The Angelic Image on the Portrait of John Taylor

Following a lightning strike on the residence of J. B. Smith in Mt. Olive, North Carolina, a portrait of John Taylor exhibited by Smith was found to have a clearly defined picture of an angel with outstretched wings upon it. The image appeared to have been formed by the lightning strike itself, which also caused the cardboard to turn abruptly just above Mr. Taylor's face. While Mr. Smith offered a rational explanation, the phenomenon attracted many daily visitors and was widely commented upon as a sign of Mr. Taylor's heavenly status.

Fuller account of this event (the complete account as preserved in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 53, No. 5, 2 February 1891, p. 78):

A correspondent of the Goldsboro (N.C.) Argus says that a portrait of President John Taylor, in the possession of Mr. J. B. Smith, of Mt. Olive, N. C., has been struck by lightning, and that the effect of the stroke is a clearly defined picture of an angel with outstretched wings upon the portrait. The lightning, it is said, caused the cardboard to turn abruptly just above the face of Mr. Taylor, and the image of the angel is formed by the lightning itself. Mr. Smith, however, offers a rational explanation of the phenomenon, but it has attracted many visitors, and is being commented upon as a sign of the heavenly status of the late President.