One man had perished and many were spared the perils of dwindling in unbelief (see 1 Nephi 4:13). As in the case of Ananias and Sapphira in the New Testament (see Acts 5:11) and of Sherem in the Book of Mormon (see Jacob 7:21-23), the painful reality of the power of God provided a marvelous object lesson that turned the people to the truth and focused them upon the doctrine of Christ.