Christ is the Reason

1. Gospel Knowledge Through Study, Faith, and the Holy Ghost

The Holy Ghost is the Ideal Instructor

1. “Knowledge is power, but the most vital and important knowledge is a knowledge of God-that he lives, that we are his children, that he loves us, that we are created in his image, that we can in faith pray to him and receive strength and inspiration in time of need.”- Ezra Taft Benson
2. D&C 88: 118 “seek learning, even by study and also by faith”
3. Moroni 10:5 “by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.”
4. “A single glimpse beyond the veil reveals more of heaven and its law than all the sermons of uninspired preachers combined…There is no substitute for the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (The Mortal Messiah, 4 vols. [1979-81], 1:370-371).
5. 1 Corinthians 2:11 “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.”

You Must Study and Ponder

1. “Divine instructions such as ‘study it out in your mind’(D&C 9:8) did not come from a God indifferent to intellect.” (Neal A. Maxwell We Will Prove Them Now Herewith, 89)
2. Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together saith the Lord.”
3. D&C 11:21 “Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men.”
4. Quote from mission journal “…all those hours of study paid off…”
   

2. Testimonies

“We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, …that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.” 2 Nephi 25:26

- It is our covenant duty to “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death.” Mosiah 18:9

- We should “sanctify the Lord God in [our] hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh [us] a reason of the hope that is in [us].” 1 Peter 3:15

Testify of Christ

1. The “spirits of the just” as those “who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality.” D&C 138:12
2. Those souls who go to the terrestrial kingdom as the “honorable men of the earth,” who were “not valiant in the testimony of Jesus.” D&C 76: 75, 79
3. “I sat and listened to seventeen testimonies and never heard Jesus mentioned or referred to in any way. I thought I might be in [some other denomination], but I supposed not because there were no references to God, either. …The following Sunday, I again attended church. I sat through a priesthood lesson, a Gospel Doctrine lesson, and seven sacrament meeting speakers and never once heard the name of Jesus or any reference to him.” – Letter from a member to Elder Dalin H. Oaks
4. “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 121.)
5. “When the gospel was first restored, the pulpits of this land were aflame with the testimony of Jesus, the divine Son of God and Savior of the world. True, the fullness of his doctrine and the power of his priesthood had been lost from the earth, but there were many good and honorable men and women who were valiant in their own testimonies of Jesus. Our earliest missionaries concentrated their message on the Restoration—the calling of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the restoring of priesthood authority—since they could assume that most of those they taught had a fundamental belief in Jesus Christ as our Savior. Today, our missionaries cannot make that assumption. There are still many God-fearing people who testify to the divinity of Jesus Christ. But there are many more—even in the formal ranks of Christianity—who doubt his existence or deny his divinity. As I see the deterioration in religious faith that has happened in my own lifetime, I am convinced that we who are members of his Church need to be increasingly valiant in our testimony of Jesus.” – Elder Oaks “Witnesses of Christ” Ensign Nov. 1990
6. “Fifty years ago or more, when I was a missionary, our greatest responsibility was to defend the great truth that the Prophet Joseph Smith was divinely called and inspired and that the Book of Mormon was indeed the word of God. But even at that time there were the unmistakable evidences that there was coming into the religious world actually a question about the Bible and about the divine calling of the Master, himself. Now, fifty years later, our greatest responsibility and anxiety is to defend the divine mission of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, for all about us, even among those who claim to be professors of the Christian faith, are those not willing to stand squarely in defense of the great truth that our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, was indeed the Son of God.” (Address to LDS Student Association Fireside, Utah State University, 10 Oct. 1971.)

3. Testimonies of the Prophets and the Apostles

“…seeing no way that he might reclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure testimony...” – Alma 4:19

1. Peter and the Apostles: Acts 4:12 “there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 5:29-32, 41-42 The apostles were “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ”
2. Nephi: 2 Nephi 25:26 “We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, …that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”
3. Jacob “For, for this intent have we written these things, that they may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us…and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken…” Jacob 4:4-6
4. King Benjamin: Mosiah 3:18 “Salvation was, and is, and is to come in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.”
5. Enos “…my faith began to be unshaken in the Lord…And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know in him I shall rest…” Enos 1: 11, 27
6. Abinadi “the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ. He is the light and the life of the world…remember that only in and through Christ ye can be saved.” (Mosiah 16:7-15)
7. Alma the Younger “from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might being souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost” Alma 36:24
8. Helaman “remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, which is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation” Helaman 5:12
9. Moroni “Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him” Moroni 10:32
10. Joseph Smith “And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father.” D&C 76:22-24

4. Solving Problems Using the Scriptures

1. “Where in the Bible does it talk about the Pre-Existence?”
2. “Doesn’t it say in the Book of Revelation that there can’t be anymore scriptures?”
3. “I thought there were no more apostles after the original twelve. Doesn’t it say that you can only Apostles if you actually lived in Christ time?”
4. “What do you mean Joseph Smith saw God? Doesn’t it say in John 1:18 that no man has ever seen God?”
5. “I like the idea of three kingdoms, but where does it say that in the bible?”
6. “I’m having trouble understanding faith.”
7. “Why should I be baptized? I’ve already accepted Jesus as my personal Savior.”

