We have previously seen that Alma is particularly concerned about remembering the captivitiy of his fathers, because he has been instructed by an angel to do so. In these verses, we see that the remembering of physical captivity soon turns into a rememberance of spiritual captivity (bold text marks the transition). After talking about deliverance from physical bondage he seamlessly transitions to the subject of spiritual bondage, using similar language.5 And behold, after that, they were brought into by the hands of the Lamanites in the wilderness; yea, I say unto you, they were in captivity, and again the Lord did deliver them out of by the power of his word; and we were brought into this land, and here we began to establish the church of God throughout this land also.6 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, you that belong to this church, have you sufficiently retained in the captivity of your fathers? Yea, and have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them? And moreover, have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he has their souls from hell?7 Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word; yea, they were encircled about by the of death, and the of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them.8 And now I ask of you, my brethren, were they destroyed? Behold, I say unto you, Nay, they were not.9 And again I ask, were the bands of death broken, and the of hell which encircled them about, were they loosed? I say unto you, Yea, they were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved.
The physical "captivity" and "bondage" can be compared to spiritual "bands of death" and "chains of hell". The wilderness/darkness link may be a stretch but it made me think of Lehi's "dark and dreary wilderness" (1 Nephi 8:4). It's also interesting to note that it is the "word" that led to deliverance from both physical and spiritual captivity. When it comes to physical captivity, Alma is referring to Mosiah 24, where his father and a group of converts had been enslaved by the Lamanites. The "word" is probably the "voice of the Lord" that came on two occasions, in verses 13 and 16. The first time it promised to make their burdens lighter and the second time it instructed them how to escape. Similarly, the "everlasting word" brought the converts of Alma-1 out of spiritual darkness into light.