The wickedness of the Nephites apparently had resulted in the deterioration of their system of government by changes in the law. In Helaman 4:21-22 we find that the Nephites "had set at naught the commandments of God; and that they had altered and trampled under their feet the laws of Mosiah, or that which the Lord commanded him to give unto the people; and they saw that their laws had become corrupted . . ." According to Michael Hobby, what is not explicitly written here is that these changes allowed the Mulekites to take over the highest positions in the land. This is brought out in Helaman 5:1 where it mentions that Nephi was compelled to vacate the judgment-seat to Cezoram "for these [changed] laws and their governments were established by the voice of the people, and they who chose evil were more numerous than they who chose good, therefore, they were ripening for destruction, for the laws had become corrupted." It should be noted that the name "Cezoram" contains the root "Zoram," which gives one the feeling that it belonged to someone outside of the descendants of Nephi. [Michael M. Hobby, The Mulekite Connection, p. 48]