In Alma 5:49, Alma declares: "And now I say unto you that this is the order after which I am called, yea, to preach unto my beloved brethren, yea and every one that dwelleth in the land; yea, to preach unto all, both old and young, both bond and free."
According to Brant Gardner, since Alma has been called to preach in the land of Zarahemla, we might assume that either his words here are pure rhetoric, or there actually were bond and free in the land of Zarahemla. It is hard to make the case for pure rhetoric, since the statement has no rhetorical force if it is not a possibility. For the rhetoric to have any power, it had to have indicated a possible condition. This leaves us with the fascinating possibility of slavery in the land of Zarahemla. This would be in direct contrast to the Zarahemla of King Benjamin where Benjamin had prohibited slavery (see Mosiah 2:13). If there is now slavery in the land of Zarahemla, it must be seen as one of the several cultural imports that have accompanied the adoption of other foreign ways, such as the wearing of costly apparel. [Brant Gardner, "Book of Mormon Commentary," [http://www.highfiber.com/~nahualli/LDStopics/Alma/Alma5.htm], pp. 34-35]