El Greco, Pentecost, 1596-1599, The Prado, Madrid.
Where Science Meets the Book of Mormon: Come Follow Me Lesson: October 7-13; 3 Nephi 17-19
We read in 3 Nephi 17:23-25, “And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones. And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them. And the multitude did see and hear and bear record; and they know that their record is true for they all of them did see and hear, every man for himself; and they were in number about two thousand and five hundred souls; and they did consist of men, women, and children.”
We are told in Exodus 3:1-2, “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.”
We read in 2 Kings 2:11, “And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.”
We are told in Acts 2:1-4, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
The Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, Chapter 43, Section 109, discusses the dedicatory prayer for the Kirtland Temple, March 27, 1836.1 Quoting Orson F. Whitney’s Life of Heber C. Kimball, p. 104, the manual states, “On the 6th of April, a meeting was held which was prolonged into the night. On this occasion the spirit of prophecy was poured out upon the Saints, and many in the congregation saw tongues of fire upon some of those present, while to others angels appeared. ‘This,’ President Kimball says, ‘continued several days and was attended by a marvelous spirit of prophecy.”
Of these manifestations during the time of dedication, we are told, “Brother George A. Smith arose and began to prophesy, when a noise was heard like the sound of a rushing mighty wind, which filled the Temple, and all the congregation simultaneously arose, being moved upon by an invisible power; many began to speak in tongues and prophesy; others saw glorious visions; and I beheld the Temple was filled with angels, which fact I declared to the congregation. The people of the neighborhood came running together (hearing an unusual sound within, and seeing a bright light like a pillar of fire resting upon the Temple), and were astonished at what was taking place. This continued until the meeting closed at eleven p. m.”2
All of these scriptures have in common the description of the Holy Spirit as fire, tongues of fire, pillars of fire. Joseph Smith described two of his experiences differently:
We are told in Joseph Smith History 1:16-17, “…I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me…When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!”
We are told in Joseph Smith History 1:43, “After this communication, I saw the light in the room begin to gather immediately around the person of him who had been speaking to me, and it continued to do so until the room was again left dark, except just around him; when, instantly I saw, as it were, a conduit open right up into heaven, and he ascended till he entirely disappeared, and the room was left as it had been before this heavenly light had made its appearance.”
Here, we read of a “pillar of light” and a “conduit” [of light?] — as in, perhaps, a shaft of sunlight. Before the first public demonstration of the incandescent lamp, conducted by Joseph Swan at the Literary & Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, on Tuesday, 3 February 1879,3 the only lights humans had ever seen for thousands of years had been fire-light, sunshine, moon-light, and lightning.
In reading the scriptures, I often wonder, “What would I actually have seen had I been there, with our more modern understanding of events and processes?” The people in the Americas, about 34 AD, described what they saw, as recorded in 3 Nephi 17:23-25, as fire. That is one of the only four types of light with which they were familiar. I have no idea what they actually saw. Would a more modern description of the events have been different concerning the type of light those people beheld? I am aware of no published accounts of people in the twentieth or twenty-first centuries describing similar events to those described above (although I have no doubt that people have experienced such events).
I look forward to a day, someday, when all things are revealed, to ask to watch the video of 3 Nephi 17:23-25, and see for myself what the people witnessed at the time of Christ’s visit to the American Continent. Until then, I will just have to go with the word of those who were actual witnesses of the events.
Trent Dee Stephens, PhD
References
1. Doctrine and Covenants Student Manuel Chapter 43, Doctrine and Covenants 109-110; churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/doctrine-and-covenants-student-manual-2017/chapter-43-doctrine-and-covenants-109-110?lang=eng; retrieved 4 October 2024
2. Smith, Joseph, History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Period I, Vol. II., p. 428
3. Royal Society of Chemistry; web.archive.org/web/20110901143453/http://www.rsc.org/ Chemsoc/Activities/ChemicalLandmarks/UK/JosephSwan.asp; retrieved 5 October 2024
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