In the aftermath of the loss of the 116 manuscript pages, Joseph lost his ability to translate for a time. In Doctrine and Covenants 10:38–42, the Lord explained how to compensate for the lost text. Central to its replacement is the account from the small plates of Nephi. The account on the small plates therefore functions as a replacement for the lost book of Lehi. However, we do the text an injustice if we suppose that it is only an afterthought replacement. Nephi considered the text on these small plates to be valuable in and of itself, and not simply as a parallel to what he had already written.