Man, though a child of God, is estranged from God. His is estranged because of the Fall of Adam, which caused mankind to become unlike God. Salvation is the process of becoming like God so that when we again see God, we can endure His presence. Those who refuse to change to become like God will shrink from Him when they come again into His presence.
The nature of God is that He is righteous; that is to say He is the fullness of pure love. Fallen man, being subject to Satan through the flesh, cannot love purely, cannot be fully righteous. Those who reject salvation and thus do not become pure are embarrassed to stand in the presence of pure beings, so they seek other, more comfortable habitations in the lower kingdoms.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is then the missionary message to all the world of the need to learn to love purely and how to gain that ability. The priesthood is the authority to preach the gospel message and to administer the ordinances. The ordinances are the occasions whereby the power of godliness is transmitted to men, that they may become able to love purely. No man has that power of himself and so it is by grace that we are saved. The Church is the brooder where the flock is warmed, protected and instructed so that each person may progress fully through the steps of salvation.
The prophets are the priesthood leaders of the Church. They are men who have progressed on the path of salvation and can assist others to do so. They have the authority and power of God and know how to do what they are assisting others to do.
Why have prophets? Does one really need to follow the prophets? One does not need to accept and follow God’s prophets if he is content with himself the way he is. But any person who hungers to be righteous, to love purely, must accept the prophets and their instructions and the ordinances they administer to be saved. There is no other way.
To accept the prophets is to accept our God, Jesus Christ and His program of salvation and righteousness. To reject the prophets is to disassociate with them and to reject Jesus Christ and the opportunity to attain to pure love.
One way of showing the essence of the agency of man is to say that man is free to choose on the one hand to reject God, His prophets and salvation, and on the other hand to accept God and through God’s prophets become godly. The choice we make and how soon and how fast we pursue salvation is the measure of our love and concern for someone besides ourselves.