According to historian D. Michael Quinn, patriarchs were paid in the early days of the LDS Church. The practice of paying patriarchs diminished in the 20th century and was officially ended in 1943. "'Both the Presiding Patriarch and local stake patriarchs charged a fee. In the 1840s the fee was $1 per patriarchal blessing at Nauvoo; by the end of the nineteenth century it had increased to $2 per blessing. Joseph Smith Sr. gave patriarchal blessings without payment of a fee, but would not record them. 'Uncle' John Smith commented that he "lived very poor ever since we left Kirtland Ohio" (from January 1838 until January 1844). Then his nephew, Joseph Smith, ordained him a patriarch 'through which office I obtained a comfortable living.' "...Patriarchal blessing fees ended in 1902, although patriarchs were allowed to accept unsolicited donations. Not until 1943 did church authorities prohibit patriarchs from accepting gratuities for giving blessings."