3 Nephi 8

3 Nephi 8

The Sign of Christ’s Death Occurs (3 Nephi 8–10)

3 Nephi 8:1–2

1 And now it came to pass that according to our record, and we know our record to be true, for behold, it was a just man who did keep the record—for he truly did many miracles in the name of Jesus; and there was not any man who could do a miracle in the name of Jesus save he were cleansed every whit from his iniquity—

2 And now it came to pass, if there was no mistake made by this man in the reckoning of our time, the thirty and third year had passed away;

Comments

Mormon appears to have mixed his sources in chapters 1–7 in 3 Nephi. At this point, however, he declares that he will be concentrating on a single source that was not part of the large plates. Although he does not identify Nephi₃ as the writer, it is clear from the description that “he truly did many miracles in the name of Jesus.” Mormon had recently written about the miracles Nephi₃ performed in 3 Nephi 7:19.

Because Mormon is using a record that didn’t come from the large plates, he wants to testify to his readers that the record is still a true record. This is almost certainly the “shorter but true account” that Mormon mentioned in 3 Nephi 5:9, where Mormon did clearly name Nephi₃ as the writer of the account.

It is perhaps because this record is separate from the annalistic record of the large plates that Mormon must also testify to the accuracy of the dating. It is a record that is not tied to the other years, but Mormon declares that there is no reason to believe that the dating is incorrect.

3 Nephi 8:3–4

3 And the people began to look with great earnestness for the sign which had been given by the prophet Samuel, the Lamanite, yea, for the time that there should be darkness for the space of three days over the face of the land.

4 And there began to be great doubtings and disputations among the people, notwithstanding so many signs had been given.

Comments

Samuel had predicted the times for the birth and death of the mortal Messiah. Just as there were some who looked for the signs of his birth, there were others who doubted. The same conditions occur with the prophecy of the Messiah’s mortal death. There were some who looked forward for the signs, and others who doubted. Mormon makes certain to write these two incidents in parallel. While the first sign was light, this will be darkness; both appropriate images associated with the birth and death of the Messiah. Mormon’s point is that both were miraculous signs, and that the conditions of belief among the Nephites were also similar.

Great Destruction throughout All the Land

3 Nephi 8:5

5 And it came to pass in the thirty and fourth year, in the first month, on the fourth day of the month, there arose a great storm, such an one as never had been known in all the land.

Comments

The coming of this “great storm, such an one as never had been known in all the land” was on a very specific date. Although that might appear as a way to firmly date Jesus’s death in the Old World, there are two issues in making a direct correlation. The first is that we do not know when the Nephites considered their new year to begin. There is no reason to assume that it must have been the same calendar as we use.

Secondly, the correlation of Nephite years to our years appears to have some difficulties that might be explained by a different method of calculating what a year meant. Where we use three hundred and sixty-five days, with an extra day every four years, it is possible that the Nephites began tracking years according to a lunar calendar, which was prevalent in Jerusalem at the time they left. In the New World, they may have adapted to the more pan-Mesoamerican use of a three-hundred-and-sixty-day calendar (which was one of the available calendars; others were also used). This shorter year appears to allow the important events that can be timed to the Old World to fit better. Those two events are the departure from Jerusalem, which can be dated from Old World records where we know what year in our calendar corresponds to the first year of the reign of Zedekiah. The birth of Christ is the second somewhat fixed point, although there are scholarly discussions about precisely how to correlate that event to our calendar.

3 Nephi 8:6–11

6 And there was also a great and terrible tempest; and there was terrible thunder, insomuch that it did shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder.

7 And there were exceedingly sharp lightnings, such as never had been known in all the land.

8 And the city of Zarahemla did take fire.

9 And the city of Moroni did sink into the depths of the sea, and the inhabitants thereof were drowned.

10 And the earth was carried up upon the city of Moronihah, that in the place of the city there became a great mountain.

11 And there was a great and terrible destruction in the land southward.

Comments

Verse 5 in this chapter introduced the destruction with “a great storm, such an one as never had been known in all the land.” These verses expand that information with details. There are two important aspects of the descriptions in this chapter. The first is that they are sufficiently detailed that they allow us to understand, with reasonable accuracy, the source of these natural phenomena.

The second is that the descriptions cover more distance than any one person could experience at the time they occurred. Thus, these are remembered descriptions, and some of the information was probably collected from other people and not the result of Nephi₃’s personal knowledge. The cities of Zarahemla and Moroni were in different locations, with Zarahemla in the center of the land and Moroni near the east sea. While the burning of Zarahemla and the sinking of Moroni would have been reported, the actions would have taken some time, and it is very doubtful that Nephi₃ himself could have witnessed them both. Even though Mormon declares that the timing and the events are accurate, from a historical viewpoint, we should understand that they represent collected reports of what happened.

The descriptions of the destructions in the land southward have a counterpart in the land northward.

