Words Of Mormon

When you think of the setting of these verses, they become very meaningful.
This could be the very last thing that Mormon wrote and it is very poignant
in places. He knows his life will not last much longer and has seen most of
his people and his family killed. To understand the setting, we have to
consider where we are in relation to what's been written on the plates.

Nephi made two sets of plates, the small and the large. Nephi first started
engraving the large plates writing the history of his people. While doing
this, the Lord commanded him to make a set of smaller plates and write more
sacred things on them along with an abbreviated version of their history.
Everything up to now that we've been reading was on these smaller plates.

The large plates continued to be written on up to the time of Mormon and
Moroni and the end of the Book of Mormon. Because there was so much
rcorded, Mormon wrote a shortened version on his own set of plates. Joseph
Smith first started translating Mormon's plates and got up to the point
where we are in the Book of Mormon, but Martin Harris lost that translation.

Before Mormon gave his plates to Moroni, he found the small plates of Nephi.
He saw a small amount of space for engraving on them so he wrote these
words, the Words of Mormon, at the end of the small plates saying how he was
inspired to attach the small plates to his own. He says the Spirit
whispered to him to attach them for a wise purpose that he didn't
understand. He hoped that it would help convert his people some time in
the future.

Mormon also gives a bit of background to take us into the Book of Mosiah.