Belonging to Yahweh

For a person to belong to another person is a very foreign and perhaps even abhorrent notion today. But it was a normal part of ancient cultures. For instance

Often a man who had taken on debt and could not pay it off was forced to sell himself or one of his family members to the creditor as a debt-slave. No actual “sale” took place, but the person was transferred into the possession of the creditor. The “sale price” was understood to be a loan, which the debtor had already received and was now unable to repay. Redemption occurred when the debtor or one of his family members eventually acquired the means to pay off the debt and thereby retrieve the debt-slave from the creditor. To redeem a person was, in a sense, the act of buying the person back from the creditor, often at the same price (the amount of the loan) at which the person was “sold.” (NRSV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)

Even though we may be uncomfortable with it, the common scriptural idea of being the Lord's people and belonging to him is best understood in this context. A lot of this can be traced back to the Exodus. 

The LORD said to Moses: Consecrate to me all the firstborn; whatever is the first to open the womb among the Israelites, of human beings and animals, is mine...When in the future your child asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall answer, ‘By strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human firstborn to the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD every male that first opens the womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem. (Exodus 13:1-2, 14-15)

Apparently, the Israelites were indebted to Yahweh for sparing their firstborn right before they left Egypt. We remember that they were spared as long as the blood of the lamb was stricken on the door posts. But as stated in Exodus 13, they would now belong to the Lord. The firstborn animals were therefore sacrificed to him, but the firstborn human male would be "redeemed", that is, an animal could be sacrificed in his place, just like a redeemer could pay the debt of someone else according to ancient practice. Later on, the firstborn are replaced or "redeemed" by the Levites.

I hereby accept the Levites from among the Israelites as substitutes for all the firstborn that open the womb among the Israelites. The Levites shall be mine, for all the firstborn are mine; when I killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both human and animal; they shall be mine. I am the LORD. (Numbers 3:12-13)

In Numbers 8, there is a formal consecration of the Levites as substitutes for all the firstborn belonging to the Lord. In verses 6-12, the Levites are commanded to wash themselves, offer a sin offering, go to the tabernacle to be brought before the Lord, and have Israel lay their hands on their heads. Then the Levites are to be offered as an offering to the Lord!

13Then you shall have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons, and you shall present them as an elevation offering to the LORD. Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the other Israelites, and the Levites shall be mine. (Numbers 8:13-14)

Fortunately, unlike many other cultures at the time, human sacrifice was strictly forbidden under Mosaic law. Instead of the Levites being slain and burned on the altar, animals again "redeem" them or are sacrificed in their place. But the "elevation offering" is interesting. It has different translations in different Bible versions, but here is an explanation

The Hebrew word translated “elevation offering” denotes a type of offering that is lifted up toward the heavens in presentation and dedication to God and then lowered into the hands of the priest. This practice is evidenced in Egyptian and Mesopotamian ritual offerings pictured on monuments, steles and plaques. Often the breast or right thigh of the animal was uplifted as an elevation offering. In Israel, the elevation offering was associated with the well-being offering (here; v. 34; 23.20), the consecration of the priests (8.29; Ex 29.27), the dedication of the Levites (Num 8.11– 13, 21), and the purification ritual for Nazirites (Num 6.19– 20). In Lev 10.15, the “thigh that is raised” (that is, moved upward) and the “breast that is elevated” (in Hebrew, moved from side to side) were ordained as gifts for the Aaronic priesthood. Grain and oil offerings were also presented in such fashion, as with the consecration of the priests (8.27; Ex 29.23– 24), cleansing ritual for lepers (Lev 14.12, 21, 24) and the sheaf of grain and two loaves for the festival of weeks (23.15,17). The transference ritual of up and down, forward and backward movement signified that the offering was moving from its temporary owner to its ultimate owner, God. (emphasis added)

I don't know what that would have looked like for the Levites who were presented as an elevation offering to the Lord in the tabernacle, but I can imagine them waving or making some gesture towards heaven to indicate that they now belong to Yahweh as his property. After this they are ready to officiate in the tabernacle.

Levites also served as guardians of the sanctuary and constituted the first level of human presence in proximity to the tabernacle according to detailed encampment instructions for Israel in a "concentric circles of holiness" arrangement. I will not go into details here as Lord Wilmore soon will write more about that. But in their function they provided a constant visible presence among the 12 tribes to remind them of the need for holiness and righteousness as God's people. This was also the case when Israel finally obtained the promised land and each tribe has a designated inheritance. The Levites had no such designated portion of the land but lived among the other tribes serving as priests and facilitated the rendering of the tithes by Israel, among other things. Instead of land, the Levites inherited the Lord!

