The crowd reacted with fury at Amulek’s accusation of the lawyers’ sins. Yet earlier, they had seemed almost ready to believe Amulek’s second witness (v. 12). What changed? The people accepted the lawyers as legitimate representatives of their beliefs. If we assume that the Maya example parallels Ammonihah, the lawyers might be seen as governing by some nearly divine right since they were also the social elites. Thus, Amulek’s suggestion that they were actually the devil’s servants might seem blasphemous.
Culture: The people have selected the lawyers through the voice of the people—not by vote but by applying their voice to the appointment. (See “Excursus: The Voice of the People,” following Mosiah 29.)