I had never before realized that Section 4 of the Doctrine and Covenants was a revelation given to Joseph Smith Sr. When I consider that this was given to the man who raised the property of the restoration and who served as the first patriarch of the church some of the counsel takes on a new dimension. This was a man who was deeply religious but unsatisfied with the religions of his day. Some who didn’t really know him probably thought he was irreligious because he wouldn’t join himself to any of the sects of the day.
While he was probably as surprised as anyone when his son received divine instruction, yet he was sensitive enough to the Spirit to recognize immediately the divine origins of the messages. His influence on his family was undoubtedly a strong factor in the forces that helped his while family to consistently support the mission his son was called to.
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