Yahweh explicitly accepts Alma’s churches. Perhaps the dissent had caused Alma to doubt the wisdom of establishing churches since they seem to have engendered divisions as a side effect. Yahweh may be allaying those fears by telling Alma that he accepts the churches.
The most significant part of this passage is the final statement concerning the church. Yahweh notes: “They shall be my people.” This is the ancient Abrahamic covenant. Yahweh is reaffirming the covenant, even though it is no longer a covenant with the community but rather with the church. The covenant now does not reside in lineage, but in the church’s authority and ordinances.