Mosiah 25:12 says the following: "And it came to pass that those who were the children of Amulon and his brethren, who had taken to wife the daughters of the Lamanites, were displeased with the conduct of their fathers, and they would no longer be called by the names of their fathers, therefore they took upon themselves the name of Nephi."
Who were these children of Amulon? And why did they take upon themselves the name of Nephi? This passage of scripture is quite confusing and has been misinterpreted by many but is very culturally significant.
Because this passage alludes to the "daughters of the Lamanites," some have assumed that the "children of Amulon" mentioned in this verse were the offspring of those marriages (see Reynolds and Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of Mormon, 3:290 quoted on page 82 of the Book of Mormon Student Manual for Religion 121 and 122). However, there is not one verse in the Book of Mosiah or the Book of Alma which alludes to the conversion of any of those offspring. In Mosiah 23:35 it says that "Amulon and his brethren did join the Lamanites." Mosiah 23:39 says that "the king of the Lamanites granted unto Amulon that he should be a king and a ruler over his people, who were in the land of Helam (where Alma was). And Mosiah 24:8 says that "Amulon began to exercise authority over Alma and his brethren, and began to persecute him, and cause that his children should persecute their children." Thus, it is improbable that the children of Amulon referred to here (the offspring of Lamanite mothers) would have become part of Alma's group in its flight to Zarahemla.
On the other hand, Mosiah 20:3 talks about the original flight of the priests of Noah, over whom Amulon was leader. It says, "and now the priests of king Noah, being ashamed to return to the city of Nephi, yea, and also fearing that the people would slay them, therefore they durst not return to their wives and their children."
Thus, we have to conclude that the "children of Amulon" who "took upon themselves the name of Nephi" were the ones originally left behind by the priests of Noah with the people at the city of Nephi, and were part of those who made their way with Ammon and Limhi to the land of Zarahemla.
But if this is so, then why did they feel it necessary to take upon themselves the name of Nephi? Weren't Amulon and his brethren descended from Zeniff's group? And weren't the members of Zeniff's group originally considered Nephites before they left the land of Zarahemla to return to Lehi-Nephi? If the members of Zeniff's group were Nephites before they left, why wouldn't they be Nephites when they returned?
There are a number of possibilities here. First, there is no certainty that Zeniff's group was made up entirely of Nephites. Mosiah 9:3 just says that Zeniff "collected as many as were desirous to go up to possess the land." Second, the land of Lehi-Nephi into which Zeniff's group settled might have been culturally diverse. When Mosiah1 originally fled, it says that he only took "as many as would hearken unto the voice of the Lord" (Omni 1:12). What happened to those "Nephites" who remained? Perhaps they were still there when Zeniff returned. Third, when the scriptures say that the children of Amulon "took upon themselves the name of Nephi," are we talking about a cultural name, a political name, or a spiritual name? Mosiah 25:12 might be saying that "the children of Amulon" submitted to the proper spiritual and legal authority that existed in the land of Zarahemla.
Whatever the answer, the importance of this passage lies in the multicultural possibilities that lie hidden in the Book of Mormon narrative. [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]