All the doings of the infant sect were directed by those utterances of Joseph Smith which he held to be revelations.

These were confided sometimes to the elders, sometimes to the converts at large.

Susannah frequently heard of them first through Emma Smith, whose pious heart was constantly filled with wonder and thankfulness at the thought of the great honour vouchsafed to her husband.

These revelations, sometimes illimitable in their sweep, and sometimes having reference only to the most minute practical details, were at this time all in accordance either with the dictates of common sense or with the severely literal meaning of some Scripture text.

They were therefore easily justified either to reason or to the eye of faith, but the results of their application were often startling, and it was facts, not theories, that chiefly caused Susannah to stagger.
At length the growing excitement among the congregation seemed to gather toward some climax.