Prophets and Apostasy

[RuhiWarrior19]

I have some questions about the LDS view of Prophets, and the idea of the Apostasy after the death of Christ. Some references to the scriptures of the Church for me to read up on my own would be great as well.

1. Why do prophets come so much more often now? What I mean is that in the Old Testament prophets sometimes came one after another, but often there were long periods of time without prophets.

2. Is there only one prophet on earth at a time, and do they only come to the Isrealites and the church? Were there prophets all over the world in the past, or only Israel and later America?

3. When did the Apostasy happen, and is the restored church protected from such an event happening again? If so, how?

[john doe]

I agree with Changed in that just because the Bible doesn't mention each prophet chronologically, does not mean they did not exist. The Bible is not a complete record.

[Justice]

I agree with changed as well, except that I don't think "always" includes the time after the apostasy, until Joseph Smith. I believe changed meant the Biblical period when he said "always."

[ozzy]

Wow. I was cookin up some awesome answers. Then I scrolled down and they were all taken. :)

[chitchat]

Someone said, "yes, the apostasy happened. I'm pretty sure another apostasy will not happen again."

Now I'm really confused. Please help me understand. Okay, maybe I'm mistaken here, but doesn't the Mormon church consider itself the only one true church of God on the earth right now?

If that is true, then doesn't it follow that Mormons would consider all the other faiths to be apostasies?

Or at least religions like Buddhism, New Age, etc. to be apostasies?

[RuhiWarrior19]

Thanks for all your answers, helps me understand the LDS view on this a lot more, and makes sense.

[bytor2112]

Someone said, "yes, the apostasy happened. I'm pretty sure another apostasy will not happen again."

Now I'm really confused. Please help me understand. Okay, maybe I'm mistaken here, but doesn't the Mormon church consider itself the only one true church of God on the earth right now?

If that is true, then doesn't it follow that Mormons would consider all the other faiths to be apostasies?

Or at least religions like Buddhism, New Age, etc. to be apostasies?

We believe that the Fullness of the Gospel has been restored and the Priesthood or Authority to Administer the Saving ordinances have been restored to the earth. We consider other religions to contain a portion of the truth. That being said, this is the Final dispensation of the Gospel...the Fullness of times and there will not be another falling away. The Church of Jesus Christ is the Kingdom of God on earth in preparation for the return of the Savior.

[SeattleTruthSeeker]

I have some questions about the LDS view of Prophets, and the idea of the Apostasy after the death of Christ. Some references to the scriptures of the Church for me to read up on my own would be great as well.

1. Why do prophets come so much more often now? What I mean is that in the Old Testament prophets sometimes came one after another, but often there were long periods of time without prophets.

2. Is there only one prophet on earth at a time, and do they only come to the Isrealites and the church? Were there prophets all over the world in the past, or only Israel and later America?

3. When did the Apostasy happen, and is the restored church protected from such an event happening again? If so, how?

I would suggest finding a copy of the book by James Talmage called The Great Apostasy.

Yes, there has always been Prophets on the Earth. Their responsible to lead and instruct all men. Some prophets come to reveal that which God would want mankind to understand and learn. Other times, prophets are called to lead men out of oppression and slavery, as well as revealing God's commandments and laws.

The whole concept of Prophets and Apostles is to understand the nature in which Christ's Church is to be built upon. This concept is based on the fact that Christ said that he will build his church upon Divine Revelation and the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.

How does one receive divine revelation without proper authority that is from God? One can't receive divine authority at all. Once the Apostles were persecuted and killed off. There was no one else who could be ordained and fill the capacity of the Twelve Apostles and the Prophet.

[Traveler]

I will give my opinion and understanding. First I would define a prophet. A prophet is one that is called by G-d and ordained through his priesthood to testify of Christ. Some prophets are called to testify of Christ throughout the entire world and others are called to a specific area. The point here is that a prophet is ordained in the priesthood to a calling to testify of Christ. Note to from the Book of Revelation that a Testimony of Jesus is the spirit of Prophesy.

Many times we see reference to plural prophets throughout the Old Testament. It is important to note that there is “order” in the kingdom of G-d and that there is a structure among the prophets. Often we think of the “High” or “Presiding” priest as “The” prophet. This also is a calling in the priesthood. Note that Jesus was called and ordained a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. There is only one prophet that presides over the Melchizedek at any given period of time. This great high priest is also known as a Seer and Revelator. Many Prophets of the Old Testament, such as Moses, Joseph, Abraham and others were Seers. For Example Joseph was able to translate the dreams of Pharaoh because he possessed the power of a Seer.

