Literary: This is a poetic lament that was probably composed after the events. It would not appear that Nephi was the author of this, but rather included it in his record as an indication of the feeling of the people at this time. The poetry is created by the repeated parallels.
And in one place they were heard to cry, saying:
O that we had repented before this great and terrible day,
and then would our brethren have been spared,
and they would not have been burned in that great city Zarahemla.
And in another place they were heard to cry and mourn, saying:
O that we had repented before this great and terrible day,
and had not killed and stoned the prophets, and cast them out;
then would our mothers and our fair daughters, and our children have been spared,
and not have been buried up in that great city Moronihah.
While the second verse obviously parallels the first, it is also an expansion. The poetry is not in the exact repetition, but in expansion of the repeated pattern. Thus we have an additional line in the second verse that expands the reason that their repentance might have allowed this terrible day to be avoided. This theme is paralleled in the first words of the Savior to the people. It is quite probable that it was those words that spurred this connection, and the composition of this lamentation (see 3 Nephi 9:2).
Historical: After the full account of this disaster, it is interesting to compare the Book of Mormon description to a known ancient description of a volcanic explosive eruption. An Egyptian stela from around 1500-1430 BC describes the volcanic eruption on the island of Santorini (Thera) near Crete. The following has been edited from the information prepared by John Gee:
“The pertinent lines of the stele inscription are as follows:
The gods [caused] the sky to come in a tempest of r[ain], with darkness in the western region and the sky being unleased without [cessation, louder than] the cries of the masses, more powerful than [. . .], [while the rain raged(?)] on the mountains louder than the noise of the cataract which is at Elephantine. Every house, every quarter that they reached [. . .] floating on the water like skiffs of papyrus opposite the royal residence for a period of [. . .] days, while a torch could not be lit in the Two Lands.11
The Parallels
Book of Mormon account parallels this at several points:
Loud Noises
Tempest Stele
“[louder than] the cries of the masses, more powerful than [. . .], [while the rain raged(?)] on the mountains louder than the noise of the cataract which is at Elephantine.”18
Book of Mormon
“And there was terrible thunder, insomuch that it did shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder” (3 Nephi 8:6). When the ordeal was over, “the dreadful groanings did cease, and all the tumultuous noises did pass away” (3 Nephi 10:9).
The Egyptian text compares the noise of the tempest to the water plunging down the cataract at Elephantine, for the Egyptians a reference point for loud, constant noise. Modern equivalents would be to say that it was louder than the crowds at a soccer (or football) game and louder than Niagara Falls.
Inability to Light Fires
Tempest Stele
“while a torch could not be lit in the Two Lands.”19
Book of Mormon
"And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen could feel the vapor of darkness; and there could be no light, because of the darkness, neither candles, neither torches; neither could there be fire kindled with their fine and exceedingly dry wood, so that there could not be any light at all; and there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness
which were upon the face of the land" (3 Nephi 8:20-22).
The Book of Mormon has a more detailed description of the palpable darkness, but both accounts mention the inability to light a fire.
Several Days of Darkness
Tempest Stele
“for a period of [. . .] days.”22
Book of Mormon
“And it came to pass that it did last for the space of three days that there was no light seen” (3 Nephi 8:23). /
Unfortunately, the Tempest Stele breaks off at that point so we can neither determine how close the parallel is, nor compare the magnitude of the eruptions. (John Gee, “Another Note on the Three Days of Darkness.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, 6:2)
Textual: There is no chapter break at this point in the 1830 edition.