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The Apostasy and Restoration

Part 1

Jesus Christ said: Ye shall know the truth, and the truth, shall make you free. (John 8: 31)

What is truth?

“Truth is a knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come”. (D&C 93:24)

How can truth make you free?

What is truth as opposed to belief?

If you and many others believe it does that make it true?

If you and many others do not believe it does that make it false?

If it becomes a tradition and millions of people believe it for hundreds of years, does that make it true?

Are your religious beliefs based on where you were born?

Does a person’s place of birth make their religious beliefs true?

If you were born in England you’re likely to be Anglican. (British Parliament – London, England)

If you were born in Italy, you are probably Catholic. (St. Peter’s Basilica - Rome, Italy)

If you were born in Northern Germany you are most likely to be Lutheran. (Rothenberg, Germany)

If you were born in Saudi Arabia, you are probably Muslim. (Masjid al-Haram – Mecca, Saudi Arabia)

If you were born in India, you are more likely to be Hindu. (Taj Mahal – Agra, India)

If you were born in Russia you’re probably atheist or agnostic. (The Kremlin – Moscow, Russia)

If you were born in the Southeastern United States you are probably Southern Baptist. (Atlanta, Georgia State Capitol)

Where does TRUE KNOWLEDGE about God come from?

How did you gain your knowledge about God?

From Your Parents…

From your Church…

From your teachers…

Through sincere prayer…

From the Bible…

Where did the Bible come from?

From God…

as He spoke through His prophets…

that had God’s word written on scrolls...

and some of these scrolls were eventually gathered together and printed in one book…

The Holy Bible!

The Holy Bible is the sacred word of God.

Do you believe the Bible is an accurate history of actual events that really took place?

The Bible tells us that in the beginning God convened a great heavenly council to unveil the glorious plan of salvation for all mankind.

The Lord asked Job: Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38: 4&7)

But then Satan came forth. He did not like God’s plan and began convincing others to follow him in his rebellion against God. The Holy Bible says…

7 …there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven…

9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Revelations 12:7&9)

What caused this war in heaven?

1 AND I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan… is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying...

Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.

2 But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me--Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.

3 Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and SOUGHT TO DESTROY THE AGENCY OF MAN, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also…

that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;

4 And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice. (Moses 4:1-4)

The war in heaven was fought over the agency of man.

God had given mankind the freedom to choose but Satan wanted to take away man’s agency and use God’s power to force all mankind to obey the law of God.

Is it right to use Satan’s plan of force?

Jesus Christ championed man’s agency. He would not use force.

He would be the perfect example of love and patience as He invited all mankind to follow Him by choosing to listen and obey God’s voice.

For God’s plan to work it was necessary for man to have a knowledge of good and evil and the freedom to choose whether to follow God or not.

God gave Adam and Eve the freedom to choose knowing full well what they would choose because, with the knowledge of good and evil Adam and Eve would then become fully responsible for the decisions they made.

The Lord appointed special messengers to teach the children of Adam and Eve the path of righteousness that would lead them back to God.

These holy messengers were chosen prophets of God.

Did Prophets actually see God and speak with Him?

Definition of a Prophet: The "prophet" proclaimed the message given to him, as the "seer" beheld the vision of God. (See Num. 12:6, 8.) Thus a prophet was a spokesman for God; he spake in God's name and by his authority (Ex. 7:1). He is the mouth by which God speaks to men (Jer. 1:9; Isa. 51:16), and hence what the prophet says is not of man but of God.

(Eastman’s Bible Dictionary 2 Pet. 1:20, 21; comp. Heb. 3:7; Acts 4:25; 28:25)

God spoke to Adam:

16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: (Genesis 2:16)

Enoch walked with God: 24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. (Genesis 5:24)

God spoke to Noah: 13 And God said unto Noah, the end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. (Genesis 6:13)

God spoke in person to Abraham: 33 And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place. (Genesis 18:33)

The Lord appeared to Isaac: 2 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: (Genesis 26:2)

Definition of appear: 1. To come or be in sight; to be in view; to be visible.

The leprosy appeareth in the skin of the flesh Leviticus 13.

And God said, Let the dry land appear Genesis 1.

2. To become visible to the eye, as a spirit, or to the apprehension of the mind; a sense frequent in scripture.

The Lord appeared to Abram, and said. Genesis 12.

The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of the bush. Exodus 3.

3. To stand in presence of, as parties or advocates before a court, or as persons to be tried. The defendant, being called, did not appear.

We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. 2 Corinthians 5. (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary)

Jacob sees God, face to face: 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. (Genesis 32:30)

Moses sees God, face to face: 11 And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend…

(Exodus 33:11)

Prophets can see God face to face, but the ordinary carnal man is an enemy to God and does not see God face to face because of his unworthiness.

The office of a prophet is not a position any man can seek, but a high and holy calling filled by the person

God selects EVEN IF THAT PERSON IS A YOUNG BOY.

God calls the young boy Samuel to be a prophet:

10 And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth. (1 Samuel 3:10)

God reveals all things through His prophets: 7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7)

The Cycle of Apostasy and

Restoration Through Living Prophets…

When the people fell into apostasy they abandoned the teachings of the prophets and replaced them with the false teachings of men.

