3 Nephi chapters 8-10 contain a description of some of the most destructive natural disasters ever recorded in ancient literature. But exactly what type of natural disaster hit the Nephites at this time? Earthquake? Hurricane? Something else? Let us examine the text to see what information it gives us on the subject:

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 (3 Nephi 8:5; emphasis added).

So far, all we are told is that there was a “great storm” that arose. But what type of storm was it? The following verse gives us a good description:​

And there was also a great and terrible tempest; and there was terrible thunder…and there were exceedingly sharp lightnings, such as never had been known in all the land (3 Nephi 8:6-7; emphasis added).

So far it sounds like, on the surface at least, that this great storm was none other than a hurricane. After all, a hurricane brings with it each of these three characteristics described by Mormon. However, if this great storm was in fact a hurricane, it was a strange hurricane indeed:

And there were exceedingly sharp lightnings, such as never had been known in all the land. And the city of Zarahemla did take fire (3 Nephi 8:7-8; emphasis added).​

For those of you who have been in a hurricane, you know that a hurricane brings rain, and a lot of it. In fact, hurricanes bring so much rain that it is hard to imagine that anything within a hundred miles of the hurricanes path, let alone an entire city, could ever catch on fire, even if it was struck by lightning as Zarahemla may have been. Furthermore, in the words of Brant Gardner, “The combination of “storm” and “tempest” would typically indicate rain as well, but none is noted, and indeed the indication of “exceedingly dry wood” (3 Nephi 8:21) rather suggests its absence.”[1]

Another strange characteristic of this hurricane-like storm is that it occurred in the spring. We know this because Christ was crucified on Passover, which correlates to spring in the Americas. This should be another clue that this storm was not a hurricane at all, because hurricane season in the Americas is not in the spring, but rather, the fall. In fact, weather statistics will tell you that approximately 97% of all hurricanes that hit the Americas occur in the fall.[2] Furthermore, springtime hurricanes in the Americas are much less destructive in general than their fall counterparts.

With that said, it is still certainly possible that this “great storm” could have been a hurricane. If the Lord wants to send a hurricane in April, he can certainly do so. And if the Lord wants to set fire to something in a hurricane’s path, he could certainly do that as well. However, more often than not, “the Lord,” according to President Joseph Fielding Smith, “works in accordance with natural law,”[3] which should suggest to us that the Lord was not doing anything out of the ordinary here.

Furthermore, because the Nephites lived somewhere in the Americas, it is very likely that they had previously experienced lightnings, tempests, thunderstorms, and possibly even hurricanes in their past. And yet Mormon said that this particular storm and these particular lightnings, “never had been known” (3 Nephi 8:5, 7) among the Nephites, which suggests that this particular storm was different somehow.

If we are correct in our assumptions that this “great storm” was not a hurricane, then is there another explanation for these hurricane-like symptoms? How do we explain the tempests, the thunder, and the sharp lightnings for example? As it turns out, LDS Geologists and other scholars who have studied the description of this “great storm” in 3 Nephi generally agree that this storm was not a hurricane at all, but a rather a volcanic eruption.[4]

What is interesting about this volcanic eruption theory is that it could still account for all of the hurricane-like descriptions quoted in the verses above.

Exceedingly Sharp Lightnings

​For example, according to Mormon, the Nephites experienced “exceedingly sharp lightnings” in connection with this great storm (3 Nephi 8:7). Can a volcano produce lightning? Certainly! According to the journal Science, “Lightning is often seen around volcanic eruptions…. One common type [of lightning] results when individual particles of ash violently rub against each other, generating huge amounts of static electricity.”[5] Here is an image of such lightning, caused by the 2011 volcanic eruption of Chile’s Cordón Caulle volcano:

And while it is hard for hurricane induced lightning to spark fires due to the rain that is associated with hurricanes, volcanic induced lightning does not face the same wet environment. With no rain from the skies above, it is much easier for volcanic lightning to spark fires when compared to hurricane lightning.