The Godhead

"If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves" (Teachings, 343)

It is important to know who and what God is. The Prophet Joseph Smith, in his lectures on Faith, said, “For faith could not center in a Being of whose existence we have no idea, because the idea of his existence in the first instance is essential to the exercise of faith in him.” Not only is knowing that God exists important but so is having “a correct idea of his character, perfections, and attributes”, for without it. “the minds of men could not have sufficient power with God to the exercise of faith necessary to the enjoyment of eternal life.” (Lectures on Faith, delivered to a school of the elders, Kirtland Ohio, December 1834. Emphasis added)

However, there is a lot of confusion about God and who he is.

BYU scholar Stephen Robinson has pointed out that the LDS idea of God is one of the theological tensions that cause many other Christian denominations to fight against the church, as well as out rejection of the post-biblical creeds. (see Stephen E. Robinson, Are Mormons Christians? Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1991; Encyclopedia of Mormonism, ed. Daniel H. Ludlow, 4 vols., New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992, s.v. “Apostasy,” “doctrine,” “God the Father,” and “Godhead”).

The Apostle Dallin H. Oaks spoke about the difference between our unique belief in God with other Christians. “[M]any Christians reject the idea of a tangible, personal God and a Godhead of three separate beings. They believe that God is a spirit and that the Godhead is only one God. In our view, these concepts are evidence of the falling away we call the Great Apostasy.” Elder Oaks contributes these nonscriptural terms as “the incomprehensible mystery of God” and “the mystery of the Holy Trinity” to Greek philosophy: “In the process of what we call the Apostasy, the tangible, personal God described in the Old and New Testaments was replaced by the abstract, incomprehensible deity defined by compromise with the speculative principles of Greek philosophy. The received language of the Bible remained, but the so-called “hidden meanings” of scriptural words were now explained in the vocabulary of a philosophy alien to their origins. In the language of that philosophy, God the Father ceased to be a Father in any but an allegorical sense. He ceased to exist as a comprehensible and compassionate being. And the separate identity of his Only Begotten Son was swallowed up in a philosophical abstraction that attempted to define a common substance and an incomprehensible relationship. These descriptions of a religious philosophy are surely undiplomatic, but I hasten to add that Latter-day Saints do not apply such criticism to the men and women who profess these beliefs. We believe that most religious leaders and followers are sincere believers who love God and understand and serve him to the best of their abilities. We are indebted to the men and women who kept the light of faith and learning alive through the centuries to the present day. We have only to contrast the lesser light that exists among peoples unfamiliar with the names of God and Jesus Christ to realize the great contribution made by Christian teachers through the ages. We honor them as servants of God.”

Book of Mormon Christology

Mosiah 15:1-4 “God himself shall come down among the children of men . . . being the Father and the Son…The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and the Son…And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth.”

Some believe Abinadi's Christology is incompatible with current Latter-day Saint Christology. Even if you accept the ideology that the former and the latter are different, a differing Christology does not mean a contradictory Christology. (This verse assumes a separation of Father and Son by the use of the pronoun ‘they’.) We will look at what the confusion is and attempt at clearing it up by looking at what we as Latter-Day Saints believe.

What do we believe? The first Article of Faith states “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.” The distinctness of the Godhead is made even more clear in Doctrine and Covenants 130:22 “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as mand’s; the Son also: but the Holy Ghost has a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell with in us.”

Joseph Smith said in a Sabbath day address in Nauvoo (11June 1943), “Any person that had seen the heavens opened knows that there are three personages in the heavens who hold the keys of power, and one presides over all.”

President Hinkley has said “The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are distinct beings but they are one in purpose and effort. They are united as one in bringing to pass the grand, divine plan for the salvation and exaltation of the children of God. (John 17:20-21) It is perfect unity between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost that binds these three into the oneness of the divine Godhead.” (The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, booklet [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988], pp. 12-13.)

Are We Polytheists?

We love and worship both Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ (though nowhere in our doctrine does it say that we worship the Holy Ghost necessarily.). From Mormon.org “We love Christ. We worship Christ. He is our example and our Savior.” (Emphasis added) The doctrine of the Godhead begs the question of polytheism; “Because you guys believe in multiple Gods, isn’t that blasphemous or anti-monotheistic?” It should be pointed out that this doctrine of the Godhead isn’t polytheistic, but a belief in three all powerful Gods who are one in purpose. I would avoid using any labels like these however because of how different, difficult and loaded the terms are. In explaining and understanding our belief in God, we believe, as a revealed word of God, the doctrine of the Godhead isn’t blasphemous but beautiful. The fact that Jesus and the Holy Ghost both are considered Gods does not somehow take away from the Supremacy of Eloheim, nor from Their essential oneness. Here is what some LDS scholars and General Authorities have said on the matter:

- “The Latter-day Saints, who believe in the Godhead, are no more polytheistic than are Christians who believe in the Trinity. God and Christ are the objects of our worship. Even though Mormons believe in the ultimate deification of man, I am unaware of any reference in LDS literature that speaks of worshiping any being other than the ones within the Godhead. Latter-day Saints believe in "one God" in the sense that they love and serve one Godhead, one divine presidency, each of whom possesses all of the attributes of Godhood.” Robert Millet, The Mormon Faith: A New Look at Christianity

