When the angel of the Lord appeared to the wayward Alma and his companions, he specifically charged Alma to remember the captivity of his fathers in the lands of Helam and Nephi and the manner in which the Lord had delivered them (see Mosiah 27:16).
Alma was true to that charge and apparently made frequent reference to it in his preaching. He came to see the Lord’s deliverance of the repentant nation as a type for the deliverance of all who have labored under the bondage of sin and sought redemption through Christ. See also Alma 5:5-6; Alma 36:2.