William Allandale's vision of numbers in the heavens
Published October 4, 2026 at 8:39 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
Elder William Allandale reported that in Washington, Wayne County, Iowa, a singular sign was seen in the heavens. Several men, including Jesse Fox, William Fox, Lorenzo Fox, David Bale, James Wilson, and William Cole, observed a ball of light moving from the east in an oblique line towards the west. It rose high in the heavens, leaving a streak of light 30-40 feet long. It remained stationary for a minute, then formed the figure 8, then the figure 6, then a cipher or 0. These figures collectively appeared as '1860' in the sky.
Fuller account of this event (in the witness’s own words):
Elder William Allandale writes from Washington, Wayne County, Iowa:— “A singular sign was seen in our neighbourhood. Jesse Fox, William Fox, and Lorenzo Fox, David Bale, James Wilson, and William Cole, with some others, retired to the house of Solomon Mendenball, at which place they stayed a short time. While there, they discovered a ball of light from the east in an oblique line; and as it ascended it moved towards the west with great rapidity until it was high in the heavens, leaving a streak of light behind it, which, to the natural eye, had the appearance of being thirty or forty feet in length. The light remained stationary for about one minute. Both ends then coming round, formed a figure of 8, which figure also retained its position for the same space of time. It then was transformed into a figure of 6, which also remained for about a minute. It then was formed into a cypher or 0, which remained for about three minutes. The figures put together made 1860 in large figures in the heavens. The phenomenon was indeed singular, and has been a matter of great speculation with us.”
In Their Own Words
“Elder William Allandale writes from Washington, Wayne County, Iowa:— “A singular sign was seen in our neighbourhood. Jesse Fox, William Fox, and Lorenzo Fox, David Bale, James Wilson, and William Cole, with some others, retired to the house of Solomon Mendenball, at which place they stayed a short time. While there, they discovered a ball of light from the east in an oblique line; and as it ascended it moved towards the west with great rapidity until it was high in the heavens, leaving a streak of light behind it, which, to the natural eye, had the appearance of being thirty or forty feet in length. The light remained stationary for about one minute. Both ends then coming round, formed a figure of 8, which figure also retained its position for the same space of time. It then was transformed into a figure of 6, which also remained for about a minute. It then was formed into a cypher or 0, which remained for about three minutes. The figures put together made 1860 in large figures in the heavens. The phenomenon was indeed singular, and has been a matter of great speculation with us.” — Millennial Star 22:30”
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 28 July 1860 (Vol. 22, No. 30). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1860-07-28_22_30 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Fuller account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 22, No. 30 (28 July 1860), p. 478 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1860-07-28_22_30
Every published account is vetted against its sources — read our editorial standards.
Related Miracles
Similar miracle types and stories from the 1860s.
Questions about this account
Who was involved in this account?
When did this account take place?
Where did this account take place?
What kind of miracle is this?
Where does this account come from?
Miracle of the Week
One remarkable, documented account in your inbox every Monday, drawn from the full archive.