The end of the previous chapter spoke of Helaman and his brethren going on a missionary tour of the land of Zarahemla. Now we learn why that was so urgent. During Alma the Younger’s time as Chief Judge, he saw political unrest, and abdicated the political position to go on a preaching tour to attempt to bring back the hearts of the people. When the Zoramites threatened to break away from the Nephites, no one sent an army, but rather missionaries.
This is the same situation in this case. There is political unrest that was not described before mentioning the missionary journey, but certainly it was fomenting before that time and led to Helaman and his brethren going out to preach. They had some success, but not sufficient to prevent the coming conflict.
We learn of Amalickiah, who “was desirous to be a king.” Mormon appears to emphasize names having an MLK root as not only apostate, but specifically those who desired to return to having a king. The MLK root in Hebrew means “king.”
When Mosiah dissolved the monarchy, he created a new system of government. That didn’t mean that everyone agreed with him. He had created the new system because he feared the social disruption that would follow when there was no clear heir to the kingship. It is most likely that Amalickiah and similar thinkers were those who might have had a claim on the kingship. Now, even though there was a new system in place, they supported the return of a king, and surely a place for themselves in the political hierarchy. Mormon expressly notes, in verse 4, that “they were seeking for power.”