In his treatise on the priesthood before the hard-hearted leaders and citizens of Ammonihah around 82 b.c., Alma provides insights concerning the ancient king and priesthood leader to whom Abraham paid tithes (see Genesis 14:18–20; Hebrews 5:6; 7:1–3). Note the context for Alma’s invoking the example of Melchizedek: Having explained to the people of Ammonihah that “it was expedient that man should know concerning the things whereof [the Lord] had appointed unto them” (Alma 12:28), Alma lays out the details of the plan of salvation as proclaimed by angels and confirmed and administered by those called and authorized “after the order of the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father” (Alma 13:9). In this remarkable discourse, Alma teaches the people that priesthood callings were initiated during the premortal existence where, in harmony with the principle of free agency, the faithful were foreordained “according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works” (Alma 13:3). Thus Alma impresses upon his listeners the startling truth about who they really are: sons and daughters of God with a marvelous opportunity and destiny to choose the right and honor their divine heritage.
Having established this eternal framework, Alma then reminds them of the example of their great forebear, King Melchizedek, who likewise had to issue the supreme call for repentance among his people before they could rise to the level of their potential and become a nation of peace. Here is evidence of the opportunity that lay before the people of Ammonihah. By honoring their relationship with God and fulfilling their covenant obligations through repentance and faith, they can participate in the glorious plan of redemption and look forward with hope to the imminent coming of the Son of God. This is Alma’s impassioned and inspired appeal to the people—one that, with few exceptions, is rejected.