To rebel knowingly against the will of the Lord is an awful thing. The Nephites had been taught by holy men, men of God, all things concerning His will towards them, and in rejecting His Word, whether it came to them through the prophets of old, or the seers of their own time, and listening to the sophistry of the devil, they sinned knowingly, and not ignorantly. In fine, "They did wilfully rebel against God." (verse 18)