Mosiah 26: 6-13
I just realized why Alma thought to bring the people before Mosiah to be judged – it was not only that he was afraid to judge them, but also he was acting as the priests of Noah who were still subject to the king even in matters of a religious nature. Alma had received his authority to organize the church from Mosiah so he returned to Mosiah. This was where Mosiah proved what the separation of religion from secular government meant. Had the crimes of those people been of a secular nature (stealing or killing) Mosiah would have doled out punishment according to the crime. I’m sure that this was very troubling to Alma who had been leading a church for many years made up entirely of those who were personally converted to Christ. Now the church had grown so that there were some who were not so strong and it was in a place where they could be influenced by some who were not believers.