Why did the hardened people of Ammonihah suddenly become astonished?

Thomas R. Valletta

“[The vote] should have ended the matter, but it did not; the turbulent minority, incited by Amlici, would not accept this constitutional decision. They assembled and crowned their favorite as king of the Nephites, and he at once began to prepare for war that he might force the rest of the people to accept him to be their ruler. … The two camps were known as Nephites and as Amlicites, and their armies, the members of which had but a short time before dwelt together as brethren, marched against each other” (Reynolds and Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of Mormon, 3:54–55).

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References