When the Rolling Worlds Return

Throughout history, prophets, poets, and seers have spoken of a day when the very fabric of this earth will be shaken—not metaphorically, but literally. The idea that pieces of this planet were once broken off, carried away, and will one day return has occupied a curious niche in Latter-day Saint tradition. While rarely spoken of in modern LDS discourse, the roots of these ideas reach surprisingly deep into early Mormon history, and some say even to Joseph Smith himself.

A Rolling Convergence

One particular phrase appears again and again in these scattered accounts:

“In their rolling motion they will come together.”

That’s how early Latter-day Saint Samuel Hollister Rogers paraphrased a teaching he attributed to Joseph Smith. Not a head-on collision of planetary bodies, but a strange “docking maneuver” — like one rolling body overtaking another. The resulting cosmic interaction would make the earth “reel to and fro like a drunken man” (Isaiah 24:20), setting off cataclysmic upheavals as displaced fragments are rejoined to the earth.

It is a concept that borders on the fantastic, yet it resonates powerfully with the speculative foundation beneath Red Sky — the fictional rogue planet scenario that drives much of my storytelling.

The Mythology of Broken Fragments

Parley P. Pratt, one of Joseph’s closest early apostles, taught publicly in The Millennial Star that:

“The stars which will fall to the earth are fragments which have been broken off from the earth from time to time in the mighty convulsions of nature — some in the days of Enoch; some in the days of Peleg; some with the Ten Tribes; and some with the death of Christ. These must all be restored again at the time of the restitution of all things.”

Pratt envisioned a day when these lost fragments, some vastly larger than our present world, would be drawn back and “the earth be rolled together as a scroll,” expanding to a new planetary magnitude—a stunning reversal of our current geological paradigm.

The Ten Tribes — Exiled on a Wandering World?

Perhaps the most persistent and curious thread woven through these early accounts is the claim that the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel were not merely scattered among the nations, but were physically relocated to a separate portion of earth — even another planet-like body.

Eliza R. Snow, one of Mormonism’s finest poets, penned in 1851:

“When Enoch could no longer stay amid corruption here, part of thyself was borne away to form another sphere… And when the Lord saw fit to hide the Ten Lost Tribes away, Thou, earth, was severed to provide the orb on which they stay.”

Multiple witnesses, including Bathsheba W. Smith and Homer M. Brown (grandson of Benjamin Brown, who hosted Joseph Smith during mob troubles), testified to hearing Joseph personally teach this view: that the Ten Tribes were taken upon a fragment of the earth, severed and cast into space, awaiting a prophesied return.

The Steamboat Analogy

Wandle Mace, another early Saint, recorded Joseph teaching that when these separated planetary bodies return, it would be like a steamboat striking a snag, upsetting everything in its path:

“The steamboat run against a snag which upset the table and scatter the dishes; so it will be when these portions of earth return.”

The earth would literally reel under the immense gravitational, electromagnetic, and geological stresses caused by such an event—a very real “Red Sky” scenario.

Modern Echoes — Misplacement of Planets

Though modern LDS leaders have largely remained silent on these speculative traditions, occasional hints persist. In 1951, Elder LeGrand Richards spoke of the coming signs preceding Christ’s return:

“The newspapers might announce some great phenomenon in the heavens, misplacement of planets, that have caused this consternation, and scientists will have their explanation to make of it.”

Richards’ offhand remark reflects at least a tacit acknowledgement that extraordinary astronomical events may accompany the Second Coming.

An Electric Universe?

Interestingly, some of these ideas intersect with theories like the Electric Universe model, which suggests that planets and stars form, interact, and migrate through plasma and electromagnetic forces—not merely gravity. In this paradigm, planets can be ejected, captured, or even drawn into resonant orbits — potentially making the ancient Mormon imagery of a returning fragment more plausible within an alternative scientific framework.

Doctrine? Folklore? Or Something in Between?

To be clear: none of these teachings occupy the core of official Latter-day Saint doctrine. They are found scattered across journals, family recollections, poems, sermons, and recollections from early Church members and fundamentalist offshoots. The LDS Church today neither teaches nor denies these ideas officially, leaving them to occupy a curious twilight between inspired speculation, colorful folklore, and perhaps echoes of deeper, forgotten truths.

Why It Matters for Red Sky

As I’ve often said here on the Red Sky Story blog:
I am not inventing the idea of rogue planetary disruptions from scratch.

Rather, I am drawing upon a remarkably rich, though often obscure, tradition within early Mormon thought. A world where broken fragments of earth might one day roll together like a scroll — where entire peoples (and even cities like Enoch’s Zion) may return from exile upon displaced spheres — and where prophecy, science, and cosmology collide in breathtaking possibilities.

Whether one calls it doctrine, myth, or poetic speculation, it makes for one heck of a science-fiction backdrop.

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References Used in This Post:

• Millennial Star (1841, Parley P. Pratt)

• Wandle Mace Autobiography

• Samuel Hollister Rogers Journal

• Fragments of the Earth Broken Off Collection

• Eliza R. Snow, “An Address to the Earth,” Millennial Star (1851)

• LeGrand Richards, General Conference (April 1951)

• Anthony E. Larson, Keys to Prophecy (2005)

• Where Are the Ten Lost Tribes? (various sources compiled)

• Electric Universe 101 (introductory concepts)

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