Nephi’s argument about Jerusalem being destroyed is interesting and perhaps instructive about the people who descended from Mulek. When declaring that Jerusalem was destroyed, Nephi does not refer to Lehi’s prophetic declaration that he had seen the destruction. He points to the sons of Zedekiah who were slain, all save Mulek. This is the first time in the Book of Mormon that we learn about Mulek as a person. Although the idea of being “sons” of the king might have referred to any in the court, the specific relationship is not the issue. Nephi is suggesting that there is an inherited tradition among Mulek’s descendants that they were still in the Old World when Jerusalem was destroyed. Thus, their testimony was of that accomplished fact, and not Lehi’s prophetic vision, which some might dismiss.
The next important aspect of this reference to Mulek is that it ties Old World prophecies of the coming of the atoning Messiah to Mulek. This was a politically astute move, as most of the Nephite contentions appear to have been along the dividing lines between the Nephites and the Mulekites. The desires for a different religion and a return to monarchy seem to be ascribed to descendants of Mulek. Nephi, therefore, uses that lineage to note that even they knew of the coming of the atoning Messiah.
Verse 23 restates the common Nephite theme that the atoning Messiah will be God come to earth: “He is God, and he is with them, and he did manifest himself unto them, that they were redeemed by him; and they gave unto him glory, because of that which is to come.” The phrase “that which is to come” refers to the coming atoning Messiah.