The Church as Organized by Jesus Christ

 

The Church that Christ Organized had Specific Parts and Practices

 

The Church of Jesus Christ was built upon the foundation of Apostles and Prophets with the chief cornerstone being Jesus Christ Himself. His Church also contained the little known office of the Seventy who were charged with declaring the Gospel to the world through missionary work. The Savior told of a personal God, indeed His very Father in Heaven in whose literal image man was created . . . . At the same time He testified of His own divinity. He was the only begotten son of God the Eternal Father.

 

Before He organized His church, He taught the divine significance of baptism by Himself being baptized of John. He later taught that all mankind must be baptized for the remission of sins and set the mode for proper baptism by being immersed in the River Jordan. One of the signs that Jesus is the Christ occurred after His crucifixion. His spirit was reunited with His body. . . .He was literally resurrected and showed Himself to His Apostles.

 

The Church of Jesus Christ and the Gospel taught by the Savior included much more than is outlined here. But these are scripturally true and basic characteristics of the Church. These beliefs, doctrines, and practices were to remain in the Church, as Paul told the Ephesians, until: ". . . we all come to a unity of the faith."

 

The Loss and Falling Away

 

 The "loss and falling away" from the Church that Christ organized was foretold.

 

Amos: "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."—Amos 8:11

 

Paul: ". . . .for that day (Christ's return) shall not come, except there come a falling away first . . ." —II Thess. 2:3

 

These prophesies were fulfilled on the following approximate dates.

 

Living Apostles

None known after 110 A.D.

 

Living Christian Prophets

Unknown after 1st Century

 

The Seventy

Unknown after 1st Century

 

Belief in a Personal God

Doctrine changed by 320 A.D.

 

Belief in Divinity of Christ

Doctrine changed by 200 A.D.

 

Called of God "as was Aaron"

Unknown after 1st Century

 

A Lay Clergy

Changed by the 4th Century

 

Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Unknown after Constantine

 

Members Called Saints

Discontinued after 250 A.D.

 

Continuous Revelation

Stopped after 1st Century

 

Additional Scripture

Unknown after 1st Century

 

Baptism by Immersion

Sprinkling began 2nd Century

 

Belief in Physical Resurrection

Rejection began 1st Century

 

Sacrament of Lord's Supper

Changed after Constantine

 

Gospel Preached to the Dead

Lost after New Testament Times

 

Baptism for the Dead

Unknown after 3rd Century

The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

 

God has said He does not change; He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Neither does His Gospel change. His requirements for salvation are the same today as they were in the days of the Apostles. Therefore, His Church must be the same in organization, in doctrine, in divine authority.

 

Latter-day Saints announce that God has made Himself known to mortal men in these modern times and has restored His Church in detail . . .as it was anciently.

 

It was in 1820 that belief in a personal God was restored as it was anciently, through a personal visitation by the Almighty to a chosen servant. Joseph Smith had such a visitation. Said he, following a most solemn prayer: "I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name, and said, pointing to the other: 'This is my Beloved Son. Hear Him.' "1

 

With the first appearance in many centuries of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, the restoring of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ was ushered in. For a period of several years Joseph Smith continued to receive revelations and instructions pertaining to the organization of the Church that Jesus Christ had established while on earth. Heavenly messengers from the presence of God gave to Joseph Smith and others the authority to act in God's name. The office of the Holy Apostleship came to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery under the hands of Peter, James and John, apostles of old. John the Baptist restored the authority to administer the proper mode of baptism. Many others came and gave Joseph Smith the power to accomplish the purpose that God had intended for him. And so the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored in these latter days, with all the blessings and gifts, with all the divine organization, with the authority and power given of God, to validate His ordinances.

The Church Restored

 

The Church that Christ organized has been restored as was prophesied.

 

Isaiah: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people. . ."—Isaiah 11:11

 

John the Revelator: "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth . . ."—Rev. 14:6

 

Jesus: "And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things." —Matt. 17:11

 

Following are the specific years when all of the organizations and ordinances of the Church of Jesus Christ were restored in their perfection in fulfillment of these prophesies.

Living Apostles                                 Restored 1829

Living Christian Prophets              Restored 1830

The Seventy                                     Restored 1835

Belief in a Personal God                Restored 1820

Belief in Divinity of Christ              Restored 1820

Called of God "as was Aaron"       Restored 1829

A Lay Clergy                                     Restored 1829

Gifts of the Holy Spirit                     Restored 1830

Members called Saints                   Restored 1830

Continuous Revelation                  Restored 1820

Additional Scripture                         Restored 1823

Baptism by Immersion                    Restored 1829

Belief in Physical Resurrection    Restored 1830

Sacrament of Lord's Supper                      Restored 1830

Gospel Preached to the Dead                   Restored 1840

Baptism for the Dead                                  Restored 1840

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