"A subtle yet important lesson to be learned from Mosiah 21-24 pertains to the differing degrees of bondage which Limhi's and Alma's people experienced and the reasons for those differences. The following chart contrasts the bondage of Limhi's and Alma's people.
Table 1 Degrees of Bondage
Limhi's Group - Alma's Group
Limhi's group was placed in bondage with much bloodshed (21:5-12).
Alma's group was placed in bondage with no bloodshed (23:35-38; 24:9).
Thee Lord was slow to hear their cries because they had been slow to hear Him (21:15).
The Lord was not slow to hear their cries (24:10-13).
The Lord softened the Lamanites' hearts so they eased the burdens of Limhi's group (21:15).
The Lord physically eased the burdens of Alma's group (24:14-15).
They prospered by degrees as
their faith increased (21:16).
The Lord visited them in their afflictions (24:14).
Gideon devised a plan of escape (22:9).
The Lord said, 'I will deliver you' (24:16).
They got the guards drunk (22:7,10).
The Lord put the guards to sleep (24:19).
They needed to have Ammon lead them to Zarahemla (22:11).
The Lord led them to Zarahemla (24:23-25).
"As this chart shows, because Alma and his people had been humbled by the word of God rather than being compelled to be humble by their bondage as Limhi's group had been, the Lord made the bondage of Alma and his people much easier to endure. The message for us is that it is better to repent sooner than later. The slower we are to hearken to the Lord, the slower he must be in responding to our needs. How reassuring it must have been to Alma's people to experience the miracle of not feeling the burdens which were placed upon their backs. They could have no question in their minds about whose power it was that delivered them and led them back to the land of Zarahemla.
"The question may be asked why Alma's group was put into bondage since they had repented, had made covenants, and had served the Lord for some time. The answer seems to go back to Abinadi's prophecy. When he first came to the Nephites in the land of Nephi, he warned that they would be brought into bondage, and if they did not repent (see Mosiah 11:21). This warning went unheeded until Abinadi returned two years later. His warning then proclaimed that they would be brought into bondage, and if they still refused to repent they would be destroyed (see Mosiah 12:2, 8). It was at this time that Alma was converted and began to teach the words of Abinadi secretly to those Nephites who would listen. Thus, even though Alma and his people had repented, it was still necessary that Abinadi's first prophecy be fulfilled." (Book of Mormon Symposium Series, edited by PR Cheesman, MS Nyman, and CD Tate, Jr., 1988, p. 271)