Great Apostasy

Mormonism teaches that not long after Jesus Christ's lifetime, internal rebellions within the early Christian community caused the primitive Christian Church, led by the Twelve Apostles to disappear and be replaced by many factions, each of which had pieces of the truth, but not the fullness. More importantly, this falling away (see 2 Thes. 2:3) resulted in a loss of authority, which Mormons called Priesthood. Without proper authority from God, man cannot perform the ordinances of the Church.

During Jesus' ministry, he set up his Church. He called Apostles and Prophets and gave them authority to act in his name and teach the gospel. In Luke 6:12-16, we read told that Jesus chose apostles and who they were, “and it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; Simon, (whom he also named aPeter•,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.” It is important to understand that the priesthood is not a group of priests, but the authority to act in the name of God.

After Jesus was crucified, the apostles and prophets he appointed continued to receive revelation for the Church and about the gospel. They recorded these things in the scriptures and taught them to the people. The apostles and prophets went into different lands to teach the gospel, but they were rejected. Even some of the members of the Christ’s Church began to fall away from the teachings of the gospel. The New Testament documents the many inspired teachings of the early Apostles; it also documents the difficulties and challenges the early Church faced. Paul's epistles, especially, record many references to people within the Church teaching false doctrines, attempting to usurp power, or leading other's astray. Paul also mentions that some people are circulating false letters in the name of the Apostles.

Many of the Apostles and righteous members of Christ’s Church were killed by the wicked, and the priesthood along with Christ’s Church were taken from the earth. Persecution of those who were termed Christians began in about the first century by the Roman Empire. Revelation could no longer be received because there was no one to receive it, although individuals could and continued to receive inspiration in their personal lives. Because man was not able to receive revelation and understanding from God, man began to rely on his own wisdom to interpret scriptures and Christ’s teachings. This caused much confusion and false ideas about God, Jesus and His Church.

Fragments of Christ’s Church was all that remained and it was often mixed with pagan practices or the practices of other religions. The world fell into apostasy, which means that the full truth of the gospel was not on the earth. Apostasy comes from the Greek word meaning rebellion. There were no prophets to lead the people, and man was left to his own wisdom. This does not mean that God and Christ completely ignored mankind. There were times that man was guided to certain places or ideas. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believe for example, that Christopher Columbus was led to the Americas by the spirit and that the discovery of the Americas was instrumental in God’s plan for us. The new land provided a place where a new government could arise, a government that had built into its framework a tolerance for all religion.

Reformers and other religious leaders through out time have commented on the changes

The Restoration[1], a necessary event after an apostasy, came about through Joseph Smith. In the spring of 1829, while translating the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were visited by heavenly messengers who restored to them the Priesthood, the authority to act in God's name. In 1830, the Church of Christ, as the Mormon Church was originally called, was organized officially and the Great Apostasy ended. The authority to act in God’s name had been restored. Now there are again Apostles on the earth, and a Prophet who guides the Church of Christ through revelation and the power of the priesthood.

Other Links: FAIR LDS contains many articles on different aspects of the Great Apostasy.