- “Primitive and pagan peoples often believe in and worship many supposed gods. They imagine that there are gods of birth, marriage, and death, of war and peace, of the mountains, forests, and plains, and so forth. It is falsely supposed by uninspired religious scholars that Yahweh or Jehovah was the tribal God of the Hebrew peoples, that he gradually came to have pre-eminence over the gods of other nations, and that he was finally accepted as the One Supreme Being. The fact is, however, that monotheism did not grow out of polytheism, rather polytheistic concepts are apostate perversions of the original truth about God which was revealed to Adam and the ancient patriarchs. It should be remembered that polytheism has reference to pagan deities to whom reverence, devotion, and worship are given. It is not to be confused with the gospel truth that there are "gods many, and lords many, But to us there is but one God, the Father, and one Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. 8:4-7.) The saints are not polytheists.” Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine

One in Purpose

Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, while distinct beings, are still one in a very important sense that I believe all Christians should be able to agree on. In John 17 Jesus prays in verse 11; “Holy Father keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may one, as we are.” Verse 20-22 continue “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as though, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou has sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them that they may be one, even as we are one.” It is clear from these verses that Heavenly Father and Jesus are one. However, you have to really distort the scriptures to make that oneness have a metaphysical meaning. Jesus is praying that His disciples will be one with both Him and the Father. For Latter-Day Saints, this a beautiful doctrine of coming unto God and being unified with Them, one in purpose. How weird is it if this somehow meant that Jesus was praying for us to physically become one with God, like some sort of human transformer. This is God’s doctrine and he has given it to us so that “[Y]ou may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fullness.” (D&C 93:19)

Eloheim is the Father of Our Spirits

Eloheim will always be our Eternal Father in Heaven because he is the Father of our spirits. From the church sponsored website Mormon.org:

“Jesus taught that God is “Our Father which art in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). We call God Heavenly Father because He is the Father of our spirits.”

- Psalms 82:6 “All of you are children of the most High.”

- Acts 17:29 “We are the offspring of God.”

- Gen. 1:26 “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”

- 1 Corinthians 8:5-6 “But to us there is but one God, the Father.”

- Philippians 2:5-6 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.”

- Romans 8:16-17 “The spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ”

- “The Father is the one true God. This thing is certain: no one will ever ascend above Him; no one will ever replace Him. Nor will anything ever change the relationship that we, His literal offspring, have with Him. He is Eloheim, the Father. He is God. Of Him there is only one. We revere our Father and our God; we worship Him.” Boyd K Packer “The Pattern of Our Parentage” Ensign, Nov. 1984

Jesus is Jehovah, God of the Old Testament

This may be one of the most confusing things about this discussion. Many times in the Old Testament, Jehovah (not Elohim) speaks as though he is Elohim. Is Jehovah of the Old Testament, who would become Jesus Christ of the New, the Father? Yes. Is He still distinct from Elohim? Yes. Is Elohim still our Eternal Father? Yes. Is this a contradiction? No. There are different meanings of the term Father, and Jesus inhabits many of them while still being subordinate to His Father in Heaven. Lets look at what the First presidency said about the Jesus as Father back in 1916.

1. Father as Creator

“One “scriptural meaning of “Father” is that of Creator; e.g., in passages referring to any one of the Godhead as “the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are” (Ether 4:7; see also Alma 11:38–39; Mosiah 15:4). God is not the Father of the earth as one of the worlds in space, nor of the heavenly bodies in whole or in part, not of the inanimate objects and the plants and the animals upon the earth, in the literal sense in which He is the Father of the spirits of mankind. Therefore, scriptures that refer to God in any way as the Father of the heavens and the earth are to be understood as signifying that God is the Maker, the Organizer, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. With this meaning, as the context shows in every case, Jehovah, who is Jesus Christ the Son of Elohim, is called “the Father,” and even “the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth” (see passages before cited and also Mosiah 16:15). With analogous meaning Jesus Christ is called “The Everlasting Father” (Isa. 9:6; compare 2 Ne. 19:6). The descriptive titles “Everlasting” and “Eternal” in the foregoing texts are synonymous. That Jesus Christ, whom we also know as Jehovah, was the executive of the Father, Elohim, in the work of creation is set forth in the book Jesus the Christ, chapter 4 [by James E. Talmage]. Jesus Christ, being the Creator, is consistently called the Father of heaven and earth in the sense explained above; and since His creations are of eternal quality He is very properly called the Eternal Father of heaven and earth.”

2. Jesus Christ as Father of those who abide in His Gospel

“Jesus Christ is regarded as the “Father” has reference to the relationship between Him and those who accept His gospel and thereby become heirs of eternal life.” Here are two scripture references that illustrate this:

“Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I am the life and the light of the world. “I am the same who came unto mine own and mine own received me not; “But verily, verily, I say unto you, that as many as receive me, to them will I give power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on my name. Amen” (D&C 11:28–30). To Orson Pratt the Lord spoke through Joseph the seer, in 1830: “My son Orson, hearken and hear and behold what I, the Lord God, shall say unto you, even Jesus Christ your Redeemer; “The light and the life of the world, a light which shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehendeth it not; “Who so loved the world that he gave his own life, that as many as would believe might become the sons of God. Wherefore you are my son” (D&C 34:1–3).”

