Textual: There is no chapter break in the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon. Indeed, there is no paragraph break. Unlike the chapter breaks, however, the paragraphs were not indicated in the plates and were added later by the printer. There was no chapter break, but is this a natural break in the text?
To answer this question, we need the next couple of verses from chapter 2:
Alma 2:1
1 And it came to pass in the commencement of the fifth year of their reign there began to be a contention among the people; for a certain man, being called Amlici, he being a very cunning man, yea, a wise man as to the wisdom of the world, he being after the order of the man that slew Gideon by the sword, who was executed according to the law—
Alma 2:2
2 Now this Amlici had, by his cunning, drawn away much people after him; even so much that they began to be very powerful; and they began to endeavor to establish Amlici to be a king over the people.
The “and it came to pass” phrase has been used transitionally by Mormon. It might begin a new subject, and it might serve as the conclusion to the previous subject. It would appear that its most frequent use is as a transition from one topic to another. In this case, Alma 2:1 which begins with “and it came to pass” falls on the introductory side rather than as a conclusion. Mormon’s transition from one topic to another is the mention of the fifth year of the reign of the judges – with this marking of the years being another of the clear ways Mormon divides his topics in an otherwise undifferentiated text.
The chapter division as we have it may not give us the picture of Mormon’s larger editorial picture, but it does accurately depict the nature of the topic division. Mormon is building his narrative with a series of contrasts between the churchmen and the non-churchmen. He has just complete praising the churchmen, and now (in our chapter 2 of Alma) he will turn to the effect of the non-churchmen on Zarahemlaite society.
Notice that the very last thing we see at the end of Alma 1:33 is the statement of peace. Mormon has used the peace/conflict pair before as he constructs his narrative, and he is using that same technique here. He establishes a peaceful society under the Nephite rule (which is equivalent to saying under the gospel) and then contrasts with that the contention that comes from non-gospel-believing sources.