Then the LORD said to Aaron: You shall have no allotment in their land, nor shall you have any share among them; I am your share and your possession among the Israelites. (Numbers 18:20)

Levites, who have been dedicated to Yahweh as his possession now inherit him in return in a reciprocal relationship. The idea of God being our possession is not as usual in the scriptures as the other way around, but the closely related idea of inheriting everything our Father has, is very important in Latter-day Saint theology. The promised land is obviously a symbol of the heavenly destination that we all seek. What I also like about this, is how the Levites were first consecrated to God and served among Israel to bring them to God for his possession too, so they eventually could inherit him by "entering into his rest". This is a type and example for priesthood holders today.

In order to avoid turning this into an Old Testament blog, I will close by sharing a Book of Mormon scripture beautifully conveying these ideas.

17 And blessed art thou because thou hast established a church among this people; and they shall be established, and they shall be my people.

18 Yea, blessed is this people who are willing to bear my name; for in my name shall they be called; and they are mine.

19 And because thou hast inquired of me concerning the transgressor, thou art blessed.

20 Thou art my servant; and I covenant with thee that thou shalt have eternal life; and thou shalt serve me and go forth in my name, and shalt gather together my sheep.

There are the Lord's words to Alma-1. It is not stated here, but we know that his people were in bondage and God redeemed them. Perhaps this is one of the reasons for the Lord now claiming them as his. Belonging to God as his possession is not a bad thing though, even if it can sound like it to modern ears. When Alma in this capacity serves in His name and gathers His sheep, he gets eternal life in return. 

Endowment Narratives in the Book of Mormon, Part 5

This post continues the exploration of an endowment pattern found throughout the Book of Mormon in which a new covenant group is formed and called by God to:

1. leave the fallen world behind, 
2. enter into the wilderness, 
3. learn to be led by the hand of God, and 
4. find a promised land.

In previous installments of this series, we've focused on many symbols and details shared in these stories, and then discussed the meaning of those symbols. I've mentioned that I believe this pattern is typified by the story of Adam and Eve being cast out of the Garden of Eden into the world to fulfill the first commandment given to them by God, that they should "be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over ... every living thing that moveth upon [it]." (See Genesis 1:28.) In this post, we'll look at other ancient stories which also follow this endowment pattern, at least to some degree, and see what we can learn.

There are two comprehensive examples, Abraham and Moses, followed by a few partial examples. We'll begin the Abraham, as found in Genesis and the Book of Abraham. With each example we cover, I'll begin by giving references to the symbols we've already discussed, then I'll give a general assessment of how the endowment pattern relates to that story.

Abraham

Cry unto God: Abraham 1:15 "...I lifted up my voice unto the Lord my God, and the Lord hearkened and heard..."

Warned to depart: Abraham 2:3 "Now the Lord had said unto me: Abraham, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee." Also Genesis 12:1.

Escape secret plans to murder: Abraham 1:7, 12, 15

Bring all who will hearken: See also Abraham 2:6 for a connection to a promise contained in the Abrahamic covenant that all who hearken to God's voice will be given to Abraham as his "seed" for "an everlasting possession."

Pass through a wilderness: Genesis 12:9 makes reference to the Negev, a desert region in the south of Palestine.

"Many days": Not specifically found, but we know from the chronology of the story that the journey was long.

Tents: Genesis 12:8; Abraham 2:15, 20

Animals: Genesis 13:2.

Seeds: A reference to bringing physical seeds or grain is not found. Abraham 2:15 mentions "all our substance that we had gathered." See also Genesis 12:5. There is an important connection to the word "seed" in Abraham 2:6 (see note about "hearken" above). See also Abraham 3:14. 

Inherit a new land: Abraham 2:3

New Name: Genesis 17:5.

Obedience to Commandments: Genesis 22:18.

"Prosper": Genesis 13:2

Led by a righteous patriarch/king: Abraham 1:2-3 contains father/son language (he sought "the blessings of the fathers" and desired to be "a father of many nations" and "a rightful heir" and "a prince of peace." Verse 3 describes Adam as the Firstborn and the first father.)

Moses

Cry unto God:  Exodus 2:23 - "...the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage." See also Exodus 3:9.

