[rameumptom]

There is a big difference between core doctrines and practices. In every instance, the Lord expects each member to obtain his/her own testimony of the teaching.

For instance, when one leading apostle heard about polygamy from Joseph Smith, he said he would go home and pray about it. If it were true, he would embrace it. If it were false, he would come back and kill Joseph as a fallen prophet. He ended up embracing the teaching because he gained his own witness of it.

There is also the issue of having a strong enough testimony of the living prophet that the Lord has already given the assurance. As it is, how many modern prophets have commanded the people to go and do something against the law?

Now, how many times did that happen in the Bible? God commanded "Thou shalt not kill", but then various prophets, including Moses, Joshua and Samuel, went out and did just that. They slew unarmed kings, wiped out cities of women and children, and more. If we're so worried today about following prophets, why aren't we screaming about giving such due diligence to Moses?