In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he is described as the son of Lehi, a prophet, and the founder of the Nephite people.

After spending eight years in the wilderness, the family reaches the land Bountiful, where Nephi builds a ship under the direction of God.

Some time after their arrival in the Promised Land, Laman and Lemuel once again try to kill Nephi and he flees with several members of the family.

Before their flight, Nephi's father Lehi prophesies of the impending destruction and captivity of Jerusalem by the armies of Babylon, an event mentioned in the Bible several times.

Lehi then sends four sons (Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi) back to Jerusalem to get the brass plates.

[5] A powerful man named Laban, who is a kinsman to Lehi, possesses the brass plates, a record kept by the Jews which contains their laws, customs, history, and lineage.

Nephi convinces his brothers to try buying the plates using their abandoned wealth; Laban refuses the offer, though he keeps the goods, and sends his servants to kill them.

[7] Sometime after they obtain the brass plates, the Lord tells Lehi to send his sons back to Jerusalem so they can convince Ishmael’s family to join them.

[11] Not long after arriving in the Promised Land, Lehi dies, leaving the leadership of the colony in Nephi's hands.

[13] Anthropologist Steven L. Olsen points out that the journey to possess the brass plates is the first instance in which Nephi is portrayed as a leader of his brothers.

Writing about this contemplation, R. John Williams, who is an assistant professor of English at Yale, concludes that while Nephi's internal struggle is very personal, his rationalization of killing Laban appears to be more unemotional.

[17] The design for Nephi's ship is divine, which theme is common in various Biblical stories, says legal editor Alan Goff.

Hardy proposes that Nephi portrays Laman and Lemuel in a negative light in order to solidify his purpose of showing the Lord’s deliverance.

He argues that Nephi brings his first-person biases into the narrative, making it difficult for his readers to have an impartial perspective.

Latter-day Saint lawyer Nathan B. Oman explains that legal issues are woven into Nephi's narrative, especially those that concern his brothers.

[20] Fenton argues that Nephi did not write the Book of Mormon for the Nephites, as implied by his inclusion of his dream about their destruction.

"[21] At the same time, Rees suggests that Nephi may have drawn inspiration for his writing style from passages found in the brass plates.

Hardy notes several parallels between Nephi and Joseph: both are younger, favored sons whose older brothers resent him and attempt to murder him.

In this reading, Nephi's beot, or ritual boast, is found in the famous passage where he says he will "go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded," and his brothers become his band of warriors.

[24] The first major figure in the Book of Mormon, Nephi is regarded by members of the Latter Day Saint Movement as a prophet, political leader, and record keeper.

A number of individuals throughout the Book of Mormon were named after Nephi, including all of the kings in the early Nephite civilization.

Wilcox continues to contrast Nephi with Laman and Lemuel, specifically discussing their attitudes about leaving Jerusalem.

When he writes about the brass plates, Wilcox explores the feelings and actions of Nephi as he kills Laban and brings Zoram with him.

[28] In her collection Book of Mormon and Other Poems, Latter-day Saint poet Mildred Hunt includes a poem that tells of the retrieval of Ishmael's daughters in an allegory of gardeners coming to select beautiful willow and cypress trees for their homes, where the trees represent Ishmael's daughters and the gardeners represent the sons of Lehi.

"[29] An emeritus English professor at Pepperdine University and Latter-day Saint, Michael R. Collings wrote a book entitled The Nephiad.