Were there Really Earthquakes? – Part VI

Continued from the previous post regarding the unusual and specific wordage of events that accompanied the destruction outlined in 3 Nephi and Helaman 14, and the earthquakes and volcanoes behind the destruction. The first three were covered in the previous post. Here we pick up with item #8:

8. Valleys becoming Mountains whose height is great (Helaman 14:23)

• This was witnessed by Nephi in a vision, Samuel the Lamanite in a prophesy, and the Disciple Nephi through observation. Three witnesses record the destruction that occurred so we can assume that what was written was accurate. 

The Andes in South America, many peaks over 20,000 feet high and hundres over 18,000 feet

 

The very high mountains that rose upward from level valleys, was done in all the Land of Promise, both in the Land Southward and in the Land Northward so they could be seen by all the people “And this to the intent that whosoever will believe might be saved, and that whosoever will not believe, a righteous judgment might come upon them; and also if they are condemned they bring upon themselves their own condemnation” (Helaman 14:29).

9. The whole face of the land was changed (3 Nephi 8:12)

• According to the Disciple Nephi, “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” (3 Nephi 8:12)

“Adamah” אדמה, is a word, translatable as ground or earth, which occurs in the Biblical account of Creation of the Book of Genesis. According to the Bible, the personal name Adam derives from the noun adamah meaning "the ground" or "earth,” with the word “adam” used to reinforce the teleological link between humankind and the ground, emphasizing both the way in which man was created to cultivate the world, and how he originated from the "dust of the ground” (Ithamar Gruenwald, Rituals and Ritual Theory in Ancient Israel, Brill Reference Library of Judaism, Leiden, The Netherlands, 2003, pp60–62).

On the other hand, Eretz or Aretz ארץ‎, is "land" (with the definite article, HaAretz הארץ‎, "the land"). In particular, it may refer to: HaAretz HaMuvtahat, the “Promised Land” or just the Land of Israel.

Thus, we see that there was a difference between “land,” meaning a part or portion of the ground; and “earth,” meaning the entire world (Ithamar Gruenwald, p17).

The suggestion here is that “the face of the land,” refers to the entire Land of Promise—that area inhabited by the Nephites as found in the Book of Mormon, but not beyond. On the other hand, “face of the earth,” would have reference to the entire earth or a portion extending beyond the Land of Promise found in the Book of Mormon. 

Red Circle: Area of the Land of Promise; Green Circle: The area beyond, such as Central, North and Mesoamerica

 

Consequently, “the face of the whole land,” evidently refers to the area within the Nephite Land of Promise, where “the face of the whole earth,” refers to an extended area beyond the Nephite Land of Promise, such as including the “land which was northward” where Hagoth’s ships sailed, or even, the entire Western Hemisphere or all the world.

Consequently, in then saying “whole face of the land was changed,” we can say that the change referred to the Nephite Land of Promise—The Land Southward and the Land Northward. That change was the obvious elimination of mountains that became valleys, and valleys that rose to mountains, “whose height is great.” There were also other distinct changes with cities sinking into the land and into the sea, as well as roads broken up, and the earth covered a city that became a mountain. There may well also have been the elimination of the east sea, and the altering of the River Sidon—both of which are never mentioned after the destruction occur  red.

10. The face of the whole earth became deformed (3 Nephi 8:17)

• The word deformed means “not having the normal or natural shape or form; misshapen.“  As the Disciple Nephi wrote; “the face of the whole earth became deformed, because of the tempests, and the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the quaking of the earth” (3 Nephi 8:17, emphasis added); also “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” (3 Nephi 8:12, emphasis added); and “the quakings of the earth” (3 Nephi 8:19, emphasis added).

Seams and Cracks both above and beneath the surface of the Earth

Obviously, “the quaking of the earth” refers to an earthquake, which in this case, shook the entire earth. Samuel the Lamanite foresaw this event, saying: “at the time that he shall yield up the ghost there shall be thunderings and lightnings for the space of many hours, and the earth shall shake and tremble; and the rocks which are upon the face of this earth, which are both above the earth and beneath, which ye know at this time are solid, or the more part of it is one solid mass, shall be broken up; (Helaman 14:21); and these “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 (3 Nephi 8:18).

This would obviously have deformed the entire earth, more specifically the Nephite Land of Promise.

11. 6 cities sunk into the earth (3 Nephi 8)

• Objects sinking into the earth can happen through more than one source, such as forming sinkholes, which are common where the rock below the land surface is limestone or other carbonate rock, salt beds, or in other soluble rocks, such as gypsum, that can be dissolved naturally by circulating ground water—as the rock dissolves, spaces and caverns develop underground.

It can happen, and for the buildings indicated in 3 Nephi, it would most likely be from the earth suddenly liquefying. This is where soil liquefaction effects buildings whose foundations bear directly on sand which liquefies will experience a sudden loss of support. This will result in drastic and irregular settlement of the building causing structural damage, including cracking of foundations and damage to the building structure, or, in the case of the Land of Promie, leaving the structure unserviceable, even without structural damage. 

Where the crust is thinner, liquifying of the surface and in the Earth can occur 

 

This occurs where a thin crust of non-liquefied soil exists between building foundation and liquefied soil, a “punching shear” type foundation failure may occur. The upward pressure applied by the movement of liquefied soil through the crust layer can crack weak foundations. In addition, sloping ground and ground next to rivers and lakes may slide on a liquefied soil layer (termed “lateral spreading”) opening large ground fissures, or earth fissures—a linear opening in the Earth's surface, which may be caused by an earthquake or volcano.

In fact, soil pressures generated during large earthquakes can force underground water and liquefied sand to the surface in th effect known alternatively as “sand boils,” “sand blows,” or “sand volcanoes.” Such earthquake ground deformations located on or close to the ruptured fault, or distributed deformation if located at considerable distance from the ruptured fault (Folarin Kolawole, et al, “High-resolution electrical resistivity and aeromagnetic imaging reveal the causative fault of the Karonga, Malawi earthquake,” Geophysical Journal International, vol.213, no.2, 2018, pp.1423-1425).

(See the next post, “Were there Really Earthquakes? – Part VII, for more on the unusual and specific wordage of events that accompanied the destruction, and the understanding that earthquakes and volcanoes resulting in the destruction outlined in 3 Nephi, and continuing with the list of events, and the rest of #11)