Christ is the great high priest (Hebrews 3:1), and all who were ordained to the priestly office in ancient days were thought of as types or prophecies of him. The priests referred to in this verse are those commissioned to teach the gospel from the time of Adam to the time of Moses (see Alma 12:29-37; Alma 13:1). This is a continuation of the discourse commenced in the previous chapter.
“The Lord God Ordained Priests After His Holy Order”
In these verses Alma details requisites for holding the holy priesthood, that priesthood known to our dispensation as the higher priesthood or Melchizedek Priesthood.
All that he says is equally descriptive of the manner in which the priesthood was or is always conferred, whether in the pre-earth life or in mortality, the system of its conferral being one and the same in both cases. Thus these verses can be profitably studied from either point of view. In the commentary that follows, the foreordination to the priesthood in pre-earth life is emphasized.