Alma once again uses the connection between the priesthood of Melchizedek and the Son of God as a proof of the Son. His point is not to use Melchizedek to justify Jesus' authority, as in Paul, because Jesus earthly mission was not yet a reality, and certainly nothing Alma had to deal with as a temporal reality. For Alma, it isn't the priesthood itself that is important, but rather the connection between the priesthood and righteousness. Alma uses this priesthood as a model of Atonement, not simply as legitimacy of power.