3. Jesus Christ as Father by Divine Investiture of Authority

“[T]he title “Father” to Jesus Christ is found in the fact that in all His dealings with the human family Jesus the Son has represented and yet represents Elohim His Father in power and authority. This is true of Christ in His preexistent, antemortal, or unembodied state, in the which He was known as Jehovah; also during His embodiment in the flesh; and during His labors as a disembodied spirit in the realm of the dead; and since that period in His resurrected state. To the Jews He said, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30; see also John 17:11, 22); yet He declared, “My Father is greater than I” (John 14:28), and further, “I am come in my Father’s name” (John 5:43; see also John 10:25). The same truth was declared by Christ Himself to the Nephites (see 3 Ne. 20:35; 3 Ne. 28:10), and has been reaffirmed by revelation in the present dispensation (D&C 50:43). Thus the Father placed His name upon the Son; and Jesus Christ spoke and ministered in and through the Father’s name; and so far as power, authority, and godship are concerned His words and acts were and are those of the Father.

“We read, by way of analogy, that God placed His name upon or in the angel who was assigned to special ministry unto the people of Israel during the exodus. Of that angel the Lord said, “Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him” (Ex. 23:21).

“The ancient Apostle John was visited by an angel who ministered and spoke in the name of Jesus Christ. As we read, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John” (Rev. 1:1). John was about to worship the angelic being who spoke in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, but was forbidden: “And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. “Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not; for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God” (Rev. 22:8–9).And then the angel continued to speak as though he were the Lord Himself: “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last” (Rev. 22:12–13)…

“Jesus Christ is not the Father of the spirits who have taken or yet shall take bodies upon this earth, for He is one of them. He is The Son, as they are sons or daughters of Elohim. So far as the stages of eternal progression and attainment have been made known through divine revelation, we are to understand that only resurrected and glorified beings can become parents of spirit offspring. Only such exalted souls have reached maturity in the appointed course of eternal life; and the spirits born to them in the eternal worlds will pass in due sequence through the several stages or estates by which the glorified parents have attained exaltation.” (A Doctrinal Exposition by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from Improvement Era, Aug. 1916, 934–42; capitalization, punctuation, paragraphing, and spelling standardized.)

This chart may help illustrate how Jesus and Jehovah are one and the same:

Jehovah is Jesus
	Old Testament	New Testament
Jehovah/ Jesus Creator of the World	Isaiah 45:11-12	John1:1,3
Jehovah/Jesus is Savior	Hosea 13:4	Luke 2:11
Jehovah/ Jesus is Redeemer	Isaiah 43:14	Galations 3:13
Jesus/ Jehovah will deliver from death	Hosea 13:14	1 Corinthians 15:20-22
Jews to Look on Jehovah/Jesus, who was pierced.	Zechariah 12:10	John 19:34, 36
Jehovah/ Jesus Followed Israel in the Wilderness	Exodus 13:21-22	1 Corinthians 10:1-4
Jehovah/Jesus is Husband/ Bridegroom	Isaiah 44:6	Revelations 1:8
Jehovah/Jesus is First and Last	Isaiah 44:6	Revelations 1:8

More Biblical Confirmation

The word used for God over 2,500 times in the Bible (See Genesis 1:1, for example) is the word Elohim. This Hebrew word broken up means God (elo) and him is a masculine plural or many! (Parenthetically, Hebrew and Arabic are both Semitic languages and the Arabic word for God, Allah, and the Hebrew word, Elo, are virtually the same word.)

Distinct Attributes of God As Evident in Each Person of the Godhead
	The Father	Jesus Christ	The Holy Spirit
omnipotent (all-powerful)	Genesis 18:14 Isaiah 43:13 Jeremiah 32:17, 27 Matthew 19:26	Daniel 7:13, 14 Matthew 28:18 1 Peter 3:22 John 3:31, 35; 17:2	Psalms 104:30
omniscient (all-knowing)	1 Chronicles 28:9 2 Chronicles 6:30 Job 34:21, 22 Psalms 139:1-6, 11-18; 147:5 Isaiah 48:5; 66:18 Acts 15:18 Romans 11:33-36 1 John 3:20	John 4:25, 26, 29; 6:64; 13:11; 19:28; 21:17 He knew their thoughts: Matthew 9:4; 12:25; 22:18 Mark 2:8; 12:15 Luke 5:22; 6:8; 9:47; 11:17 John 2:24,x25;x5:42; 6:6;x16:19,x30; Acts 1:24 He knew the future: Matthew 16:21; 20:18, 19 John 2:19, 21, 22; 12:23, 24, 32, 33	Isaiah 40:13 John 14:26 1 Corinthians 2:10, 11
immutable (unchanging)	Malachi 3:6	Hebrews 13:8	1 Corinthians 12:4
eternal (everlasting)	Genesis 21:33 Exodus 3:14 Psalms 90:2; 102:27 Isaiah 41:4 Romans 1:23; 16:27 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:16 Revelation 4:8	Isaiah 44:6; 48:12 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:16 Revelation 1:4, 5, 8, 11, 17; 2:8; 21:6; 22:13 Hebrews 7:25 pre-existent to creation: Genesis 1:26; 3:22; 11:7 ("...us...our...our...") Proverbs 8:22-36 Isaiah 48:12, 16 Micah 5:2 John 1:1-3, 10; 3:13; 6:62; 8:35, 58; 17:5, 24 Romans 11:36 1 Corinthians 8:6 Ephesians 3:9 Philippians 2:5 Colossians 1:15-19 Hebrews 1:2 Revelation 3:14	Hebrews 9:14

THE GODHEAD: Three Distinct Personalities

.I. The Father is a distinct personality apart from the Spirit:

