A restoration? Why would Jesus Christ's Church need to be restored? When was it lost (if ever), that His Church should have a need to be restored? These are just some of the questions that may arise when considering The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints claim that it indeed possesses the true and restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.
To consider this claim, we must search the scriptures and find anything that denotes that the Church will indeed be at one point, non-existent. If this can be proven through the Bible, then we may know for a surety that a restoration of the Church was indeed necessary. Once this foundation is laid and agreed upon, we can then come to the conclusion that any church or religion claiming to teach the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, must then in fact, also claim that this truth was restored to them in one way or another. As far as I know, not many Christian religions claim to have been restored in any way, therefore in my opinion, this topic is one of much worth to LDS members, since it holds convincing evidence in support of the belief that God's hand was involved in the establishment of the LDS Church.
Catholics believe that they have direct Apostolic succession as mentioned by Tertullian, "For this is the manner in which the apostolic churches transmit their registers: as the church of Smyrna, which records that Polycarp was placed therein by John; as also the church of Rome, which makes Clement to have been ordained in like manner by Peter" (Tertullian, Prescription Against Heretics 32, in Roberts, A., and Donaldson, J., eds., The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 10 vols., (Buffalo: The Christian Literature Publishing Company, 1885-1896,) 3:258.) With this in mind, Catholics clearly do not teach a doctrine of restoration, since they claim that there was never no such apostasy because of their supposed direct Apostolic succession.
Protestants in general, have all in some way, branched out from the Catholic Church, so they are in a very strange position. This is because they have PROTESTED against the Catholic Church to signify that it was in error. Thus if Protestants refute the Catholic Church in general (which they do), they must also refute the Catholic's claim of direct apostolic succession. Therefore they can not teach that they have direct apostolic succession because they have banished the only authority who could possibly make that claim. Strangely though, Protestants will rarely admit that a worldwide apostasy ever occurred, even after admitting that the Catholic Church was in fact leading people astray. So, if they do not teach of a general apostasy, then they cannot possibly teach the doctrine of the restoration. Now, the branching from Catholic to Protestant churches can easily be found through a study of the history that both Catholics and Protestants share. After a very simple search of some of the Protestant's histories, I came up with this small, incomplete list:
Although this list is a small one, it can basically be found through history that virtually every Protestant religion today can trace its roots back to the Catholic Church. So clearly, not one Protestant church can possibly teach this idea of a restoration either.
To begin I would like to thank Barry Bickmore, whose website can be found at, Barry's Early Christianity and Mormonism Page, from whom I was able to gain much valuable information concerning this topic concerning the restoration of Christ's Church in these latter-days. Most of the information found below was taken from various areas of Barry's site.
In order for a restoration to occur, we must first have an apostasy. According to LDS scholar Kent Jackson, the word apostasy is derived from the Greek word "apostasia", meaning "'rebellion,' 'mutiny,' 'revolt,' or 'revolution,' and is used in ancient contexts with reference to uprisings against established authority." Similarly, the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary explains apostasy is "from Greek, literally, revolt�" With this definition in hand, we can now understand that the apostasy was to be a rebellion against God's established authority on earth.
Now some scriptures in the Bible clearly show that an apostasy or revolt was revealed to the apostles and would shortly take place:
Acts 20:29-30, "For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." Paul spoke of this apostasy, which would take place soon after his departure, when he told the elders this at Ephesus.
2 Timothy 4:2-5, "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry." Paul knew that the saints would later not listen to "sound doctrine".
2 Timothy 1:15, "This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes." (Asia Minor is where the majority of the Christian converts lived at that time. Davies, J.G., The Early Christian Church, New York: Anchor Books, 1965, p. 86. Note also that John addressed his Revelation to the seven churches in Asia, which might also indicate this was the center of the Christian population.)
3 John 9-10, "I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church." John, the last apostle, before he was taken from the Church, wrote of more signs of the rebellion found through a certain local leader in the Church, Diotrephes. This man would not receive John's letters and "casteth" out "the brethren" from the Church as well as those who would receive them.
