Jesus did not arrive in an instant. Following the triple announcement by the voice from heaven, He descended “in a white robe,” apparently slowly, as the people were awestruck. Was it significant that Christ came down in a white robe? Was the white robe temple-related? Was it related to purity? Perhaps it signaled that something very sacred was about to happen. The whole multitude turned to Christ, and they did not dare speak.
The ancient temple in Israel has been called “a sanctuary of silence” (based on Habakkuk 2:20). In the temple in ancient Israel, people sang hymns and there were noises associated with the preparation and burning of sacrifices, but for the most part, the worshippers were silent so they could hear the words of the Lord and hear the words of the priests. When we go to our temples, we are encouraged to be silent. There is an inscription posted in the Idaho Falls Temple from Habakkuk 2:20 which states, “The Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.” Being silent, then, is also a part of the temple experience, so we can listen and hear what the Lord has to say. Amazing things happen in greater abundance the more silent we are. How can we hear the word of the Lord if we are too busy talking?
As Jesus began to prepare to take His leave after the first day, the crowd may have wondered how He would leave. His presence was extremely bright and they may not even have been aware of the sun going down. He did not depart in an instant—He left deliberately and slowly, beginning with His being enshrouded in a protective cloud (3 Nephi 18:38–39). The people may have identified seeing Christ leave in a cloud with the cloud that guided ancient Israel through the wilderness in the daytime and the pillar of fire over the tabernacle at night, both of which signaled His very presence. We later learn that Christ took His Twelve with Him into the cloud (Moroni 2:3), much like Moses took twenty-four elders up into Mount Sinai where they also saw and heard the voice of God.