In Helaman 1:2 it states that "Pahoran had died, and gone the way of all the earth; therefore there began to be a serious contention concerning who should have the judgment-seat among the brethren, who were the sons of Pahoran." Michael Hobby asks the question, If the system of choosing judges was a total democracy, then how coincidental was it that of all the choices for chief judge among a people dominated by Mulekites, the only three choices were all sons of Pahoran? [The answer obviously being that the system of judges was not a democracy] According to a theory by Hobby, the reason such care was taken by Mosiah2 during the transfer of power from kings to the judges is that the liberty of the Nephites - ultimately the church - was at risk if a Mulekite, a descendant of Judah, should ever consolidate the reigns of power. While the brass plates were early on a symbol of kingship power for the Nephites, they ultimately contained verses which might have been a key source for disputation. If the Mulekites studied the brass plates, they would soon discover that a promise to rule was originally conferred upon the tribe of Judah. "Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be upon the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. . . . The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from beneath his feet, until Shiloh come . . . (Genesis 49:8-12)
Thus, this contention over the judgment-seat was not necessarily a religious differentiation, but an ethnic one. [Michael H. Hobby, The Mulekite Connection, p. 34]