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WAS THERE A COMPLETE APOSTASY ?
DID A COMPLETE APOSTASY OCCUR SHORTLY AFTER
THE LORD DIED?
The Mormon Church teaches that a complete apostasy occurred shortly after the
death of Jesus Christ. They say many of the major teachings of the Lord
were lost (Joseph Smith-History 1:18; 1 Nephi 14:10;
Ensign: Nov. 1985, page 82, Dec. 1984, pages 8-9;
Which Church Is Right?, 1982).
Are they correct? Was there a complete apostasy such that a restoration
through Joseph Smith (the first president/prophet of the Mormon Church) was
needed?
APOSTLES HAVE "KEYS", THE AUTHORITY
Who has the authority
in the Mormon Church? The first presidency (the prophet/president and
his counselors) along with the men who are under them are called the General
Authorities. Each gets his authority for assigned responsibilities from
the president/prophet while he is living. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,
twelve men, just under the Prophet, also have the same authority and "keys"
as the President, but can only partially use them as authorized by the President.
President Joseph F. Smith, in Gospel Doctrine, page 142, said: "What is a key? It is the right
or privilege which belongs to and comes with the Priesthood, to have communication
with God." They can only be fully used by the apostles when there
is no president, and that historically has seldom happened for long periods
. With no prophet (or when Jesus died) the apostles had the keys, all
the authority (Mormon Doctrine,
pages 591, 49). When the priesthood was allegedly restored to Joseph Smith
and Oliver Cowdery it was done by Peter, James and John, three apostles.
The Apostle John is allegedly
the only apostle, of the original twelve, left on earth. According to
Mormonism he was to live until the Lord came (see D&C 7). It is logical
that he has all the "keys," all authority. Therefore he could
appoint and ordain new apostles and keep the Lord's church going on earth.
Brigham Young seems to agree when he said:
How vain are the imaginations of the children of men,
to presume for a moment that the slaughter of one, two or a hundred of the
leaders of this church could destroy an organization, so perfect in itself
and so harmoniously arranged that it will stand while one member of it is
left alive upon the earth. Brethren be not alarmed, for if the Twelve should
be taken away still there are powers and offices in existence which will
bear the kingdom of God triumphantly victorious in all the world. This church
may have prophets many, and apostles many, but they are all to stand in
due time in their proper organization, under the direction of those who
hold the keys. (Brigham Young, History of the Church, Aug. 15, 1844, 7:250)
But according to the Mormon Church
he didn't and some say he couldn't. Why not? Why didn't all the
other original apostles, while living, hand on their knowledge and authority,
and those to others and so on. Were they all bunglers? Did the Holy
Ghost fail to do his job? Was he a bungler also? Did the Lord fail
to build his church as he promised in Matt 16:18 "...I will build my church
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
CAN THE LORD RAISE UP PEOPLE TO SERVE HIM?
Some correctly say that we have our free will and that the Lord, in his plan
of salvation, does not force people to do his work. Some Mormons say this
is why the Lord's church was gone for 1,800 years. True, the Lord will
not force people, but, I also believe that he can and does present opportunities
to people and remove obstacles from their path to enable his will. What
he did with Saul (Who became the Apostle Paul, see Acts 9:1-9) illustrates what
the Lord will do to raise people up to achieve his plan. There is also
a Book of Mormon example of a similar incident with Alma the younger, see Mosiah
27:8-23. Revelation 17:16-17 is another example of how God can enable
events to meet his plan.
The Bible does speak about a falling away
and wolves creeping into the flock (Matt 24:11; Acts 20:29-30; 2 Cor 2:17, 4:4,
11:4; Gal 1:7-9). But there is NO biblical evidence that says there would
be a complete apostasy. There is nothing that says the Lord's church would
be lost and destroyed such that it could not operate and would need to be restored.
BIBLICAL PROMISES WERE WRONG?
Mormonism would have us believe that the many biblical promises that the Lord's
church would always go on and would never be lost were wrong, in error.
What happened to the clear statements in Isa. 40:8; Matt. 16:18, 18:20, 28:20;
John 10:29, 14: 26, 16:7, 13, 17:20; Eph. 6:17? Are these in error or
misunderstood?
If Mormonism is correct that these
statements were meaningless for 1,800 years while waiting for Joseph Smith to
come along then the apostles and the Holy Ghost were dismal failures and the
Lord's Church was lost. For about 1,800 years the Lord could not find
anyone to restore his Church on earth, he stopped building his church (Matt
16:18). Does any of this even make sense?
BIBLICAL PROMISES WERE HONORED!
The answer is a
clear "No!" It does not make sense. The Lord's promises
in the Scripture verses given above were always honored. The apostles
the Lord appointed were not bunglers. The Holy Ghost was not a bungler.
He was always there to teach and guide people (John 14:26, 16:7). The
Lord did build his church and the gates of hell did not prevail against it (Matt
16:18). Where two or three were gathered together the Lord was always
there (Matt 18:20).
SOME LDS TEACHINGS ALSO AGREE
According to the
reference given above even Brigham Young said that the Lord's church would survive
persecution. Power and offices would remain even if only one person were
alive. According to Doctrine and Covenants 7 the original Apostle John
is still alive on earth. He certainly had all the necessary authority
to continue the Lord's church.
THE LORD'S CHURCH IS ALIVE!
The Lord's
church is alive. But, it is not a denomination or building. It is a group
of people (Matt 18:20; Col 1:24; Eph 4:11-12; Heb 12:23) who have accepted Jesus
Christ, not only as their Savior, but also as their Lord. You cannot restore
what was never lost!
John Farkas
Berean Christian Ministries
P.O. Box 1091
Webster, NY 14580
E-mail: bcmmin@frontiernet.net
Web pages:
Mormonism: http://www.frontiernet.net/~bcmmin
Jehovah's Witnesses: http://www.frontiernet.net/~bcmmin/jwstd.htm
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