Mormon has told three separate stories that all occurred simultaneously: the dissolution of the Nephite nation into tribes, the Gadiantons seating a king and then fleeing north, and now Nephi’s preaching efforts. Mormon confirms that they were simultaneous by repeating that they occurred in the thirty-first year. As the story of Nephi is the most important element in the religious history of the Nephites, Mormon ends with that story, which will return us to the main storyline as Mormon prepares his readers for the great destruction that he will describe in the next chapter.