But the holy ghost is yet a Spiritual body and waiting to take to himself a body. as the Savior did or as god did or the gods before them took bodies...(From: The Words of Joseph Smith: The Contemporary Accounts of the Nauvoo Discourses of the Prophet Joseph. (Andrew F. Ehat, and Lyndon W. Cook, eds.. Orem, Utah: Grandin Book Company, 1996) , 382)

"The Holy Ghost is now in a state of probation which if he should perform in righteousness he may pass through the same or a similar course of things that the Son has." (Joseph Smith, The Words of Joseph Smith, p. 245; Sabbath address, 27 August 1843)

In the Old Testament, under the Law of Moses, the typical animal that one brought as a sacrifice was a lamb, symbolic of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for us. There was another animal that could be used alternatively as a sacrifice... the dove.

Some things we read about the Holy Ghost and a dove...

"And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him" (Mark 1:10)
"Wherefore, after he was baptized with water the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove." (2 Nephi 31:8)
"And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased." (Luke 3:22)

We know that the Holy Ghost spoken of as "like a dove" and in the "form of a dove" was not actually a physical dove, and probably didn't look like an actual dove either.

The Guide To The Scriptures states: " Dove, sign of. A prearranged means by which John the Baptist would recognize the Messiah at Jesus' baptism (John 1:3234).

"The sign of the dove was instituted before the creation of the world, a witness for the Holy Ghost, and the devil cannot come in the sign of a dove. ... The sign of a dove was given to John to signify the truth of the deed, as the dove is an emblem or token of truth and innocence" (Joseph Smith, HC 5:261). See 1 Ne. 11:27; 2 Ne. 31:8; D&C 93:15; Abr., fac. 2, fig. 7. Though we usually associate the sign of the dove with John the Baptist, from the latter reference we learn that it was manifested to Abraham also. We suppose that it has been similarly made known to other prophets on occasion since the time of Adam. "

So, rather than thinking of the Holy Ghost in the form of the dove this is telling us to think more in terms of signs and tokens (think Temple).

Facsimile 2 from the Book of Abraham (must look at it upside down for this one):



The explanation of #7 is: "Represents God sitting upon his throne, revealing through the heavens the grand Key-words of the Priesthood; as, also, the sign of the Holy Ghost unto Abraham, in the form of a dove".

"Therefore it is given to abide in you; the record of heaven; the Comforter; the peaceable things of immortal glory; the truth of all things; that which quickeneth all things, which maketh alive all things; that which knoweth all things, and hath all power according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgment." (Moses 6: 61)

"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Cor. 6: 19-20)

You were a spirit before you were born. (Abraham 3: 22-28.) You were there when some were chosen to be "rulers," or in other words, teachers. (2 Nephi 5: 19.) You have within you a spirit that was in that group. You saw and participated in what went on, and have that somewhere still inside you. It is kept from you by the "veil of flesh" now covering your spirit. (Heb. 10: 20.) Somewhere within you lies the "record of heaven." Or more correctly, the Record of Heaven. (Moses 6: 61.) If you gain access to it, it has the capacity to teach you the "truth of all things." (Moses 6: 61.) Within it is such an abundance of truth that the things of God are not hidden from you, neither far off. It is not in heaven, so that you ask: who will go to heaven to bring it to us. It is not beyond the sea that you should ask who can go to bring it to us? But is is very close to you, in your own mouth, in your own heart, that you can do what is asked of you. (Deut. 30: 11-14, above.)

Hence the saying of Christ that the Comforter will bring things to your remembrance. (John 14: 26.)

Christ taught the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17: 20-21.)

Why is it that the body is animated, with power of thought and communication, alive and vital while there is a spirit within it? But when the spirit departs, what then of the body? The power to live and breathe and move and do according to your will is gone at that point. But from whence came that power? (Mosiah 2: 21.) If it is God who is "lending you that power" then how closely are you connected to God? How immediate is His presence within you?

If you can gain access to God, will you need to go out, or will you instead need to go within?

