About: Record of the Nephites

Within the religions of the Latter-day Saint movement that developed in the U.S. during the early 1800s, the phrase record of the Nephites has two distinct but related usages. The primary use is to describe the collection of inscribed metal plates on which the Nephite purportedly recorded their history. An abridged version of this record, reportedly inscribed on gold plates, was the source of the Book of Mormon, according to Joseph Smith. The Record of the Nephites was also the manuscript title of the Book of Mormon. The Whitmerite branch of the Latter-Day Saint movement used The Record of the Nephites as the title for their version of The Book of Mormon.