hurrumph...Revivalist Church Re-Defines Apostasy
One thing that has always fascinated me about the LDS Church is the concept of apostasy in the context of revivalist America.
After the deaths of the Savior and His Apostles, men corrupted the principles of the gospel and made unauthorized changes in Church organization and priesthood ordinances. Because of this widespread apostasy, the Lord withdrew the authority of the priesthood from the earth. This apostasy lasted until Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son appeared to Joseph Smith in 1820 and initiated the restoration of the fulness of the gospel.
The King James Bible certainly does not predict this, or even mention it along with other prophecies. I have long searched for the evidence of any influences during this period that would have caused Joseph Smith to make this claim. Certainly the other dispensations were not preceded with such factors and I cannot find any other references to the Lord withdrawing priesthood authority.
Is this the primary basis for the Church’s exclusive authority over the salvation of all mankind?
March 17th, 2008 at 10:03 am
A good book that explains the Mormon view of apostasy is James E. Talmadge’s “The Great Apostasy.” One of the challenges that Mormons face in this debate, if you call it that, is that there is no evidence to suggest that a church that looks anything remotely like Mormonism existed in the ancient world. Actual reliable evidence that a man named Jesus did what was purported in the gospels. is pretty much nonexistent. The fact that the gospels parrot the common myths from the mystery religions of the day doesn’t help things. A God-man, born to a virgin, who makes water into wine, who heals the sick, who dies for the sins of the world; these all belong to the cults of Osiris, Dionysus, Mithrais, etal.
March 18th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Here’s some KJV references that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints uses: Isaiah 24:5; Amos 8:11–12; Matthew 24:4–14; Acts 20:28–30; 2 Timothy 3:1–5, 14–15; 4:3–4;
This whole page describes the Church view well.
March 19th, 2008 at 7:36 am
Obi Wan got me thinking. If the apostasy began when Paul the Baptist died, taking priesthood authority from the Earth, then, the entire New Testament starting with the Gospels, were written by Apostates?
Am I missing something?
March 19th, 2008 at 7:45 am
Til death do us part? Who gave Paul all the rights?