Cataclysmic events immediately preceding the appearance of the resurrected Christ in the Americas are recounted in 3 Nephi 8. Some of them are unusual, to say the least, including palpable darkness lasting three days. (See verses 20-22.)

Bart J. Kowallis, a geology professor at BYU, has suggested a plausible scientific explanation — intense volcanic eruption — for 21 events recorded as having occurred during the destruction in the 3 Nephi account. These include a great storm, a strong and terrible tempest, terrible thunder, a shaking of the earth, sharp lightning, burning of cities, sinking of cities into the sea, earth carried up onto cities, whirlwinds, the face of the earth changing and thick darkness of three days which prevented the kindling of fires in some places.

At a Feb. 27, 1999, symposium marking the 40-year anniversary of BYU Studies, Brother Kowallis said, "Each of these events has been documented in historic volcanic eruptions."

For example, "lightning displays and associated thunder, along with other noises caused by explosions near a volcano, can be of the extraordinary kind described by Nephi. The lightning is caused by the friction between the exploding ash and air. This friction generates enormous quantities of static electricity that is then discharged as lightning. The thunder from the lightning is supplemented from the volcano and the earthquakes that occur almost continuously during some eruptions."

Such earthquakes, associated as they are with volcanos, last much longer than other kinds of quakes and would be similar to the quaking of about three hours described in 3 Nephi, he noted. For example, it is documented that during the eruption of Krakatau, the shaking of the earth lasted throughout the night of Aug. 26, 1833, and on into the next morning, he added.

And ash in the air from intense volcanic activity is sometimes so thick it can be felt, and it can hinder or prevent the kindling of fire, he explained.

Brother Kowallis said that at the time Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, knowledge about the character of volcanic eruptions was not widespread among Americans; thus it is not likely the Prophet could have invented the story in the Book of Mormon and given it such detail that coincides so strikingly with today's scientific knowledge.