When the Church was being organized, the Savior often told the Prophet Joseph Smith that everything must be done “in order.”1 You need rules and guidelines, or else there’s chaos.
That doesn’t mean there’s never any leeway.
For example, there is some flexibility in the sacrament—not in the words of the prayers, but in what food is used. “It mattereth not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the sacrament,” the Lord told Joseph Smith, as long as you do it in remembrance of His suffering and Atonement (Doctrine and Covenants 27:2).
You may have seen this in practice if someone in your ward has a gluten allergy and a cracker is provided as a bread substitute.
However, there is no leeway when it comes to some other important aspects of the Church. For example, the Savior said that only one person can receive revelation for the entire Church: the prophet. It was Joseph Smith at the time.2 Today it is President Russell M. Nelson.
Other inspired Church leaders can teach, advise, and give counsel.3 But only the President of the Church can speak for God on matters that affect the whole Church.
Just one more example of how God is not a God of confusion, but of order.
NOTES
1. See Doctrine and Covenants 20:68, 28:13, 58:55, and 107:84.
2. See Doctrine and Covenants 28:2.
3. See Doctrine and Covenants 28:4–5.