Of course, we also have to consider the possibility that the city of Zarahemla did not catch fire from a lightning strike at all, but rather by some other means related to this volcanic eruption. According to the well renowned volcano scientist Dr. Jeffery Wynn, any area that was located within a volcano’s path could be set on fire due to “hot winds of ash, rock, gas and air…[and] the 600 degree heat associated with a pyroclastic flow.”[6] Thus, while we are not told exactly how “the city of Zarahemla did take fire” (3 Nephi 8:8), we should consider both of these options as being real possibilities.

In fact, in addition to Zarahemla, there were at least four other cities that caught fire (see 3 Nephi 9:10), and the Lord said that he “did send down fire” upon each of these cities specifically (3 Nephi 9:11). And perhaps the best way to scientifically explain fire being sent from the sky to the earth is from the pyroclastic flow of a volcano. In fact, a survivor from the First Century AD volcanic eruption in Popocatepetl recalled that “fire rained down, so that those who were there were burned.”[7]

Carried Away in the Whirlwind

Another characteristic of this great storm, according to Mormon, were “whilrwinds” (3 Nephi 8:12). And Mormon tells us that these whirlwinds were so powerful that “there were some who were carried away in the whirlwind; and whither they went no man knoweth” (3 Nephi 8:16).

​If volcanos can cause lightning, can they also cause whirlwinds as well? According to LDS Geologist Jerry Grover, they absolutely can.

“The best fit for the whirlwinds referred to in the Book of Mormon seems to be whirlwinds associated with volcanic eruption. Destructive whirlwinds that destroy buildings and take people and livestock are common in volcanic eruptions and have been reported in [several eruptions over the last 200 years].”[8]

Similarly, Dr. John L. Lund noted:

“Tefra is the ash which is blown out of the volcano’s cone. When it shoots out of the volcano it sucks the air around the cone upward creating whirlwinds. The subsequent atmospheric trauma could induce additional whirlwinds.”[9]​

Here is an image of whirlwinds formed from the eruption of the Kilauea, Hawaii volcano in 2008:

Insomuch That It Did Shake the Whole Earth

​From here, Mormon then goes on to describe what appears to be a second natural disaster to occur in connection with this great storm:

And there was terrible thunder, insomuch that it did shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder (3 Nephi 8:6; emphasis added).

The best fit for a thunder powerful enough to “shake the whole earth” is an earthquake, and no other natural disaster has the ability to “divide asunder” the very land we stand on quite like an earthquake. But can an earthquake cause the type of sound that that would be described as thunder? While each earthquake may vary in regards to the different sounds produced, a common sound that many earthquakes make is called an “earthquake boom,” which can very closely resemble the sound of thunder.[10]

If we are correct in our assumption that Nephites experienced an earthquake at this time, then the Nephites endured not one, but two natural disasters back to back. And if not back to back, perhaps even simultaneously. Which begs the question, what are the odds of having two natural disasters hit the same place at the same time?

As it turns out, this phenomenon is more common than one might think. Scientific studies have shown that one natural disaster can often trigger another. Earthquakes can often trigger volcanic eruptions, and volcanic eruptions often trigger earthquakes.[11]

Which Came First?

And since we apparently have these two natural disasters occurring back to back, many have wondered, “Did the earthquake cause the volcano, or did the volcano cause the earthquake?” While both scenarios are possible, one scenario appears to be much more likely in the Nephites situation than the other. However, before we can positively state which event occurred first, we first need to look at the description of the earthquake as described by Mormon, as it will perhaps give us the clue we need. The point we need to make here is that this was a massive earthquake, not a small one. For example:

And the earth was carried up upon the city of Moronihah, that in the place of the city there became a great mountain (3 Nephi 8:10; emphasis added).

And the highways were broken up…And many great and notable cities were sunk…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 (3 Nephi 8:13-14; emphasis added).

…the face of the whole earth became deformed (3 Nephi 8:17; emphasis added).

​And the city of Moroni did sink into the depths of the sea (3 Nephi 8:9; emphasis added).

Each of these statements show us just how much damage this earthquake caused. It was an earthquake so powerful that it actually caused the city of Moroni to sink into the ocean!

