How do you recover messages from iCloud

Do I understand this correctly, Apple automatically backs up the messages from my iPhone to iCloud but you cannot access them or recover them from iCloud back to my phone??

Correct.

What options do I have to be able to back up and recover my messages?

Your messages are synced in real time to all subscribed devices. There is no recovery using Messages in iCloud.

Feedback for Apple goes here >>> http://www.apple.com/feedback/

FinTSun wrote:

How can I recover my messages

If you are using Messages in iCloud, you can't.

FinTSun wrote:

Messages are automatically stored in iCloud - how can I recover a conversation?

Messages are stored on iCloud, but not accessible there.