Section 138 of Doctrine and Covenants is the account of a vision received by President Joseph F. Smith, and it helps explain principles of salvation for the dead. In his opening address at the eighty-ninth Semiannual General Conference of the Church, on October 4, 1918, President Smith declared that he had received several divine communications during the previous months. One of these, concerning the Savior’s visit to the spirits of the dead while His body was in the tomb, had been received the previous day. It was recorded immediately following the close of the conference; on October 31, 1918, it was submitted to the counselors in the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the Patriarch, and it was unanimously accepted by them as scripture.