Apostasy
03/06
“Many years ago a learned man, a member of the Roman Catholic Church, came to Utah.... One day he said to me: You Mormons are all ignoramuses. You don’t even know the strength of your own position. It is so strong that there is only one other tenable in the whole Christian world, and that is the position of the Catholic Church. The issue is between Catholicism and Mormonism. If we are right, you are wrong; if you are right, we are wrong; and that's all there is to it. The Protestants haven't a leg to stand on. For, if we are wrong, they are wrong with us, since they were a part of us and went out from us; while if we are right, they are apostates whom we cut off long ago. If we have the apostolic succession from St. Peter, as we claim, there is no need of Joseph Smith and Mormonism; but if we have not that succession, then such a man as Joseph Smith was necessary, and Mormonism’s attitude is the only consistent one. It is either the perpetuation of the gospel from ancient times, or the restoration of the gospel in latter days.” (Orson F. Whitney, The Strength of the Mormon Position; Legrand Richards, A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, pg. 3)
(2 Thessalonians 2:1-5)
“In the King James translation of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, we find the apostle Paul reminding the Thessalonian Saints that the Second coming of Jesus Christ would not occur until after there was ‘a falling away.’ The words ‘falling away’ are translated from only a single word, apostasia. This word is more properly rendered as ‘apostasy’ in English. In the Greek manuscripts of this passage, the word apostasia is precede by the definite article, thus indicating that the phrase should be translated as ‘the apostasy.’
In the King James rendition of verse 3, the words ‘falling away’ imply a gradual drifting of sorts. But the Greek work word apostasia carries a much more aggressive meaning like rebellion, revolt, defection, abandonment, or mutiny. These words suggest that ‘the apostasy’ spoken of by the apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians would originate from within the early Christian church. This conclusion is strengthened by the fact that in several texts of the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) the word apostasia is employed to refer to ‘rebellion against god.’” (Matthew Brown, All Things Restored, pg. 5)
Scriptural Objection to the Apostasy comes from the argument based on Jude 1:3:
Some have objected to an apostasy declaring that ‘the faith which has once delivered unto the saints,’ means that the gospel has perpetual validity and therefore, does not require a restoration. The scriptures, however, tell a different story. According to Galatians 3:8 and Hebrews 4:2 the gospel has been preached before on several different occasions. A closer look at the passage in question reveals that the Greek translation in Jude 1:3, ‘once’ as hapax, which is the same word used in Jude 1:5, meaning ‘already.’ We would say that the gospel has been preached ‘already’ or ‘before’ or ‘previously.’
2 Thessalonians 2:3 declares :
Just like the first coming of Christ was preceded by a period of apostasy, so also the Second Coming will not occur until a similar apostasy has taken place....It will be a defection on the part of those who have been reached by the gospel and it will be on a large scale.
01 – “There was something unique about Jewish apostasy in the meridian day. It grew out of one of the most resolute attempts ever made by men to live what they assumed was the will of Jehovah. It grew out of what their Nephite kinsmen, long before, had called ‘looking beyond the mark,’...These words, spoken concerning the Jews of Jacob’s day, applied in full measure also to their descendants in Jesus’ day...For generations that went before, and then in the day of our Lord’s ministry, his Israelite brethren, by ‘looking beyond the mark,’ turned the truth of heaven into a system that led them to hell. That is to say, they took the plain and simple things of pure religion and added to them a host of their own interpretations; they embellished them with added rites and performances; and they took a happy, joyous way of worship and turned it into a restrictive, curtailing, depressive system of rituals and performances. The living spirit of the Lord’s law became in their hands the dead letter of Jewish ritualism.” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mortal Messiah, 1:238)
02 – “As long as inspired men are the keepers of holy writ; as long as prophets and apostles are present to identify and perfect the scriptures by revelation; as long as scriptural translations are made by the gift and power of God—all will be well with the written word. But when the gospel sun sets and apostate darkness shrouds the minds of men, the scriptural word is in jeopardy. From Adam to Malachi, the ancient’s biblical word was in prophetic hands. For the next three of four centuries, uninspired men kept the records, adding and deleting as they chose and for their own purposes. During these dark days, apocryphal and pseudepigraphic writings—intermingling as they do the truths of heaven with the heresies from beneath—arose in great numbers. And there were no prophetic voices either to condemn or to canonize them.