Matthew 3:16, 17
Isaiah 48:16

II. The Spirit is a distinct personality apart from the Son:

Matthew Luke 12:10
John 16:7, 13, 14
1 John 5:6-8

III. The Son is a distinct personality apart from the Father:

Matthew 10:32; 11:25-27
Mark 13:32
Luke 17:5
John 5:19, 20, 30; 6:37-39; 14:12, 28, 31; 16:5, 16; 32:17
Ephesians 1:17, 20
1 Corinthians 3:23; 11:3
Colossians 3:1
Hebrews 1:1-3

More Distinctions Between the Members of the Godhead in the New Testament

Matthew 1:20, 21 "the Lord (the Father) ... the Holy Spirit ... Jesus"
Matthew 3:16, 17 "Jesus ... the Spirit of God ... a Voice from heaven (the Father)"
Matthew 12:18 "I ... My Spirit ... on Him"
Matthew 22:42, 43 "Christ ... the Spirit ... Lord (the Father)"
Mark 1:9-11 "Jesus ... the Spirit ... a Voice from heaven ... My beloved Son"
Mark 12:35, 36 "Christ ... the Holy Spirit ... the Lord (the Father)"
Luke 1:35 "the Holy Spirit ... the Highest ... the Son of God"
Luke 2:26, 27 "the Holy Spirit ... Christ ... Jesus"
Luke 3:21, 22 "Jesus ... the Holy Spirit ... a Voice from heaven ... My beloved Son"
Luke 10:21 "Jesus ... the Spirit ... Father"
Luke 12:9, 10 "God ... the Son ... the Holy Spirit"
John 3:5 "Jesus ... the Spirit ... God"
John 3:34, 35 "God ... the Spirit ... the Father ... the Son"
John 4:24, 25 "God ... a Spirit ... Messiah ... Christ"
John 14:16, 17, 26 "the Comforter ... the Father ... in My name"
John 15:26 "the Comforter ... the Father ... of Me"
John 20:21, 22 "Jesus ... Father ... the Holy Spirit"
Acts 2:32, 33 "Jesus ... God ... the Father ... the Holy Spirit"
Acts 2:38, 39 "Jesus Christ ... the Holy Spirit ... God"
Acts 4:30, 31 "Jesus ... the Holy Spirit ... God"
Acts 5:31, 32 "God ... a Prince and Savior ... the Holy Spirit"
Acts 7:55 "the Holy Spirit ... Jesus ... God"
Acts 8:14-16 "God ... the Holy Spirit ... Jesus"
Acts 10:38 "God ... Jesus ... the Holy Spirit"
Acts 10:46-48 "God ... the Holy Spirit ... the Lord"
Acts 11:16, 17 "the Lord ... the Holy Spirit ... God ... the Lord Jesus Christ"
Acts 20:21-23 "God ... Jesus ... the Holy Spirit"
Romans 1:1, 3, 4 "God ... His Son, Jesus Christ ... the Spirit"
Romans 5:5, 6 "God ... the Holy Spirit ... Christ"
Romans 8:2, 3 "the Spirit ... Jesus ... God ... His own Son"
Romans 8:8, 9 "God ... the Spirit ... the Spirit of Christ"
Romans 8:16, 17 "the Spirit ... God ... Christ"
Romans 14:17, 18 "the Holy Spirit ... Christ ... God"
Romans 15:12, 13 "Root of Jesse (Jesus) ... God ... Holy Spirit"
Romans 15:16 "Jesus ... God ... the Holy Spirit"
Romans 15:30 "The Lord Jesus Christ ... the Spirit ... God"
1 Corinthians 6:10, 11 "God ... the Lord Jesus ... the Spirit"
1 Corinthians 12:4-6 "Spirit ... Lord ... God"
1 Corinthians 7:39, 40 "the Lord Jesus ... the Spirit ... God"
1 Corinthians 8:2 "the Lord Jesus ... the Spirit ... God"
2 Corinthians 3:3, 4 "the Spirit ... Christ ... God"
2 Corinthians 13:14 "Jesus ... God ... the Holy Spirit"
2 Corinthians 5:5, 6 "God ... the Spirit ... the Lord (Jesus)"
Galatians 4:6, 7 "God ... the Spirit ... Son ... Father ... God ... Christ"
Ephesians 2:18 "through Him (Jesus) ... Spirit ... the Father"
Ephesians 2:21, 22 "the Lord ... God ... the Spirit"
Ephesians 3:14, 16 "the Father ... Jesus Christ ... His Spirit"
Ephesians 4:4-6 "Spirit ... Lord (Jesus) ... God and Father"
Ephesians 5:18-20 "Spirit ... Lord (Jesus) ... God ... Father"
Colossians 1:6-8 "God ... Christ ... Spirit"
1 Thessalonians 4:6-8 "Lord (Jesus) ... God ... Holy Spirit"
1 Thessalonians 5:18, 19 "God ... Father ... Christ ... Jesus ... Spirit"
2 Thessalonians 2:13, 14 "God ... Lord ... God ... Spirit ... Lord Jesus Christ"
Titus 3:4-6 "God ... Holy Spirit ... Jesus Christ"
Hebrews 2:3, 4 "Lord (Jesus) ... God ... Holy Spirit"
Hebrews 3:4, 6, 7 "God ... Christ ... Holy Spirit"
Hebrews 6:4-6 "Holy Spirit ... God ... Son"
Hebrews 9:14 "Christ ... Spirit ... God"
Hebrews 10:29-31 "Son of God ... Spirit ... Lord ... God"
1 Peter 1:2 "God the Father ... Spirit ... Jesus Christ"
1 Peter 3:18 "Christ ... God ... Spirit"
1 Peter 4:14 "Christ ... Spirit ... God"
2 Peter 1:21 "God ... Holy Spirit ... Lord (Jesus)"
2 Peter 2:1 "God ... Holy Spirit ... Lord (Jesus)"
1 John 4:2 "Spirit ... Jesus ... God"
1 John 4:13, 14 "Spirit ... Father ... Son ... Savior"
1 John 5:7 "Father ... Word ... Holy Spirit"
Jude 20, 21 "the Holy Spirit ... God ... Lord ... Jesus Christ"
Revelation 1:9, 10 "Jesus Christ ... God ... Jesus Christ ... Spirit"
Revelation 3:5-7 "Father ... Spirit ... He that hath the key of David (Jesus)"
Revelation 14:12, 13 "God ... Jesus ... Lord ... Spirit"
Revelation 21:9, 10 "Lamb ... Spirit ... God"
Revelation 22:16-18 "the offspring of David (Jesus) ... Spirit ... God"

