Prophets are called and chosen by God. They are ordained with the priesthood, the power of God delegated to man to do His work. They are given the keys, or authority, to run His church and teach the gospel.
Prophets speak the words of God for our benefit. They teach us His commandments and show us the way back to Him, through Jesus Christ. The prophets have always prophesied of Christ and His coming. They wrote their prophecies down and these writings were kept and read through the years. We have many of these today in the Bible. We also have words of prophets in the Americas as contained in the Book of Mormon.
When people reject the Prophets they fall into apostasy or disbelief. This can happen individually or as communities and nations. Throughout the scriptures we see this happening. Adam taught his family the gospel, but eventually his posterity rejected his words. When Noah was preaching, the people did not accept him. Noah's family was righteous and after the flood they continued in righteousness for a while. Eventually the gospel was rejected again.
We can protect ourselves from apostasy. We can know that the words of the Prophets are true. We can pray to ask God, in the name of Christ, if the scriptures are His words. We can ask to know that He loves us and that this is the way He reveals His plan for all His children. If we pray, God will confirm that the scriptures are His words. He will also reveal to us how we can apply the teachings from the scriptures in our daily lives.
Central to all these teachings is the life, ministry, and atoning sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
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