What you say is true; but, then, if I felt that the Lord was telling me that the prophet was false, as a seeker of truth, I wouldn’t want to be in the Church very long, would I? There are some such, and they do leave. God be with them. (As a sidebar, it’s not very “cultish” of us to let them leave, is it? Perhaps we need to review our policies...)
There hasn’t been a real rebellion in the Church since Rigdon and Young. Some members did break away at that point; the first of the splinter groups were thus formed. I suppose one could also look at the revokation of plural marriage for more rebellion.
Some people rebel in their own lives; you mention BYU profs. There are some who come to believe that their wisdom exceeds God’s. They quickly lose their way, because they lose that inestimable quality of teachability. Their pride in their own wisdom pulls them away.
Now when you said:
“What you say, Tanty, is theoretically possible, but is not a practical thing carried out,”
it was in response to my statement about verifying truth with the Lord.
I’m here to tell you, it is not only practical, but commonplace for those who wish to ask. It’s a singularly edifying experience to have the Holy Spirit testify the truth of a principle to your soul and mind; and it’s a more enduring experience even than seeing an angel would be.
Many people don’t realize that prayer is, in fact, two-way communication, or can be if you’re open to receiving wisdom and being taught at the Lord’s hand.
It seems incredible to me to think that there are those who believe they can sway the hearts of Mormons that have been cemented in place by this testimony of the Holy Spirit. It cannot be done. I don’t just -believe- certain things. I -know- certain things - because I’ve knelt, asked, and received the response. How is it that somebody can expect me to turn against these things that I know? How is it that somebody thinks they can convince me that the sun doesn’t rise in the East? Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. The Book of Mormon and the Bible are the word of God. Jesus lives and is the Christ. These are some of the things that I know.
Because of this knowledge, I’ve had the patience to prayerfully study the claims of our detractors. I am not swayed by the doubts that such claims inevitably engender, because my faith is built on a solid foundation. In the end, every one of them falls apart under closer scrutiny, and my faith grows more as each doubt is squashed. Oh, the detractors don’t agree with me; but I’m more concerned with my own pursuit of the truth than with theirs.
All this was the long-winded way of saying, yes, we can verify truth with God. And it is a foundational precept of our faith.