​Interestingly enough, a similar thing happened in modern times when a 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit Jamaica in 1692. When this earthquake struck, Jamaica’s coastal city of Port Royal sunk to the bottom of the ocean, similar to the city of Moroni. The cities remains can still be seen on the ocean floor today, as shown here:

The point is, knowing the magnitude of the Nephite earthquake helps us determine if the earthquake triggered the volcano, or if the volcano triggered the earthquake. According to LDS Geologist Jerry Grover:

“Volcanoes are known to generate earthquakes, however, 3rd Nephi…requires an earthquake of sufficient size, and most volcanic-related earthquakes are less than a magnitude 2 or 3.”[12]

In other words, while volcanic eruptions can trigger earthquakes, the earthquakes to follow are usually not very large. And since the Nephite earthquake was a large earthquake, then it stands to reason that the earthquake came first, which in turn caused the volcanic eruption, and not the other way around.

And in case you are wondering, it does not take long for an earthquake of this size to trigger an eruption. Studies have shown that that this can occur within a matter of a few minutes,[13] which is what appears to have happened to the Nephites.

Darkness Upon the Face of the Land

​While we have examined much evidence so far, the main reason why most LDS Geologists believe that the destruction described in 3 Nephi was a volcanic eruption has to do with the three days of darkness that followed. The ash that is pumped into the atmosphere from a volcanic eruption is the only natural disaster that could have caused the three days of darkness described in the Book of Mormon:

And …when the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the storm, and the tempest, and the quakings of the earth did cease…behold, there was darkness upon the face of the land (3 Nephi 8:19; emphasis added).

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 (3 Nephi 8:20; emphasis added).

​And there could be no light, because of the darkness, neither candles, neither torches; neither could there be fire kindled (3 Nephi 8: 21; emphasis added).

When the oxygen in the atmosphere is replaced by dust and gas after a volcanic eruption, you not only lose visibility, but you can actually feel the vapor of darkness as well, which is just how the Nephites described it. These circumstances also make lighting a fire nearly impossible. In the words of Dr. Jeffery Wynn, “thick falling ash is like dumping dirt on a camp fire.”[14]

What is more, Mormon stated that many were “overpowered by the vapor of smoke and of darkness” (3 Nephi 10:13), meaning this darkness also took the lives of many people living in the area who suffocated from its effects. This phenomenon is not uncommon from that of volcanic eruptions. Volcanic ash, according to Dr. Jeffery Wynn, “is so thick that animals and people die from suffocation.”[15]

​Furthermore, this darkness did not just disappear overnight, but it “dispersed” gradually according to Mormon (3 Nephi 10:9), which is exactly what happens to the volcanic ash put into the atmosphere after an eruption. In a similar way, the darkness seemed to arrive in different Nephite cities at different times as well, suggesting some Nephite cities were closer in proximity to the erupting volcano than others. David Palmer wrote:

Mormon notes that there was a disparity of opinion on how long it took before things got pitch black (3 Nephi 8:19). The amount of time would obviously vary, depending on one’s distance from the…volcano.[16]​

Mount St. Helens

​Perhaps the most convincing argument that the Nephites endured a volcanic eruption at this time is the similar description of Mount St. Helens eruption of 1980. Below is a description of this eruption from Alvin Benson. For commentary, I have underlined all of the similarities between the Nephite volcanic eruption and Mount St. Helens eruption:

“Investigations suggest that an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale may have triggered the Mount St. Helen volcanic eruption on 18 May 1980, and as the side of the mountain slid down and the top was blown away, the resulting shockwave blew down all the timber and vegetation within 15 miles. Some survivors referred to the noise and shaking as like being next to ground zero in an atomic bomb blast. Visibility dropped to zero; and as the thick volcanic dust hid the sun, day became night as far away as 500 miles. Spokane, Washington, located just 250 miles east of the blast site, was in complete darkness at 3:00 pm. Bolts of lightning flashed from Mount St. Helens, sparking numerous forest fires, and the air was so full of smoke and pumice that people could not survive outside. Volcanic ash and gases irritated skin, eyes, and lungs, making breathing extremely difficult and fires impossible to ignite. Many earthquakes and/or aftershocks accompanied the eruption, and mud and debris flows changed the surrounding landscape for miles around.”[17]

Needless to say, the similarities are striking. And just as Mount St. Helens changed the quality of life in Washington for many people for years to come, a similar thing happened to the Nephites. In fact, the Nephites did not begin to really prosper again until 26 years after the destruction:

Fifty and nine years had passed away [i.e., 26 years after the destruction]. And the Lord did prosper them exceedingly in the land; yea, insomuch that they did build cities again where there had been cities burned (4 Nephi 1:6-7).

