This record of the Jews becomes a stabilizing force among the Nephites. It allows consistency of language, doctrine, history, genealogy, and tradition. The stabilizing effect can be seen when comparing the Nephites to the Mulekites who came to the new world without any records. Hence, 'their language had become corrupted; and . . . they denied the being of their Creator' ("Omni 1:17Omni 1:17).
Hugh Nibley
"The purpose of the plates, as he saw it, was to preserve the cultural heritage of the past for generations to come, and especially to retain intact the unbroken religious tradition of God's people back to the very beginning.
"This is the announcement that launches the vast and restless record-keeping project of Lehi's descendants, determined to keep intact the chain of writings that bound them to the righteous of every age in a single unbroken faith and tradition. For the ancients all history was sacred history." (An Approach to the Book of Mormon, p. 158.)