The Doctrine of the Godhead and the Divine Progression of Man Taught Anciently

1. “As man now is, God once was; As God now is, man may be” –Lorenzo Snow (President Snow often referred to this couplet as having been revealed to him by inspiration during the Nauvoo period of the church. See, for example, Deseret Weekly, 3 November 1894, 610)
2. “Do we cast blame on him [God] because we were not made gods from the beginning, but were at first created merely as men, and then later as gods? Although God has adopted this course out of his pure benevolence, that no one may charge him with discrimination or stinginess, he declares, ‘I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are sons of the Most High.’ . . . For it was necessary at first that nature be exhibited, then after that what was mortal would be conquered and swallowed up in immortality.” - Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons (about a.d. 130-200, Against Heresies, bk. 5, preface, 4.38 (4); compare 4.11 (2): “But man receives progression and increase towards God. For as God is always the same, so also man, when found in God, shall always progress towards God.”)
3. "Yea, I say, the Word of God became a man so that you might learn from a man how to become a god." - Clement of Alexandria (about a.d. 150-215 Exhortation to the Greeks, 1, The Instructor, 3.1. See his Stromateis, 23)
4. In the beginning men "were made like God, free from suffering and death," and that they are thus "deemed worthy of becoming gods and of having power to become sons of the highest." - Justin Martyr (about a.d. 100-165 Dialogue with Trypho, 124)
5. "The Word was made flesh in order that we might be enabled to be made gods. . . . Just as the Lord, putting on the body, became a man, so also we men are both deified through his flesh, and henceforth inherit everlasting life… He became man that we might be made divine." (Athanasius, Against the Aryans, 1.39, 3.34., On the Incarnation, 54.)
6. "But he himself that justifies also deifies, for by justifying he makes sons of God. 'For he has given them power to become the sons of God' [John 1:12]. If then we have been made sons of god, we have also been made gods." Augustine of Hippo a.d. 354-430, On the Psalms, 50.2.)
7. An anti-Christian writer of the day (A.D. 178) attacked the Christians for their teachings of a comprehensible God who had a body in the image of man’s:

The Christians say that God has hands, a mouth, and a voice; they are always proclaiming that “God said this” or “God spoke.” “The heavens declare the work of his hands,” they say. I can only comment that such a God is no God at all, for God has neither hands, mouth, or voice, nor any characteristics of which we know. And they say that God made man in his own image, failing to realize that God is not at all like a man, nor vice versa; God resembles no form known to us. They say that God has form, namely the form Logos, who became flesh in Jesus Christ. But we know that God is without shape, without color. They say that God moved above the waters he created-but we know that it is contrary to the nature of God to move. Their absurd doctrines even contain references to God walking about the garden he created for man; and they speak of him being angry, jealous, moved to repentance, sorry, sleepy-in short, as being in every respect more a man than a God. They have not read Plato, who teaches us in the Republic, that God (the Good) does not even participate in being. (Celsus, On the True Doctrine: A Discourse Against the Christians, translated by R. Joseph Hoffman (New York University Press, 1987)

8. "It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship…" The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses, rev. ed. (New York: Macmillan, Collier Books, 1980), 18.
9. “The command Be ye perfect is not idealistic gas. Nor is it a command to do the impossible. He is going to make us into creatures that can obey that command. He said (in the Bible) that we were "gods" and He is going to make good His words. If we let Him-for we can prevent Him, if we choose-He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess, dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly (though, of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness. The process will be long and in parts very painful; but that is what we are in for. Nothing less. He meant what He said.” Lewis, Mere Christianity, 174–75.

Conclusion:

With President Hinkley I bare witness that it is a “Miracle of miracles and wonder of wonders, they are interested in us, and we are the substance of their great concern. They are available to each of us. We approach the Father through the Son. He is our intercessor at the throne of God. How marvelous it is that we may so speak to the Father in the name of the Son.

I bear witness of these great, transcendent truths. And I do so by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost.”

