The Records Are True
Our records are true. A good man kept them. He did many miracles in Jesus’ name. No one could do a miracle in Jesus’ name unless they were clean from their sins.
If this man counted the time correctly, 33 years had passed. The people started looking for the sign that Samuel the Lamanite had told them about. They watched for three days of darkness over the land. Many people began to doubt and argue. This happened even though they had seen many signs.
A Terrible Storm
In the 34th year, on the fourth day of the first month, a huge storm came. No one had ever seen a storm like it before. The storm was terrible. Thunder shook the whole earth. It felt like the earth was going to split apart. Lightning flashed brighter than anyone had ever seen.
Cities Are Destroyed
The city of Zarahemla caught on fire. The city of Moroni sank into the ocean. The people who lived there drowned. Earth covered the city of Moronihah. Where the city used to be, there was now a huge mountain. There was terrible destruction in the land to the south.
But the destruction in the land to the north was even worse. The whole land changed because of the storm, the whirlwinds, the thunder, the lightning, and the great shaking of the earth. The highways broke apart. The flat roads were ruined. Many smooth places became rough. Many great cities sank. Many burned. Many shook until the buildings fell down. The people in them died. The places were left empty. Some cities were still standing. But they were badly damaged. Many people in them had died. Some people were carried away by the whirlwind. No one knows where they went. The whole earth was changed by the storms, the thunder, the lightning, and the shaking. The rocks split in two. They broke all over the earth. Broken pieces of rock were everywhere.
Three Days of Darkness
The thunder, lightning, storm, and shaking finally stopped. They had lasted about three hours. Some people said it was longer. But all these terrible things happened in about three hours. Then darkness covered the land. Thick darkness covered the whole land. The people who were still alive could feel the darkness around them. There was no light at all. Candles didn’t work. Torches didn’t work. Even their very dry wood wouldn’t light on fire. There was no light anywhere. No one could see any light. They couldn’t see fire. They couldn’t see the sun, the moon, or the stars. The darkness was like a thick fog over the land. The darkness lasted for three days. There was no light at all. All the people cried and wailed without stopping. They were very sad because of the darkness and all the destruction.
The People Cry Out
In one place people were heard crying: “We wish we had changed our ways before this terrible day! Then our brothers wouldn’t have been burned in the great city of Zarahemla.” In another place people were heard crying: “We wish we had changed our ways before this terrible day! We wish we hadn’t killed and thrown rocks at the prophets and chased them away! Then our mothers, our daughters, and our children would still be alive. They wouldn’t be buried under that great city of Moronihah.” The cries of the people were loud and terrible.