These verses are the second reference Nephi made of the two sets of plates (the first is 1 Nephi 9), and the third mention of the small plates (1 Nephi 6 speaks of only the small plates). Nephi was commanded to make the first set of plates (v. 1), which Church literature usually refers to as the large plates. The commandment was probably given after they landed in the promised land because it was the first time they had access to ore from which they could make plates. Lehi had kept a record and Nephi had made “an abridgment of the record of my father” (1 Nephi 1:16–17). The type of materials Lehi wrote upon is not stated. Making a record on plates of ore would certainly be more permanent. Nephi was commanded to keep the second set of plates many years later and they will be discussed under 2 Nephi 5. Nephi stresses the sacredness of them. The purpose of the second set of plates is to preserve knowledge for his people (v. 6). This knowledge is for future generations.