Warned to depart: See Exodus 3:8-10.

Escape plans to murder: Pharaoh's plan for the Israelites is bondage and captivity.

Bring all who will hearken: Exodus 3:16-18 - "Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me ... And they shall hearken to thy voice"

Pass through a wilderness: Exodus 13:20.

"Many days": The Israelites wandered forty years in the wilderness.

Tents: The tent/tabernacle of the congregation is a major topic of the later chapters of Exodus. See Exodus 39:32 for example.

Animals: Exodus 12:38. Of additional note, Moses was keeping the flock of his father in law at the time of his call on Horeb.

Seeds: Manna, which fed the children of Israel of forty years, is described as "like coriander seed" in Exodus 16:31.

Inherit a new land: Exodus 3:17.

New Name: Interesting note -- In Numbers 13, Moses sends twelve spies to assess the land of promise. He gives a new name to Hoshea, the head of the tribe of Ephraim in Numbers 13:16 (This will be the topic of a standalone post in the near future.)

Obedience to Commandments/"Prosper": Deuteronomy 29:9 - "Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do."

Led by a righteous patriarch/king: Moses has a dual lineage. He is a Levite by birth (Exodus 2:1) but was raised in the house of Pharaoh (Exodus 2:10).

The story of Moses is long and complex, but these symbols offer fascinating insights into deeper meaning. For example, notice in Exodus 9 how the fiery hail destroys the Egyptians' cattle and some of their crops (interestingly only those which had fully ripened -- more about this in a future post). See Exodus 9:19-22, 31-32. The cattle of the Israelites had been gathered to Goshen and were unaffected (see Exodus 9:26).

Incomplete examples

From this point on, we won't be dealing with complete patterns. The following examples contain a few of the symbols, but I'm not sure how interpret these examples aside from pointing out the symbols that are present.

Christ

The story of the beginning of Christ's earthly ministry breaks the pattern in some ways, but many of the same symbols are present when we look at the ministry of John the Baptist.

Mark describes it like this:

12 And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.

13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. (Mark 1)

Cry unto God: We don't have a direct mention of Christ crying to God (at least not at the beginning of His ministry), but we do see John the Baptist in the wilderness. John is described as "the voice of one crying in the wilderness" (Matthew 3:3). 

Warned to depart: See Matthew 3:7.

Pass through a wilderness: Matthew 4:1, Luke 4:1.

"Many days": Forty days in the wilderness

Seeds: Wheat mentioned in the context of gathering in Matthew 3:12 and Luke 3:17.

Animals: "with the wild beasts" in Mark 1:13

Enos

This example is almost a counter-example in some ways. The Nephites are in decline as covenant-keepers. 

Enos uses some familiar language as he describes his conversion process:

3 Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart.

4 And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens. (Enos 1)

He is reminded of the central promise connecting obedience and that promised land, as well as the covenant God made with the Nephites:

10 And while I was thus struggling in the spirit, behold, the voice of the Lord came into my mind again, saying: I will visit thy brethren according to their diligence in keeping my commandments. I have given unto them this land, and it is a holy land; and I curse it not save it be for the cause of iniquity; wherefore, I will visit thy brethren according as I have said; and their transgressions will I bring down with sorrow upon their own heads. ... 

16 And I had faith, and I did cry unto God that he would preserve the records; and he covenanted with me that he would bring them forth unto the Lamanites in his own due time.

17 And I, Enos, knew it would be according to the covenant which he had made; wherefore my soul did rest.

He also contrasts the Nephites and Lamanites using some of these symbols, but the meaning doesn't seem completely clear:

20 And I bear record that the people of Nephi did seek diligently to restore the Lamanites unto the true faith in God. But our labors were vain; their hatred was fixed, and they were led by their evil nature that they became wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people, full of idolatry and filthiness; feeding upon beasts of prey; dwelling in tents, and wandering about in the wilderness with a short skin girdle about their loins and their heads shaven; and their skill was in the bow, and in the cimeter, and the ax. And many of them did eat nothing save it was raw meat; and they were continually seeking to destroy us.

21 And it came to pass that the people of Nephi did till the land, and raise all manner of grain, and of fruit, and flocks of herds, and flocks of all manner of cattle of every kind, and goats, and wild goats, and also many horses.