John the revelator recorded "letters" from the Lord to seven churches in Asia in Revelation 2-3 (Revelations 1:20, "and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches"). These churches were obviously meant to represent the Church as a whole since they were where most the Christian converts lived (Davies, J.G., The Early Christian Church, New York: Anchor Books, 1965, p. 86.). The messages in the letters praised or rebuked the Churches, but here we will look at the consequences the Lord promised for the actions of the Church members. In the cases where praise was given, the Lord said, "be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." (Revelation 2:10) Where rebuke was given the Lord commanded them to "repent... or else I will... remove thy candlestick out of his place...." (Revelation 2:5) Therefore, the faithful were promised a crown of life after their martyrdom, and the unfaithful were threatened with the expulsion of their entire churches. So God was in fact
prepared to take His Church from the world.
Amos 8:11-12, "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it." If one wanders from sea to sea searching for the word of the Lord and cannot find it, then it is likely not to be found anywhere. Some may argue that Amos referred to the time of apostasy in Israel between the Old and New Testaments, when we have no further record of any prophets adding their witness to the Bible. However, the New Testament clearly demonstrates that Israel had not undergone a total apostasy, which is clearly what was predicted in this passage. For example, the case of Zacharias shows that the Aaronic priesthood was still operative (see Luke 1). Indeed, Luke referred to Anna as a "prophetess" (Luke 2:36), so clearly the word of the Lord could be found during the intertestamental period, even though it was not generally accepted.
2 Thessalonians 2:2-3, "That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;" Paul knew there had to come first "a falling away" or an apostasy before Christ's Second Coming. So from this scripture we can infer that all scriptures describing the apostasy must also be speaking of an apostasy which was to take place before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
1 John 2:18, "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time." Jude 1:17-18, "But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts." Ignatius also said, "The last times are come upon us." (Ignatius, Ephesians 11, in The Ante-Nicene Fathers 1:54.) Why did John, Jude, and Ignatius refer to their own day as "the last time?" Did Jude, Ignatius, and John believe it was "the last time" because Christ was about to come back, or because the Church was filled with antichrists, and would not long survive? The apostles were apparently indifferent to the specific time of Christ's return, as we saw with Paul's comment to the Thessalonians. Peter even told the Church not to worry about the Lord fulfilling his promise to return because, "one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (2 Peter 3:8) Therefore, it was not the "last time" because the Lord was about to return (a fact that should be obvious by this time), but because the Church was about to be taken from the earth. (see 2 Thess. 2:1-3)
Many believe that the apostles were just twelve men whom Christ ordained for a specific mission - and were thus no longer needed after the Church was established in the world. However, the New Testament record is quite clear that when vacancies occurred in the Twelve they were promptly filled, therefore conveying the idea that Christ has always required apostles to be a constant and important part of His Church. Matthias was chosen to take the place of Judas, who betrayed Jesus in Acts 1:23-26; Paul said he had later been "called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ" in 1 Corinthians 1:1; Barnabas was called an apostle along with Paul by the writer of the Acts (probably Luke) in Acts 14:14; apparently Jesus' brother James had become an apostle, as Paul reported to the Galatians in 1:19; Paul told the Romans in 16:7, "Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me." Indeed, there may have even been others. Furthermore, Paul insisted that the organization set up by Christ, headed by apostles and prophets, should continue in the Church:
"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;" (Ephesians 4:11-14)
Has there ever been a time when Christianity or the world in general has been "in the unity of the faith?" Has the Church been perfected? Are not the sects of Christendom "tossed to and fro, and carried about by every wind of doctrine"? Latter-day Saints answer that none of Paul's conditions have ever been satisfied, and so we still need apostles and prophets. For "surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7) Paul also revealed that the Church is "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone." (Ephesians 2:20) So what happened to the Church when it lost its foundation? Total apostasy occurred. The Church had its "candlestick" removed "out of his place...." (Revelation 2:5)
So what's next? Well since there was definitely an apostasy and Christ removed His Church from the earth, there was a need for a restoration. Latter-Day Saints believe that this restoration was made possible by the Lord through His Prophet, Joseph Smith in these latter-days. For a complete story on Joseph Smith and the restoration of Christ's Church go to Joseph Smith History and First Vision
More interesting information about the LDS perspective on the restoration can be found at Jeff Lindsay's LDS FAQ - The Restoration
A sample of Jeff's work on the Restoration can be find on this page right here.
