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As Elijah prepared to call down fire from heaven, he challenged the Israelites: “How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word” (1 Kings 18:21). But after the miracle, the people were convinced. “They fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God” (1 Kings 18:39).

Too bad it didn’t last. Shortly after this dramatic event, Elijah found himself on a mountain feeling utterly alone, like Nephi walking home despondently after showing the Nephites an undeniable manifestation of God’s power (1 Kings 19:9-10; Helaman 10:1-3). But in truth, neither Elijah nor Nephi was alone. God gave them tremendous power because of their faithfulness, and they did find other people who were willing to serve God with them (1 Kings 19:19-21; Helaman 11:19).

Why didn’t Elijah’s miracle convert the people? Because miracles alone do not change hearts. As Mormon points out, during a particularly dark period in Nephite history, “the people began to forget those signs and wonders which they had heard, and began to be less and less astonished at a sign or a wonder from heaven, insomuch that they began to be hard in their hearts, and blind in their minds, and began to disbelieve all which they had heard and seen” (3 Nephi 2:1). The earliest Nephi in the Book of Mormon provided similar feedback to his brothers:

Ye are swift to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord your God. Ye have seen an angel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words; wherefore, he has spoken unto you like unto the voice of thunder, which did cause the earth to shake as if it were to divide asunder.
And ye also know that by the power of his almighty word he can cause the earth that it shall pass away; yea, and ye know that by his word he can cause the rough places to be made smooth, and smooth places shall be broken up. O, then, why is it, that ye can be so hard in your hearts?

1 Nephi 17:45-46

Nephi’s “still small voice” is probably a reference to Elijah’s experience on the mountain, where he witnessed a strong wind, an earthquake, and a fire — all manifestations of God’s power, none of which brought Elijah closer to Him. After the fire, Elijah heard “a still small voice,” and when he heard that, he stepped to the mouth of the cave and talked with God (1 Kings 19:12-13).

The most important event recorded in the Book of Mormon is in many ways an expanded version of Elijah’s experience on the mountain. At the time of the Savior’s death, the Nephites experience tempests, earthquakes, and fires. After a period of darkness and silence, they hear a voice. “It was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn” (3 Nephi 11:3). The external quaking was matched by an internal one. As they attuned their hearts to this voice, they were prepared to welcome the resurrected Jesus Christ and to learn from Him.

This week, as we study 1 Kings 12-22, let’s consider how we can not only recognize God’s miracles but also hear His quiet voice.