I honestly don't know how to interpret these verses. On the one hand it seems the Nephites are trying to bring about the promises of God to restore the Gospel to the Lamanites, but they are unsuccessful due to their own wickedness (see verse 22). Wandering in the wilderness and feeding upon beasts of prey makes sense in this symbolic context, but why does Enos describe the Lamanites as dwelling in tents? Perhaps he's simply documenting the facts as they are, or perhaps he's indicating symbolically that the Lamanites had not yet found the rest of the Lord. Verse 21 seems more obviously in line with the endowment pattern. Even though I don't understand all of the deeper meaning here, it is certainly interesting to ponder how these symbol impact the message of Enos' account.

Lehi's dream

This example is an endowment pattern embedded within another endowment pattern. Just after leaving Jerusalem, as his family was camped in tents in the wilderness, Lehi has this dream of the tree of life.  It is interesting to note that in the first edition of the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 6-9 were all one chapter. Notice how the vision of the tree of life is embedded within a larger narrative -- beginning right after the brothers take wives and right before Nephi closes the chapter by describing his plates and their content.

Notice 1 Nephi 8:1-2, which opens the account of the dream -- 

1 And it came to pass that we had gathered together all manner of seeds of every kind, both of grain of every kind, and also of the seeds of fruit of every kind.

2 And it came to pass that while my father tarried in the wilderness he spake unto us, saying: Behold, I have dreamed a dream; or, in other words, I have seen a vision.

And 1 Nephi 9:1, which concludes the account of the dream --

1 And all these things did my father see, and hear, and speak, as he dwelt in a tent, in the valley of Lemuel, and also a great many more things, which cannot be written upon these plates.

Cry unto God: "I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies."

Bring all who will hearken: 

14 ... I beheld your mother Sariah, and Sam, and Nephi; and they stood as if they knew not whither they should go.

15 And it came to pass that I beckoned unto them; and I also did say unto them with a loud voice that they should come unto me, and partake of the fruit, which was desirable above all other fruit.

16 And it came to pass that they did come unto me and partake of the fruit also.

17 And it came to pass that I was desirous that Laman and Lemuel should come and partake of the fruit also; wherefore, I cast mine eyes towards the head of the river, that perhaps I might see them.

18 And it came to pass that I saw them, but they would not come unto me and partake of the fruit.

 

Pass through a wilderness: "a dark and dreary wilderness" in verse 4

"Many days":  "many hours in darkness" in verse 8

Other examples

This pattern is found in other stories as well.  Consider the story of Isaac in Genesis 26 and see how many of these elements are contained in that account. Consider what it means that Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness and the Lord hear Hagar's cry and blessed them with water (see Genesis 21:12-21). As we deepen our understanding of each individua symbol and also of the pattern as a whole, we can find beautiful new messages in these familiar stories.

Conclusion

This post is very long and contains far more references than I normally include in a single post.  I sincerely hope you will take the time to look these up on your own and study these examples for yourself. I hope this exercise has been fruitful for you.

This pattern is so intimately connected to covenants, and yet (aside from the accounts of Abraham, King Benjamin, and Alma-1) covenants are not really ever the central focus of the stories. This is a great example of how hidden wisdom is contained in the scriptures, waiting to be discovered by those with eyes to see.

In my next post -- which I intend to be the final post in this series -- we will turn to the Doctrine & Covenants and look at hos some of these same symbols are found in latter-day revelations.  For me, this brings the message out of the ancient past and right into my heart. It is clear that God stand ready to bless us with the same blessing he gave His people throughout human history.

"The whole face of the land" -- a third covenant allusion in Mormon 8:8?

The intricacy of the Book of Mormon constantly surprises me.  So often we find deeper layers of carefully-packed information which draw absolutely no attention to themselves. This is a source of excitement for me. It means incredible truths are waiting to be discovered by anyone willing to seek!  

The second half of Mormon 8:8 is a great example of this. I've spent the past few weeks cross-referencing and unpacking three subtle covenant allusions. 

...and the whole face of this land is one continual round of murder and bloodshed; and no one knoweth the end of the war. (Mormon 8:8)

I'm far from an expert when it comes to the scriptures, and I haven't been able to find any other online resource describing what I've found, so I'm working at the edge of my knowledge base here.  Even so, I'm confident that I'm onto something here for two reasons:

1. Each of these phrases is rarely used in the scriptures. 
2. It is quite easy for each phrase to be connected to covenant themes.

