The anger of the Lamanites turning to the Nephites takes us back to the parallel time of Alma’s reformation movement among the Nephites. The people of Ammonihah had rejected Alma (see Alma 8:8–13). Under the direction of an angel, he had returned with Amulek, a second witness chosen by the Lord to accompany him (see Alma 9:1). In their pride and hardness of heart, the people of Ammonihah had said, in response to Alma’s warning, they would not believe Alma even if he said, “This great city should be destroyed in one day” (Alma 9:4–5). The Lord took them at their word and suffered (allowed) the Lamanites to come upon them and “every living soul of the Ammonihahites was destroyed, and also their great city” (Alma 16:9). Thus the accounts of Alma and the sons of Mosiah were again connected (Alma 25:2).
The words of Abinadi, another great prophet to whom the conversion of Alma the elder can be traced a generation earlier, were now beginning to be fulfilled (see Mosiah 17). The battles that followed (Alma 25:3 above) brought death to many of the seed of the apostate priests of Noah (v. 4). These apostate priests had apparently continued their horrendous practice of burning with fire those who disagreed with them (v. 5). However, the Lord’s words through his servants, the sons of Mosiah, brought many new conversions among the Lamanites (v. 6).