3 Nephi 8:19-25

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.
24 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.
25 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. And thus were the howlings of the people great and terrible.

(Book of Mormon 3 Nephi 8:19 - 25)

My comments:
Jesus Christ is the light of the world. Said He, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” See John 8:3

When He was crucified the light of the world died, and for a moment, the world was blanketed in darkness. I’ve gone exploring in caves in Utah, where in the middle of them, if you turn your flashlight off, the darkness is complete. It’s almost like you can feel it. That’s as close as I can come to describing what it must’ve been like.

At His death, all light went out, and with it, for a moment, I have to imagine that all hope went with it. It was more than the tangible darkness I felt in the caves. It was a darkness of soul, which caused those that remained to cry and mourn, and to wish that they had repented sooner.

But even as the darkest night, gives way to day, so it will be here also. Faith, hope, and love, will be restored, but I’m getting ahead of myself.