According to the Book of Mormon

Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...

, Amaleki was a Nephite

Nephite

According to the Book of Mormon, a Nephite is a member of one of the four main groups of settlers of the ancient Americas. The other three groups are the Lamanites, Jaredites and Mulekites. In the Book of Mormon, the Nephites were a group of people descended from or associated with Nephi, the...

 record keeper (ca 130 BC). He received the Plates of Nephi

Plates of Nephi

According to the Book of Mormon, the plates of Nephi, consisting of the large plates of Nephi and the small plates of Nephi, are a portion of the collection of inscribed metal plates which make up the record of the Nephites...

 from his father Abinadom

Abinadom

According to the Book of Mormon, Abinadom was a Nephite record keeper, and the son of Chemish. He received the Plates of Nephi from his father and penned two verses in the Book of Omni before conferring the record to his son, Amaleki....

, and penned 18 verses in the Book of Omni

Book of Omni

The Book of Omni is one of the books that make up the Book of Mormon. The book contains only one chapter although it covers more than two centuries of Nephite history ....

 (Omni 1:12-30). He was the last person to write in the small plates of Nephi

Plates of Nephi

According to the Book of Mormon, the plates of Nephi, consisting of the large plates of Nephi and the small plates of Nephi, are a portion of the collection of inscribed metal plates which make up the record of the Nephites...

.

In his brief contribution to the Book of Mormon, Amaleki relates the flight of King Mosiah I

King Mosiah I

According to the Book of Mormon, Mosiah I was a Nephite prophet who led the Nephites from the land of Nephi to the land of Zarahemla and was later appointed king. He was the father of King Benjamin, the first of two individuals in the Book of Mormon with that name...

 and his people from the land of Nephi, and the subsequent discovery of the people and land of Zarahemla

Zarahemla

Zarahemla is the name of a prominent land, a capital city, and a leader in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is revered by members of various Latter Day Saint churches as sacred scripture....

, who, like the Nephites, are shown to be descendants of the Israelites of the old world

Old World

The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....

. Amaleki's writing also introduce the Jaredites for the first time in the Book of Mormon

Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...

, since the people of Zarahemla had contact with Coriantumr

Coriantumr

In the Book of Mormon, Coriantumr is the name of three figures that appear throughout the book's narrative. Chronologically, these three are: one of the sons of Omer, a deposed Jaredite king later restored to his throne by his sons Esrom and Coriantumr; the last of the Jaredite kings, who lived to...

, the last surviving Jaredite.

Before his death, Amaleki passed the Nephite record to King Benjamin

King Benjamin

According to the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin, son of King Mosiah the first, was the second Nephite king to rule over Zarahemla. An account of his life and teachings are recorded in both the Words of Mormon and the Book of Mosiah...

, who was the son of the aforementioned King Mosiah.