Decoupling church and state

The sacred record eventually passed to the head of state. Later, the leader of the church and the leader of the nation were no longer the same person as Mosiah gave charge of the church to the elder Alma. When Alma the younger became the leader of the church Ave the political leader of the Nephites he gained possession of the records but when he gave up his political position he expected to leave charge of the sacred records with the new chief judge. Instead his successor recognized that those records should be preserved by the leader of the church.