Alma 47:1 states that "Amalickiah . . . went up in the land of Nephi among the Lamanites. According to Michael Hobby, one might wonder why a Mulekite or Zoramite dissenter (see Alma 52:3; 54:23) could receive such a warm welcome from the Lamanites who were ever bent on destroying the Nephites. But Lamanite tradition held that the right to government held by Laman and Lemuel, Nephi's older brothers, had been robbed in violation of tradition by Nephi. Therefore a traditional hatred and distrust surrounding this sore point was ingrained in Lamanite culture. When Mulekites or Zoramites dissented to the Lamanites, they seem to have been especially effective in arousing Lamanite ire with an argument that probably went something like: "First, the Nephites robbed you of your right to rule. Now, they are robbing us of our right to rule."
In Lamanite eyes, this was evidence that the Nephites were still up to their old tricks and needed to be brought into subjection. Many a Nephite-Lamanite war seems to have been instigated in this way, with the Nephites accused of being the perpetrators of injustice, when Lamanite or dissenter dominion was the actual motive. [Michael M. Hobby, The Mulekite Connection, p. 38]