The eruption of Mount Saint Helens, May 18, 1980, at 8:32 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. Wikipedia
Where Science Meets the Book of Mormon: Come Follow Me Lesson: September 23-29; 3 Nephi 8-11
We read in 3 Nephi chapter 8 about the destruction that occurred in the Americas at the time of Christ’s crucifixion. Then we are told in 3 Nephi 8: 19-23, “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. 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; 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; 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.”
I have always been especially intrigued by verses 20 and 21: “…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…”
It is well known that it requires three elements to kindle a fire: fuel, heat, and oxygen. It is stated that the American people of that time and place had “fine and exceedingly dry wood,” so the fuel requirement apparently was met. There must have been enough oxygen or the people, themselves, would not have survived. The only remaining element appears to be that the people were unable to produce enough heat to kindle a fire. Today, we use matches (a chemical reaction), as one technique, to start fires, but historically, people used mainly sparks — as from flint and steel — or friction — as from a hand drill or bow drill — to start fires. We are told that the people of the time “could feel the vapor of darkness.” What we don’t know is whether the vapor was wet, like a heavy fog, or dry, like the ash from a volcano.
When Mt. St. Helens blew in 1980, static electricity generated from ash clouds rolling down the side of the volcano created lightning bolts, some of which started forest fires. As much as four to five inches of ash fell on Yakima, Washington, plunging the city into total darkness at noon. Ash from Mount Saint Helens continued to rain down on Yakima for the next eight days, putting the city’s normal life into a complete stand-still.1 We were living in Seattle at the time, and drove down to Yakima a few days after the eruption. The ash was banked up along the highway like snow-drifts, so we collected some in an empty baby-food can. We still have the ash today.
One eye-witness recounted, “My friend dropped me off downtown near where I had parked, and I had just started walking when a black curtain of ash came down and everything went dark. It looked and felt like the end of the world. Quickly my eyes were full of gritty ash and I could not see. I could hardly breath. I thought I would die, but somehow I stumbled into my car, and got inside. It was a crazy drive home as I could not see anything, but fortunately there was no one on the road at 2:30 am! The car stalled every 5 minutes or so, and I would have to run outside to bang the ash out of the air filter so it would start again.”2
It appears that the experiences in Yakima, at least to some extent, mirrors the experiences of some people in the Americas at the time of Christ’s crucifixion. However, despite the heaviness of the ash, and the fact that it could plug carburetor filters and stop cars, there is no evidence, that I have found, that no fires could be kindled at the time of the Mount Saint Helens eruption.
I have been unable to find any reference to fog being so heavy so as to prevent fires from being kindled. Perhaps some combination of ash and fog could combine to enough of an extent so as to prevent fires being started.
It is hard for me to imagine a scenario where fires cannot be kindled, yet people continue to breath — even if it were with some difficulty. It appears that I am missing something in the story of the darkness that enshrouded parts of the Americas after the crucifixion. I will probably never know the answer in this life. It is one of the many things I have on my bucket list to ask about in the next life.
Trent Dee Stephens, PhD
References
1. yakimatalk.com/2023/06/12/the-impact-of-the-eruption-of-mount-saint-helens-on-yakima; retrieved 15 September 2024
2. oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2020/05/mount-st-helens-eruption-witnesses-recall-terror-awe-when-mountain-exploded-40-years-ago.html; retrieved 15 September 2024
Equally interesting is that several cities caught fire: Zarahemla (8:8. 9:3), "many cities" (8:14), Jacobugath (9:9), and "Laman, Josh, Gad, and Kishkumen" (9:10). The mechanism, that fire was "sent down" (9:11) suggests hot ash or a lava flow. Maybe hot magma was more effective at overcoming the flame-retardant vapor. Or maybe the thick vapor of darkness referred to in 8:21 was localized, perhaps even just an exaggeration or an extrapolation based on some failed personal attempts.