Apostasy Timeline

“Many years ago a learned man, a member of the Roman Catholic Church, came to Utah and spoke from the stand of the Salt Lake Tabernacle. I became well-acquainted with him, and we conversed freely and frankly. A great scholar, with perhaps a dozen languages at his tongue's end, he seemed to know all about theology, law, literature, science and philosophy. One day he said to me: "You Mormons are all ignoramuses. You don't even know the strength of your own position. It is so strong that there is only one other tenable in the whole Christian world, and that is the position of the Catholic Church. The issue is between Catholicism and Mormonism. If we are right, you are wrong; if you are right, we are wrong; and that's all there is to it. The Protestants haven't a leg to stand on. For, if we are wrong, they are wrong with us, since they were a part of us and went out from us; while if we are right, they are apostates whom we cut off long ago. If we have the apostolic succession from St. Peter, as we claim, there is no need of Joseph Smith and Mormonism; but if we have not that succession, then such a man as Joseph Smith was necessary, and Mormonism's attitude is the only consistent one. It is either the perpetuation of the gospel from ancient times, or the restoration of the gospel in latter days." (“A Catholic Utterance” As quoted in LeGrand Richards’, A Marvelous Work and A Wonder (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1976)

1. Church Established

a. Why should we even concern ourselves with the idea that Christ established a church? Because there are many, both within and without Christianity, that argue that Jesus had no intention of establishing a church.

b. Mark 3:14 Sends the 12 apostles to preach the gospel

c. Luke 10, Matt. 10 Jesus calls the seventy

d. Mark 16:14-20, Matt. 28:, 19, 20 “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

e. Acts 1:21-26 Judas’ spot in the quorum filled by Mathaias

f. Ephesians 4:11-14 “…he gave some apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints…Till we all come in the unity of the faith.”

g. “Thus, then, under a celestial influence and co-operation, the doctrine of the Savior, like the rays of the sun, quickly irradiated the whole world. Presently, in accordance with divine prophecy, the sound of His inspired evangelists and apostles had gone throughout all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. Throughout every city and village, like a replenished barn floor, churches were rapidly abounding and filled with members from every people. Those who, in consequence of the delusions that had descended to them from their ancestors, had been fettered by the ancient disease of idolatrous superstition, were now liberated by the power of Christ, through the teachings and miracles.” (Eusebius, “Ecclesiastical History,” Bk I, ch. 3)

h. “When we consider the rapid progress of Christianity among the Gentile nations, and the poor and feeble instruments by which this great and amazing event was immediately effected, we naturally have recourse to an omnipotent and invisible hand, as its true and proper cause.” (Mosheim, “Ecclesiastical History,” Cent. I, Part I, ch. 4:8)

2. Apostasy predicted/ seen in early Christian church

1. Isaiah 24:5 “changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant”[1]
2. Amos 8:11 “famine of hearing the words of the Lord”
3. Matt 13:25 “his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat”
4. John 6:66 “his disciples went back, and walked no more with him”
5. Acts 20:29 “shall grievous wolves enter in among you”
6. 1 Corinthians 11:1 “there be divisions among you”
7. Galatians 1:6 “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him”
8. 2 Thessalonians 2:2-3 “falling away first”
9. 1 Tim 1:6 “some having swerved have turned aside”
10. 1 Tim 4:1 “giving heed to seducing spirits”
11. 2 Tim 1:15 “all they which are in Asia be turned away from me”
12. 2 Tim 3:5 “having a form of godliness, but denying the power”
13. James 4:1 “From whence came wars and fighting among you”
14. 1 John 2:18 “now are there many antichrists; 4:1 many false prophets are gone out into the world”

3. A.D. 30-101 Gnosticism/ End of Apostolic Reign

1. Vacancy within the 12 apostles filled by Matthias (Acts 1:24-26) in about 30 A.D.
2. The apostles continue their ministry of going “into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15)
3. Acts 8:9, 13, 18-24 A sorcerer named Simon attempts to buy the priesthood. All though he is rebuked, he apparently is allowed to remain with the church. Unfortunately he lead many away from the church into a cult described as Gnosticism. Eusebius states “These, after the manner of their founder, insinuating themselves into the Church, like pestilential and leprous disease, infected those with the greatest corruption, into whom they were able to infuse their secret, irremediable, and destructive poison.” Eusebius, “Ecclesiastical History”
4. By A.D. 101 all of the apostles had been brutally martyred with the exception of John, who was banished to the Isle of Patmos. By this time, while there still existed local priesthood leadership, there was no general church leadership. These persecutions by the Roman Empire played a key (but not the only) role in the great apostasy.
5. Emperor Trajan to provincial governor Pliny: “You have done perfectly right, my dear Pliny…If [Christians] are brought before you and convicted, let them be capitally punished, yet with this restriction, that if any one renounce Christianity…he shall obtain pardon for the future.” (As quoted in Milner’s “History of the Church of Christ”, Cent. II, ch. 1.) Compare this Roman policy with the Lamanite policy that lead to the apostasy in the Western Hemisphere: “For behold, their wars are exceedingly fierce among themselves; and because of their hatred they put to death every Nephite that will not deny the Christ.” (Moroni 1:2 emphasis added)
6. Considered the first church historian Eusebius (A.D. 260-339), a bishop in Cesarea, wrote about this period:

The Church continued until then [close of the first century] as a pure and uncorrupt virgin, whilst if there were any at all that attempted to pervert the sound doctrine of the saving gospel, they were yet skulking in dark retreats: but when the sacred choir of Apostles became extinct and the generation of those that had been privileged to hear their inspired wisdom had passed away, then also the combinations of impious errors arose by the fraud and delusions of false teachers. These also as there were none of the apostles left, henceforth attempted without shame, to preach their false doctrines against the gospel truth. (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, Book III, Chapter 32; emphasis added.) (Eusebius is quoting Hegesippus)

