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Within the religions of theLatter-day Saint movement that developed in the U.S. during the early 1800s, the phraserecord of the Nephites has two distinct but related usages. The primary use is to describe the collection of inscribed metal plates on which theNephites purportedly recorded their history. An abridged version of this record, reportedly inscribed ongold plates, was the source of theBook of Mormon, according toJoseph Smith.[1]The Record of the Nephites was also themanuscript title of theBook of Mormon.[citation needed] TheWhitmerite branch of the Latter-Day Saint movement usedThe Record of the Nephites as the title for their version of theBook of Mormon.[citation needed]
Beginning withNephi, various people in theBook of Mormon were charged with keeping a record of the secular and sacred history of the Nephites. These records were inscribed on metal plates. The record keeper was usually aprophet, although there are some minor authors who were not. For some portion of theBook of Mormon history the records were kept by Nephite rulers, either kings or chief judges, many of whom were also prophets.
There were several sets of plates that constituted the record of the Nephites. Some of the plates are specifically mentioned in theBook of Mormon, including thebrass plates ofLaban, the history of theJaredites, and the large and smallplates of Nephi.
According to theBook of Mormon, Mormon, one of the last of the Nephites, abridged the record on theGolden Plates. Mormon states that he took his account primarily from the large plates of Nephi, but he also included the unabridged, small plates of Nephi.
Mormon's son,Moroni, added to Mormon's account but stated that he would have written more, "if I had room upon the plates, but I have not; and ore I have none" (Mormon 8:5). Moroni had been commanded by his father to seal the plates and "hide up the record in the earth" (Mormon 8:4). Adherents ofMormonism believe that Moroni, as an angel, appeared to Joseph Smith in 1823 and directed him to where the plates were hidden. According to Joseph Smith's account, this was theHill Cumorah, near Palmyra, New York.
TheBook of Mormon is sometimes published asThe Record of the Nephites.[citation needed] It is also calledThe Nephite Record andThe Stick of Joseph, depending on the publisher. The termStick of Joseph is a reference to the verses in theKing James Version of the Bible,Book of Ezekiel chapter 37, which theLatter Day Saint movement believes to be a prophecy of theRecord of the Nephites.
Such titles may indicate that the text is from an unedited copy of the first edition, published 1830 byEgbert Grandin inPalmyra, New York.[citation needed]
Existing versions of the manuscript and first editions available for public perusal through archives such asThe Joseph Smith Papers use the standard name theBook of Mormon.[1][2]