"Therefore, in the beginning the Word was, for he was the Word, even the messenger of salvation- The light and the Redeemer of the world; the SPIRIT OF TRUTH, .... And he (Jesus) RECEIVED NOT A FULLNESS AT FIRST, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness; ..... For IF YOU keep my commandments YOU SHALL RECEIVE OF HIS FULNESS (as did Jesus), and be glorified in me AS I AM IN THE FATHER (be one with them); therefore, I say unto you, YOU SHALL RECEIVE GRACE FOR GRACE, (just as the Savior did). .... YE WERE ALSO IN THE BEGINNING WITH THE FATHER; THAT WHICH IS SPIRIT (like Jesus), EVEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH. ... Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation of man; because THAT WHICH WAS FROM THE BEGINNING IS PLAINLY MANIFEST unto them (and what would that be?), and they receive not the light. ... FOR MAN IS SPIRIT. The elements are the tabernacle of God; yea, MAN IS THE TABERNACLE OF GOD, EVEN TEMPLES." (D&C 93:1-35)

" ... There is one revelation that this people are not generally acquainted with. I think it has never been published, but probably it will be in the Church History. It is given in questions and answers. The first question is, "WHAT IS THE NAME OF GOD IN THE PURE LANGUAGE?" THE ANSWER SAYS "AHMAN." "WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE SON OF GOD?" ANSWER, "SON AHMAN-THE GREATEST OF ALL THE PARTS OF GOD EXCEPTING AHMAN." "WHAT IS THE NAME OF MEN?" "SONS AHMAN," IS THE ANSWER. "What is the name of angels in the pure language?" "Anglo-man." THIS REVELATION GOES ON TO SAY THAT SONS AHMAN ARE THE GREATEST OF ALL THE PARTS OF GOD EXCEPTING SON AHMAN AND AHMAN, and that Anglo-man are the greatest of all the parts of God excepting Sons Ahman, Son Ahman, and Ahman, showing that the angels are a little lower than man. What is the conclusion to be drawn from this? It is, that THESE INTELLIGENT BEINGS ARE ALL PARTS OF GOD, AND THAT THOSE WHO HAVE THE MOST OF THE PARTS OF GOD ARE THE GREATEST, OR NEXT TO GOD, AND THOSE WHO HAVE THE NEXT GREATEST PORTIONS OF THE PARTS OF GOD, ARE THE NEXT GREATEST, OR NEAREST TO THE FULNESS OF GOD; AND SO WE MIGHT GO ON TO TRACE THE SCALE OF INTELLIGENCES FROM THE HIGHEST TO THE LOWEST, tracing the parts and portions of God so far as we are made acquainted with them. HENCE WE SEE THAT WHEREVER A GREAT AMOUNT OF THIS INTELLIGENT SPIRIT EXISTS, THERE IS A GREAT AMOUNT OR PROPORTION OF GOD, WHICH MAY GROW AND INCREASE UNTIL THERE IS A FULNESS OF THIS SPIRIT, AND THEN THERE IS A FULNESS OF GOD." (Orson Pratt, 1855, Journal of Discourses Vol 2, page 340)

When you are admonished after baptism with the words ".... we say unto you, receive the Holy Spirit!", do you finally understand that your body is being admonished to receive the governance of your Spirit? Do you realize that, like Jesus Christ, we are admonished in THIS LIFE to RECEIVE GRACE UPON GRACE until we RECEIVE A FULLNESS!

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would aask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not btrue; and if ye shall ask with a csincere heart, with dreal intent, having efaith in Christ, he will fmanifest the gtruth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may aknow the btruth of all things.

6 And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is.

7 And ye may aknow that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, baccording to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever.

8 And again, I exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the agifts of God, for they are many; and they come from the same God. And there are bdifferent ways that these gifts are administered; but it is the same God who worketh all in all; and they are given by the manifestations of the cSpirit of God unto men, to profit them.

9 aFor behold, to one is given by the Spirit of God, that he may bteach the word of wisdom;

10 And to another, that he may ateach the word of bknowledge by the same Spirit;

11 And to another, exceedingly great afaith; and to another, the gifts of bhealing by the same Spirit;

Etc...

1 And now I, Nephi, cannot write all the things which were taught among my people; neither am I mighty in writing, like unto speaking; for when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men.

2 But behold, there are many that harden their hearts against the Holy Spirit, that it hath no place in them; wherefore, they cast many things away which are written and esteem them as things of naught.

1 Nephi 11:11 wrote:And I said unto him: To know the interpretation thereof--for I spake unto him as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the form of a man; yet nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto me as a man speaketh with another.

