Two sections of the Doctrine and Covenants were received by the Prophet Joseph Smith in Ramus, some 22 miles from Nauvoo. On April 2, 1843, he received what is now known as Section 130. In this revelation, the Prophet was told:
"The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us."A man may receive the Holy Ghost, and it may descend upon him and not tarry with him." (D&C 130:22-23.)
In The Doctrine and Covenants Speaks, Roy W. Doxey wrote: "Why is it of value for the Latter-day Saint to know that God is a personal being with body, parts, and passions? First, one may then know that faithful men may become as the Father in every sense of the word.
"Second, to know that God is personal and that He is our Father gives man the ability to approach Deity in prayer in a meaningful way, rather than to pray to an all-present spirit, as God is conceived in the [rest of theT Christian world.
"Third, the true concept of God and Christ and the Holy Ghost, who is also an individual - a personage of spirit - gives meaning to the scriptures about the members of the Godhead.
"Fourth, one sees that God has a habitat, and He is not in person throughout all space."
