Latter-day Saints in Jackson County Comforted by the Meteoric Shower of 1833

“November 13. About 4 o'clock a.m. I was awakened by Brother Davis knocking at my door, and calling me to arise and behold the signs in the heavens. I arose, and to my great joy, beheld the stars fall from heaven like a shower of hailstones; a literal fulfillment of the word of God, as recorded in the holy scriptures, and a sure sign that the coming of Christ is close at hand. In the midst of this show of meteors, a part of which outshone the moon, I could not refrain from thanking my Heavenly Father for this manifestation of his power and goodness, and for the assurance that the day of the Lord is near, even at the doors. The scene was one of the most sublime and awful that can be imagined. The heavens seemed to be in a blaze, and the stars were falling in such numbers that it seemed as if the whole firmament was being shaken. The people of the world were filled with terror, and many thought that the end of the world had come; but to the Saints, it was a source of great comfort and joy, as it was a sign that the Lord was mindful of his people, and that the time of their deliverance was drawing nigh.”

— Joseph Smith, History of the Church