Even with the substantial witness to the Nephite religion that came in such dramatic form, it was not a time where there was a complete acceptance of the Nephite gospel. In this case, there was still some dissention, and in this case, a dissention that was based on the Nephite religion, but one in which “they did err, having not understood the scriptures.”
The mistake that was made is understandable, for the Nephites understood that the arrival would changes things:
“And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins. Wherefore, we speak concerning the law that our children may know the deadness of the law; and they, by knowing the deadness of the law, may look forward unto that life which is in Christ, and know for what end the law was given. And after the law is fulfilled in Christ, that they need not harden their hearts against him when the law ought to be done away” (2 Nephi 25:26–27).
It was part of the Nephite teachings that the coming of Christ would lead to a time when “the law ought to be done away.” Thus, these peoples taught a correct doctrine, but at the wrong time. Although Christ had been born, the fulfilling of the law was to come with his death, not his birth. Only after the atonement had been made was the complete change possible.