There are two important keys to understanding who is called and given authority within the Kingdom of G-d. The first is that the priesthood is organization that is authorized to minister from the suzerain (G-d) of the kingdom. The second is the specific charge to stand in a particular position of authority within the priesthood. With this understanding we can see very brightly in history that when the authority of 12 apostles was no longer present that men created their own priesthood organization in Christianity just as the Maccabees (Jonathan) replaced the Levite priests and high priest prior to Jesus. It was this apostate cadre of Priest that was the main opposition to Jesus and his teachings.

The Traveler

[bytebear]

I think a study in dispensationalism is a good way to understand how apostasy and restoration works. There have been several dispensations, and each is begun with a "greater" prophet. That does not mean that he is a more powerful or more truthful prophet, but that he stands out as the main prophet of the dispensation. Adam, Noah, Enoch, Moses,etc. all were restorers of lost truth, and led the church as it was at the time.

Jesus Christ is also the head of a dispensation, but obviously he has a higher position than all the prophets. This was called the dispensation of the meridian of time. But with each dispensation, the truth faded, and people fell away.

When the 10 tribes of Israel were scattered, we know at least one dispensation split off with them, led by Lehi. There may be others we do not know about yet.

In the latter-days, God chose Joseph Smith to be his prophet of the final dispensation, called the fullness of times. This dispensation is the last, and will survive to the second coming of Christ. And yes, it is the only source of the fullness of the gospel, and the only church with the priesthood power, given to Smith by by the laying on of hands, as in olden times by those having authority to administer the ordinances of the gospel. Every priesthood holder can trace their authority to Smith who received it from Peter, James and John (as angels), who received their authority from Jesus Christ.

I recommend reading the following book:

Amazon.com: Truth Restored: A Short History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: What of the Mormons (1995 Printing, Third Edition, 402334110002, 33411) (9780402334118): Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, LDS Church: Books

[deseretgov]

I have some questions about the LDS view of Prophets, and the idea of the Apostasy after the death of Christ. Some references to the scriptures of the Church for me to read up on my own would be great as well.

There have been tons of scriptures posted so I'll just post opinions.

1. Why do prophets come so much more often now? What I mean is that in the Old Testament prophets sometimes came one after another, but often there were long periods of time without prophets.

This is the fullness of times. The time when the gospel will never be taken from the earth. It's like the final time before the second coming of Christ.

2. Is there only one prophet on earth at a time, and do they only come to the Isrealites and the church? Were there prophets all over the world in the past, or only Israel and later America?

Well in the L-DS Church there are fifteen prophets the President, his two councilors, and the quorum of the twelve. I believe God has raised prophets up all over the world at different times. I believe Muhammad was one of those prophets.

3. When did the Apostasy happen, and is the restored church protected from such an event happening again? If so, how?

I believe it happened mainly when the Emperor Constantine converted Rome to Christianity. To make it possible he created a blend of Christianity and the prevelant pagan religion. He then made this type of Christianity the official kind.

There have been statements by prophets that the gospel would never again be taken from the earth. There have also been statements that if the church rebelled the gospel would be given to another people. So either way the gospel will remain on the earth.

[Blackmarch]

I have some questions about the LDS view of Prophets, and the idea of the Apostasy after the death of Christ. Some references to the scriptures of the Church for me to read up on my own would be great as well.

1. Why do prophets come so much more often now? What I mean is that in the Old Testament prophets sometimes came one after another, but often there were long periods of time without prophets.

actually this may or may not be a misperception- the bible only chronicles a very few prophets... however within the bible there are a few mentions of "the school of the prophets" or something like that.

However the book of mormon gives an insight that there can be more than one person with prophetic authority at one time. In the bible probably the best evidence for this would be the apostles of the new testament.

2. Is there only one prophet on earth at a time, and do they only come to the Isrealites and the church? Were there prophets all over the world in the past, or only Israel and later America?

there is only one that is given authority to direct all of the church in an area, so for today's time because of technology and culture only one is necessary. However during ancient times such technology and access was not available so there would only be one for a given area ( so far the only ones really known or considered among the LDS is the middle east/asian-Israel area, and whatever area in which the book of mormon took place.

3. When did the Apostasy happen, and is the restored church protected from such an event happening again? If so, how?

APostacy started as soon as correct teachings are taught, however probably the most definitive moment to indicate apostacy was the destruction of all the apostles. there is no definite line to indicate that at this point 100% apostacy was achieved... save that by Joseph Smith's time Christ tells him that there are no churches that are right or that Joseph should join.

As to the protection of the church today? Nothing really save for whatever God decides to do in the background and the faith of it's members.. but give it long enough time and it would happen again.... but theres nothing to indicate that there will be a second great apostacy before the second coming.