Hugh Nibley notes that following the prophecy of Nephi, the men ran to the judgment-seat, and sure enough, "the chief judge had fallen to the earth, and did lie in his blood" (Helaman 9:3). Then it says that "when [the men} saw this they were astonished exceedingly, insomuch that they fell to the earth . . . (Helaman 9:4)
Now this falling to earth is a thing to notice in the Book of Mormon. Every time you're afraid do you fall flat on your face? Does fear have that effect on you? I've remained standing when I've been scared stiff. How come these people all fall down when they're afraid? Well, this is routine. They have to do this particular thing. This is a very interesting arrangement we have here--what the Egyptians call sh t3, your nose on the ground. Remember, [they lived] in a religious world, a sacral state. And it's true that we're surrounded with these powers, these marvelous things around us all the time. They're real. So if something unexpected absolutely bowls you over, what happens? You're in the presence of some great or divine influence. You don't know whether it's good or bad, but you know it's powerful. It's more powerful than you are, so what do you do? You play safe. You take the position of complete submission. You fall on your face, and it becomes quite automatic. Women, children--everybody does it, because in the presence of someone who can smite you or anything else, that's a defensive position. You go flat on your face and you stay there until it's safe for you to move, until everything is in order. [Hugh W. Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Semester 3, pp. 260-261]