Actually, Nephi made two records. One was the secular history of wars and political events. But the one we are presently reading is his record of the revelations and spiritual events which occurred over the years. We should mention that Nephi had been taught to write Egyptian because it was much more efficient method of writing than Hebrew -- sort of like an ancient system of shorthand. In the first volume of Treasures from the Book of Mormon, beginning on page 20, you will find a fascinating history of the Egyptian language and learn why the entire Book of Mormon was written in reformed Egyptian rather than Hebrew.