The result of the persecutions and social divisions was that many who were in the church were affected. They withdrew from the church. Accordingly, their names were “blotted out” of the church records. This does not mean that they abandoned religious thought, but rather that they shifted their religious thinking to align with the teachings that Mormon labeled with the name Nehor. This was not a major shift, but one that was probably seen as a return to an older form of religion: obeying the law of Moses, but denying the Nephite emphasis on the coming Messiah. It could even have been seen as a reform.
In verse 25, Mormon begins a shift to show the more appropriate response of those in the church. They were not moved by those who persecuted, nor by those who left. They continued in their commitment to Jehovah’s commandments, certainly as pertaining to the law of Moses, but also to the understanding of the coming Messiah.