History repeated itself in New Testament times. The inspired word flowed from Spirit-guided pens; inspired men kept the records; and true believers rejoiced in the truths that thus were theirs. True, there were apostates and traitors even while the apostles lived, but at least there was divine guidance that identified the true word and kept the faithful from following every false and evil wind of doctrine. But after the passing of those who held the keys by which the mind and will of the Lord can be gained; after the holy apostles mingled their blood with that of the prophets who were before them; after the age of inspiration ceased—all was no longer well with the written word. Wolves scattered the flocks and tore the flesh of the saints; false teachers led the church into apostate darkness; the post-apostolic fathers wrote their own views—and there was no way to distinguish divine certainty the light from above from the darkness that soon covered the earth.” (Bruce R. McConkie, New Witness for the Articles of Faith, pg. 403-404)
(Daniel 2:28-45; Daniel 7:21, 25-27; Daniel 12:5-12; JST Revelation 12:1-17)
03 – “The hour of God’s judgement is come!” (This begins a process of gathering the believers ready for the Second Coming of Christ.) “I hope the last Day of Judgement is not far, I persuade myself verily it will not be absent full three hundred years longer; for God’s Word will decrease and be darkened for want of true shepherds and servants of God.” [Given Date is 1530 AD] (Martin Luther; Joseph Kerby, ‘The Familiar Discourses of Dr. Martin Luther’, pg. 7-8)
04 – “I calculate to be one of the instruments of setting up the kingdom of Daniel by the word of the Lord, and I intend to lay a foundation that will revolutionize the whole world.” (Joseph Smith, TPJS, pg. 366)
05 – “Joseph Smith, the Prophet, claims that he was the honored instrument in the hands of the Almighty in establishing His kingdom, and upon the sixth day of April, 1830, the initial steps were taken according to law, when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized with six members; in other words, this was the nucleus of that kingdom. An event of such infinite importance as the setting up of the kingdom of God upon the earth in the last days, has been the theme of prophets and inspired men of all ages, some of whom have referred to it with such prophetic and mathematical precision, as to indicate the time when it would be set up, not alone in the words, ‘in the days of these kings,’ but in language that cannot be mistaken. The Prophet Daniel and John the Revelator, being animated by the Holy Ghost, foresaw the wearing out of the Saints, and the departure of the Priesthood from the earth, after the Apostolic age. In Daniel 7:25, the Prophet in speaking of the aggressions of the eleventh horn upon the Saints at the time referred to, states: ‘And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the Saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws, and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.’
In John's Revelations 12:6, 14, in speaking upon the same subject, comparing the persecution of the church unto a woman, as in many cases in Holy Writ the church is likened unto a bride, we find the following: ‘And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and sixty days. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness into her place, where she is nourished for a time and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.’ The declarations of both these Prophets doubtless refer to the same event, that of the extirpation of the church of Christ, and denoting its absence from the earth. A time and times and half a time is strictly prophetic and Scriptural language. A proper rendition of its duration will define the length of time implied. This will necessitate an inquiry into the modes of reckoning time among the Prophets and the Jews or Israelites. The words of the Prophet Daniel, in speaking concerning the captivity and return of the Jews to Jerusalem, together with the rebuilding of their city and sanctuary, in setting the particular time for these events, he makes use of the term weeks, by which we find that the term ‘week’ implied seven years, each day of the week being one year, thus we have deduced a datum by which we can determine the duration of the term, ‘time, times and half a time.’
We have previously given two quotations from John the Revelator, bearing upon the same point. In the first he tells us that the woman or the church was to be fed one thousand two hundred and sixty days, which means one thousand two hundred and sixty years. If the term time, times and half a time can be analyzed to contain one thousand two hundred and sixty years, then the proof will be complete. A time being one year, each year reckoned to contain three hundred and sixty days, each day representing one year, we have the formula: one time equaling three hundred and sixty years, times equaling seven hundred and twenty years, half a time one hundred and eighty years; in all one thousand two hundred and sixty years.
Thus we have shown that one thousand two hundred and sixty years was to elapse before the implied return of the woman or the church, which event took place in the year 1830. History gives the year 570 A. D. as the date when the Christian church was totally overrun and destroyed, to which date, if we add the one thousand two hundred and sixty years that the church was to be absent, we have the astounding fact that the year 1830 was the set time when the kingdom of God was to be established, which agrees precisely with the declaration of the Prophet Joseph Smith, at which date the following ten kingdoms were in existence, and in the days of whose kings this notable event transpired, namely: Italy, France, Belgium, England, Holland, Prussia, Austria, Hungaria, Spain, and Greece, and the kings or rulers of these kingdoms may be regarded as those to whom the Prophet Daniel referred; because in their days and time the kingdom of God was set up, and at no other period of time in the days of the kings of the ten kingdoms that have arisen upon the ruins of the western empire of Rome, has that event taken place.
