I don't know if this is contributing to the conversation or not, but I'm almost certain President Monson said something along the lines of "Thus Saith the Lord" during conference in April, 2008. It was during his closing comments, I think.
I dunno, for me, I'm pretty sure that even when the Prophets and Apostles aren't sitting face-to-face with the Christ, they're receiving clear instruction from him. Now, I figure sometimes it's just inspired feeling, but other times I believe it's most definitely more than that. We don't hear about it all the time because miracles don't exactly generate faith.
It's funny that the topic of "Guys up top must know its fake" comes up, because I remember hearing a lot of that about the Catholic Church on my mission. At the time I bought that, but now, I don't think so. It is, as ronito said, too romantic an idea to really buy for me. Especially since (and I suppose that to most this is no source of great credence to some) Preach My Gospel says that there have been many religious leaders throughout history who, Christian or not, and in spite of not being Prophets, have been imparted light to guide people.
It's easy to say that because President Monson doesn't often stand up and say "Thus Saith the Lord of Hosts" or "I have dreamed a dream, or in other words, I have had a vision" that some kind of thinning of the Church has happened, but as I have been asked to look at things from other perspectives, I must put forth that there are other ways of looking at this.
Just as I have heard it said that some think the Church no longer teaches that Exaltation equates to Deification, I have to say that the notion that the Prophet speaks with Christ, whether face-to-face like Moses, or to a voice as Elijah did, is still very much alive in the Church. I can't account for everything every Prophet has said, but I can say, as an active member living in one of the centers of Mormonism, that the belief that the Prophet literally communicates with the Christ is very much alive here.
ON AN UNRELATED topic, President Clark, the President of BYU Idaho, spoke concerning BYUI Secrets (the hip place to talk about how much you enjoy getting your husband's moneyshots!) the other day:
You can read it here.
It's not exactly surprising, I suppose, given that it's what you would expect him to say. I can't say I don't agree with some of his points, though. Mostly that I don't really know that I think it's a great idea. As other professors around campus have commented (BYUI-S has been something of the local scuttlebutt/sensation these past few weeks!) it is representative of the rather repressed nature of the student body. I agree that keeping things bottled up isn't great, but there should be a better way than this, and frankly, some things simply don't need to be said.
In fact, the page is popular enough, and some people's confessions carelessly specific enough, that there have already been people around campus who have seen social situations become, shall we say, more problematic because one roommate or ex commented something and everyone around now knows what was said.
I don't know that I usually find myself agreeing with President Clark on much (which isn't to say I find myself in open rebellion often, either), but I get where he's coming from here.
