Here is a recollection of the Prophet recorded by Philo Dibble:
“On one occasion Joseph was preaching in Kirtland in the fall of the year 1833. Quite a number of persons were present who did not belong to the Church; and one man, more bitter and skeptical than the 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.’
“On the thirty-ninth day after the utterance of that prophecy a brother in the Church, Joseph Hancock and another man were out hunting game and got lost. They wandered about until night, when they found themselves at the home of this unbeliever, who exultingly produced this note of Joseph Smith’s prophecy and asked Brother Hancock what he thought of his prophet now that thirty-nine days had passed and the prophecy was not fulfilled.
“Brother Hancock was unmoved and quietly remarked, “There is one night left of the time and if Joseph said so, the stars will certainly fall tonight. This prophecy will all be fulfilled,’
“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 falling stars.’
“He stayed that night at the home of the skeptic unbeliever, as it was too far from home to return by night; and in the midst of the falling of the stars he went to the door of his house and called him out to witness what he thought impossible and the most improbable thing that could happen, especially as that was the last night in which Joseph Smith could be saved from the condemnation of a ‘false prophet.’
“The whole heavens were lit up with the falling meteors and the countenance of the skeptic as he viewed the spectacle was plainly seen and closely watched by Brother Hancock, who said that he turned pale as death and spoke not a word,
“After that event the unbeliever sought the company of any Latter-day Saint. . . . Not long afterwards, too, he sent for Joseph and Hyrum to come to his house, which they did.”
The spectacle of the falling meteors of November 13, 1833, is mentioned in the “History of the Church,” and is commented upon by the Prophet. Stephens’ “History of the United States” mentions the unusual event: “During the fall of 1833 occurred a natural phenomenon of a most wonderful character. This was on the night of the 13th of November. It was what was known as the ‘meteoric shower’ or the ‘falling of the stars.’ It was witnessed with amazement and astonishment throughout the entire limits of the United States.”
Philo Dibble in “Stories About Joseph Smith” by Edwin F. Parry, pp. 67-69; HC, Vol. I, pp. 439-440.