Adam Noah

Apostasy and Restoration Time Line

4000 B.C. 2400 B.C. From the time of Adam to the time of Noah, the people became so wicked that God decided to destroy the earth by flood. GOD CALLED UPON THE PROPHET NOAH to build an ark to save his family and also a male and female pair of each of the animals living on earth.

Adam Noah Abraham

Apostasy and Restoration Time Line

4000 B.C. 2400 B.C. 2200 B.C. From the time of Noah to the time of Abraham, the majority of the world turned to idol worship so the Lord established His covenant WITH THE RIGHTEOUS PROPHET

ABRAHAM and led him to the promised land of Israel.

Adam Noah Abraham Moses

Apostasy and Restoration Time Line

4000 B.C. 2400 B.C. 1450 B.C. 2200 B.C. After Joseph became a ruler in Egypt, THE PROPHET JACOB and his family moved to the land of Goshen. After several generations God called THE GREAT PROPHET MOSES to lead the house of Israel out of Egyptian idolatry and restore them in the promised land.

Adam Noah Abraham Moses Malachi

Apostasy and Restoration Time Line

4000 B.C. 2400 B.C. 1450 B.C. 300 B.C. 2200 B.C. Around 300 B.C. the people fell into apostasy again. THEY

KILLED ALL THE PROPHETS. The Old Testament ended with the LAST PROPHET MALACHI and Jerusalem was conquered by the Roman Empire about 70 B.C.

Why did the Old Testament end 300 years before Christ with the death of the LAST PROPHET MALACHI?

Do you believe that God actually spoke to

LIVING PROPHETS in the Old Testament?

It is a historical fact that the majority of mankind does not accept living prophets of God while those prophets are alive on the earth, but later their descendants will revere those same prophets centuries after the prophets have died.

Jesus said: 29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous,

30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets…

Then Jesus prophesied what the people would do to the prophets that he was going to send to them in the future…

34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and [some] of them ye shall kill and crucify; and [some] of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, AND PERSECUTE THEM FROM CITY TO CITY… (Matthew 23:29, 30, 34)

Why are the living prophets rejected by most of the people?

Because the religious leaders of the day usually feel they have enough scripture already from previous prophets and don’t want any more instruction from people claiming to be prophets of God in their day…

especially from anyone claiming to be a prophet who is not already listed in their present Bible.

What did the Savior say about those sheep (people) who are unwilling to accept living prophets and new doctrines from God?

14 I am the good shepherd, and know my [sheep], and am known of mine.

26 But ye believe not, BECAUSE YE ARE NOT OF MY SHEEP, as I said unto you.

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and THEY FOLLOW ME: (John 10:14,26,27)

The Savior’s sheep will gladly hear the new doctrines of living prophets and faithfully follow them. Just as the Savior’s works testify of him, His prophets and His sheep will also bring forth good works that prove they are true followers of Jesus Christ.

Is your faith strong enough to believe in the living prophets sent by God in your day even if the majority of your peers reject them?

If God is an UNCHANGEABLE GOD and has always called living prophets to bring his children back to Him, how would He prepare the people for the earthly mission of His own Son, Jesus Christ?

Adam Noah Abraham Moses Malachi John The Baptist

Apostasy and Restoration Time Line

4000 B.C. 2400 B.C. 1450 B.C. 300 B.C. 30 A.D. 2200 B.C.

He called the living prophet John the Baptist, who was born six months earlier than Jesus with the special mission of preparing the way before the Savior of all Mankind.

For centuries, prophets had written about the Savior’s birth before this sacred event took place…

THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE

and the supreme champion of man’s agency was about to be born on earth.

40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom…

And the grace of God was upon him. (Luke 2:40)

Twelve-year-old Jesus astonished religious leaders at the temple with His wisdom and knowledge. (Luke 2: 46-47)

At the age of thirty, Jesus Christ was ready to establish the KINGDOM

OF GOD on earth and offer salvation to all mankind.

The Savior knew the first step to build His Church was to lay a firm foundation. (Ephesians 2:19-20)

Jesus Christ called twelve humble men to leave the world behind and follow him. He promised to make them “fishers of men”. (Matthew 4:19)

Christ laid His hands on these twelve men and ordained them APOSTLES and PROPHETS, to be the FOUNDATION of His CHURCH and to bear His holy priesthood. (Mark 3:14-15)

19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles, and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; (Eph 2:19-20)

“No man taketh this honor [THE HOLY PRIESTHOOD] unto himself but he that was called of God, as was Aaron.” (Hebrews 5:4)

It was the authority of this priesthood…

that authorized them to go forth in His name, do His works, and spread the good news of the Gospel. (Mark 3:14)

With God’s Son at the head of the church and a secure foundation of apostles and prophets, God was again speaking to man and new scripture was being written.

One of the Savior’s missions was to fulfill the law of Moses.

He replaced the use of force with LOVE, diligence, faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, charity… (2 Peter 1:4-8)

To understand why the Savior’s new teachings were so revolutionary we need to comprehend the historical association between GOVERNMENT and RELIGION.

What is government?

Government is an organization that creates laws and uses force to ensure those laws are obeyed.

What is religion?

Religion is an individual’s or group’s beliefs about the attributes and existence or non-existence of God.

How is government different from religion?

Government has the right to use force…

while religion invites belief.

What happens when you combine government and religion together?

You create the existence of a state

where religious beliefs are forced.

Is it right to force religious belief?

To Continue See:

The Apostasy and Restoration

Part 2