LDS Scholar Matthew Roper saw this 26-year timeframe as a striking similarity with another volcanic eruption that occurred in 1902. He wrote:

“The year 1902 saw the eruption of the West Indies volcano St. Vincent. A geologist who studied the site in 1933 [31 years later!] found that the soil from the volcano, which had been ash at the time of the eruption, had finally returned to a level comparable to that before the eruption.”[18]

The effects of the West Indies volcanic eruption lingered for over 30 years, which is very similar to the 26 year timeline that it took the Nephites to fully recover from their destruction.

Conclusion From LDS Scientists

​While the Book of Mormon does not state it plainly, suffice it to say that there is plenty of scientific evidence the that the Nephites experience a massive earthquake, which in turn triggered a volcanic eruption, thus accounting for all the destructions described by Mormon. For example, LDS Geologist Bart Kowallis concluded:

“Geological studies and eyewitness accounts of volcanic activity show the likelihood that the massive destruction reported in 3 Nephi was caused by an explosive volcanic eruption.”[19]

And according to LDS Geologist Jerry Grover:

“In order to account for the destruction described in 3rd Nephi, it is clear that a volcano and a regional earthquake are indicated.”[20]

And according to LDS professor of geophysics Alvin Benson:

“The very nature of earthquakes and volcanic activity...[are] consistent with the whole set of phenomena recorded in 3 Nephi 8–10.”[21]​

Conclusions from LDS Scholars

​In addition to LDS scientists, these are the same conclusions that most LDS scholars have arrived at as well. For example, according to Dr. John Lund:

“In summary, a jury of [a dozen] scientists would concur that the events described in 3 Nephi 8 involved a volcanic eruption.”[22]

Similarly, LDS scholar David Palmer concluded:

“Based on the preceding data, I propose that a combination of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions were the natural forces unleashed on the Nephites and Lamanites.”[23]

Similarly, LDS scholar Brant Gardiner concluded:

“The Book of Mormon is very explicit in describing the physical events. As real-world phenomena, they correspond to an explosive eruption of a volcano arising in a subduction zone.”[24]​

And finally, Hugh Nibley concluded that, “3 Nephi...suggests nearby volcanic activity. And indeed, in many cases earthquakes.”[25]
​
What does this tell us?

If the destructions in 3 Nephi were indeed caused by a volcanic eruption, then this gives us a major clue as to where in the Americas the Book of Mormon took place. Simply put, this means that the Book of Mormon had to have taken place within approximately 500 miles of an active volcano. This vital clue essentially eliminates, any possibility that the Book of Mormon took place, for example, anywhere east of the Mississippi River in America, as there are no active volcanos in this region of the United States.

​In fact, in 2014, LDS Geologist Jerry Grover looked at every volcano in North America to see which ones could be candidates for the Book of Mormon volcano. He only had two requirements, which were to find all of the active volcanos that 1) erupted in the First Century AD, and 2) sat on a fault line. After looking at thousands of potential volcanos, he found only one that fit both criteria: San Martin, in Southern Mexico.[26] Here are a few images of this volcano:

Coincidentally, this is the same region where most LDS scholars believe the Book of Mormon took place, making San Martin a very strong candidate as the volcanic culprit behind the destruction mentioned in 3 Nephi 8.

