3 Nephi 7

The chief judge is murdered and the Nephite government no longer exists as
the people have divided themselves into groups or tribes according to family
and friends. Each tribe is very large, has their own appointed leader and
there is a basic understanding between tribes that they will not attack each
other. The people, Mormon tells us, are basically all evil with just a few
righteous men among them. He laments that in only six years, "the dog has
returned to his vomit."

There is a secret combination again they appoint a man named Jacob to be
their king. He was appointed because more than anyone else, he was against
the prophets and anyone who testified of Christ. The tribes outnumber those
in this secret combination and so they draw away from the population to let
their numbers grow.

It's interesting because it's not unlike the time of Christ's ministry in
Israel. Nephi and others work "many miracles," including Nephi raising his
brother from the dead after his brother had been stoned to death. And just
as it was with Christ and the leaders and other Jews discounting his
miracles and becoming incensed by them, the more miracles there are, the
more angry the Nephites who are against Christ become. It's seems hard to
understand how someone who witnesses a great miracle could deny it. But when
a person is wicked, the heart is hard and the mind is closed. To accept the
miracle would mean they would have to accept their own wickedness and this
they are not willing to do. The very wicked always seem incapable of
recognizing and acknowledging their own wickedness. Those whose hearts are
not hardened, accept the miracles, learn the gospel and are baptized.