D&C 97 Verily I say unto you my friends, I speak unto you with my voice, even the voice of my Spirit, that I may show unto you my will concerning your brethren in the land of Zion, many of whom are truly humble and are seeking diligently to learn wisdom and to find truth.

D&C 104:81 Therefore write speedily to New York and write according to that which shall be dictated by my Spirit; and I will soften the hearts of those to whom you are in debt, that it shall be taken away out of their minds to bring affliction upon you.

Are the "Holy Ghost" and the "Holy Spirit" the same? When Nephi refers to the "Holy Ghost" in 2 Ne. 33: 1, but then uses "Holy Spirit" in the next verse (2 Ne. 33: 2), does he have two different things in mind?

Joseph Smith defined the "Holy Spirit" as the "mind of the Father and Son" in the Lectures on Faith. Here is an excerpt:

There are two personages who constitute the great, matchless, governing and supreme power over all things--by whom all things were created and made, that are created and made, whether visible or invisible: whether in heaven, on earth, or in the earth, under the earth, or throughout the immensity of space--They are the Father and the Son: The Father being a personage of spirit, glory and power: possessing all perfection and fulness: The Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, a personage of tabernacle, made, or fashioned like unto man, or being in the form and likeness of man, or, rather, man was formed after his likeness, and in his image;--he is also the express image and likeness of the personage of the Father: possessing all the fulness of the Father, or, the same fulness with the Father; being begotten of him, and was ordained from before the foundation of the world to be a propitiation for the sins of all those who should believe on his name, and is called the Son because of the flesh--and descended in suffering below that which man can suffer, or, in other words, suffered greater sufferings, and was exposed to more powerful contradictions than any man can be. But notwithstanding all this, he kept the law of God, and remained without sin: Showing thereby that it is in the power of man to keep the law and remain also without sin. And also, that by him a righteous judgment might come upon all flesh, and that all who walk not in the law of God, may justly be condemned by the law, and have no excuse for their sins. And he being the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, and having overcome, received a fulness of the glory of the Father-possessing the same mind with the Father, which mind is the Holy Spirit, that bears record of the Father and the Son, and these three are one, or in other words, these three constitute the great, matchless, governing and supreme power over all things: by whom all things were created and made, that were created and made: and these three constitute the Godhead, and are one: The Father and the Son possessing the same mind, the same wisdom, glory, power and fulness: Filling all in all--the Son being filled with the fulness of the Mind, glory and power, or, in other words, the Spirit, glory and power of the Father--possessing all knowledge and glory, and the same kingdom: sitting at the right hand of power, in the express image and likeness of the Father--a Mediator for man--being filled with the fulness of the Mind of the Father, or, in other words, the Spirit of the Father: which Spirit is shed forth upon all who believe on his name and keep his commandments: and all those who keep his commandments shall grow up from grace to grace, and become heirs of the heavenly kingdom, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ; possessing the same mind, being transformed into the same image or likeness, even the express image of him who fills all in all: being filled with the fulness of his glory, and become one in him, even as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one. (Lecture 5, Paragraph 2.)

The forgoing was published in 1835.

In a lecture given in 1843, Joseph stated the following (which can be found in D&C 130: 22):

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.

If the Holy Ghost is a "personage of Spirit" and it can "dwell in us," and the Holy Spirit is "the mind of the Father and Son" then are they the same thing?

The scriptures have explained that the "Holy Ghost" which dwells in you - this personage of Spirit - has the following other descriptions, or attributes:
-the Comforter
-the record of heaven
-the truth of all things
-the peacable things of immortal glory
-that which quickeneth all things
-that which knoweth all things
-that which has all power according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice and judgment.
(Moses 6: 61.)
This is a description of the personage of Spirit which dwells inside you. This is the Holy Ghost. This is something that can be in contact with the Holy Spirit, or the "mind of the Father and Son."

"When a man has the manifestation from the Holy Ghost, it leaves an indelible impression on his soul, one that is not easily erased. It is Spirit speaking to spirit, and it comes with convincing force. A manifestation of an angel, or even of the Son of God himself, would impress the eye and mind, and eventually become dimmed, but the impressions of the Holy Ghost sink deeper into the soul and are more difficult to erase" (Answers to Gospel Questions, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., 5 vols. [195766], 2:151).

"Through the Holy Ghost the truth is woven into the very fibre and sinews of the body so that it cannot be forgotten" (Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [195456], 1:48). (Gospel Principles, Chapter 7: The Holy Ghost)