At the beginning of the fortieth year of the reign of the judges “there began to be a serious difficulty among the people of the Nephites” (Helaman 1:1). Mormon here has clearly understated a very dire situation. Helaman (Alma 62:52), Moroni (Alma 63:3), and Shiblon (Alma 63:10) had all recently died. Within five years, the Nephites had lost several of their finest and most admirable leaders—men who had been pivotal in holding their nation together during the long defensive military campaign against the Lamanites.
As might be expected, the death of Chief Judge Pahoran had created a disturbance among the people as to who should be his successor (Helaman 63:2). When Pahoran died, perhaps suddenly, his three sons—Pahoran2, Paanchi, and Pacumeni—all “did contend for the judgment-seat; therefore, they did cause three divisions among the people” (Helaman 1:4).
Brant A. Gardner points out the fragility of the situation:
Not only was the chief judge’s death a time of transition, but it was the first time that the surviving chief judge had not declared his ruler. … Complicating things even more, the crisis of succession came at a time of increasing internal divisions among the Nephites. Pahoran’s death became a spark that ignited already-smoldering divisions.
Brant A. Gardner, Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, 6 vols. (Salt Lake City, UT: Greg Kofford Books, 2007), 5:42.
Book of Mormon Central, “How Was a Void in Leadership Dangerous for the Nephites? (Helaman 1:2),” KnoWhy 172 (August 24, 2016).