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Notes:

[1] Gardner, Second Witness, p. 303; see also Kowallis, “In the Thirty and Fourth Year: A Geologist’s View of the Great Destruction in 3 Nephi,” p. 155, located at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3240&context=byusq

[2] “When is Hurricane Season?” Hurricane Research Division, located at: http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/G1.html

[3] Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 2:27

[4] Grover, Geology in the Book of Mormon, p. 119, located at:  https://bmslr.org/books/Geology%20of%20the%20Book%20of%20Mormon.pdf Kowallis, “In the Thirty and Fourth Year: A Geologist’s View of the Great Destruction in 3 Nephi,” 136–190, located at: https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/node/111. See also Lund, Joseph Smith and the Geography of Book of Mormon, 173–178; Gardner, Second Witness, 5:300–312; Warren and Furguson, The Messiah in Ancient America, p. 40-48; Benson, “Geological Upheaval and Darkness in 3 Nephi 8-10, in The Book of Mormon: 3 Nephi 9-30, This is My Gospel, p. 59-72; Roper, “A Note on Volcanism and the Book of Mormon,” Insights, 2009, 29:4:4; Nibley, Since Cumorah, p. 231-38.

[5] Perkins, Sid, “Flash glass: Lightning inside volcanic ash plumes create glassy spherules,” American Association for the Advancement of Science, located at: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/03/flash-glass-lightning-inside-volcanic-ash-plumes-create-glassy-spherules

[6] Dr. Jeffery Wynn interviewed by Richard Krikava, April 15 & 20, 2011, as quoted in Lund, Joseph Smith and the Geography of the Book of Mormon, p. 174.

[7] Bierhorst, History and Mythology of the Aztecs: The Codex Chimalpopoca, p. 26.

[8] Grover, Geology in the Book of Mormon, p. 157

[9] Lund, Joseph Smith and the Geography of the Book of Mormon, p. 176.

[10] “Earthquake Booms, Seneca Guns, and other Sounds,” USGS, located at: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/booms.php

[11] See for example, “Can earthquakes trigger volcanic eruptions?” Volcano Watch, located at http://www.hawaii247.com/2011/09/08/volcano-watch-can-earthquakes-trigger-volcanic-eruptions/ See also, “Volcanic Earthquakes” PNSN, located at: https://www.pnsn.org/outreach/earthquakesources/volcanic

[12] Grover, Geology in the Book of Mormon, p. 119

[13] Seach, “Earthquakes and Volcanic Eruptions,” Volcanoes Live, located at: http://www.volcanolive.com/earthquakes.html

[14] Dr. Jeffery Wynn interviewed by Richard Krikava, April 15 & 20, 2011, as quoted in Lund, Joseph Smith and the Geography of the Book of Mormon, p. 174.

[15] Dr. Jeffery Wynn interviewed by Richard Krikava, April 15 & 20, 2011, as quoted in Lund, Joseph Smith and the Geography of the Book of Mormon, p. 174.

[16] Palmer, In Search of Cumorah, p. 41.

[17] Benson, “Geological Upheaval and Darkness in 3 Nephi 8–10” Religious Studies, Chapter 4, located at: https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/book-mormon-3-nephi-9-30-my-gospel/4-geological-upheaval-and-darkness-3-nephi-8-10

[18] Roper, “A Note on Volcanism and the Book of Mormon,” Insights, 2009, located at: http://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1364&index=5

[19] Kowallis, “In the Thirty and Fourth Year: A Geologist’s View of the Great Destruction in 3 Nephi,” BYU Studies Quarterly 37:3:10, p. 136, located at: https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/node/111.

[20] Grover, Geology in the Book of Mormon, p. 119, located at: https://bmslr.org/books/Geology%20of%20the%20Book%20of%20Mormon.pdf

[21] Benson, “Geological Upheaval and Darkness in 3 Nephi 8-10,” in The Book of Mormon: 3 Nephi 9-30, This is My Gospel, p. 59-72.

[22] Lund, Joseph Smith and the Geography of the Book of Mormon, p. 177.

[23] Palmer, Geology in the Book of Mormon, p. 40, located at:  https://bmslr.org/books/Geology%20of%20the%20Book%20of%20Mormon.pdf

[24] Gardiner, Second Witness, 5:301-02

[25] Nibley, Since Cumorah, p. 235.

​[26] Grover, Geology in the Book of Mormon, p. 139-148, located at: https://bmslr.org/books/Geology%20of%20the%20Book%20of%20Mormon.pdf