The Great Apostasy

In one of the investigator discussions I was taught about the Mormon Church’s belief of a great apostasy. As the missionaries described what the great apostasy was, one of them gave the analogy of the church Jesus set up being a mirror.  He said when the apostles died the mirror was shattered into many pieces, all the other churches tried to pick up as much of the mirror as possible but couldn’t pick up all of it.

In Jesus the Christ, James E. Talmage describes the Great Apostasy this way.

“For over seventeen hundred years on the eastern hemisphere, and for more than fourteen centuries on the western, there appears to have been silence between the heavens and the earth. Of direct revelation from God to man during this long interval, we have no authentic record. As already shown, the period of apostolic ministry on the eastern continent probably terminated before the dawn of the second century of the Christian era. The passing of the apostles was followed by the rapid development of a universal apostasy as had been foreseen and predicted.” (Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage, pg. 692

A couple of weeks ago I was talking with a Mormon missionary about an ad for the church I saw online which said “Truth Restored”. I asked him what that meant. He went on to explain how after all the apostles died “truth was lost”, and God couldn’t speak to the people. I asked him about Matthew 16:18 where Jesus said, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”

I asked if he thought Jesus lied in this passage, I wanted to help him understand how Jesus would have known the future of his church. I went on to explain that He had forewarned the people of false Christ’s and gospels. Even though these things would arise he wanted his followers to have the assurance of knowing his teachings, and his church would stand forever. He wanted them to know they can count on him, his gospel was stable and true and nothing could destroy it.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:8 we read “So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.”

Unbelief is the biggest sin, when we as believers doubt God it staggers our spiritual walk with Him.  As we will read in the following passage we learn how the Holy Spirit dwells inside of us. As a Mormon this was something I refused to understand. I too believed God basically abandoned his people after “all the apostles died”. I believed He needed mortal men to fulfill His plan for us, and without the priesthood all of His truth was lost.

As a Mormon I lacked the full understanding of God’s love for us, and the knowledge of how He would never leave us comfortless, lost or alone.  While Jesus was still on the earth he gave us the Holy Spirit to be there for us, to teach us and guide us on our path to Him. We learn this truth in John 14:15-17 where Jesus says:

“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. “

Given the history of the Mormon Church I have to wonder why they can’t see it’s their church that is in the state of apostasy. There are off shoots and after off shoots of their religion. The mainline Mormons as well as the FLDS aren’t the only ones who believe Smith was a prophet and hold to the Book of Mormon as scripture.

Pray for the Mormons, pray their eyes will be opened and they will come to know the truth. God never left his people, he was never silenced.