, this book contains a less secular history of the Nephite people, but instead discusses visions and prophecies of Nephi himself and other ancient prophets, such as Isaiah.

In the first book of the Book of Mormon, First Nephi, Lehi and Nephi lead their family out of Jerusalem, and across the sea to the " promised land " ( the Americas ).

He was the son of Lehi, a prophet, founder of the Nephite people, and author of the first two books of the Book of Mormon, First and Second Nephi.

Nephi quoted extensively from Isaiah, between the books of First and Second Nephi fully 18 chapters of Isaiah are recorded almost verbatim as they appear in the King James version of the Bible.

The Second Book of Nephi is a continuation of this narrative.

The Second Book of Nephi is the second book of the Book of Mormon.

The book is usually referred to as Second Nephi, and is abbreviated " 2 Ne.

Second Nephi begins with the prophecies of Lehi concerning the future of his seed, and speaks to his posterity.

The remainder of Second Nephi is a recording of their ( Jacob's and Nephi's ) teachings and prophecies.

* The Book of Mormon: The Second Book of Nephi

In Second Nephi chapter 5, the original wording was: " Because of their unbelief, the Lamanites are cursed, receive a skin of blackness, and become a scourge unto the Nephites.

Recorded in chapter four of Second Nephi, it was dubbed the Psalm of Nephi.

* Second Book of Nephi

They were notable for their rebellion against Lehi and Nephi, becoming the primary antagonists of the First and Second Books of Nephi.

Both Nephi and Jacob had kept the record previously, recording First and Second Nephi and the Book of Jacob, respectively.

* Second Book of Nephi, the second subdivision of the Book of Mormon, written by Nephi, son of Lehi