Alma recounts another piece of history—his people’s “captivity” but especially their sure deliverance by Yahweh. Remembering these events further ties Helaman into the tradition and experience of “our fathers.”
Alma then makes a transition from this introduction to his main point—his personal release from bondage—saying “I would that ye should do as I have done.… ” The connection is clear, but we need not assume that Helaman is therefore a sinner in need of the Alma’s transformational experience. Alma is simply emphasizing Yahweh’s power to effect a release from bondage, regardless of the intensity of that bondage.