Having shown the rise and fall of the golden, silver, brass and iron kingdoms, the rise of the ten or toe kingdoms, and their existence in the year 1830, in which year the kingdom of God was set up, there is but one thing remaining to a full fulfillment of the dream prophecy, and as certain as all the other terms of it have come to pass, just so certain will the last be verified in the never failing words of inspiration and prophecy, that it shall stand for ever, and crush to pieces all other kingdoms, and no power can prevent it, while Christ the King shall reign over it for ever and ever.” (Contributor, (December, 1885), Volume 7, Number 3, pg. 108-109)
NOTES - 721BC (End of Daily Sacrifice) Subtract 1290 Years [No Year of 0] = 570AD and 1260 Years (Time, Times, and ½ Time - 1260 days or years) = 1830AD
Time (Hebrew) iddan - translates as days or years (Ezekiel 4:6)
Days (Hebrew) yowm - translates or represents day or year (Genesis 5; Exodus 20:10-11, Numbers 14:34)
06 – TWO KINGDOMS: THE ECCLESIASTICAL AND POLITICAL
“After Christ comes, all the peoples of the earth will be subject to him, but there will be multitudes of people on the face of the earth who will not be members of the Church; yet all will have to be obedient to the laws of the kingdom of God, for it will have dominion upon the whole face of the earth. These people will be subject to the political government, even though they are not members of the ecclesiastical kingdom which is the Church.
This government which embraces all the peoples of the earth, both in and out of the Church, is also sometimes spoken of as the kingdom of God, because the people are subject to the kingdom of God which Christ will set up; but they have their agency and thousands will not be members of the Church until they are converted; yet at the same time they will be subject to the theocratic rule.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, DS, 1:229)
07 – “Again in a discourse under date of July 8, 1855, President Young said: ‘As was observed by Brother Pratt [this morning] that kingdom [i. e. of God] is actually organized and the inhabitants of the earth do not know it. If this people know anything about it, all right; it is organized preparatory to taking effect in the due time of the Lord, and in the manner that shall please him. As observed by one of the speakers this morning that kingdom grows out of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but it is not the church; ...” (Joseph Smith, HC, 7:381; JD, 9:309-17)
THE KINGDOMS OF DANIEL’S VISIONS
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BABYLON [Nebuchadnezzar/ Belchazzar] (671 - 538 BC) |
Head of Gold [Chief] (2:32, 37-38) |
Lion with Eagle’s Wings (7:4, 17) |
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MEDES AND PERSIANS [Cyrus/Darius] (538 - 331 BC) |
Breast/Arms of Silver [Inferior] (2:32, 39) |
Bear with three Ribs (7:5, 17) |
Ram
(8:3-4, 20) |
(11:1-2) |
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GREEKS [Alexander the Great] (331 - 160 BC) |
Belly/Thighs of Brass [Rule Over Earth] (2:32, 39) |
Leopard with four heads/four wings § (7:6, 17) |
Goat/Four Notable Horns § (8:5-8, 21-22) |
(11:3-20) |
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ROME [Caesars] (160 - 488 AD) |
Legs of Iron [Divided Kingdom] (2:33, 40) |
Terrible Beast with Iron Teeth (7:7, 19, 23) |
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MANY KINGDOMS t
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Feet/Ten Toes of Iron & Clay [Partly strong/broken] (2:33, 41-43) |
Ten Horns
(7:7-8, 20, 24) |
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KINGDOM OF GOD [God] (1830 - Forever) |
Stone [Cut out of mtn. without hands] (2:34-35, 44-45) |
Ancient of Days & The Son of Man (7:9-14, 22, 25-28) |
Prince of Princes
(8:25) |
(12:1-3) |
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POWER OF ANTI-CHRIST
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Little Horn among the Ten Horns \ (7:8, 20-21) |
Little Horn from the Four Heads \ (8:9-12, 23-25) |
(11:21-45) |
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01 |
Italy |
(496 AD) |
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06 |
Portugal |
(1138 AD) |
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02 |
France |
(752 AD) |
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07 |
Prussia |
(1139 AD) |
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03 |
England |
(803 AD) |
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08 |
Austria |
(1158 AD) |
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04 |
Belgium |
(806) AD) |
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09 |
Spain |
(1471 AD) |
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05 |
Holland |
(922 AD) |
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10 |
Greece |
(1829 AD) |
(Spencer W. Kimball, CR, April 1970, pg. 10; Rudger Clawson, CR, April 1930, pg. 32; Orson Pratt, JD, 18:335-42)
' Generals of Alexander the Great and the divided Kingdom — Cassander - Macedon & Greece; Lysimachus - Thrace & Bithynia; Ptolemy - Egypt; Seleucus - Syria
(Adam Clarke, Commentary, 4:592)
\ Antiochus IV or Antiochus Epiphanes - BD, 609, 727; Literal/Type]
08 – “The Church of Jesus Christ will produce this government, and cause it to grow and spread, and it will shield round about the church. And under the influence and power of the Kingdom of God, the church will rest secure and dwell in safety, without taking the trouble of governing and controlling the whole earth.” (Brigham Young, The Kingdom of God, pg. 13 [pamphlet from a speech given in Salt Lake City, July 1855])
(Amos 8:11-12; Mosiah 27:13)
09 – “The true cause of the persecution was this: Satan knew there was no power of salvation in the idolatrous worship of the heathen, and hence let them live on in peace, but when Jesus of Nazareth and his followers came, in the authority of God, preaching the gospel, he recognized in that the principles and power against which he had rebelled in heaven, and stirred up the hearts of men to rebellion against the truth to overthrow it. This was the real cause of persecution, though it lurked under a variety of pretexts....” (B. H. Roberts, Outlines of Ecclesiastical History, pg. 119)
· Transgression/Wickedness Within
· Private Interpretation
· Greek Philosophy
· Gnostic Heresies
· Pagan Influences
· Political Interference
· Moral/Ethical Corruption of Leadership
10 – “In the early centuries of the Christian era, the apostasy came not through persecution, but by relinquishment of faith caused by the superimposing of a man-made structure upon and over the divine program. Many men with no pretense nor claim to revelation, speaking without divine authority or revelation, depending only upon their own brilliant minds, but representing as they claim the congregations of the Christians and in long conference and erudite councils, sought the creation process to make a God which all could accept.
The brilliant minds with their philosophies, knowing much about the Christian traditions and the pagan philosophies, would combine all elements to please everybody. They replaced the simple ways and program of the Christ with spectacular rituals, colorful display, impressive pageantry, and limitless pomposity, and called it Christianity. They had replaced the glorious, divine plan of exaltation of Christ with an elaborate, colorful, man-made system. They seemed to have little idea of totally dethroning the Christ, nor terminating the life of God, as in our own day, but they put together an incomprehensible God idea.” (Spencer W. Kimball, TSWK, pg. 425)
(D&C 123:7-8; JS-H 1:19-20)
11 – “False creeds make false churches. There is no salvation in believing a lie. Every informed, inspired, and discerning person is revolted by the absurdities and scripture—defying pronouncements in the creeds of Christendom, whose chief function is to define and set forth the nature and kind of Being that God is.” (Bruce R. McConkie Mortal Messiah, 1:30)
12 – “Following the great apostasy from the principles and laws of Christ, the world became enslaved in a cloak of darkness. This long night of Christian apostasy placed an oppressive tyranny on the minds of men, which were shackled by chains of false priestly tradition. Truth had been turned to superstition, joy to despair, and worship into ritual.” (Ezra Taft Benson ACR(London)1976:49; Rulon T.Burton, We Believe, pg. 31)
13 – “If the whole tree is corrupt, are not its branches corrupt? If the Catholic religion is a false religion, how can any true religion come out of it? If the Catholic church is bad, how can any good thing come out of it? The character of the old churches have always been slandered by all apostates since the world began.
...It is in the order of heavenly things that God should always send a new dispensation into the world when men have apostatized from the truth and lost the priesthood; but when men come out and build upon other men's foundations, they do it on their own responsibility, without authority from God; and when the floods come and the winds blow, their foundations will be found to be sand, and their whole fabric will crumble to dust.” (Joseph Smith, HC, 6:478-79)
THE NICENE CREED
“We believe one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and life of the world to come.”
