Amos¹ was a Nephite record keeper, the son of Nephi the son of the Nephi who was one of the twelve disciples Jesus chose during his ministry among the Nephites (4 Nephi 1:19; 3 Nephi 19:4). On his father’s death, around A.D. 110, Amos¹ took up the plates of Nephi and kept the record in his stead (4 Nephi 1:19–20).
He kept the record for eighty-four years, through a time still mostly at peace, except that a small group revolted from the church and took upon themselves the name of Lamanites, so that there began to be Lamanites again in the land (4 Nephi 1:20). Amos¹ died about A.D. 194, and his son, also named Amos, kept the record in his stead (4 Nephi 1:21).