The turning point of this story and the reason Nephi tells this whole story is so that we can know how important it is to have and read the scriptures, to know the commandments and be better commandment keepers.
When Nephi was trying to convince his brothers to go back, he says, "We need these records, otherwise, how can we preserve our language for our children?" That was one important reason. And if Nephi had said, "We need these plates so we can obey the law of the Lord," that would probably not be something that Laman and Lemuel would be very excited about. But preserving the language was one of the main reasons Nephi gives. Language is important. Especially authoritative religious and legal language. The loss of language by the Mulekites offers a case in point. There are plenty of reasons why having the scriptures is vitally important, for them and for us. And it was especially important for Lehi, as he journeyed, to have a set of scriptures on durable metal. This is extremely expensive and very unusual, but it would not have done Lehi any good to have scrolls written on parchment with water-soluble ink. They would not have survived.