Prest. Woodruff said Oliver Cowdery was with Jos. Smith when he
received the manifestations of God through Moses, &c. He was a powerful
man. Yet he apostatized through not sustaining the Priesthood. David Whitmer
had many manifestations and testimonies. He apostatized and died out of the
Church. In the Apostasy at Kirtland many of the leading Elders apostatized and
denied the faith and died out of the Church.
I have received the administration of angels. When the Lord sends
angels it has been for a purpose and to accomplish something which cannot be
done otherwise. In the Kirtland Temple many personages appeared and it was
necessary for them to do so. Peter, James, and John appeared to the Prophet
Joseph Smith. Was it necessary for Angels to appear in the Temple now it impart
the same things which have been given to the Church? When Joseph Smith gave his
last address, he stood upon his feet for three hours, the place was filled with
the Spirit of God.
You want the Holy Ghost to lead and guide you. You do not need the
administration of Angels. There is not a man who has the Holy Ghost that the
adversary can make him do anything wrong. You teach the people to get the Holy
Ghost and the Spirit of the Lord, and keep it with you and you will prosper.
President Young and others have come to me in vision. While in Arizona they
came to me in a splendid conveyance. The visions made to me during the
dedication of the Temple have been marvelous in the union of the Saints. The
Lord is desirous that this people shall rise. There will be union among us, and
we will not do as we have been doing. (L. John Nuttall, Journal, April 19,
1893, in L. John Nuttall: Diary Excerpts, comp., Ogden Kraut [Salt
Lake City: Pioneer Press, 1994], 247-48)