In verse seventeen we read: "And because of the hardness of their hearts the land was cursed for their sake." For many years the people had no more all things in common, but like the rest of the world, every man sought gain, wealth, power, and influence for himself and his. All the old evils arising from selfishness were revived. The Gadianton Bands, with all their secret signs and abominations, through the cunning of Satan, again appeared and increased until, in 300 A.D., they had spread over all the land. They were feared by the Nephites, not only because the Robbers were numbered among the Lamanites, but also because their name implied just what they were robbers, indeed. The inhabitants of the land, Mormon notes, "began to hide up their treasures in the earth; and they became slippery, because the Lord had cursed the land, that they could not hold them, nor retain them again." (v. 18; See also, Mosiah 17:14-20) Just as in the Dark Ages of Europe when Satan seemed to control men's hearts and minds, there was an overwhelming flood of "sorceries, and witchcrafts, and magics," let loose upon the people; anything that would blind the minds or harden the hearts of an already stiff-necked generation was made to appear to them as desirable. Yes, all that human ingenuity could suggest, or evil power achieve, was woven into their lives, until at this time the Nephites, having forsaken their first love, had so far sunk in the abyss of iniquity that they had grown as wicked, as proud, as corrupt and as vile as the Lamanites. All were submerged in an overpowering deluge of infamy, and there were none who were righteous save it were the followers of Jesus.
Thus we see that the prophecies of the Lord's servants, Abinadi and Samuel, the Lamanite, were fulfilled even to every word which they uttered.