So the present happy condition of the Nephites really came about as a result of the prophets, the priests and the teachers laboring with the greatest diligence to get them to observe the law of Moses and to look forward to the coming of the Messiah and believe on him as though he had come already. Jarom certifies that as a result of the Nephites responding to the pleas of the spiritual leaders, they had indeed escaped a genocidal massacre at the hands of the Lamanites. Nevertheless, it had been necessary to prick the hearts of the people continually and stir them up unto repentance.