Textual: This unit consists of Ammon’s declaration to his brethren. As noted at the end of our chapter 25, Mormon provides an abrupt transition into this unit. When we remember that the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon did not have punctuation nor paragraph breaks, we can recast this transition in a slightly different way to better replicate the way Mormon would have seen the conceptual split in his text:
Alma 25:17 And now behold, Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and Himni, and their brethren did rejoice exceedingly, for the success which they had had among the Lamanites, seeing that the Lord had granted unto them according to their prayers, and that he had also verified his word unto them in every particular. (Alma 26:1) And now, these are the words of Ammon to his brethren, which say thus:
My brothers and my brethren, behold I say unto you, how great reason have we to rejoice; for could we have supposed when we started from the land of Zarahemla that God would have granted unto us such great blessings?
Recut in this way we see the logic that Mormon uses in creating this transition. He begins by describing the rejoicing, and then begins with the specific record of Ammon. As has been noted, Mormon’s editorial style provides skeletal linking texts in between larger sermons. That is the pattern here, even though he did not create a chapter break for this unit. The reason for the complete chapter is that he is dealing with an entire unit of the missionary labors of Ammon and his brethren. This is clearly a record that he is taking from a different source, apparently the record of Ammon, if we may take the emphasis on Ammon as an indicator of the source of the records. Mormon’s editorial sensibilities are therefore seeing this entire story, comprising our chapters 21-26, as an inserted text. Thus there is a chapter break at the beginning and end of the insertion, but the entire insertion is considered a whole unit in spite of Mormon’s editorial efforts in that record.