3 Nephi 8:12–14

12 But behold, there was a more great and terrible destruction in the land northward; for behold, the whole face of the land was changed, because of the tempest and the whirlwinds, and the thunderings and the lightnings, and the exceedingly great quaking of the whole earth;

13 And the highways were broken up, and the level roads were spoiled, and many smooth places became rough.

14 And many great and notable cities were sunk, and many were burned, and many were shaken till the buildings thereof had fallen to the earth, and the inhabitants thereof were slain, and the places were left desolate.

Comments

There were two regions of destructions. It appears that the land Bountiful might have been a refuge from the worst of the destructions, based on the descriptions that will come for that city. Thus, the two regions are south of Bountiful, and north of Bountiful. Even though there are two locations, the nature of the destruction is similar in both.

Geologists looking at the descriptions of the destruction note that all the elements are best explained by a volcanic event. The thunderings and lightnings are demonstrated aspects of some volcanic events, and spectacular photographs of the associated lightnings are available on the Internet. Volcanic eruptions are also often accompanied by earthquakes. The reason that the descriptions require a volcano and not just an earthquake comes from the descriptions of the thunderings and shakings lasting for hours. Earthquakes clearly shake the earth, but for minutes, not hours.

3 Nephi 8:15–17

15 And there were some cities which remained; but the damage thereof was exceedingly great, and there were many in them who were slain.

16 And there were some who were carried away in the whirlwind; and whither they went no man knoweth, save they know that they were carried away.

17 And thus the face of the whole earth became deformed, because of the tempests, and the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the quaking of the earth.

Comments

The comparison of the statement that “there were some cities which remained” with the statement that “the face of the whole earth became deformed” is important. The face of the earth is the surface, and with roads being broken up, and cities destroyed, there were clearly changes throughout the lands southward and northward. However, cities did not change location (save those that were submerged). The land southward did not become the land eastward. Thus, the fact that there was great destruction should not suggest that it would be impossible to discover geographic information about the Book of Mormon. Mormon himself appears to understand that he can describe a geography before the catastrophe and that it would have meaning to those who could recognize the locations.

Of course, there are many possible locations that have been proposed for the Book of Mormon, and discussions over the different models will continue. Still, the idea that there were so many changes that we cannot discover anything about geography doesn’t fit with the reality behind this type of natural disaster.

3 Nephi 8:18–19

18 And behold, the rocks were rent in twain; they were broken up upon the face of the whole earth, insomuch that they were found in broken fragments, and in seams and in cracks, upon all the face of the land.

19 And it came to pass that when the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the storm, and the tempest, and the quakings of the earth did cease—for behold, they did last for about the space of three hours; and it was said by some that the time was greater; nevertheless, all these great and terrible things were done in about the space of three hours—and then behold, there was darkness upon the face of the land.

Comments

The breaking of the rocks is most reasonably the result of the slipping of a fault line, which generated the earthquake, and perhaps was the impetus for the eruption of the volcano, or volcanos, at that point. The quaking of the earth lasted for three hours. Although we do not know exactly how the Nephites divided time within a day, three hours is clearly longer than earthquakes, by themselves, would last.

Assuming Mesoamerica as a possible location for the Book of Mormon lands, those lands are along the Ring of Fire where there is a line of active volcanos, many of which erupted around the time of Christ (dating is often not precise). Because there is destruction in the land southward and the land northward, there may have been more than one volcanic event. Because we are seeing a retrospective view of these destructions, it is also possible that there were two eruptions at similar times but need not have been exactly at the same time.

The important part of verse 19 is the reference to darkness, for that is the feature that is the conceptual opposite of the light at Christ’s birth. The day without a night is paralleled to the darkness on the land.

Three Days of Impenetrable Darkness

3 Nephi 8:20–23

20 And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen could feel the vapor of darkness;

21 And there could be no light, because of the darkness, neither candles, neither torches; neither could there be fire kindled with their fine and exceedingly dry wood, so that there could not be any light at all;

22 And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which were upon the face of the land.

23 And it came to pass that it did last for the space of three days that there was no light seen; and there was great mourning and howling and weeping among all the people continually; yea, great were the groanings of the people, because of the darkness and the great destruction which had come upon them.

Comments

The most important part of these verses comes in verse 23. The darkness “did last for the space of three days that there was no light seen.” It is not a coincidence that there were three days of darkness as a contrast to three days of light at Christ’s birth. The two miraculous events precisely bookend his life.

The nature of this vapor of darkness also fits with the description of the vapors released by some volcanic eruptions. Similar descriptions have been reported for other volcanic eruptions in history.

3 Nephi 8:24–25

24 And in one place they were heard to cry, saying: O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and then would our brethren have been spared, and they would not have been burned in that great city Zarahemla.

25 And in another place they were heard to cry and mourn, saying: O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and had not killed and stoned the prophets, and cast them out; then would our mothers and our fair daughters, and our children have been spared, and not have been buried up in that great city Moronihah. And thus were the howlings of the people great and terrible.

Comments

These events had been foretold. Although there were certainly many who wished that they had repented before these events, there were certainly righteous people who were also affected by the destructions. The case of Bountiful will be discussed later, but there were certainly other righteous people in other locations. Natural disasters cannot pinpoint their effects and hurt only the wicked.

This is not the end of a chapter in the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon.