Jesus Christ's Church and the Great Apostasy

Hello!  Today we are going to talk about Jesus Christ!  He is the Son of God and was the only perfect Man to walk the earth.  He was miraculously conceived and born of the virgin, Mary.  His birth was a humble one, taking place in a stable and only having a manger for a bed.  His whole life He lived in humble circumstances.  He loved and served without ceasing until the very end of His mortal life.  He performed incredible miracles, was an amazing teacher and friend, and was our perfect example.  He sacrificed Himself and died for our sins so that we may one day live again and return to live with our Father in Heaven.  He came into the world to do the will of His Father and never faltered.  He is my Savior and Redeemer and my Everything.  I could write hundreds of posts just about His life and teachings.  But for this post, I am going to focus on one aspect: His church. The one He set up while He was on the earth with His 12 apostles. 

Jesus called 12 men to be His apostles.  He laid His hands on their heads and gave them the Priesthood.  The Priesthood is the authority and power that God gives to man to act in the name of Jesus Christ in all things for the salvation of mankind.  Things that require the Priesthood include baptism, blessing and administering the sacrament, giving blessings of healing, and conferring the Priesthood upon others.  God has always given His Priesthood to worthy men ever since the world began. Exodus 40:15 reads: "And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations."

The New Testament gives account of Jesus giving His apostles "keys of the kingdom" and "power."  This is the Priesthood.  "And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease"(Matthew 10:1).

In all ordinances (like baptism) it is important to have the proper authority from Jesus Christ. If you were driving down a residential neighborhood going 60 mph and a police officer turned on his lights, you would pull over.  And assuming you're a good, decent person who doesn't like going to jail, when he gives you a ticket for speeding, you'd accept it and pay it.  Now imagine you were driving down the same residential neighborhood going 60 mph and an ice cream truck tried to pull you over. What would you do?  I'd probably pull over because maybe he wants to give me free ice cream. But if the ice cream truck man proceeded to get out of his van and give you a ticket for speeding, you would tell him to get lost.  The ice cream truck driver doesn't have the authority to pull you over and give you a speeding ticket but the police officer does. "And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron"(Hebrews 5:4).

This was Christ's church. Jesus said to Peter: "...upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it"(Matthew 16:18).  Christ's original church had the Priesthood authority.  When He sent His apostles out to teach and minister and perform miracles, He gave them this Priesthood authority as well. If a church doesn't have Christ's authority, then the baptisms and ordinances performed there can't be recognized by God as valid because it wasn't done with His "stamp of approval," so to speak. "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven"(Matthew 16:19).

Just as people have rejected prophets in the past, the people eventually rejected Jesus Christ and killed Him. After Christ died, He sent His apostles out to still preach the gospel and baptize using His Priesthood authority.  His apostles did just that and were faithful and did all that Christ asked. Unfortunately, the people rejected the apostles too.  Many people tried to change the doctrine to what they liked better and stopped giving heed to Christ's disciples on the earth. And as part of this sad pattern throughout history, the apostles were all killed as well, and the earth was once again left without a prophet on the earth to lead and guide them.  

With the apostles' death went the Priesthood authority.  The world fell into what we call the "Great Apostasy." During this time there was no prophet and no one holding the Priesthood authority of God.  Doctrines were altered, the Bible was eventually assembled but was not available to the general public, and there was no religious freedom.  Many reformers such as Martin Luther, John Wycliffe, and John Calvin recognized that something was wrong and tried to bring it back to Christ's original teachings, but they were all killed and rejected as a result.  

This Great Apostasy lasted over a thousand years and during what we know as the "Dark Ages."  The earth wasn't ready for Christ's church to be restored during that time.  God's revelations had ceased as a result of the apostasy but He still loved His children and was preparing a way for when the true church of Jesus Christ with the correct doctrine and Priesthood authority of God could be restored to the earth, never to be taken away again.

Prophets of old have prophesied of a great apostasy.  In Amos 8:11-12 in the Old Testament it says: "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."  

I know that Christ has restored His church to the earth.  He loves us and wants us to have all the blessings of His gospel as long as we are willing to accept it.  The falling away from the true church and the restoration of it has also been prophesied about throughout the scriptures. This was always part of the plan.  God knows what He's doing and always provides a way.  

"Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder:"(Isaiah 29:14).

Amen.