The Saints of God, in all the trying ordeals through which they passed
under the administration of the Prophet Joseph Smith, were sustained and
preserved. In the establishment of this work it was designed of the Father that
the same spirit and power should continue with the Church down to the latest
period of time; and I wish to bear my testimony--and I wish my brethren and
sisters to remember it and to instill it into the hearts of their children that
the prophets who have stood at the head of his Church since the death of the
Prophet Joseph have been guided by the spirit of revelation. I am reminded of a
statement made by the Prophet Amos, in his 3rd chapter and 7th verse:
"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret
unto his servants the prophets."
In view of this, we may say that when He did not have a prophet upon
the earth He was not doing anything, so far as the great plan of salvation is
concerned; that is, the ordinances of that plan were not being administered,
and He was not communicating His will to His children respecting the plan of
redemption. However, His hand was manifest in the progress and in the
enlightenment of the world, and in the extension of human liberty. (Matthias F.
Cowley, Conference Report [April 1899]: 9-10)
