Why Don't Current Prophets Receive Revelation Like Joseph Smith?
The question can be better stated: "Why don't our contemporary prophets receive revelations that are canonized very often?" This is a common question asked among those within and without the Church. There is no question that Joseph received a large quantity of revelations - a large number of which we don't even have in our current Doctrine and Covenants. He received revelation regarding a wide range of topics; Some of these were fairly personal, while others were grand and glorious in their scope. He even received a largely over-looked revelation predicting the Civil war, where it begin, who would be involved, and what the fight would be over. This occurred over 30 years before the Civil War broke out. (Read here for more details regarding this and many other prophesies made by Joseph.)
So, yes, Joseph was very much a "visionary man". So, why the seemingly lowered number of written revelations since the days of Joseph Smith? One main reason: Joseph Smith was the head of a dispensation of the Gospel.
Throughout history, the dispensation heads were those who restored God's kingdom and authority back to the earth after the people had fallen away. The dispensation heads, by far, were the ones who received the most revelation. They had to get the ball rolling, so to speak. Whereas, the succeeding prophets just had to keep the ball rolling. (Interestingly, one can open up their copy of the Doctrine & Covenants and see that Joseph's canonized revelations dropped to about 1 or 2 per year from 1836 until his death. Once the essential truths were restored, there was no longer a need for large quantities of revelations. Amazingly, it only took a handful of years from the founding of the Church in 1830 for the bulk of the restoration to occur).
Take Moses, for example. The Hebrews were in bondage and had given themselves over to idol worship mixed with the worship of God. Moses delivered the people from bondage and put into writing the first 5 books of the Old Testament - not the least of which is Genesis (an account of prophets who were considered ancient even in Moses' day). The Lord revealed much of Genesis to Moses in a vision and commanded Moses to write it. Joseph Smith was likewise commanded to write revealed ancient scripture. But then, look at the written scripture we have from Moses' successor, Joshua. There isn't much. Joshua's job was to keep the ball rolling (or what was left of it, after the days of provocation when the Hebrews rejected the higher law), and to get the Hebrews into the Promised Land.
Who were the dispensation heads? Here is an excellent explanation found in the Bible Dictionary:
So, yes, Joseph was very much a "visionary man". So, why the seemingly lowered number of written revelations since the days of Joseph Smith? One main reason: Joseph Smith was the head of a dispensation of the Gospel.
Throughout history, the dispensation heads were those who restored God's kingdom and authority back to the earth after the people had fallen away. The dispensation heads, by far, were the ones who received the most revelation. They had to get the ball rolling, so to speak. Whereas, the succeeding prophets just had to keep the ball rolling. (Interestingly, one can open up their copy of the Doctrine & Covenants and see that Joseph's canonized revelations dropped to about 1 or 2 per year from 1836 until his death. Once the essential truths were restored, there was no longer a need for large quantities of revelations. Amazingly, it only took a handful of years from the founding of the Church in 1830 for the bulk of the restoration to occur).
Take Moses, for example. The Hebrews were in bondage and had given themselves over to idol worship mixed with the worship of God. Moses delivered the people from bondage and put into writing the first 5 books of the Old Testament - not the least of which is Genesis (an account of prophets who were considered ancient even in Moses' day). The Lord revealed much of Genesis to Moses in a vision and commanded Moses to write it. Joseph Smith was likewise commanded to write revealed ancient scripture. But then, look at the written scripture we have from Moses' successor, Joshua. There isn't much. Joshua's job was to keep the ball rolling (or what was left of it, after the days of provocation when the Hebrews rejected the higher law), and to get the Hebrews into the Promised Land.
Who were the dispensation heads? Here is an excellent explanation found in the Bible Dictionary:
A dispensation of the gospel is a period of time in which the Lord has at least one authorized servant on the earth who bears the holy priesthood and the keys, and who has a divine commission to dispense the gospel to the inhabitants of the earth. When this occurs, the gospel is revealed anew so that people of that dispensation do not have to depend basically on past dispensations for knowledge of the plan of salvation. There have been many gospel dispensations since the beginning. The Bible suggests at least one dispensation identified with Adam, another with Enoch, another with Noah, and so on with Abraham, Moses, and Jesus with His Apostles in the meridian of time. Paul writes of “the dispensation of the fulness of times” in which the Lord will “gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth” (Eph. 1:10). The fulness of times is the final dispensation and began with the revelation of the gospel to Joseph Smith. It is a dispensation of restoration and of fulfillment of the Lord’s plans and purposes since the world began. There are also things reserved for the fulness of times that have not been revealed previously (D&C 121:26–32;124:41). It is a glorious time, the time in which we live today (see Acts 3:19–21; D&C 27:13; 110:11–16; 112:14–32; 128:18–21; 136:37–40).
In addition there were dispensations of the gospel among the Nephites, the Jaredites, and the Lost Tribes of Israel. Melchizedek could also be included, as well as John the Baptist, since they truly held the priesthood and taught the word of the Lord to the people and were unique in their time. There are many other prophets who have had the priesthood and a knowledge of the gospel. Perhaps if more were revealed to us, we would learn that they too should be spoken of as having a dispensation. These could include, among others, Abel, Esaias, Gad, Jeremy, Elihu, Caleb, Jethro, Zenock, and Zenos. See JST Gen. 14:25–40 (Appendix); 1 Ne. 19:10–12; Alma 13:14–19; 33:3–17; D&C 84:6–16; HC 3:386–89; 4:208–9.
The plan of salvation, which is older than the earth, has been revealed and taught in every dispensation beginning with Adam and is the same in every age of the world. However, each of the dispensations has been unique in some way. For example, Adam opened the way of the earth; Noah preserved a portion of mankind through the Flood; Jesus wrought the Atonement and Resurrection; and through Joseph Smith the foundation was laid for a culmination of the purposes of God on the earth.
Although the Bible contains historical information pertaining to the ancient prophets and patriarchs, it is latter-day revelation that makes it clear that the leaders of former dispensations had the gospel of Jesus Christ and that certifies to the divine calling, ordination, and high intelligence of those early brethren (D&C 84:6–16, 26–28; 107:41–57; Moses 6:3–6, 45–46).
The Living Church of the Living God
To say that current prophets and apostles don't receive revelation regarding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is silly. The current Church is massive compared to how it was 100 years ago. The sheer amount of decision making that needs to happen is astounding. A recent quote from President Monson illustrates how closely the Lord is involved with His Church upon the earth.
"I know without question, my brothers and sisters, that God lives. I testify to you that this is His work. I testify as well that our Savior Jesus Christ is at the head of this Church, which bears His name.
"I know that the sweetest experience in all this life is to feel His promptings as He directs us in the furtherance of His work."
Likewise, Elder Christofferson recently said the following:
I pray that you will bind yourself to the Savior. As you do so, you will feel His love, acceptance, approval, and trust. He lives, and He is personally and actively directing His work. He loves you. You are His.