Parley P. Pratt sees a U. F. O.

[consiglieri]

Shortly after being baptized into the Mormon Church, Parley P. Pratt saw an unusual sign in the evening sky while walking from one preaching location to another in the autumn of 1830.

I was wondering how many folks have heard this, and what their thoughts might be.

(Please avoid any reference to temple content in your comments. I am led to suppose that the following extract is permissible to quote because it has been published by Deseret Books for over 100-years now in the Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt.)

I had been on a visit to a singular people called Shakers, at New Lebanon, about seven miles from my aunt Van Cottâ??s, and was returning that distance, on foot, on a beautiful evening of September. The sky was without a cloud; the stars shone out beautifully, and all nature seemed reposing in quiet, as I pursued my solitary way, wrapt in deep meditations on the predictions of the holy prophets; the signs of the times; the approaching advent of the Messiah, to reign on the earth, and the important revelations of the Book of Mormon; my heart filled with gratitude to God that He had opened the eyes of my understanding to receive the truth, and with sorrow for the blindness of those who lightly rejected the same, when my attention was aroused by a sudden appearance of a brilliant light which shone around me, above the brightness of the sun. I cast my eyes upward to inquire from whence the light came, when I perceived a long chain of light extended in the heavens, very bright, and of a deep fiery red. It at first stood stationary in a horizontal position; at length bending in the center, the two ends approached each other with a rapid movement, so as to form an exact square. In this position it again remained stationary for some time, perhaps a minute, and then again the ends approached each other with the same rapidity, and again ceased to move, remaining stationary, for perhaps a minute, in the form of a compass; it then commenced a third movement in the same manner, and closed like the closing of a compass, the whole forming a straight line like a chain doubled. It again remained stationary for a minute, and then faded away.

I fell upon my knees in the street, and thanked the Lord for so marvelous a sign of the coming of the Son of Man.

Some persons may smile at this, and say that all these exact movements were by chance; but, for my part, I could as soon believe that the letters of the alphabet would be formed by chance, and be placed so as to spell my name, as to believe that these signs (known only to the wise) could be formed and shown forth by chance.

All the Best!

--Consiglieri

[e=mc2]

Shortly after being baptized into the Mormon Church, Parley P. Pratt saw an unusual sign in the evening sky while walking from one preaching location to another in the autumn of 1830.

I was wondering how many folks have heard this, and what their thoughts might be.

(Please avoid any reference to temple content in your comments. I am led to suppose that the following extract is permissible to quote because it has been published by Deseret Books for over 100-years now in the Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt.)

All the Best!

--Consiglieri

Heh.........that is really interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[sethpayne]

Shortly after being baptized into the Mormon Church, Parley P. Pratt saw an unusual sign in the evening sky while walking from one preaching location to another in the autumn of 1830.

I was wondering how many folks have heard this, and what their thoughts might be.

(Please avoid any reference to temple content in your comments. I am led to suppose that the following extract is permissible to quote because it has been published by Deseret Books for over 100-years now in the Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt.)

All the Best!

--Consiglieri

I'm skeptical, considering that this story was related so long after the even occurred and that the square and compass had become such important symbols in Mormonism by this time. Seems much more likely that Pratt may have superimposed these symbols onto his memory of an extraordinary event. But then again, who knows?

[Cold Steel]

Sometimes a banana is just a banana....

On the night of September 22d, 1827, while living in the town of Mendon, after I had retired to bed, John P. Green, who was then a traveling Reformed Methodist preacher, living within one hundred steps of my house, came and waked me up, calling upon me to come out and behold the scenery in the heavens. I woke up and called my wife and Sister Fanny Young (sister to Brigham Young), who was living with us; we went out of doorsâ??it was one of the most beautiful starlight nights, so clear that we could see to pick up a pin. We looked to the eastern horizon and beheld a white smoke arise towards the heavens. As it ascended it formed itself into a belt, and made a noise like the rushing of a mighty wind, and continued southwest, forming a regular bow dipping in the western horizon. After the bow had formed, it began to widen out and grow clear and transparent of a bluish cast. It grew wide enough to contain twelve men abreast.

In this bow an army moved, commencing from the east and marching to the west. They continued marching until they reached the western horizon. They moved in platoons, and walked so close the rear ranks trod in the steps of their file leaders, until the whole bow was literally crowded with soldiers. We could distinctly see the muskets, bayonets and knapsacks of the men, who wore caps and feathers like those used by the American soldiers in the last war with Britain; also saw their officers with their swords and equipage, and heard the clashing and jingling of their instruments of war, and could discover the form and features of the men.

