According to Mosiah 25:19, "king Mosiah granted to Alma that he might establish churches throughout all the [greater?] land of Zarahemla." Why were churches being "established" (apparently for the first time)? When Mosiah1 had originally come to the land of Zarahemla he was "warned of the Lord that he should flee out of the land of Nephi" (Omni 1:12)? Furthermore, in Omni 1:13 Amaleki says that Mosiah1 "did according as the Lord had commanded him. . . . and they were led by many preachings and prophesyings. And they were admonished continually by the word of God; and they were led by the power of his arm." Benjamin had been visited by "an angel of God" and personally chose his son Mosiah to be his successor and one "whom the Lord our God hath given us" (Mosiah 1:10). Why then did Alma1 not only feel the need to establish churches, but seven churches?
Concerning the need to establish a church, Daniel Peterson notes that early Nephite priesthood was mediated and given structure through family and clan organization, rather than through an as yet unfounded church. Keeping this in mind, and being aware of this Nephite priest-king order of priesthood and government, it is striking that the small plates of Nephi do not record a single reference to any church actually existing in the New World, despite the fact that the small plates cover nearly the first five centuries of Nephite history. (It is not until Mosiah 18:17 that we find the "church of God" being set up by Alma1) [Daniel C. Peterson, "Priesthood in Mosiah," in The Book of Mormon: Mosiah, Salvation Only through Christ, pp. 188, 200]
Under Nephite kingship rule, the king was both the governmental leader and the ecclesiastical leader. Worship was temple oriented, and family oriented. Because of this "chosen people" manner of existence, by the reigns of both King Benjamin and King Noah, three things happened: (1) The Mulekites in the land of Zarahemla started to get disenchanted with the fact that the kingly decisions and the order of his worship were only being allowed to the Nephites (see Mosiah 25:13; see also the commentaries on Mosiah 25:13, 28:10, 29:39; Alma 2:1, 2:11). (2) The Nephites began to misunderstand the need for baptism as a covenant entrance into the kingdom of God. They, like the Jews, apparently felt that certain blessings were merited by birthright. This necessitated a sermon by both King Benjamin (Mosiah 2-5) and Abinadi (Mosiah 12-16). (3) King Noah changed the affairs of the kingdom; that is, he used the governmental side of his powers to abuse the ecclesiastical side of his responsibilities as king of his people. This proved disastrous. Thus, King Mosiah not only saw the need to separate these two offices held by the king, but change the order of the church in such a way as to emphasize baptism as the covenant manner in which people become the "children of Christ," or members of his church.
As far as the need to establish seven churches, perhaps the integration of Alma's group and Limhi's group with that of King Mosiah2 necessitated a division of the people both culturally and geographically. Perhaps there was also a need to reach out to the Mulekites. [See the commentary on 1 Nephi 4:26; 2 Nephi 6:2; Mosiah 6:3; and Mosiah 18:17]
Geographical Theory Map: Mosiah 25:19-24 Alma Has Seven Churches--People Scatter Abroad (Year ???)
Out of Bondage through Covenants
Jarom -- Mosiah