Just like Nephi, “John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him” (John 1:32). John the Baptist saw the Holy Ghost descending; his spiritual eyes were opened to see pure, refined matter (D&C 131:7–8). According to the Prophet Joseph Smith, the dove is the sign of the Holy Ghost’s presence and was instituted before this world was populated (see also commentary at 1 Nephi 11:27). 91 Thus, an actual dove was present at Jesus’ baptism. “The sign of the dove, as an emblem for the Holy Ghost, was a pre-appointed signal by which John knew he was to recognize that he had baptized the Son of God.” 92 “The personage of the Holy Ghost descended upon Christ with the grace of a dove, which imagery is chosen because the dove was present—it being the visible or outward sign of the presence of the Holy Ghost.” 93