When Helaman regulated the church, he and his brothers established the church in all the land. In each city, they appointed new priests and teachers. Some of them may have been new appointees, and some may have been the same priests and teachers reinstated under their new leadership. When King Benjamin passed the kingship to his son Mosiah, the same thing was done, as was the pattern in the ancient world in general. The text does not state whether Helaman reinstated the same people as priests and teachers, but it also may be that he actually did not. Perhaps it was time for a change. We, today, believe in change, and accept it as a normal part of giving other people an opportunity to serve in the kingdom. But for some, those changes mean a loss of power, leading to resentment.
At the beginning of this era, Alma the Younger had held three roles: High Priest, Chief Judge, and military leader, but he divided up some of his responsibilities. When he died, all of his original appointees were gone, and political instability arose. The same thing will occur again at the end of the Book of Alma. In chapter 63, all leaders of this generation died, and in Helaman 1, the three sons of Pahoran—Paanchi, Pacumeni and Pahoran—squabbled over who would be the next leader. That squabble became such a serious problem that it opened the way for Kishkumen, the founder of an insurgent party—the Gadiantons—who plagued the Nephites for the next fifty years. It was transition-in-power moments that opened the way for dissenting voices to come in and seize the opportunity.