6 For so great had been the spreading of this wicked and secret society that it had corrupted the hearts of all the people; therefore Jared was murdered upon his throne, and Akish reigned in his stead.

10 And it came to pass that Akish begat other sons, and they won the hearts of the people, notwithstanding they had sworn unto him to do all manner of iniquity according to that which he desired.
This state of the Jaredite people is deeply tragic. Their hearts have become corrupted meaning that they no longer desired righteousness but instead has a desire for evil. Therefore, it was not difficult for wicked men to win their hearts and to gain license to commit all kinds of acts of evil. In such a state, the people were ripe for being manipulated or misled by those involved in secret combinations of wickedness. We need to watch the state of our hearts to make sure that they do not become corrupted by worldliness. We need to live in the world while avoiding its corrosive influences