DAVE - If Alma was a priest of the wicked king Noah, how did he get his authority to baptize? (Mosiah 18:13)

JOEL - It is most probable that Alma’s righteous father or grandfather ordained him before he became a priest of Noah. Alma was born during Zeniff’s reign when the people were righteous. The kingdom was not passed on to Noah until Alma was around 13 years old. Therefore since Alma was born and raised in a righteous family, he could have been ordained to the priesthood by his father, grandfather, or someone else, before Abinadi began preaching. According to Josepf F. Smith Jr. "Alma...held the priesthood before the coming of Abinadi...(Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 2, pg 366).