Joseph Smith's prophecy 'Forty days... the stars shall fall' fulfilled by the Leonid meteor shower (Nov 13, 1833)
Published March 25, 2026 at 6:38 PM
Contributed by
Todd Morgan
Beaumont, CA, 92223
While preaching in Kirtland in the fall of 1833, Joseph Smith declared, "Forty days shall not pass, and the stars shall fall from heaven." According to Elder Philo Dibble's later recollection (published in The Juvenile Instructor, Vol. 27, 1892), a bitter, skeptical man at the meeting wrote the words down expecting the prophecy to prove Smith false. On the thirty-ninth night — the night of the great Leonid meteor shower, historically dated November 13, 1833 — the predicted falling of the stars occurred worldwide. That same night Joseph Hancock and a companion, who had been lost while hunting, found themselves at the skeptic's home. The skeptic triumphantly produced his note; Hancock awakened the man during the celestial display. The skeptic "turned pale as death and spoke not a word." The accounts therefore report the prophecy being fulfilled on the final possible night.
In Their Own Words
“On one occasion Joseph was preaching in Kirtland sometime in the fall of 1833. Quite a number of persons were present who did not belong to the Church, and one man, more bitter and skeptical than others, made note with pencil and paper of a prophecy uttered on that occasion, wherein Joseph said that "Forty days shall not pass, and the stars shall fall from heaven." This man lived in the country, and on the fortieth night he invited a company of his friends to his house to have a merry time, and to witness the failure of the prophecy. The company sat up until a late hour, and finally, becoming weary, they retired to rest, with the exception of the skeptic, who remained up, determined to watch until the morning. The matter weighed upon the mind of Brother Hancock, who watched that night, and it proved to be the historical one, known in all the world as "the night of the falling of the stars." Brother Hancock, who was out hunting, and had lost his way, happened to be near the house of this skeptic, and seeing a light, he went to the house and knocked at the door. The skeptic opened the door, and Brother Hancock asked if he could stay over night. The man invited him in, and he sat down. The whole heavens were lit up with the falling meteors, and the countenance of the new spectator was plainly seen and closely watched by Brother Hancock, who said that he turned pale as death, and spoke not a word.”
— Philo Dibble, 'Recollections of the Prophet Joseph Smith,' The Juvenile Instructor 27, no. 1 (January 1892): 23
Sources & References
Philo Dibble, 'Recollections of the Prophet Joseph Smith,' The Juvenile Instructor 27 (1892), pp. 23–24, 274–275; full text at Doctrine and Covenants Central: https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/history/recollections-of-the-prophet-joseph-smith-the-juvenile-instructor-27-1892/; transcription at B. H. Roberts Foundation: https://bhroberts.org/records/0S8KMz-dHT7Xj/philo_dibble_in_1892_recollects_joseph_prophesying_of_the_november_1833_leonid_meteor_shower; Leonid meteor shower of November 13, 1833 (historical record) Full first-person account: Philo Dibble, 'Recollections of the Prophet Joseph Smith,' The Juvenile Instructor 27 (1892), pp. 23–24 https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/history/recollections-of-the-prophet-joseph-smith-the-juvenile-instructor-27-1892/
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