Moroni could have conveyed the surface-layer meaning using completely different words. Instead, he chose to word things precisely as he did for a specific set of reasons. Each of these three phrases can be cross-referenced to other scriptures.  It is within those passages we find the deeper layer of Moroni's intent. In other words, we are pointed to deeper insights about the destruction of the Nephites.

I'll circle back to summarize what I've learned as a result of this study in a final post of the topic, which will be my next post. Previous posts of mine have addressed "one continual round of murder and bloodshed" (see here) and "no one knoweth the end" (see here, here and here). In today's post, I'll look at the third allusion: "the whole face of the land"

"The whole face of the land" -- Connections to Genesis

We encounter a close variant of this phrase early in the creation account:

5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2)

I've studied the meaning of this "mist" in the past and have convinced myself it is deeply significant, even if I can't quite seem to put my finger on it.  God causes the rain and man's role is to till the ground. Is this mist related to that, or is it a contrasting symbol, akin to the mists of darkness? 

Here is what I said on the topic in a previous post (with emphasis added):

The Two Mists

...

I don't think I'm stretching too far to connect the elements of "rain," "till the ground," "mist," and "water[ing] the whole face of the ground" to man's true purpose on earth, but I'll dive in deeper to this topic in a separate post. To quickly summarize, the water is God's message of salvation and covenants, the "breath of life" represents our divinity, and the "dust" represents our mortality, and the agriculture metaphor has to do with the work of salvation.

In contrast, the mist of darkness blinds us to our purpose here on earth.

23 And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost. (1 Nephi 8)

17 And the mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil, which blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men, and leadeth them away into broad roads, that they perish and are lost. (1 Nephi 12)

I'll admit this could be a stretch, but it seems intriguing.

I still favor that interpretation, which connects this mist to Satan's ability to blind us while in mortality.  I believe this because of Enoch's vision:

26 And he beheld Satan; and he had a great chain in his hand, and it veiled the whole face of the earth with darkness; and he looked up and laughed, and his angels rejoiced. (Moses 7)

Mist or streams?

For what it's worth, not every translation agrees on which word belongs in that verse.  The NIV uses "streams" in place of "mist."  The NRSV uses "stream." The Living Bible says: 

However, water welled up from the ground at certain places and flowed across the land.

More to learn

No doubt I have more to learn about this topic. Regardless, I am certain this passage contains "creation-covenant connection" significance.

In a previous post, I noted that tilling is a covenant symbol -- it's what two different groups of people do as soon as they reach the land of promise. In another post, I noted the significant connections between descriptions of Nephite destruction at the time of Christ's death with Enoch's vision in the Book of Mormon. In Mormon 8:8, we find yet another connection in the form of "the whole face of the land" mentioned in connection to the destruction of a covenant people.

Book of Mormon usage

Excluding Mormon 8:8, we find "whole face" six times in the Book of Mormon. Each example comes from the writings of Mormon and Moroni. As perhaps we should expect by now, each instance occurs in a pretty obvious covenant context:

Helaman 11 -- Happy example #1

18 And behold, the people did rejoice and glorify God, and the whole face of the land was filled with rejoicing; and they did no more seek to destroy Nephi, but they did esteem him as a great prophet, and a man of God, having great power and authority given unto him from God.

...

20 And thus it did come to pass that the people of Nephi began to prosper again in the land, and began to build up their waste places, and began to multiply and spread, even until they did cover the whole face of the land, both on the northward and on the southward, from the sea west to the sea east. (Helaman 11)

We can see a clear connection between the people's joyful actions regarding the prophetic authority in their midst and the covenant blessings which came as a result.

Ether 10 -- Happy example #2

19 And it came to pass that Lib also did that which was good in the sight of the Lord. ...

20 And they built a great city by the narrow neck of land, by the place where the sea divides the land.

21 ... And the whole face of the land northward was covered with inhabitants.

28 And never could be a people more blessed than were they, and more prospered by the hand of the Lord. And they were in a land that was choice above all lands, for the Lord had spoken it.

This is a pretty straight-forward example, with themes mirroring the example above.

Mormon 1 -- A reference to a covenant blessing

7 The whole face of the land had become covered with buildings, and the people were as numerous almost, as it were the sand of the sea.

Compare this to blessings promised to Abraham (see Genesis 22:17) and Jacob (see Genesis 32:12).

Ether 14 -- In the context of destruction (1 of 2)

21 And so great and lasting had been the war, and so long had been the scene of bloodshed and carnage, that the whole face of the land was covered with the bodies of the dead.

