Continuing with the
previous post regarding the descriptions about the three days of darkness in 3
Nephi at the time of the crucifixion, and the disagreement over volcano
eruptions between Mesoamericanists and the Great Lakes/Eastern U.S./Heartland
theorists.
Large, explosive volcanic
eruptions inject water vapor, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen
chloride, hydrogen fluoride, and ash (pulverized rock and pumice) into the
stratosphere to heights of ten to twenty miles above the Earth's surface.
The most significant impacts from
these injections come from the conversion of sulfur dioxide to sulfuric acid, which
condenses rapidly in the stratosphere to form fine sufate aerosols. It is worth
mentioning that the SO2 emissions alone of two different eruptions
are sufficient to compare their potential climatic impact. The aerosols
increase the Earth's albedo—its reflection of radiation from the Sun back into
space, and thus cool the Earth's lower atmosphere or troposphere; however, they
also absorb heat radiated up from the Earth, thereby warming the stratosphere. Several
eruptions during the past century have caused a decline in the average
temperature at the Earth's surface of up to half a degree (Fahrenheit) for
periods of one to three years.
Coarse
particles of volcanic ash look and feel like grains of sand, while very fine
particles are powdery. Particles are sometimes called tephra—which actually
refers to all solid material ejected by volcanoes. Ash is a product of
explosive volcanic eruptions. Volcanic ash deposits tend to be thicker and have
larger particles closer to the eruption site. As distance from the volcano
increases, the deposit tends to thin out. The 1994 double eruption of Vulcan
and Tavurvur in Papua New Guinea covered the nearby city of Rabaul in a layer
of ash about 2 feet deep, while areas closer to the volcanoes were buried under
5-7 feet of ash.
However, it should be
noted the plumes of volcanic ash can spread over large areas of sky, turning
daylight into complete darkness and drastically reducing visibility. These
enormous and menacing clouds are often accompanied by thunder and lightning.
Volcanic lightning is a unique phenomenon and scientists continue to debate the
way it works. Many scientists think that the sheer energy of a volcanic
explosion charges its ash particles with electricity. Positively charged
particles meet up with negatively charged particles, either in the cooler
atmosphere or in the volcanic debris itself. Lightning bolts then occur as a
means of balancing these charge distributions.
Volcanic ash and
gases can sometimes reach the stratosphere, the upper layer in Earth’s
atmosphere. This volcanic debris can reflect incoming solar radiation and
absorb outgoing land radiation, leading to a cooling of the Earth’s
temperature. In extreme cases, these “volcanic winters” can affect weather
patterns across the globe. The 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora, Indonesia, the
largest eruption in recorded history, ejected an estimated 150 cubic kilometers
(36 cubic miles) of debris into the air. The average global temperature cooled
by as much as 5.4° Fahrenheit, causing extreme weather around the world for a
period of three years. As a result of Mount Tambora’s volcanic ash, North
America and Europe experienced the “Year Without a Summer” in 1816. This year
was characterized by widespread crop failure, deadly famine, and disease.
If inhaled, volcanic
ash can cause breathing problems and damage the lungs. Inhaling large amounts
of ash and volcanic gases can cause a person to suffocate. Suffocation is the most
common cause of death from a volcano.
Now, given all this
information, if you were the prophet Nephite wriiting in 34 A.D. how would you write and describe the events in 3 Nephi regarding the
destruction and three days of darkness and its cause?
“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”
(3 Nephi 8:3). Or “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” (3 Nephi
8:19). And finally, “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; 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; 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. And it came to pass that it did last for the
space of three days that there was no light seen” (3 Nephi 8:20-23).
Without using the words: “volcano,”
“lava,” “volcanic ash,” the author of 3 Nephi was about as accurate in
describing several volcanoes erupting at the same time, filling the entire area with
the gases of eruption that covered the sky and blocked out every bit of
sunlight until it was blanketed in absolute nighttime darkness for the space of
three days.
