Preparing to leave the kingship in the hands of others, Mosiah himself gathered together all the records and "all the things which he had kept" (28:20). Consolidating these records prepared the way for his successor (whoever that would turn out to be) to succeed. It also symbolized a virtual reunification of these groups, which would have helped to enhance solidarity within his ongoing kingdom. Each group of people was represented. Using the two stones that the Mulekites had obtained from the Jaredites (Omni 1: 20–21), Mosiah translated the plates that had been found by the people of Limhi (28:11, 17). Involving the Nephite heritage, Mosiah also gathered "the plates of brass, and also the plates of Nephi, and all the things which he had kept and preserved" (28:11). Not excluding Limhi’s and Alma’s groups, he archived "the record of Zeniff" (headnote to Mosiah chapters 9–22), and he also included in the official compilation the "account of Alma" (headnote to Mosiah chapters 23–24).
Mosiah then entrusted all these things to Alma the Younger and "commanded him that he should keep and preserve them, and also keep a record of the people" (28:20), and soon Alma was consecrated by his father to be the high priest (29:42), but Alma the Younger was not yet the Chief Judge. For reasons that will be summarized by Mosiah in his abdication speech in Mosiah 29, which echoes many of Alma the Elder’s concerns in refusing to become a king over his small group of people (Mosiah 23), King Mosiah will relinquish the Nephite political right to kingship, and judges will be elected. Alma will then be appointed the first Chief Judge (29:42), having developed strong personal connections with insiders and outsiders, with the newcomers and old timers.