Another remarkable incident was reported by Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner, an early convert in the vicinity of Kirtland. Shortly after her conversion, Joseph Smith and others moved from New York to that vicinity in Ohio. Upon his arrival, the Prophet lived for a time in part of Newel K. Whitney’s house. One evening shortly thereafter, Mary, with her mother, paid a visit to the Prophet’s home to learn more of the Book of Mormon. Others had also gone that evening to see Joseph, and as they were gathered together he suggested that they hold a meeting. Said Sister Lightner:
“After prayer and singing, Joseph began talking. He began very solemnly and very earnestly. Suddenly, his countenance changed and he stood mute he seemed almost transfixed. He was looking ahead and his face outshone the candle which was on a shelf just behind him. I thought I could almost see his cheek bones. He looked as though a searchlight was inside his face. I never saw anything like it on earth. I could not take my eyes away from him. I shall remember him as he looked then as long as I live.
“After a short time he looked at us very solemnly, as if to pierce each heart, then said, ‘Brothers and Sisters, do you know who has been in your midst this night?’
“One of the Smith family said, ‘An Angel of the Lord.’
“Joseph did not answer. Martin Harris was sitting at the Prophet’s feet on a box. He slid to his knees, clasped his arms around the Prophet’s knees and said, ‘I know, it was our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.’
“Joseph put his hand on Martin’s head and answered, ‘Martin, God revealed that to you. Brothers and Sisters, the Saviour has been in your midst this night. I want you to remember it. He cast a veil over your eyes for you could not endure to look upon Him. You must be fed with milk and not meat. I want you to remember this as if it were the last thing that escaped my lips.’”
The Prophet then knelt and prayed. “And such a prayer, I never heard before or since,” Sister Lightner reported. “We all felt that he was talking to the Lord, and the Spirit of the Lord rested down on the congregation.”
Hyrum Andrus, “Joseph Smith, the Man and the Seer,” pp. 131-132; “Journal and Memoir of Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner,” pp. 2-3; “Young Women’s Journal, XVI, pp. 556-557.