Text: When Nephi begins to write on a new topic, he usually provides a transition. Chapter 31 had such a transition. Now, here is another. Significantly, Nephi contrasts his speaking and writing ability as the link between what he has just recorded and what will follow. Thus, it confirms that Nephi has been recording an oral sermon in chapters 31–32 but is recording his thoughts directly on the plates, a process sufficiently cumbersome that he could not have responded to the promptings of the Spirit as rapidly as he could when speaking. As any good speaker understands, interaction with the audience through the Spirit can also enhance excellence.
Nephi also makes a transition from a speech about the power of the Spirit to a written testimony that he wants the Spirit to confirm. Nephi expects such confirmation to occur freely while he is speaking but is less sure of its occurrence when he is writing. He cannot focus his personal spiritual power on the future reader as he can in speaking in person. Finally, Nephi is no longer addressing a contemporary audience but rather a future one. These factors explain why he ended his discourse so abruptly in chapter 32 but wrote one more chapter. Chapter 33 is his final message, a written farewell testimony.
Furthermore, Jacob 1:9 states that Nephi knew his death was near. Fifty-five years had passed since Lehi left Jerusalem (Jacob 1:1). Therefore, Nephi was probably between sixty-five and seventy-five, old age indeed in the ancient world. However, he was still able to organize his affairs in preparation for his death. I speculate that Nephi had been copying out his sermon but left off for some reason, probably expecting the interruption to be only temporary. Perhaps half of the discourse remained to be copied (based on the word-count comparison between chapters 31 and 32), but then something happened to make him aware that he was dying. Leaving chapter 32 unfinished, he spent his waning time in recording his final testimony so that he could hand over the plates to Jacob.
Although handing over the plates is a recorded fact (Jacob 1:1–2), Nephi does not record handing over the governance of the city to his successor along with the tokens of rulership that would have included the large plates, the brass plates, the Liahona, and the sword of Laban. This information is probably recorded in the large plates.