More Biblical references concerning the apostasy and restoration:
Revelations 14:6-7, "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Strange huh? Why would God have to send an angel in the final days of the world to "preach" the "everlasting gospel"? If that gospel was always found on earth, why would God send an angel to preach it again? The answer is that Christ's Gospel was not found on the earth during the apostasy, so there arose a need for a restoration, which would be delivered to a new prophet by an angel. Sound familiar. Joseph Smith, angels, restoration... read more at Joseph Smith History and First Vision.
Isaiah 24:5, "The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant." Everlasting covenant? Could this mean the Law of Moses? No. This is the blood of Christ, which he shed for all of us, this is the "everlasting covenant" as described in Hebrews 13:20. Wait one second. Am I saying that this means that the covenant set forth by Christ, that which is taught by Him and His apostles in the New Testament was then "transgressed" and "broken"? Exactly. Isaiah was foretelling the coming of Christ and His new covenant and also showing how it would be transgressed, resulting in an apostasy from the true gospel. That's right, now we're getting somewhere.
Isaiah 19:13-14, "Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me. and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men. Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid."
1 Timothy 4:1-5, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer."
Jeremiah 16: 19-21, "O Lord, my strength, and my fortress. and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit. Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The Lord."
Revelations 13: 4-8, "And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast ? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name. and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
Revelations 2: 4-5, "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."
Revelations 3: 14-17, "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God ; I know thy works that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked."
Hosea 4: 1-2,6-9, "Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. . . My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity. And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings."
Micah 3: 5-7,11, "Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him. Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision ; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them. Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded : yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God. . . . The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us ? none evil can come upon us."
Acts 3:21, "Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began."
The following is not my work, but just a small taste of Jeff Lindsay's work on defending the LDS faith. His site has many well documented and valuable thoughts which he has gathered in an attempt to provide truth seekers with reliable information regarding The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This is a bit of what he has to say about the Restoration of the Gospel which can be found at Jeff Lindsay on the Restoration:
Hugh Nibley (Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol. 4, Ch.6) summarizes these New Testament teachings as the "Three Acts of the Drama:" 1) the Lord comes and begins His work, 2) villains and impostors take over and rule, 3) the Lord returns in power and fixes everything. Consider the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. In Act One (using Nibley's term), Christ likens Himself "unto a man which sowed good seed in his field" (Matthew 13:24, 37), where the field is the world (Matt. 13:38). Now Act Two: "But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat" (Matt. 13:25), and "when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also" - weeds (Matt, 13:26). The corrupted field is the world, in which the "children of the kingdom" have not yet been gathered (Matt. 13:27-30). So it goes until Act Three, the harvest, the end of the world (Matthew 13:39), when the wheat is gathered out of the world and "into my barn" (Matthew 13:30). The triumph of the Church happens only at the end, when the Lord overcomes what Satan had done to the original work.
We see the same pattern in the parable of the vineyard (Luke 20:13; Matthew 21:37). The vineyard of the Father - His work - has fallen into the hands of wicked men, who reject messengers from the Father and kill His son. They have power over the vineyard until the Lord comes to destroy the impostors and give it to His chosen servants (Luke 20:16).
Daniel likewise saw in a future time that the forces of Satan "made war with the saints, and prevailed against them" (Dan. 7:21). (Note that "saints" is the New Testament term for members of the Church of Christ - see Romans 1:7) This was Act Two, but Daniel also saw that there would be an Act Three, a restoration, brought about by miraculous means: "Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom" (Dan. 7:22). The saints of the restored church would again suffer persecution (Dan. 7:25), but the saints in the new dispensation would triumph in the end (Dan. 7:26; see also Dan. 2:44).
Christ came, as part of Act One, bearing witness and teaching the truth. He did not say that the Church would continue and prosper (I discuss the one apparent exception, Matt. 16:16-18, below). Indeed, His warnings are dire. For example, he warned that there would be many coming, claiming to be of Christ, but they would be impostors.
Echoing the prophecy in Daniel 7:21, John saw that Satan and his servants would have power to "make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations" (Rev. 13:7). Now many would teach and preach of Christ during the following centuries, but teaching the doctrines of men and committees, making their worship, in a sense, "in vain" (Matt. 15:9). Many would seem to do many great works for Christ, but would be rejected at the day of judgment because Christ did not "know" them - had not covenanted with and authorized them (Matt. 7:20-21). There would be many proclaiming Christ, but those truly seeking Christ during the future days of trouble and darkness (Act 2 of the drama) are told not to follow them (Matt. 24:23-24; see also Luke 21:8).
