Benjamin Brown, an intimate friend of the Prophet Joseph Smith, gave the following account.
One evening in Nauvoo, just after dark, somebody rapped at my grandfather's door very vigorously. Grandfather was reading the Doctrine and Covenants, which he laid aside, arose hastily, and answered the door. There he met the Prophet Joseph Smith who said, "Brother Brown, can you keep me overnight? The mobs are after me."
Grandfather answered, "Yes, sir. It will not be the first time. Come in."
"All Right," said the Prophet, shutting the door quickly. He came in and sat down.
Grandmother said, "Brother Joseph, have you had your supper?" "No," he answered, "I have not." So she prepared a meal for him, and he ate it. Afterwards, they conversed relative to the principles of the Gospel, and during the conversation the Ten Tribes were mentioned.
Grandfather said, "Joseph, where are the Ten Tribes?"
He answered, "Come to the door and I will show you. Come on, Sister Brown, I want you both to see."
It being a starlight night, the Prophet said, "Brother Brown, can you show me the Polar Star?"
"Yes, sir," he said, pointing to the North Star. "There it is."
"Yes, I know," said the Prophet, "but which one?"
Then Grandfather said, "Can you see the points of the Great Dipper?"
The Prophet said, "Yes."
"Well, trace the pointers pointing up to the largest star. That is the North Star."
"You are correct," the Prophet replied. "Now, do you discern a little twinkler to the right and below the Polar Star, which appears to be about 20 feet apart from here?"
Grandfather answered, "Yes, sir."
The Prophet said, "Sister Brown, do you see that star, also?"
She answered, "Yes, sir."
After entering the house, the Prophet said, "Brother Brown, I noticed when I came in that you were reading the Doctrine and Covenants. Will you kindly get it?" He did so, and the Prophet turned to what is now the 133rd Section, and commencing at the 26th verse, read to the 34th verse. After reading the 31st verse, he said, "Now let me ask you: What would cause the everlasting hills to tremble with more violence than the coming together of the two planets? That planet on which they reside will return to this earth!
"Now, what would cause the mountains of ice to melt quicker than the heat caused by the friction of two planets coming together? Did you ever see a meteor that was not red hot? So, you see that would cause the mountains of ice to melt.
"And relative to the Great Highway that should be cast up: When that planet returns to its place in the great northern waters, it will form a highway and the waters will recede and roll back. Now, as to their coming back from the northern waters," he continued, "they will return from the North, because this planet will return to the northern place from whence it was taken." (The 3½ Years, pp. 123-124)
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