Among the sacred things which Alma entrusted into the care and keeping of Helaman were twenty-four plates of gold which King Limhi had in his possession before they were submitted by him to King Mosiah for translation.
Upon the translation of them which was made by King Mosiah it was discovered that these twenty-four gold plates contained the history of a great people who lived in the Land of America many years before. They are known to us as Jaredites, being named after one of their great leaders, and who were destroyed in battle by God's edict because of their continual wickedness from which they would not repent. Alma, with the authority of his office as Presiding High Priest, commanded Helaman "keep them, that the mysteries and the works of darkness, and their secret works, or the secret works of those people who have been destroyed, may be made manifest unto this people."