Angels Clothed in White Seen Walking on the Roof of the Kirtland Temple

Prescindia Lathrop Huntington recorded a remarkable public angelic visitation witnessed by herself, a young child, and several other residents of Kirtland during one of the Saints' monthly fast meetings in the mid-1830s:

"On one occasion I saw angels clothed in white walking upon the temple. It was during one of our monthly fast meetings, when the saints were in the temple worshipping. A little girl came to my door and in wonder called me out, exclaiming, 'The meeting is on the top of the meetinghouse!' I went to the door, and there I saw on the temple angels clothed in white covering the roof from end to end. They seemed to be walking to and fro; they appeared and disappeared. The third time they appeared and disappeared before I realized that they were not mortal men. Each time in a moment they vanished, and their reappearance was the same. This was in broad daylight, in the afternoon. A number of the children in Kirtland saw the same."

Huntington noted that when the congregation returned home that evening, the saints inside the temple confirmed that the Spirit of God had been powerfully at work during that same meeting, including prophecy and speaking in tongues. And it was declared in the interpretation of tongues that "the angels were resting down upon the house" — a direct confirmation by those inside of what those outside had visibly witnessed.

This account is notable for several reasons: it occurred in broad daylight, was witnessed by multiple people (children and adults alike) from outside the building simultaneously with spiritual manifestations occurring inside, and was corroborated through the gift of interpretation of tongues.