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An Hypothesis concerning the Three Days of Darkness among the Nephites
|Title||An Hypothesis concerning the Three Days of Darkness among the Nephites|
|Publication Type||Journal Article|
|Year of
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An Hypothesis concerning the Three Days of Darkness among the Nephites
|Title||An Hypothesis concerning the Three Days of Darkness among the Nephites|
|Publication Type||Journal Article|
|Year of Publication||1993|
|Authors||Ball, Russell H.|
|Journal||Journal of Book of Mormon Studies|
|Keywords||3 Nephi; Destruction; Geology; Natural Disaster|
Aspects of the three days of darkness following the three-hour period of intense destruction described principally in 3 Nephi are discussed, including: (1) the strange absence of rain among the destructive mechanisms described; (2) the source of the intense lightning, which seems to be unaccompanied by rain; (3) a mechanism to account for the inundation of the cities of Onihah, Mocum, and Jerusalem, which were not among the cities which “sunk in the depths of the sea”; and (4) the absence in the histories of contemporary European and Asiatic civilizations of corresponding events, which are repeatedly characterized in 3 Nephi as affecting “the face of the whole earth.”
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An Hypothesis concerning the Three Days of Darkness among the Nephites
Russell H. Ball
Abstract: Aspects of the three days of darkness following the three-hour period of intense destruction described principally in 3 Nephi are discussed, including: (1) the strange absence of rain among the destructive mechanisms described; (2) the source of the intense lightning, which seems to be unaccompanied by rain; (3) a mechanism to account for the inundation of the cities of Onihah, Mocum, and Jerusalem, which were not among the cities which “sunk in the depths of the sea”; and (4) the absence in the histories of contemporary European and Asiatic civilizations of corresponding events, which are repeatedly characterized in 3 Nephi as affecting “the face of the whole earth.”
The above drawing illustrates one type of volcanic eruption in which intense lightning can be generated within the ash cloud above the volcano.1 A full-color photograph of such an eruption of the Sakura-jima Volcano in southern Japan on 17 November 1987 was published in the April 1988 issue of Discover.2 This volcano erupted more than one hundred times in 1987 and spewed molten rock and hot gases into the sky. During these eruptions a small amount of magma was released constantly, rather than all at once, as at Mount St. Helens. The surprising feature of the photo is the presence of a large number of lightning bolts in the ash cloud above the volcano. The lightning is triggered by the buildup of static electricity in the cloud of erupting ash. Friction among the swirling particles causes them to become electrically charged.
Period of Destruction and Darkness among the Nephites
The above-mentioned photo prompted me to examine 3 Nephi 8 and 9 again and to reevaluate the description of the three-hour period of destruction and darkness which followed the crucifixion of the Savior. A detailed examination of this text and related scriptures conveys quite a different story than I had previously recognized.
It is instructive to list all of the mechanisms of destruction described in 3 Nephi 8 and 9. There we find mention of
- a great and terrible tempest (3 Nephi 8:6)
- terrible thunder that shook the whole earth (3 Nephi 8:6)
- exceedingly sharp lightnings, such as never had been known in all the land (3 Nephi 8:7)
- earth being carried up upon the city of Moronihah (3 Nephi 8:10)3
- whirlwinds (3 Nephi 8:12)
- earthquakes which roughened m