For the most part, the prophets of God receive revelation just like the rest of us—through the Spirit. When Mike Wallace interviewed President Hinckley and asked him about his prophetic role, he referenced the passage in 1 Kings: And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice (1 Kings 19:11-12). If the prophet can run the Church by the still small voice, we should be able to run our own lives by the same Spirit. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that the method by which the still small voice communicates is spirit-to-spirit:
“All things whatsoever God in his infinite wisdom has seen fit and proper to reveal to us, while we are dwelling in mortality, in regard to our mortal bodies, are revealed to us in the abstract, and independent of affinity of this mortal tabernacle, but are revealed to our spirits precisely as though we had no bodies at all; and those revelations which will save our spirits will save our bodies.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 355, italics added)