Where Were You When . . .

Dale Mason
Publisher

Sooner or later, we all have one of those, “Where were you when . . .” stories. I was a college freshman when Mount St. Helens erupted, and though I don’t remember the moment of the big blast, I definitely recall this huge event.

For weeks before the volcano blew its top, steam hissed through solid earth, and a big bulge pushed out from its side. I remember a sense of fearful excitement. Would it blow, or would the concern just blow over?

Once it erupted, the media was filled with reports of total blackness and death; the stench of burning sulfur; walls of mud; toppled forests; blistering, poisonous gales; “hell on earth.” Volcanic dust fell hundreds of miles from the mountain.

Mainly though, I recall reports of people who lived near the volcano. One personality became an icon of the eruption. Crusty old Harry R. Truman owned a lodge and cabins along the now-infamous Spirit Lake. He’d survived hard times before and was sure that even if the mountain exploded, he would be okay. His amusing quotes were seasoned with self-confident profanities.

My dad watched Walter Cronkite’s CBS news every evening before supper, and I often watched with him. Harry was everywhere—TV, magazines, radio, and newspapers. If Twitter had been around then, #HarryTruman would have been trending!

As I look back, I see spiritual lessons that were not so obvious when I was 19 years old and half a continent away from the sudden media darling. Harry was 83, missing several teeth, and always attached to a whisky-spiked glass of Coke. He loved the attention, smiled for the cameras, and confidently cursed anyone who disagreed with him.

Sadly, Harry refused to be saved. He was dead wrong, and he was buried under tons of flowing debris on May 18, 1980. And although the eruption yielded mountains of hard evidence for a young earth, let us not forget that on that day a man named Harry entered eternity refusing to heed signs that the end was at hand.

As you read our feature article about the cataclysmic eruption that took place 35 years ago this spring, pray for the salvation of a stubborn “Harry R. Truman” in your own life.

All for Him,

Dale T. Mason, Publisher

P.S. The image on the cover is a stark reminder of one tiny example of God’s power. One day this earth will burn up and God will make a new heavens and new earth. Live for eternity, not for today.

“Thirty-five years ago, the eruption of Mount St. Helens did in just a few days what old-earth geologists usually attribute to millions of years of slow and gradual processes. That catastrophe corroborates the biblical account of Noah’s Flood, which completely transf ormed the earth’s surface in one year, and gives further evidence that Genesis is reliable, scientifically verifiable history.”

Ken Ham President/CEO,
Answers in Genesis–USA

“Thirty-five years ago, the eruption of Mount St. Helens did in just a few days what old-earth geologists usually attribute to millions of years of slow and gradual processes. That catastrophe corroborates the biblical account of Noah’s Flood, which completely transf ormed the earth’s surface in one year, and gives further evidence that Genesis is reliable, scientifically verifiable history.”

Ken Ham President/CEO,
Answers in Genesis–USA