Geologists who analyze the destruction described in 3 Nephi 8 generally conclude that it was caused by a combination of seismic and volcanic activity. See for example Bart J. Kowallis, "In the Thirty and Fourth Year: A Geologist's View of the Great Destruction in 3 Nephi" in BYU Studies 37:3 (1997-98) and Jerry D. Grover, Jr. Geology of the Book of Mormon Provo: Grover Publishing (2015). This explanation of the cataclysms described in the text works well with a Mesoamerican setting for the Book of Mormon since southern Mexico and Central America have dozens of volcanoes, many of them active in Nephite times.
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| Some of the Many Volcanoes in Mesoamerica |
These verses in the Bible seem to be referring to volcanoes:
- Exodus 19:18 "and the smoke thereof (Mt. Sinai) ascended as the smoke of a furnace..."
- Deuteronomy 4:11 "the mountain burned with fire...with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness."
- Deuteronomy 5:23 "the mountain did burn with fire."
- Psalms 97:5 "the hills melted like wax."
- Psalms 104:32 "he toucheth the hills and they smoke."
- Micah 1:4 "and the mountains shall be molten under him...as the waters that are poured down a steep place."
- Revelation 8:8 "a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea."
And these verses in the Book of Mormon likewise seem to be referring to volcanoes:
- 1 Nephi 19:11 "mountains which shall be carried up."
- 2 Nephi 26:5 "mountains shall cover them."
- Helaman 14:23 "many places which are now called valleys which shall become mountains, whose height is great."
- 3 Nephi 8:10 "the earth was carried up upon the city of Moronihah, and in the place of the city there became a great mountain."
The term "volcano" does not appear in the Book of Mormon, but it is highly likely that volcanoes were present in the Nephite and Lamanite area.
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| Paricutin Volcano in Michoacan, Mexico |
Paricutin achieved global fame in 1943 when it erupted in what had been a corn field and quickly formed a cinder cone. The volcanic explosion spread ash over an area of 200 square kilometers.
