Alma baptized 204 men and women. According to Rodney Turner, these souls constituted the nucleus of the second Nephite church--“the church of God, or the Church of Christ”--to be established by the Nephites up to that time. (Mosiah 18:17.) It was, in fact, a restored church. Alma had received “power and authority from God” to establish the church in his day, and he was acknowledged by the Nephites as its founder and first presiding high priest. (Mosiah 23:16; 29:47; Alma 5:3; 3 Nephi 5:12) Thus the first specific Book of Mormon reference to a church as an organized body of believers in Christ is in connection with events in the land of Nephi about 145 B.C. [Rodney Turner, “Two Prophets: Abinadi and Alma,” in Studies in Scripture: Book of Mormon, Part 1, p. 255, 259] [See the commentary on 3 Nephi 5:12]
Note* How was the “church” established by Alma different from that which existed before? The Nephites had worshipped under a Kingship format, with the King apparently directing the worship and ordinances by appointing “priests and teachers” (Jacob 1:18) The power given to Alma was a “restored” power, or restored covenant between God & man that all ordinances performed thereby could eventually be recognized as a valid step towards salvation and exaltation, yet the organizational structure was apparently directed by king Mosiah (see Mosiah 25:19). [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]
“And They Were Called the Church of God or the Church of Christ from That Time Forward”
In Mosiah 18:17 reference is made to a “church of God,” or a “church of Christ.” According to McConkie and Millet, critics have objected to the Book of Mormon because of its constant reference to Christ and his church prior to what the world calls the Christian era. The strength of this argument rests in the fact that neither the name Christ or the word church appears in modern translations of the Old Testament. It is reasoned that there could have been no church organization until the meridian of time and that the peoples and prophets of the Old Testament did not know of Christ. [Joseph F. McConkie and Robert L. Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. I, p. 10] [For a thorough discussion on the “Church of God” see the commentary on 1 Nephi 4:26]
Upon reviewing the commentary of 1 Nephi 4:26, we can see that the situations of Lehi and Alma were very much alike. This let’s us understand a statement by Joseph Fielding Smith:
“In Alma 5:3 we learn that Alma [the younger] was consecrated the high priest over the Church under his father. Now Alma [the elder] did not organize the Church with the idea that they had no church before that time. They had a church from the days of Lehi and Alma only set things in order.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, 3:203-4) [Joseph F. McConkie and Robert L. Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. II, p. 258]
Note* It might prove interesting to the reader to compare the parallels between what happened with Lehi and Nephi, and what happened with Abinadi and Alma1. Both sets of prophets were called by the Lord to warn their people of what was going wrong. Upon rejection and the threat of death (Abinadi did in fact lose his life) they were required to establish churches in the wilderness. Both sets of prophets emphasized certain themes in their teachings which the compilers of the Book of Mormon have been careful to record. Perhaps those teachings contain clues as to how the order of the church had become lost and why it needed to be set straight. [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes] [See the commentary on 1 Nephi 4:26; 2 Nephi 6:2, Mosiah 6:3; and Mosiah 25:19,23]