THE ATHANASIAN CREED
“We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the Persons: nor dividing the Substance. For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son: and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one: the Glory co-equal, the Majesty co-eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son: and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate: and the Holy Ghost uncreate. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible: and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible. The Father eternal, the Son eternal: and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet they are not three eternals: But one Eternal. As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor three uncreated: But one Uncreated, and one Incomprehensible. So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son almighty: and the Holy Ghost almighty. And yet they are not three almighties: but one Almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God: and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three gods: but one God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three lords: but one Lord. For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by Himself to be God and Lord: So are we forbidden by the Catholic religion to say, there be three gods, or three lords. The Father is made of none: neither created nor begotten. The son is of the Father alone, not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy ghost is the Father and of the Son, neither made, nor created nor begotten, but preceding. So there is one Father, not three Fathers, one Son, not three Sons, one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. And in this trinity none is afore, or after other: none is the greater or less than another. But the whole three Persons are co-eternal together, and co-equal. So than in all things, as is afore said, the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshiped. He therefore that will be saved: must thus think of the Trinity. Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation: that he also believe rightly the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess: that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man. God, of the Substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds: and Man, of the substance of His mother, born in the world. Perfect God, and perfect Man: of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting: Equal to the Father: as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father, as touching His Manhood. Who although He be God and Man, yet He is not two, but one Christ. One: not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by the taking of the Manhood into God. One altogether: not by confusion of Substance, but by unity of Person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man: So God and Man is one Christ. Who suffered for our salvation: descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven, He sitteth on the right hand of the Father, God Almighty, from whence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies, and shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good shall enter into life everlasting, and they that have done evil into everlasting fire. This is the Catholic Faith: which except a man believe faithfully, he cannot be saved.”
(Matthew 24:5-11, 23-24; Acts 20:29-31; 1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 2 Timothy 4:3-4; 2 Peter 2:1-2; D&C 86:2-3)
13 Articles of Apostasy
First, the apostles were killed and revelation ceased, thus undermining the foundation of Christ’s Church.
Second, the scriptures are a historical witness that the apostasy was in progress and a prophetic witness that it would be consummated before Christ’s second coming.
Third, the Bible ended. If the Church had continued, revelation would have continued, and the Bible would have been an ongoing book.
Fourth, the gifts of the Spirit were lost.
Fifth, the dark ages became a historical fact, symbolizing that the light of Christ’s gospel had been extinguished.
Sixth, many teachings became perverted, some were lost, and new ones were invented.
Seventh, many gospel ordinances were perverted, some were lost, and new ones were invented.
Eighth, the simple mode of prayer was changed, which diluted man’s efforts to communicate with God.
Ninth, the scriptures were removed from the hands of the lay membership and retained solely in the hands of clergy, often in a language the common man could not understand.
Tenth, the wickedness sanctioned by the ongoing church was so prolonged and so egregious that no spiritually minded person could believe that Christ’s Church, if on the earth, would condone such behavior.
Eleventh, there was a discernible decline in the moral standards and church discipline of the ongoing church.
Twelfth, the church no longer bore Christ’s name.
Thirteenth, the priesthood was lost, and thus no one on the earth was authorized to perform the saving ordinances.
The foregoing evidences—spiritual, intellectual, and historical in nature—while independent in their own right, also complement and supplement each other. When viewed as a whole and not as solitary threads, they weave a consistent and unmistakable pattern showing that Christ’s Church was ultimately lost from the earth.
1st - It is said that the apostasy occurred because the apostles were gone; but clearly it was not. The apostles were taken because the apostasy had occurred.) [Mormon 1:13, 16; Mormon 8:10] (Mark E. Peterson; Kent Jackson, Ensign, December 1984, pg.16)(Ephesians 2:19-29; Ephesians 4:11-14; Matthew 16:15-19)
2nd - (Kent P. Jackson, Ensign, December 1984, Early Signs of the Apostasy, pg. 8-16) (Jude 1:7)
14 – “The average Christian does not realize that the very scriptures which he reads are evidences that there has been a great apostasy from the truth. Particularly are the epistles of the New Testament such evidence. Nearly every one of these epistles was written to counteract some form of apostasy which was creeping into the Christian Church in the very days in which the original Twelve Apostles lived.” (Mark E Petersen, Toward a Better Life, pg. 70)
3rd - (2 Nephi 29:6, 9-10)
15 – “The very fact that the Bible ceased to grow through the ages is itself proof positive of the great apostasy.” (Bruce R. McConkie, New Witness for the Articles of Faith, pg. 398)
4th - (Mormon 8:26; Mormon 9:19-20; Moroni 7:27, 36-37; Moroni 10:7-8)
5th - (D&C 1:30; 1 John 1:5-6)
16 – “...when the light of that century went out, the darkness was impenetrable, the heavens were sealed, and the ‘dark ages’ moved in. The thickness of this spiritual darkness was not unlike that physical darkness in Nephite history when ‘neither candles neither torches; neither could there be fire kindled with their fine and exceedingly dry wood.’ (3 Nephi 8:21) The spiritual vapor of darkness was impenetrable, and centuries were to pass with hardly the dim uncertain light of a candle to break its austere darkness.
