Was there a False Prophecy in 1st Nephi?

The claim made by detractors of the LDS faith states the following:

A false prophesy exists in 1 Nephi 19:10. It predicts the crucifixion of Jesus and the three days of darkness that would follow His death. According to Luke 23:44, there were three hours of darkness.

Detractors to the LDS faith have always come up with inventive ways to attempt to destroy the faith of others. This claim is no execption. Concerning the 3 days of darkness who is to say that one event has anything to do with the other.

The 1 Nephi 19:10 account is a prophecy of what happened on this continent and fulfilled in 3 Nephi accounting. The Book of Mormon in 3 Nephi describes a great disaster that swept over Book of Mormon lands at the time that Christ was crucified in the Old World. This destruction overthrew evil rulers and rocked a society that had become wicked, yet had some righteous people in its midst. The description of the destruction is detailed, mentioning great storms, earthquakes, and risings and sinking of the land. A terrible storm brought violent wind and whirlwinds, accompanied by unprecedented lightning and thunder. The face of the land was changed and what was once solid rock now was cracked in some places. The violent activity lasted about three hours, though it seemed longer to some. Afterwards, a "thick darkness" was present which could be "felt." "Vapor of smoke and darkness" choked or suffocated some, and thick "mists of darkness" prevented fires being lit for three days. Many cities had been destroyed by burning (six burned cities are named), by sinking into the ocean (the city of Moroni, near the coast), by being covered with earth, or, in the case of Jerusalem, by being covered with rising "waters". (Some cities remained, and basic geographical reference points were unchanged, so the great deformation of the land was largely superficial.)

The details about the destruction make excellent sense if volcanic activity was involved. Volcanic ash and fumes can result in thick, tangible, moist mists which can kill people, shut out light for days, and prevent the lighting of fires. (Those who experienced the Mount St. Helens eruption in the United States know about some of this.) Strong volcanic activity can also be accompanied by seismic activity and shifting of earth by either lava flows, ash deposits, mudslides or landslides, and the raising and lowering of portions of the land and by changes in the water levels of nearby lakes. Joseph Smith never experienced a volcano, but the Book of Mormon description is remarkably consistent with modern knowledge of volcanic activity. Therefore the Luke accounting really has no basis for what the signs were for those on this continent. Futhermore there is evidence that shows volcanic activity as described in the Book of Mormon may have occurred around 33 AD in the Mesoamerican region showing further proof of the divinity of the Book of Mormon