Now I realize that the Great
Lakes theorists object vehemently to volcanic eruption as a cause of the events
in 3 Nephi, since there are no volcanoes or even mountains basically in the
eastern United States within the areas different theorists have placed the Land
of Promise, centering around western New York. And, according to them, there is no mention of "volcano," "ash," or "lava," therefore it could not be a volcano eruption being written about.
So granted the words of a volcano eruption are not used in the
scriptural record, as described earlier, the words associated with volcanoes
were not coined in Hebrew and would not have been in Egyptian, where volcanoes
never erupted, but the results of such an eruption are clearly given and
described by the disciple Nephi and abridged by Mormon (however, it should be
added that in 2007, Egyptian archaeologists found what they believe are traces
of solidified lava on the northern coast of Sinai Peninsula that date to around
1650-1550 B.C. supporting accounts that ancient Egyptian settlements were
buried by a massive volcanic eruption in the Mediterranean where the Nile Delta
meets the Sinai peninsula. According to Zahi Hawass, the lava and ash hail from
Santorini, an eastern Mediterranean volcano that has been linked to the myth of
Atlantis. Other experts doubt the origin in Egypt, but believe that the lava
was carried in by regular ocean currents).
As the
BYU Daily Universe stated: “There has
been a shift more recently to finding Mesoamerica in the Book of Mormon instead
of finding the Book of Mormon in Mesoamerica,” which is an excellent point;
however, one must understand what is actually written and being described. It
is one thing to say that the darkness in 3 Nephi is not from a volcano, but we
know it is from something. Did the
Lord just up and cause it because he wanted it dark as in mourning his death?
Of course he could have since he can do anything as we’ve often described.
However, it is doubtful he did that without it being from some natural
occurrence, such as the volcano the description so aptly fits.
Here,
then, we see the Great Lakes theorist looking at the Book of Mormon through
Great Lakes lens, complaining that the Mesoamericanists are looking through Mesoamerican lens.
Whether you wear Mesoamerican Lens or
Great Lakes Lens, or any other lens of one theory or another, you are bound to
have already made up your mind, or are at least leaning in that direction and
tend to interpret what you hear, read, and see through the lens you are wearing
As the
above theorist added, “Once you start
looking at the Book of Mormon through a Mesoamerican lens, you can’t unsee it.”
On the other hand, the same is true for the Great Lakes lens—if you look through that, you cannot unsee that, either.
The sad
thing is, neither one can see that they are looking through tinted lens—Instead, they and we should be wearing scriptural reference lens and seeing what is actually written and not what we want to be written. If we do that, we can see tht what is being described sounds a lot like a series of volcanoes--so the questions should be, if not volcanoes, what then? Something caused the three days of darkness!
In an
effort to make his point, but not see that he is describing his own error at
the same time, the author of the website adds: “Thanks to a historical mistake from 1842, millions of
people have been indoctrinated to read the Book of Mormon through a
Mesoamerican lens and now they "can't unsee it. They're stuck. And so they
produce new translations that reflect what they "see" through the
Mesoamerican lens. (Maybe we should go ahead and call it the Mesoamerican Urim
and Thummim, because that's how authoritative these new translations have
become).”
(See the next post,
”Were There Volcanoes Involved in the Destruction of 3 Nephi? – Part III,” as
we continue with the descriptions about the three days of darkness in 3 Nephi
at the time of the crucifixion, and the disagreement over volcano eruptions
between Mesoamericanists and the Great Lakes/Eastern U.S./Heartland theorists).
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I've been talking to the folks who believe the North American model lately and you are correct that when they look through those lenses they can't see anything else. It doesn't matter to them what the scriptures say. Joseph and Olive said NY Cumorah was the place and that is that.
ReplyDeleteBut the Meso-American folks have a better claim than the NA model because at least the land has a North and South separated by a narrow neck with west and east seas. That is something that the NA folks really have to twist themselves into a pretzel to make work.
It takes a careful reading of the scriptures to get it right and that is the point. Thanks Del for your careful reading. Ira
Del, following your blog is like taking a college class. Maybe you should put it on udemy.com some day.
ReplyDeleteThank you for you kind remarks. Always nice to get a compliment :)
ReplyDelete