The most profound order existed throughout the entire army; when the foremost man stepped, every man stepped at the same time; I could hear the steps. When the front rank reached the western horizon a battle ensued, as we could distinctly hear the report of the arms and the rush. No man could judge of my feelings when I beheld that army of men, as plainly as I ever saw armies of men in the flesh. It seemed as though every hair of my head was alive. This scenery we gazed upon for hours, until it began to disappear. After I became acquainted with Mormonism I learned that this took place the same evening that Joseph Smith received the records of the Book of Mormon from the angel Moroni, who had held those records in his possession.

John Young, Sen., and John P. Greene's wife Rhoda were also witnesses of this scenery. My wife being frightened at what she saw, said: 'Father Young, what does all this mean?' He replied in a lively, pleased manner, 'Why, it's one of the signs of the coming of the Son of Man.' The next night similar scenery was beheld in the west by the neighbors, representing armies of men who were engaged in battle."

Helen Mar Whitney,

A Woman's View: Helen Mar Whitney's Reminiscences of Early Church History

, p. 29-30.

[Daniel Peterson]

Ah yes. The Heber C. Kimball and John Green vision.

Sigh. Thirty years ago, this month:

Daniel C. Peterson. â??Heavenly Signs and Aerial Combat.â? Sunstone 4 (March-April 1979): 27-32.

I wrote it on my honeymoon -- something that my wife has never quite let me forget -- but it was published while we were living in Cairo, and the editors made a few small changes to it (especially in the conclusion) that didn't please me a bit. Oh well. Still not too bad.

[e=mc2]

Ah yes. The Heber C. Kimball and John Green vision.

Sigh. Thirty years ago, this month:

Daniel C. Peterson. â??Heavenly Signs and Aerial Combat.â? Sunstone 4 (March-April 1979): 27-32.

I wrote it on my honeymoon -- something that my wife has never quite let me forget -- but it was published while we were living in Cairo, and the editors made a few small changes to it (especially in the conclusion) that didn't please me a bit. Oh well. Still not too bad.

Sunstone?!? GASP!!! Were you Sunstoned at the time?

[Daniel Peterson]

Sunstone?!? GASP!!! Were you Sunstoned at the time?

Back in them thar early days, sonny, there was still hope fer Sunstone.

[Cold Steel]

Well, actually, 30 years ago was somewhat before SUNSTONE was turned over formally to the League of the Sons of Perdition, known informally as the ones "mighty and WRONG." Although the article is quite memorable, it was the art that accompanied it that was the stuff of nightmares. Had Dr. Peterson written the article and done the art on his honeymoon, I would have been even more impressedâ??though I'm sure his wife might have said, "Dan, do you feel perfectly comfortable in this relationship?"

Don't believe me? Check both the article and the art out here. Good read. I wish I hadn't found it just before going to bed!

Check it out here.

[Daniel Peterson]

Well, actually, 30 years ago was somewhat before SUNSTONE was turned over formally to the League of the Sons of Perdition, known informally as the ones "mighty and WRONG." Although the article is quite memorable, it was the art that accompanied it that was the stuff of nightmares. Had Dr. Peterson written the article and done the art on his honeymoon, I would have been even more impressedâ??though I'm sure his wife might have said, "Dan, do you feel perfectly comfortable in this relationship?"

Don't believe me? Check both the article and the art out here. Good read. I wish I hadn't found it just before going to bed!

Check it out here.

LOL. I'd forgotten that they got my school wrong. My wife was teaching at Cairo American College, which is a private K-12 school, while I was studying at the American University in Cairo.

[JLFuller]

LOL. I'd forgotten that they got my school wrong. My wife was teaching at Cairo American College, which is a private K-12 school, while I was studying at the American University in Cairo.

Dan

You married above your station.

[J Green]

LOL. I'd forgotten that they got my school wrong. My wife was teaching at Cairo American College, which is a private K-12 school, while I was studying at the American University in Cairo.

I knew there was something wrong . . . I didn't see you at any of my classes at CAC. Go Eagles!!!

[Daniel Peterson]

Yes, I definitely married above myself.

I knew there was something wrong . . . I didn't see you at any of my classes at CAC. Go Eagles!!!

You clearly never took Abnormal Psychology. I modeled for that class. (It was that or Studio Art. But I wanted to keep my clothes on.)