Redaction: Mormon interrupts his description to quote Alma directly. The only firm indication that Alma made a record is Mosiah 17:4; that record specifies that he wrote about Abinadi. However, it seems safe to assume that Alma also made a record of his people in the land of Mormon.
Mormon quoted Alma’s record for Abinadi’s words but abridges the record of events in the land of Mormon. It is possible to offer some tentative speculations on Alma’s record based on Mormon’s abridgment. Obviously, Mormon is quite willing to record an original document (e.g., Zeniff’s record, beginning in Mosiah 9), or a lengthy discourse (e.g., Abinadi’s address to the court); but in this section, Mormon quotes significant passages such as the baptismal covenant but more typically provides description and summary, which continues through the end of this chapter and summarizes Alma’s post-baptismal sermon.
Why doesn’t Mormon quote the full sermon? The topics appear to be important, and in similar instances, Mormon has copied the original text. Therefore, I hypothesize that Alma created a narrative description, including a summary of his own sermon, which Mormon easily condensed. When Alma quoted Abinadi, so did Mormon. When Alma summarized, so does Mormon.
History: The people’s enthusiastic response to the offer of baptism, while apparently straightforward, does not account for all of the information. For example, an interesting detail is that they unitedly clap their hands for joy. Why? Because the record does not clarify, I offer only a speculative suggestion. Angel Miguel Rodríguez of the Biblical Research Institute summarizes hand-clapping in the Bible:
1. It is an expression of joy at the ascension of the king: This is a social function of the gesture. When Joash was introduced as the legitimate heir to the throne, those who were present clapped their hands and shouted, “Long live the king!” (2 Kgs. 11:12, NIV). A religious usage is found in Psalm 47:1, where the psalmist invites all peoples to clap their hands because the Lord is being proclaimed as king over the earth. In Psalm 98:8 the people are exhorted to praise the Lord and the hills to clap their hands because the Lord is coming as king and judge of the earth.
2. It is an expression of joy on account of God’s saving actions: The return of the people of God from their captivity in Babylon is described by Isaiah as an act of redemption. What the Lord will do for His exiled people is so wonderful and glorious that even nature will rejoice. In this context the prophet personifies the trees of the field and describes them as clapping their hands as a gesture of joy (Isa. 55:12).
3. It is an expression of disgust and anger: Balak was angry because Balaam blessed the people of Israel instead of cursing them, and he showed his displeasure by clapping his hands (Num. 24:10). Ezekiel clapped his hands in disgust after seeing the evil practiced in Judah (Ezek. 6:11). The Lord clapped His hands in anger and disgust as a reaction to dishonest gain and to the blood spilled by His people in Jerusalem (Ezek. 22:13; 21:14, 17). This symbolic action on God’s part is followed by His judgment against unrepentant sinners.
4. It is an expression of malicious glee: This meaning is found exclusively in the context of defeated enemies. In the prophecy against Nineveh God announces that all those who will hear about His judgments will clap their hands over the city and its misfortune (Nahum 3:19). The Ammonites clapped their hands and rejoiced with malice when Israel was being destroyed by the Babylonians (Ezek. 25:6). It is this same contempt and hostility that those passing by the ruins of Jerusalem expressed by clapping their hands (Lam. 2:15). This gesture was indeed a sign of hostility and derision.
Of these four examples, three are communal. Only one, the expression of derision, is individual. The communal versions are positive and have some relationship to deity (joy at the ascension of the king as representative of the divine, joy in God’s saving actions, or joy in God’s victory over an enemy). I suggest that this communal action best explains Mosiah 18:11, and that it draws its meaning from the sound of a large number of people clapping. An early association of Yahweh is with storms. Clapping by a large congregation may invoke the sound of thunder and therefore the symbolic presence of the God. I suggest, therefore that this practice was subliminally transferred across the ocean and made its appearance when the divine was being communally recognized.
As we saw in the discussion of Benjamin’s speech (see commentary accompanying Mosiah 4:1), collective action can either be ritual or spontaneous. Which might this one be? While the first possibility cannot be disproven, it seems unlikely that both Alma and Mormon would record such a detail. It is more likely that this is a spontaneous action, remarkable in its spontaneity, and therefore noteworthy to both Alma and Mormon. Such a spontaneous expression of joy can be a natural human reaction, thus reinforcing the possibility that it was an unplanned public event.
But why was this event spontaneous? Spontaneous clapping is typically not only connected to joy, but to surprise. Little children at Christmas might clap for joy when they see something that really excites them. When they see that same thing later, they may continue to be excited and joyful, but they seldom repeat the hand-clapping. What would be unexpected in Alma’s invitation to baptism? I argue that they do not expect baptism as part of their commitment to follow Alma. Nephi’s introduction of a more Christian baptism would have supplanted the ritual washing of the miqveh. (See commentary accompanying vv. 8–10.) However, it seems likely that Noah’s religion did not include the rite of redemptive baptism. Therefore, Alma’s converts greeted this opportunity to expunge their sins as a joyful and welcome surprise. Despite the distance that still separated them from the Atoning Messiah, Alma was offering them immediate access to the atonement that they had recently come to understand. They had given up their homes, comforts, and safety because of their understanding of this atonement. Now they had the opportunity to participate in it directly and personally. No wonder the offer of baptism was not only surprising, but also an occasion of tremendous joy.