Amulon was the leader of the priests of Noah, and they had finally caught Alma and his people. Surprisingly the priests did not kill Alma. They put harsh regulations in place and in Mosiah 24:8, after exercising authority, they began to persecute Alma and his brethren. They did not want to kill Alma, but they were going to enjoy persecuting him. Amulon even caused his own children to persecute the children of the people of Alma. Alma the Younger’s age is not known at this time, but even if he was only four or five years old, he would still be old enough to feel ostracized or picked on. Those kinds of bad experiences, as a child, leave people with problems that they have to work on later.