The test becomes dire as the minority of believers endure the taunts of the unbelieving majority. This majority has the power to set the day and the penalty, although what they would use for legal justification is not in the record. In an ancient context, this harsh penalty may not have been as incomprehensible (or illegal) as it would be today. In Mesoamerica, death from war or sacrifice was hardly unusual. For an exultant majority to massacre a religious minority is tragically human. That the unbelievers were able to give the edict, deadline, and action the trappings of legality merely shows their complete control of the Nephite government.