...This earth, already much in darkness, slipped into the Dark Ages when the Holy Ghost was not available to men, when no prophets led the people, when men's minds were darkened, when few inventions came to benefit mankind.” (Spencer W. Kimball, TSWK, pg. 424-425)
17 – “Do you think the Lord Almighty will reveal the great improvements in the arts and sciences which are being constantly made known and will not revive a pure religion? If any man imagines that with the mighty strides which the sciences have been making for a few years past, there will be no improvement in religion, that man is vain in his imagination. God will improve the religion of the nations of the earth in proportion to the improvement made in the sciences. This is true whether you believe it or not.” (Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, pg. 108)
6th - (1 Timothy 1:1-4)
18 – “I hold the precepts of Jesus, as delivered by himself, to be the most pure, benevolent, and sublime which have ever been preached to man. I adhere to the principles of the first age; and consider all subsequent innovations as corruptions of this religion, having no foundation in what came from him....If the freedom of religion, guaranteed to us by law in theory, can ever rise in practice under the overbearing inquisition of public opinion, truth will prevail over fanaticism, and the genuine doctrines of Jesus, so long perverted by his pseudo-priests, will again be restored to their original purity. This reformation will advance with the other improvements of the human mind, but too late for me to witness it.” [Statement made in 1820/Died in 1826](Thomas Jefferson; Norman Cousins, In God We Trust: The Religious Beliefs and Ideas of the American Founding Fathers, pg. 156)
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ORIGINAL DOCTRINE |
ORIGINAL DOCTRINE AS FOUND IN SCRIPTURE |
PERVERSIONS FROM ORIGINAL DOCTRINES DUE TO AN APOSTASY
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Nature of God: The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three distinct personages, but one in purpose and unity. |
Genesis 1:26; 5:3; 32:30; Matthew 3:16-17; 12:32; 27:46; Luke 24:39; John 5:30; 14:28; 17:21; Acts 7:55-56; Romans 6:9; 1 Corinthians 3:8-9; 15:24-25; Hebrews 1:3; James 2:26; D&C 130:22-23; JS-H 1:16-17
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Nature of God: The Father, Son, and Holy ghost ate three separate entities, yet mysteriously they are also one substance; each of the members of the Godhead is a spirit without a physical body.
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Deification: Man is a spirit child of God and therefore through the grace of Jesus Christ has the capability of becoming a god.
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Genesis 17:1; Psalms 82:1, 6; Matthew 5:48; John 10:32-34; 17:22-23; Acts 17:28; Romans 8:16-17; Ephesians 4:12-13; Philippians 3:14-15; 2 Timothy 2:12; 2 Peter 1:3-4; Revelation 3:21; 21:7; 3 Nephi 27:27; Moroni 10:32-33
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Deification: This doctrine has been completely lost; in fact many teach the reverse. They declare it is blasphemous to teach that a mortal might become a god.
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Premortal Existence: Men and women lived in God’s presence as his spirit children before they were born in mortality.
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Job 38:4, 7; Ecclesiastes 12:7; Jeremiah 1:5; John 3:13; 9:1-2; Romans 8:29; Ephesians 3:15; 2 Timothy 1:9; Jude 1:6; Revelation 12:4-7; Alma 13:1-9
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Premortal Existence: This doctrine has been completely lost.
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The Fall of Adam: Adam and Eve lived in a state of innocence in the Garden of Eden and would have had no children there. The Fall was necessary for them to have children and to gain knowledge so they could become more like God.
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2 Nephi 2:23; Moses 5:11 |
The Fall of Adam: If Adam and Eve had not transgressed they would have had children in the Garden of Eden and lived happily ever after.
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Grace and Works: We are saved by grace after all we can do.
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Matthew 7:21-27; 10:22; 24:13; John 5:29; Romans 2:6; 2:13; Philippians 2:12; Titus 2:14; James 2:17, 19-20; 1 Peter 2:15; 1 John 2:4-5; Revelation 3:2, 4; 14:14; 20:13; 2 Nephi 25:23
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Grace and Works: While Catholics believe in some form of works, most Protestants believe we are saved by grace alone and works are an evidence of salvation, not a condition to it.
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Preaching the Gospel: If a person did not receive a fair opportunity to hear the gospel in mortality, he will hear it in the spirit world before he receives his final judgment.
