Vision of Armies in the Sky

On the night of 22 September 1827, young Joseph Smith climbed the Hill Cumorah and received the gold plates. The same night in the adjacent town of Mendon, New York, neighbors gathered to view wonders in the sky. One neighbor, Vilate Kimball, remembered detailed events of the heavenly wonders. She wrote that she and her husband, Heber C. Kimball, had already retired to bed and were awakened by John Greene, who was desirous that they see the sights in the heavens. Vilate wrote of their astonishment at the scenes that passed before their eyes: "We looked to the eastern horizon, and beheld a white smoke arise towards the heavens. As it ascended, it formed a belt, and made a noise like the rushing wind, and continued southwest, forming a bow, dipping in the western horizon.

"This bow grew larger, stretching into transparency, and soon even stranger sights appeared. Within the bow an army moved, as Vilate described, "commencing from the east and marching to the west. They continued moving 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.

Vilate claimed that she and her neighbors saw swords, muskets, bayonets, and uniforms, some including caps and feathers. They even heard "the clashing and jingling of their instruments of war." However, what most amazed this small neighborhood gathering was the unusual order exhibited by the entire army: "When the foremost man stepped, every man stepped at the same time." The gathering of neighbors gazed upon the strange and wondrous scene "for hours, until it began to disappear."

Frightened by what she had seen, Vilate exclaimed, "What does all this mean?"
Father Young answered, "Why it is one of the signs of the coming of the Son of Man."

After learning of the advent of the Book of Mormon, the manifestation's meaning became more clear, and they joined the Church in 1832.
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Taken from the book, Stories From The EARLY SAINTS Converted By The Book of Mormon, Edited by Susan Easton Black, Bookcraft, SLC, UT