Culture: The appointment of a king asserts that the rebellion against their over-king was purposeful and that the rebels were creating their own society. It also suggests that a family was present with some claim to the Lamanite king’s throne. I hypothesize that their defection may have resulted from their inability to achieve further power within the established structure. Since the current king in Nephi was an apostate Nephite who had only recently been seated after a conquest, these rebels may have been related to the political establishment maintained by the prior ruler (Lamoni’s father) but had not converted to the Nephite religion. They would therefore have had a legitimate claim to the throne which had been suppressed by the Lamanite conquest spearheaded by Nephite apostates (Amalekites and Amulonites) that drove out the people of Ammon. This admittedly speculative reconstruction would provide them with another motive for rebelling besides fear of Nephite military might.
Mormon asserts that they had “a determined resolution” not to be forced into war “against the Nephites.” There is no way that he could have had access to records from this separatist group, even though their actions obviously made their way into Nephite annals. As I read this passage, Mormon is attributing to them a motive that implicitly exalts the Nephites.