The purpose of Nephi’s record, however, is not to declare doctrine but to emphasize the fact of the miracle. In this case, the miracle was that something appeared where there had been nothing before. In the Old World, since the episode explicitly mentioned a preexisting something (the five loaves and two fishes), then the miracle could be shown only through their multiplication. Both forms show a miracle; and that purpose, not a doctrinal exposition on the possibility of creatio ex nihilo, is Nephi’s purpose in making his record.