Why was a Restoration Necessary?

The Great Apostasy and The Restoration

God’s pattern of dispensations● What is a Dispensation?

● Dispensation: A period of time in which the Lord has at least one authorized servant on the earth who

bears the keys of the holy priesthood.

● In addition to Jesus Christ, prophets such as Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Joseph

Smith have each started a new gospel dispensation. (Amos 3:7)

● The dispensation begun by Joseph Smith is known as the “dispensation of the fulness of times.”

God’s pattern of dispensations

1. God calls a prophet and reveals his gospel

2.The people obey the prophet and are blessed

3.Prosperity leads to pride, the rejection of the prophets and Apostasy

4. Widespread Apostasy causes God to withdraw the Priesthood from the Earth

Apostasy defined (True to the Faith pAge 12-13)● When individuals or groups of people turn away from the principles of the gospel, they are in a state of

apostasy.

● The Great Apostasy occurred after the Savior established His Church. ● The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will never again be overcome by general apostasy. (see

D&C 138:44; see also Daniel 2:44).

Apostasy Puzzle- Object Lesson

The history of the Great apostasy★ Matthew 24:9-11

� The death of the apostles are accounted as follows: Peter was crucified at Rome, head downward, James (the son of Zebedee) was beheaded, John was exiled to the Isle of Patmos. Bartholomew was beaten, crucified, and then beheaded. James (the son of Alphaeus) was stoned and beaten to death. Matthew was slain with a halberd. Andrew, Simon (Zelotes), Thaddeus, and Philip were crucified. Thomas was killed with a spear. Matthias was stoned and then beheaded. Paul was beheaded in Rome by Nero. (John Foxe, Book of Martyrs, Book I, pp. 27-32).

The result of the Death of the apostles★ Acts 1:24-26★ The apostles were unable to meet and fill the vacancies in the twelve, as they had

done before. Bishops of the many cities were left without the priesthood supervision of the apostles. False teachers and false doctrines arose. This is confirmed in the writing of Eusebius, an ancient historian who lived around 260-339 A.D.:

★ “When the sacred Choir of the Apostles became extinct and the generation of those that had been privileged to hear their inspired wisdom had passed away, then also the combination of errors arose by the fraud, and delusions of false teachers. These also as there were none of the apostles left, henceforth, attempted without shame, to preach their false doctrines against the gospel truth.” (Eusebius Ecclesiastical History, Book III, Chapter 32).

The doctrine of baptism was corruptedIn the mid-third century, and man named Cyprian, who was Bishop of Carthage, advocated the use of sprinkling instead of immersion when the candidate for baptism had some physical weakness. This method caught on, and became widespread. A few centuries later, the practice of baptizing infants began. (James E. Talmage, The Great Apostasy, pp. 118-19)

The nature of god was changedThe emperor of Rome, Constantine, saw the possibility of gaining personal political advantage by supporting Christianity. He thought it might strengthen his empire to enforce Christianity and make it the state religion. Constantine assembled a council of all Bishops in 325 A.D., to settle a dispute concerning the nature of God. Some argued that the Father and the Son were of the same substance, and others that they were distinct individuals. The council concluded its debate by issuing the Nicean Creed or statement of belief. By vote, the doctrine of the Trinity emerged, basically a product of debate and compromise. There was no revelation, no authority, no attempt at inspiration.

The dark ages● Thus we can see that in only a few centuries after Christ, the apostasy was complete.

Priesthood leadership and authority was lost, the nature of God was changed by vote, and the mode of baptism was altered.

● The church had changed from a persecuted church, to a persecuting church. Those who disagreed with the doctrines or practices of the church were called heretics and were usually tortured and killed. Not surprisingly, the many centuries when there was no priesthood and no revelation on the earth are referred to by almost all historians as “The Dark Ages.” The “Light of the World” had been extinguished.

The great apostasy continued“The fulness of the gospel had been lost. There was no one left on earth with the power and authority to lead the Church or perform sacred ordinances such as baptism, conferral of the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the saving ordinances of the temple. Almost everyone was denied access to the scriptures.” Elder Robert D. Hales “Preparations for the Restoration and The Second Coming” November 2005.

The reformation (1045 A.D. - 1440 A.D.) A.D.= Anno Domini (Latin)

in the year of our Lord; since Christ was born:

After centuries of spiritual darkness, truth-seeking men and women protested against current religious practices. They recognized that many of the doctrines and ordinances of the gospel had been changed or lost. They sought for greater spiritual light, and many spoke of the need for a restoration of truth. They did not claim, however, that God had called them to be a prophet. Instead, they tried to reform teachings and practices that they believed had been changed or corrupted. Their efforts led to the organization of many Protestant churches. This Reformation resulted in an increased emphasis on religious freedom, which opened the way for the final Restoration. (Preach my Gospel, Lesson 1)

Class activity: The reformersElder Robert D. Hales “Preparations for the Restoration and The Second Coming” November 2005.1. John Wycliffe

2. Johannes Gutenberg

3. Christopher Columbus

4. William Tyndale

5. Martin Luther

6. Roger Williams

Answer: How did this individual prepare the way for God to restore the gospel?

Restoration= to bring back to an original condtion

What is the blueprint of Christ’s Church? Tad R. Callister16:02-16:48

What is the blueprint of Christ’s Church? Tad R. CallisterOrganization: Built on the foundation of Apostles and Prophets Ephesians 2:20

What is the blueprint of Christ’s Church? Tad R. CallisterTeachings: The church is called by Christ’s name 1 Corinthians 1:12–13

What is the blueprint of Christ’s Church? Tad R. CallisterTeachings: God has a body of flesh and bone Luke 24:39

What is the blueprint of Christ’s Church? Tad R. CallisterOrdinances:1 Peter 4:6

The Gospel is preached to the Dead

What is the blueprint of Christ’s Church? Tad R. CallisterOrdinances: Children are not baptized until they reach the age of accountability.Mark 10:16

What is the blueprint of Christ’s Church? Tad R. CallisterOrdinances: Baptism must be performed by immersion Matthew 3:16

What is the blueprint of Christ’s Church? Tad R. CallisterFruits: Missionary-Minded People Mark 16:15

What is the blueprint of Christ’s Church? Tad R. CallisterFruits: Eternal Families Ephesians 5:23–2

What is the blueprint of Christ’s Church? Tad R. CallisterRevelation: Angels and Vision (Matthew 1:20)

What is the blueprint of Christ’s Church? Tad R. CallisterIf one were to match the blueprint of Christ’s

original Church against every church in the world

today, he would find that point for point,

organization for organization, teaching for teaching,

ordinance for ordinance, fruit for fruit, and

revelation for revelation, it will only match one—

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Wilford woodruff’s conversion: a search for truthVideo: 7:06