Alma baptized 204 individuals in the waters of Mormon, “and they were called the church of God, or the church of Christ, from that time forward” (Mosiah 18:17). Alma ordained a priest for every fifty members and commanded these priests to teach the people “concerning the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (v. 17). The priests were to teach only what the prophets had taught (see v. 19); they were to teach faith, repentance, baptism, love, and unity (see vv. 20–21), and they were to keep the Sabbath day a holy day of worship (see v. 23).
The priests were to “labor with their own hands for their support” (v. 24) and were not to be paid for their work in the Church, but “for their labor they were to receive the grace of God” (v. 26). If there were members who wished to give “to those priests that stood in need” (v. 28), such generosity was encouraged.
Alma had to teach these principles because the people under King Noah were in a state of apostasy. Those principles had always been taught in the Church of Jesus Christ.
Alma taught his people some of the basic principles of the law of consecration (see vv. 27–28). While there is no evidence that the law of consecration was formally established among them, it is evident that this small group of converts had the spirit of Zion in their hearts.