2 Nephi 5

You get the impression that the bulk of the people follow Nephi as they separate themselves from the Lamanites. If Nephi took all of the families of Zoram, Sam, Jacob, and Joseph, and all of his sisters, that only leaves Laman and Lemuel and whoever of the Ishmael's family were with them. The contrast is pretty stark between them with the Nephites being prospered, educated, building a temple with "workmanship [that] was exceedingly fine," while the Lamanites are cursed with a darker skin color to disinguish them from the Nephites). They become a lazy people, causing continual problems, even war, and rather than eat domesticated animals, they eat animals that prey off of other animals. At the base of it all is the statement that the Nephites believed in the revelations of God, the Lamanites didn't. Evil nations who sought to conquer other nations have nearly always had leaders who were godless in their beliefs. Whether it's Hitler, Stalin, Amin, or further back in history. If they claimed to not be godless, then they falsely used the name of God to accomplish their unrighteous subjection and slaughter of other peoples.

We've come to the actual time that Nephi made the small plates. It's been thirty years since they left Jerusalem. By the end of the chapter, 40 years have passed away. Nephi is probably nearly 60 years of age.