Alma began his exhortation to the Church in Zarahemla by citing his authority. As “high priest over the church of God,” he filled the role of president of the Church (D&C 107:8–9, 66, 91–91). Later, the apostle Paul also would begin most of his epistles with a reference to his authority.
Alma used the image of the bondage of his listeners’ fathers to point to the spiritual bondage that can be removed through rebirth into the kingdom of God. The phrase “retained in remembrance the captivity of your fathers” is the same language used later with Helaman (Alma 36:29).