Those who will remember the words of Samuel will know the reason for the omen in the skies, and will fall to the earth. We should remember that the phrase “fall to the earth” is frequently associated with the presence of the Spirit in the Book of Mormon. One of the contexts, therefore, is that those who see and believe will be overcome by the Spirit in recognition of this great event for which they have been waiting.
Those who are not believers may still be “amazed, and wonder.” Note the description from the Florentine Codex that shows the reaction of the people to the omen described above:
“And when it appeared, there was shouting; there was the striking of the palm of the hand against the mouth. There was fear; there as inactivity.” (Bernardino de Sahagun. Florentine Codex. Tr, Arthur J.O. Anderson and Charles E. Dibble. School of American Research and the University of Utah., 1975, Book 12, p. 3).
For a people believing in the ability of the heavens to presage major events, even the unbelievers would have noticed and been amazed. They may not, however, have remembered the reason for the signs in the heavens.