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Isaiah 24:22; 42:7; 61:1; Matthew 12:40; Luke 16:22-23; 23:43; John 5:25, 28; 20:17; Ephesians 4:9; 1 Peter 3:18-20; 4:6; Alma 40:12-14; D&C 138
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Preaching the Gospel: This doctrine has been completely lost.
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Baptism: Baptism is essential for salvation.
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Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; Luke 7:30; John 3:5; Acts 2:37-38; 8:12, 37-38; 10:47-48; 16:14; 18:8; 22:14-16; Galatians 3:27; Titus 3:4; 2 Nephi 9:23; 31:4-12 |
Baptism: Many teach that baptism is a symbolic confirmation of our saved condition, but not a requirement for salvation.
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The Mode of Baptism: One must be baptized by immersion by someone who holds the authority.
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Matthew3:16; John3:23; Acts 8:38; Romans 6:3-5; 3 Nephi 11:23-26
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The Mode of Baptism: Some believe that baptism by immersion is essential, but most churches believe that baptism by pouring or sprinkling is equally satisfactory.
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Baptism for the Dead: Those who did not receive the opportunity to be baptized in mortality will receive the opportunity in the spirit world by a mortal being baptized on their behalf.
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Zechariah 9:11; 1 Corinthians 15:29; Hebrews 11:40; 1 Peter 4:6; D&C 127:5-12; 128:1-21 |
Baptism for the Dead: This doctrine has been completely lost.
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The Sacrament: Bread and wine or water are administered in a simple ceremony to believers in remembrance of the body and blood of Christ.
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JST Matthew 26:22; 1 Corinthians 11:25; 3 Nephi 18:7; D&C 27:2
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The Sacrament: In some cases, bread and water are administered in a simple ceremony to believers in remembrance of the body and blood of Christ; in other cases, the ceremony has become mystical and ornate, and a new doctrine of transubstantiation has been introduced.
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Blessing of Babies: Babies should have hands placed on them and be given a blessing.
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JST Genesis 17:6; Matthew: 10:16; 18:3; 19:13-15; Moroni 8:5-20; D&C 20:70
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Blessing of Babies: Instead of blessing babies, a new doctrine was invented and accepted by many, which allowed or required the baptism of infants. This resulted from the invention of a new doctrine known as original sin.
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Laying On of Hands: Priesthood men lay on hands to 1- confer the Holy Ghost; 2- ordain others to the priesthood and Church callings; 3- give blessings of health and comfort.
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Numbers 27:23; Mark 8:23; 16:18; Luke 13:13; Acts 5:12; 6:3, 6; 8:17; 9:17-18; 13:3; 19:6; 28:8; 1 Timothy 4:6, 14; 5:22; Moroni 3:1-4
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Laying On of Hands: While some churches lay on hands for some purposes, it is generally fallen into disuse for most purposes for which it was designed in the early church.
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Abortion: Except in rare cases, abortion is a heinous sin. |
Leviticus 17:11; Romans 1:31; 2 Timothy 3:3; D&C 59:6 |
Abortion: There are mixed feelings on this. Some fundamentalists are opposed to abortion; other churches oppose it but do not discipline their members for violations, and yet other churches advocate pro-choice.
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Homosexuality: Those who practice homosexuality are sons and daughters of God, but the practice itself is a heinous sin. |
Genesis 1:28; 19:5-9; Leviticus 20:13; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Timothy 1:10; 2 Timothy 3:3
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Homosexuality: Some oppose homosexuality as a heinous sin; others accept it as approved by God, even ordaining to the ministry those who practice it.
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Marriage: Marriage is ordained of God and meant to be for eternity.
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Genesis 2:18-24; Matthew 8:14; 18:18; Mark 10:9; 1 Corinthians 11:11; 1 Timothy 4:1-3; 1 Peter 3:7; D&D 131
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Marriage: Some believe that celibacy is spiritually preferred to marriage; others endorse marriage but believe it will be for this earth-life only.
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Temple Ordinances and Covenants: Worthy Saints may receive divine ordinances in the temple and make covenants that will lift them spiritually.
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1 Corinthians 4:1; D&C 132; Moses 5:58-59
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Temple Ordinances and Covenants: This doctrine has been completely lost.
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Disciplinary Actions: Transgressors received ecclesiastical discipline designed to help them repent, to protect the integrity of the Church, and to protect the innocent.
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Matthew 18:16-18; Hebrews 12:6; D&C 64:12-14; 102
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Disciplinary Actions: At some point the ongoing church’s ecclesiastical discipline merged with secular discipline. Most churches have some form of disciplinary action but seldom use it.
