It is common to secular scholarship to argue that Bible prophets spoke only to those of their own day. Surely this is not the case among those commissioned to write scriptural records. Here Nephi addressed himself to all the tribes of Israel-Israel of a future day-when his record would come into their possession.
Similarly, Mormon concluded this volume of scripture by saying, “I write unto all the ends of the earth; yea, unto you, twelve tribes of Israel” (Mormon 3:18). That Book of Mormon prophets share a common purpose with the prophets of the Old World is shown by James, who also directed his epistle “to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad” (James 1:1).