There are (fortunately, very few) obnoxious Church members who take exception with people using the term “revelation(s) of Joseph Smith.” Today, while teaching Gospel Doctrine, one such person decided to stop the class and complain about my use of such a phrase, saying it is not “revelation of <prophet>” but revelation of God. I know some other friends who, when teaching Gospel Doctrine, have had this (frankly stupid) criticism raised.
Using the “logic” of these individuals, it should not be “Book
of Isaiah,” “Revelation of St. John, “ or even “Pearl of Great
Price” (after all, the PGP did not originate in the mouth of an oyster). And the Church must be downplaying God's role since day 1: you know, it has always been called "The Book of Mormon."
Furthermore, the Church itself uses
both “revelation
of Joseph Smith” and the plural “revelations
of Joseph Smith.” Consider the following representative examples:
A revelation of
Joseph Smith that had never before appeared in print: the prophecy on war now
constituting Doctrine and Covenants 87. (James R. Clark, "Our
Pearl of Great Price: From Mission Pamphlet to Standard Work," Ensign
[August 1976])
For us, thousands of
years and miles from its culture and locales, the Bible comes more easily to
life when we see photographs of the mountains, valleys, and towns of Palestine,
and the areas of the Roman world into which the gospel of the New Testament was
carried. Modern Church history and the revelation of Joseph Smith mean
more to us when we see the New York, Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois environs of
the early Latter-day Saints. (Lynn M. and Hope A. Hilton, "In
Search of Lehi's Trail, Part 1: The Preparation," Ensign
[September 1976])
"The Revelations
of Joseph Smith: Discusses the revelations of Joseph Smith and how they became
part of the Doctrine and Covenants." (Season
1 Episode 23 : Joseph Smith Papers Television Documentary)
During Joseph Smith’s
prophetic ministry, he received over 100 revelations that were recorded and
later canonized. The majority were given in the first-person voice of Jesus
Christ, and most of these now appear as sections of the Doctrine and Covenants.
Joseph received his earliest revelation (now Doctrine and Covenants 3) in
July 1828 and his last recorded revelation about three months before his death
in 1844. (Church
History Topics: Revelations of Joseph Smith [!!!])
In spite of the "Karens" of the Church, "revelation(s) of Joseph Smith" is a perfectly acceptable phrase to use.
