Having arrived in a beautiful and pure land, Alma’s people wanted him to be their king. His polite rejection of this nomination was filled with advice about the need to esteem one another as equals, rejecting the idea of kings being above normal human beings, protecting themselves against the iniquity and oppression caused by King Noah. Alma refused to be king so that his people could "stand fast in this liberty wherewith ye have been made free, and that ye trust no man to be a king over you" (23:13), walking in the ways of God and keeping the commandments (23:14). Instead, Alma served as the High Priest.
The specific words of Alma the Elder here no doubt influenced his son, Alma the Younger, as well as King Mosiah, as the decision was made for Mosiah to abdicate the kingship, appoint Alma the Younger as the first Chief Judge and also High Priest under the new reign of judges at the end of the book of Mosiah. Especially poignant were the rationales set forth by Mosiah regarding the problems of iniquity in high places (29:17, 36) and human inequity (29:32, 38).