Yet in spite of the gloom facing the apostles, they could rejoice and speak of victory. This was not the victory of a Church that would continue triumphantly - already Paul was seeing large portions of the Church fall away from the truth (Gal. 1:6; Gal. 3:1; Titus 1:16) and turn away from him (2 Tim. 1:15; 2 Tim. 4:16). He saw that things were going to get worse after his departure (Acts 20:29). Then where is the victory? The victory comes with Act Three - the final triumph of Christ over all his enemies and impostors and evildoers, and the salvation and exaltation of those who suffered for Christ (Romans 8:14-19). At the last day, there would be a crown for Paul and others whose names were written in heaven (2 Tim. 4:8; Luke 10:20).
There were no expectations among the early saints that the church would be victorious. They all knew that they faced great distress and persecution (2 Cor. 6:4-5; Acts 14:22) in what was to be a last stand - enduring to the end of their lives - against the forces of evil. While the true disciples would be killed, the masses would be lead by false prophets and false teachers that would corrupt the truth and bring the remnants of the church into apostasy. For example, 2 Tim. 4:3-4 refers to the turning of men away from the truth and toward fables and false doctrines. Paul is concerned about his followers, who will be devoured by "grievous wolves" that will not spare the flock (Acts. 20:29-31) - these wolves are false teachers who pervert ("speaking perverse things") - not necessarily deny - the Gospel of Christ. The attack would be successful! See also Gal 4:11, Gal. 4:20; 2 Cor. 1:11-14.
If the true church was lost, then it must be restored again as part of Act Three. Indeed, Acts 3:19-21 prophesies of the "times of refreshing" that shall come - not from human reformers - but "from the presence of the Lord." These are the "times of the restitution of all things." Paul, looking forward to the return of the Lord (the Third Act), noted in 2 Thess. 2:1-3,11, that this would not occur until after the great apostasy (the "falling away"). The threat of perversion of the doctrines is mentioned over and over in the New Testament (1 Cor. 11:18; Gal. 1:6; Gal. 3:11; 1 Tim. 1:6; 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 2:18; 2 Tim. 3:1-7; 2 Tim. 4:3-4; 2 Pet. 2:1; 2 Pet. 3:17). One problem in particular was false teachers and prophets (1 John 4:1; Rev. 2:2; Acts. 20:29-30). The eventual result of spiritual apostasy and the killing of the authorized apostles would be as Isaiah prophesied (Isaiah 24:5): "The earth is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant."
What was lost? Among the many casualties was the organization of the Church, led by apostles and prophets through prophecy and revelation (Mark 3:14; Luke 9:1-2; John 15:16; Matt. 16:16-18; Eph. 4:11-14), with other divinely authorized priesthood offices in the church (Eph. 2:20; Eph. 4:11-14) which require proper ordination by those holding authority from God (Heb. 5:4-6; 2 Cor. 10:7-8; Luke 9:1-2; Exo. 40:15; Numbers 27:18-23). Also corrupted were ordinances such as baptism by immersion of those who had repented and chosen to follow Christ - not the heresy of infant baptism (Matt. 3:16; Acts 2:47,48; John 3:5; Acts 8:38); also the bestowing of the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands (Acts 8:17; Acts 19:2-6) and the healing of the sick by the laying on of hands (Acts 14:23; James 5:14,15). The role and meaning of the Temple was lost, which was important to Christ and to the early saints long after Christ had ascended to heaven (Matt. 23:21; Acts. 2:46; Luke 24:53; Acts. 5:42; Acts. 21:20-26) and which was prophesied to be important in the last days, during the time of gathering (Isaiah 2:2-4) and in the Millennium (Rev. 7:15; see also Malachi 3:1). Many doctrines would be lost or corrupted, such as the opportunity for redemption of those who never had the opportunity to hear of Christ (1 Peter 3:18,19; 1 Peter 4:6) and the associated work of baptism for the dead (1 Cor. 15:29) - all of which have been restored in these last days.
Again, go ahead and take a look at Jeff Lindsay's web site at Jeff Lindsay's LDS FAQ
And if you want some more in depth material on the Great Apostasy and Prophecies fulfilled try Why Prophets?