22 And so swift and speedy was the war that there was none left to bury the dead, but they did march forth from the shedding of blood to the shedding of blood, leaving the bodies of both men, women, and children strewed upon the face of the land, to become a prey to the worms of the flesh.

23 And the scent thereof went forth upon the face of the land, even upon all the face of the land; wherefore the people became troubled by day and by night, because of the scent thereof.

24 Nevertheless, Shiz did not cease to pursue Coriantumr; for he had sworn to avenge himself upon Coriantumr of the blood of his brother, who had been slain, and the word of the Lord which came to Ether that Coriantumr should not fall by the sword.

25 And thus we see that the Lord did visit them in the fulness of his wrath, and their wickedness and abominations had prepared a way for their everlasting destruction.

Centuries earlier, a different covenant people had encountered the same fate as the Nephites. Their destruction was a result of their rebellion. The war which brought their demise was "great, lasting, long, swift, and speedy." Notice also the description of the scent of the numerous dead bodies (certainly a twist on the promise of a countless posterity), which troubled the people "by day and by night." Moroni is cleverly playing off of a well-known Old Testament description of the cloud/pillar of fire which guided the covenant people. See Exodus 13:21-22.  We find a similar twist on the same phrase in Isaiah 28:19. Compare also D&C 133:35,40,56.)

3 Nephi 8 -- In the context of destruction (2 of 2)

12 But behold, there was a more great and terrible destruction in the land northward; for behold, the whole face of the land was changed, because of the tempest and the whirlwinds, and the thunderings and the lightnings, and the exceedingly great quaking of the whole earth;

13 And the highways were broken up, and the level roads were spoiled, and many smooth places became rough.

...

16 And there were some who were carried away in the whirlwind; and whither they went no man knoweth, save they know that they were carried away.

17 And thus the face of the whole earth became deformed, because of the tempests, and the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the quaking of the earth.

18 And behold, the rocks were rent in twain; they were broken up upon the face of the whole earth, insomuch that they were found in broken fragments, and in seams and in cracks, upon all the face of the land.

19 And it came to pass that when the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the storm, and the tempest, and the quakings of the earth did cease—for behold, they did last for about the space of three hours; and it was said by some that the time was greater; nevertheless, all these great and terrible things were done in about the space of three hours—and then behold, there was darkness upon the face of the land.

20 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;

21 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;

22 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.

23 And it came to pass that it did last for the space of three days that there was no light seen; and there was great mourning and howling and weeping among all the people continually; yea, great were the groanings of the people, because of the darkness and the great destruction which had come upon them.

At the time of great destruction among the Nephites, we find "the whole face of the land" and close variants used seven in the context of destruction. Mormon is apparently far less subtle than Moroni.  He goes out of his way to connect this phrase to covenant symbols, and creates several interesting twists similar to "by day and by night" in the example above.

• Notice the twist on Isaiah 40:3-4 in verse 13.
• In verse 16 we get a twist on the story of Elijah being carried away in a whirlwind. Compare 2 Kings 2:11.
• "No man knoweth" offers a twist on Deuteronomy 34:6 describing Moses' death.  This also has obvious ties to "no one knoweth" in Mormon 8:8. See also Alma 45:18 and 3 Nephi 1:3.
• "Carried away" has a clear double-usage pattern in the Book of Mormon.  Compare the positive example in 1 Nephi 1:8 contrasted soon after in 1 Nephi 1:13. (I'll create a separate post to detail this, it's a very interesting one.) 
• Notice also the people only know that some were carried away, not "whither they went."
• In verses 12, 17, and 19, we get a three-fold repetition of the destructive elements at work. I've pointed out before how this resembles the forces of nature promised to be unleashed by God on the enemies of His covenant people, found in Psalm 18.
• Verses 19-23 create a twist on the first day of creation.  There was no light, only darkness. This is repeated over and over.  There was nothing the people could do to change this. It's an ominous condemnation. Notice the wording at the end of verse 22, which closely resembles Genesis 2:6 (with a twist, of course).
• "Groanings" is a concept I've touched on before in the context of what I call the "creation-covenant connection." This whole passage plays on that theme.

Conclusion

I hope I've convinced you that Mormon 8:8 was written with the intent to get us thinking about covenant-related themes, particularly in the context of the consequences of rebellion.  It's beautiful and deep, and yet another example of the layers of complexity and intricacy packed into this marvelous book.