There were “no contentions and disputations” or fighting and quarrelling among the Nephites, as Jesus had stressed in 3 Nephi 11. Perhaps they avoided a great deal of contention because they were able to repent and recognize their part in the problem. The influence of the Holy Ghost helps reduce contention. This same behavior occurred among the early Christians in Palestine and Asia Minor. In Acts 4:32, the record reads, “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul.”
Even today, Elder Dallin H. Oaks, a modern apostle, stated, “[T]he fact that something is true is not always a justification for communicating it. … The use of truth should also be constrained by the principle of unity. One who focuses on faults, though they be true, fosters dissensions and divisions among fellow Church members in the body of Christ.” A Zion community is maintained by relationships, and contention tends to become personal and leads to the breakdown of relationships.