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Physical Resurrection of the Dead: The dead will be resurrected with a glorified body of flesh and bones, just as was the Savior.
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Job 19:25-26; Matthew 27:52; Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22; Alma 40:23
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Physical Resurrection of the Dead: Many believe a physical body is limiting and therefore the dead will be ‘resurrected’ merely as spirits.
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Multiple Heavens: The dead will be judged according to their works and ultimately be assigned to one of the three heavens—the celestial, the terrestrial, or the telestial. |
Matthew 10:41; John 14:2; 1 Corinthians 15:40-42; 2 Corinthians 12:3; Revelation 20:13; D&C 76
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Multiple Heavens: There is one heaven and one hell.
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7th - (D&C 1:15)
CREEDS of the FATHERS
· Infant Baptism - Established at the Council of Carthage XVI (418AD) - (James E. Talmage, The Great Apostasy, pg. 119; James Barker, The Divine Church, pg. 18)
· Improper Baptism - Sprinkling Authorized by Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage (248AD) - (James E. Talmage, Articles of Faith, pg. 486; B.H. Roberts, Outlines of Ecclesiastical History, pg. 141)
· Mystery of the Trinity - Established at the Council of Nice (325AD)
· Immateriality of God - Established at the Council of Nice (325AD); Revised at the Council of Constantinople (381AD)
· Predestination - Established at the Council of Aries (475AD)/Council of Orange (529AD) - (T. Edgar Lyon, Apostasy to Restoration, pg. 170, 267-274)
· Ceased Revelation - Confirmed by Session IV of the Council of Trent (April 8, 1546)
· Transubstantiation - Idea formed early in the apostate church; mentioned at Roman Council VI (1079AD); Official Tenant of the Roman Church (1215AD) - (James E. Talmage, The Great Apostasy, pg. 121; T. Edgar Lyon, Apostasy to Restoration, pg. 230)
· Scripture Authority - Perpetuated during the sixteenth century
· Maryology
· Simony
· Celibacy
8th - (D&C 1:16)
9th - (1 Nephi 13:26-32)
10th - (JS-H 1:19; Mormon 8:32; 1 Peter 5:3)
11th - (1 Nephi 13:4-9)
12th - (3 Nephi 27:4-9)
19 – “There are churches named after their place of origin—as the Church of England; other sects are designated in honor of their famous promoters—as Lutherans, Calvinists, Wesleyans; others are known from some peculiarity of creed or doctrine—as Methodists, Presbyterians, and Baptists; but down to the beginning of the nineteenth century there was no church even claiming name or title as the Church of Christ.” (James E. Talmage, The Great Apostasy, pg. 158-159)
13th - (Hebrews 5:4; 1 Thessalonians 1:5)
20 – “It is said the priesthood was taken from the Church, but it is not so, the Church went from the Priesthood.” (Brigham Young, JD, 12:69)
(D&C 86:2-4)
21 – “The modern world, called ‘Christian,’ claims to have perpetuated the system called ‘Christianity’, while, at the same time, it declares, that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit have ceased.
With as much propriety it might be contended, that the magnet had been perpetuated, but had lost its magnetic properties; that water was perpetuated with all its virtues, but had lost its power to quench thirst, or seek its own level; that fire was still fire, but had lost its heat.
How, we inquire, can Christianity have been perpetuated, while its virtues, its legitimate powers, its distinguishing features, its very life and essence have ceased from among men? Or, of what use is it if it does exist?” (Parley P. Pratt, Key to the Science of Theology, pg. 109-110)
22 – “There is no more similarity between Christianity, as it now exists, with all its superstitions, corruptions, jargons, contentions, divisions, weakness, and imbecility, and this KINGDOM OF GOD, as spoken of in the Scriptures, than there is between light and darkness; and it would no more compare with things to come, than an orange would compare with the earth, or a taper with the glorious luminary of day.” (John Taylor, The Government of God, pg. 92)
APOSTASY
You Can Take Away Our:
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Our Prophets |
Our Missionary Program |
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Our Apostles |
Our Belief in a Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ |
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Our Modern-day Revelations |
Our Welfare Program |
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Our Modern-day Scripture |
Our Belief in the Godhead |
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Our Book of Mormon |
Our Concept of the Resurrection |
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Our Temples |
Our Concept of the Spirit World |
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Our Celestial Marriage |
Our Belief in Life and Progression after our Resurrection |
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Our Genealogical Research |
Our Belief in the Different Degrees of Glory |
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Our Works for our Kindred Dead |
Our Belief in a Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ |
And we still have all that the other churches have except a ‘Paid Ministry’.
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