The “latter days” is an expression which, in the parlance of the Old Testament prophets, refers to the reign of the Messiah. Here Nephi says he is speaking of the “last days,” meaning the time after the bringing forth of “these things,”—the Book of Mormon—“unto the children of men.” This makes the date of the appearance of the Book of Mormon an epochal date in history. The plates were delivered to the Prophet Joseph on September 22, 1827. In June, 1829, the translation was finished, and in the spring of 1830, the first printed edition was ready for distribution. Nephi, if I understand him correctly, regards this as the beginning of the last days of the Old, and the dawn of a new dispensation.