In the midst of all of the apparent prejudice against the Lamanites, Nephi indicates that they will serve a purpose. The persecutions begun by the Lamanites will put pressure on the Nephites to bring them continually to remembrance of their God - and should they not remember their God, they should be destroyed. While Nephi does not specifically link this passage to his vision of the Tree of Life, he had a vision of the future history of his descendants, and now sees even more clearly how those prophecies might come to pass.