Revelations
According to Richard Bushman, the "signal feature" of Smith's life was "his sense of being guided by revelation". Instead of presenting ideas with logical arguments Smith dictated authoritative revelations and let people decide whether or not to believe. Smith's teachings came primarily through his revelations, which read like scripture: oracular and open to interpretation. Even Smith's followers disagree about the implications of his teachings. Smith and his followers viewed his revelations as being above teachings or opinions, and Smith's actions seemed to indicate that he believed in his revelations as much as his most loyal followers.
Smith's first recorded revelation was a rebuke from God for having let Martin Harris lose 116 pages of Book of Mormon manuscript, chastising him for "fearing man more than God". The revelation was given in the voice of God, and Smith, as a speaker, was absent from the revelation. Subsequent revelations would take on a similar authoritative style; a typical revelation might begin with words like "Hearken O ye people which profess my name, saith the Lord your God."
Read more about this topic: Joseph Smith
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