by David E Bay, High Councilor

Searching the Book of Mormon and studying an emergency preparedness class (CERT) recently, I realized that the world experienced a great degree of destruction when Jesus Christ died. This was the biggest natural disaster since the time of The Flood. I began to wonder what it would feel like if I had lived in Bountiful then.

If I had been there then, this may have been what I would have experienced. There was no government. There were no laws. Wicked people were all around. I wouldn’t know who to trust. I’d have been wary of everyone. The scriptures report:

3 Nephi 8: 5-7 And it came to pass in the thirty and fourth year, in the first month, on the fourth day of the month, there arose a great storm, such an one as never had been known in all the land. And there was also a great and terrible tempest; and there was terrible thunder, insomuch that it did shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder. And there were exceedingly sharp lightnings, such as never had been known in all the land.

Earthquakes were recorded as happening at the same time in the Book of Mormon and in the New Testament. This is what happened in Jerusalem.

Matthew 27:50-51 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.

According to the prophecy of Samuel the Lamanite, it impacted the entire earth.

Helaman 14:20-24 But behold, as I said unto you concerning another sign, a sign of his death, behold, in that day that he shall suffer death the sun shall be darkened and refuse to give his light unto you; and also the moon and the stars; and there shall be no light upon the face of this land, even from the time that he shall suffer death, for the space of three days, to the time that he shall rise again from the dead. Yea, at the time that he shall yield up the ghost there shall be thunderings and lightnings for the space of many hours, and the earth shall shake and tremble; and the rocks which are upon the face of this earth, which are both above the earth and beneath, which ye know at this time are solid, or the more part of it is one solid mass, shall be broken up; yea, they shall be rent in twain, and shall ever after be found in seams and in cracks, and in broken fragments upon the face of the whole earth, yea, both above the earth and beneath. And behold, there shall be great tempests, and there shall be many mountains laid low, like unto a valley, and there shall be many places which are now called valleys which shall become mountains, whose height is great. And many highways shall be broken up, and many cities shall become desolate.

Everything fell apart. The city shook and the solid layer of rock that made up the earth broke into pieces. The earth rolled like waves on a sea. Lightning flashed and thunder roared. My whole body would have dreaded the destruction of everything around me. I’d have feared that I might die or be badly hurt. Then blackness fell on everything. In the middle of the darkness, we would have heard the voice that said.

3 Nephi 9:14-15 Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me. Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name.

Then there would have been dark and quiet for a couple more hours letting us ponder on the words of Jesus.

We would have struggled with the devastation that was left after the death of Jesus Christ. Bountiful had damage everywhere. People died. If we were laboring and cleaning up the rubble near the temple in Bountiful, there would have been a voice that was not understood until the third time. Then a man would have descended out of heaven to where we’d have been working by the temple. He would have said:

3 Nephi 9: 14-15 Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me. Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name.

The Savior would have ministered to us when we were in so much need.

President Nelson shared his thoughts about our day and age as compared with what has been prophesied in the Scriptures during the October Conference in 2020.

‘Admittedly, the Lord has spoken of our day in sobering terms. He warned that in our day “men’s hearts [would fail] them” and that even the very elect would be at risk of being deceived. He told the Prophet Joseph Smith that “peace [would] be taken from the earth” and calamities would befall mankind.

Yet the Lord has also provided a vision of how remarkable this dispensation is. He inspired the Prophet Joseph Smith to declare that “the work of … these last days, is one of vast magnitude. … Its glories are past description, and its grandeur unsurpassable.”’

We need to plan for our families and ourselves. Of course, we need to prepare spiritually but also physically.

Brigham City South Stake is sponsoring a Preparedness and Self-Reliance Fair. It is on Saturday, April 20 from 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM at the Fishburn Chapel 150 West Fishburn Drive. Topics include Emergency Preparation, Gardening, Search and Rescue, Education, Food Storage and Preparation, and Self-Reliance. There will be booths and demonstrations and you can talk to experts one-on-one. Come to special presentations with the following topics and speakers.

Cultural Hall Presentations 

At 9:00 AM April Litchford from the USU Extension will teach about Home Food Preservation

At 10:00 AM Tracy Cummins will share the Utah Education Initiative

At 11:00 AM Bill Tolbert and Don Summitt will explain Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters, Family Preparation for Disasters, and Communication in a Disaster.

At Noon Kate Kelley, Brigham City Emergency Manager, and Mark Millett, Box Elder County Emergency Manager, will tell us what governments do in a disaster or other emergency. Why and what do we need to do to help?

At 1:00 PM Dr. LuAn Johnson will explain Family and Neighborhood Preparations for disasters and the Map Your Neighborhood Program.

At 2:00 PM Shane Richards will present Turf, Tulips and Trees, Caring for Your Whole Yard

At 3:00 PM Pollinator Gardens and their importance will be shown.

Outdoor Events at Pavilion 

At 10:00 AM Box Elder Search and Rescue will demonstrate Search and Rescue techniques and equipment.

At 11:00 AM Shane Richards will demonstrate Tree pruning.

At Noon Lessons learned from Brigham City Temple gardening will be shared.

At 1:00 PM General Gardening will be discussed and demonstrated.

I’m not sure what will happen at the time of Christ’s return; however, I know there will be great trials. I want to prepare for whatever may come. Hopefully, all of us will prepare both spiritually and physically so we can get through the trials just as the people in the Book of Mormon endured their burdens at the time of Jesus’s resurrection.