Taught by the Spirit

Blessed art thou for what thou hast done; for thou hast inquired of me, and behold, as often as thou hast inquired thou has received instruction of my spirit… I tell thee these things that thou mayest know that thou hast been enlightened by the Spirit of truth. D&C 6:14-15

When the schoolteacher Oliver Cowdery was invited to stay in the home of the Smith family, he soon learned of the call of Joseph Smith Jr, and, especially, the golden plates and translation of the Nephite-Jaredite record. Oliver sought the Lord in prayer and received a divine manifestation of the truthfulness of God’s hand in the Restoration. Later, the revelation recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 6 was given to Joseph and Oliver. In it, Oliver learned (as will many of us one day) that the Lord had been leading him along by the power of his spirit for some time: the very fact that he was where he was served as evidence that he had received divine promptings and supernatural guidance. It is as though the Lord were saying to Oliver: “I now give you this revelation so that you may know that what you have been receiving is revelation." (Robert L. Millet and Lloyd D. Newell. Draw Near Unto Me: Daily Reflections on the Doctrine and Covenants. 24)