Nephi was a descendant of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, who was the 11th son of Jacob, who was the son of Isaac, who was the son of Abraham. Nephi led a group from Jerusalem, before its destruction, to North America by ship beginning in 600 BC. All of this was under the direction of God.
This fact should generate interest in this prophesied event, (Genesis 49:22) which states: "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall." Most people have no idea what this means or its importance. Jacob prophesied these words to his son, Joseph, who was the viceroy of Egypt. This Joseph was the young man who was sold into Egypt as a slave by his older brothers who hated him.
As prophesied, this Joseph "is a fruitful bough" meaning he will have a large posterity. "Even a fruitful bough by a well" means that some of Joseph's posterity would be righteous, which is depicted here as partaking from life-giving water from a well. "Whose branches run over the wall" means that some of Joseph's posterity would cross the ocean, which is here depicted as a "wall".
Cross and flourish they did, and that record is now called "The Book of Mormon". Mormon was the last commanding general and also a prophet for the Nephite Nation, which fell unto such sin and inequity that 1,000 years after their arrival, they were destroyed by their enemies.