Mormon interjects the comment that many records have been kept concerning specifically these people who migrated northward and the Nephite nation generally. The doctrinal significance of these verses consists not so much in their informing the reader of the many historical records that deal with virtually every aspect of Nephite culture as in their reminding us that the primary purpose of the Book of Mormon is not one of history.
Mormon’s statement is that his record or abridgment does not contain a “hundredth part” of all the history. He is not apologizing, but is again stating that his objective and his charge as an abridger and record-keeper is of a spiritual and not a secular nature. (See Jacob 3:13; Words of Mormon 1:5; Alma 13:31; 3 Nephi 5:8-9; see also Commentary 2:31, 121-22.)