{"id":18376,"date":"2015-03-04T01:14:28","date_gmt":"2015-03-04T08:14:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=18376"},"modified":"2015-03-04T01:15:35","modified_gmt":"2015-03-04T08:15:35","slug":"volcanic-lightning-and-the-book-of-mormon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2015\/03\/volcanic-lightning-and-the-book-of-mormon.html","title":{"rendered":"Volcanic Lightning and the Book of Mormon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Lightning in a volcanic eruption
(Click to enlarge.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 3 Nephi 8<\/a>, tempests, a \u201cgreat storm,\u201d earthquakes, fires, whirlwinds, and physical upheavals attest the crucifixion of Christ, and darkness covers the land for three days. \u00a0Cities are covered over by water and buried beneath landslides.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t this a bit melodramatic? \u00a0Did Joseph Smith overdo it? \u00a0Did he get carried away with his tall tales?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Several serious students of the Book of Mormon have suggested volcanism as a plausible cause for such phenomena as these. \u00a0Volcanic activity can easily be connected with earthquakes and fires, as also with physical upheavals and, through ash clouds and \u201cvog,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0with darkness.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But what about those \u201ctempests\u201d? \u00a0What about that \u201cterrible\u00a0thunder\u00a0. . .\u00a0that . . . did\u00a0shake\u00a0the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder\u201d? What about those \u201cexceedingly sharp lightnings, such as never had been known in all the land\u201d?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Those, too, can be produced\u00a0by volcanic activity.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an interesting article on the topic of volcano-generated lightning, brought to my attention by Mike Parker<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

http:\/\/io9.com\/volcanic-lightning-how-does-it-work-459806533<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 In 3 Nephi 8, tempests, a \u201cgreat storm,\u201d earthquakes, fires, whirlwinds, and physical upheavals attest the crucifixion of Christ, and darkness covers the land for three days. \u00a0Cities are covered over by water and buried beneath landslides. \u00a0 Isn\u2019t this a bit melodramatic? \u00a0Did Joseph Smith overdo it? \u00a0Did he get carried away […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nVolcanic Lightning and the Book of Mormon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    In 3 Nephi 8, tempests, a "great storm," earthquakes, fires, whirlwinds, and physical upheavals attest the crucifixion of Christ, and\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, 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