4. A.D. 100-200 Beginning of Hellenization of the church

1. Hellenization is just a concept that refers to the embracement, or merging of Greek thought into one’s culture. Plato, perhaps the most influential of the Greek philosophers, taught that God was incomprehensible and completely unlike men in every way.
2. An anti-Christian writer of the day (A.D. 178) attacked the Christians for their teachings of a comprehensible God who had a body in the image of man’s:

The Christians say that God has hands, a mouth, and a voice; they are always proclaiming that “God said this” or “God spoke.” “The heavens declare the work of his hands,” they say. I can only comment that such a God is no God at all, for God has neither hands, mouth, or voice, nor any characteristics of which we know. And they say that God made man in his own image, failing to realize that God is not at all like a man, nor vice versa; God resembles no form known to us. They say that God has form, namely the form Logos, who became flesh in Jesus Christ. But we know that God is without shape, without color. They say that God moved above the waters he created-but we know that it is contrary to the nature of God to move. Their absurd doctrines even contain references to God walking about the garden he created for man; and they speak of him being angry, jealous, moved to repentance, sorry, sleepy-in short, as being in every respect more a man than a God. They have not read Plato, who teaches us in the Republic, that God (the Good) does not even participate in being. (Celsus, On the True Doctrine: A Discourse Against the Christians, translated by R. Joseph Hoffman (New York University Press, 1987)

As you know, this has now been reversed. Latter-Day saints are now attacked by other Christians for their belief that God is comprehensible, that he loves and talks to us, and that he has body, whose image we are created. Other false doctrines crept up in this period.

5. A.D. 325 Nicene Creed

1. Between 284-305 Diocletian was the emperor of Rome and sponsored horrible persecutions that forced Christians literally underground. Scriptures were confiscated, clergy was imprisoned, tortured and forced to worship pagan gods before being put to death. Many Christians died as martyrs during this period. Milner said of this period “The era of [the Church’s] actual declension must be dated in the pacific part of Diocletian’s reign. During this whole century the work of God, in purity and power, had been tending to decay. The connection with philosophers was one of the principle causes. Outward peace and secular advantages completed the corruption….The faith of Christ itself appeared now an ordinary business; and here terminated, or nearly so, as far as appears, that first great effusion of the Spirit of God, which began the day of Pentecost.” (Milner, “Church History” Cent. III, ch. 17)
2. Elder Talmage disagrees with the philosophy that the corruption of the church can be dated from either Diocletian’s time or from the Council of Nicea. “The church was saturated with the spirit of apostasy long before Constintine…”
3. In A.D. 325 Roman emperor Constantine alleged that he had a dream of a flaming cross with the message “By this conquer”. A council of bishops was convened at the behest of Constantine at Nicaea in Bithyria, Asia Minor. At this point the doctrine of the church had become diluted and dispersed. One of the main points of the council was to settle these doctrinal disputes, the largest of which concerned the nature of God. Did Jesus really have a body? Was Jesus a separate being from the Father? This council produced the Nicene Creed, which was signed by all the bishops, some of whom strongly disagreed with the document. In it, the doctrine of the Trinity-three Gods in one-emerged, which is another product of the influence of Greek philosophy. This is the founding document of a new church, known as the universal, or Catholic church.
4. Here is the most important part of the Nicean Creed, as originally promulgated: “We believe in one God, the Father, Almighty, the maker of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, only begotten, (that is) of the substance of the Father; God of God, Light of Light; Very God of Very God; begotten not made; of the same substance with the Father, by whom all things were made, that are in heaven and that are in earth: who for us men, and for our salvation, descended and was incarnate, and became man; suffered and rose again the third day, ascended into the heavens and will come to judge the living and the dead; and in the Holy Spirit. But those who say there was a time when he [the Son] was not, and that he was not before he was begotten, and that he was made out of nothing, or affirm that he is of any other substance or essence, or that the Son of God was created, and mutable, or changeable, the Catholic Church doth pronounce accursed.”

5. Importance of the Council of Nicaea:

- It shows how the decision making process had changed with in the church. Before, doctrinal questions were decided by the Lord’s prophet through revelation.[2] The Nicene Creed was decided by debate, coercion and the reason of man.[3]

- Official acceptance of the man made doctrine of the Trinity.

- Beginning of the state controlled church, a dangerous combination which would germinate many abuses and abominable behavior in the next several centuries, as we shall see.

6. Some Other Problems with Nicea

a. “The form of public worship was so changed during the second and third centuries as to bear little resemblance to the simplicity and earnestness of that of the early congregations. Philosophic discourses took the place of fervent testimony bearing…Applause was allowed and expected as evidence of the preacher’s popularity….” Elder Talmage The Great Apostasy, pg 117

7. More Victims of Nicea: The Body

a. Elder Talmage stated that the idea of life and the body was perverted. “One of the heresies of early origin and rapid growth in the Church was the doctrine of antagonism between body and spirit, where by the former was regarded as an incubus and a curse.” This view of the body had its roots in Gnostic and Greek philosophies, which taught that the body is a decrepit entity whose bonds we must somehow escape. Historically, this where devout followers of Jesus now escape into first deserts and then later monasteries and subject themselves to beatings, castrations, and other forms of self mutilations.

8. More Victims of Nicea: Marraige

a. The Trinitarian doctrine was largely based on the Greek philosophical underpinnings (and later Gnostic teachings) of a negative view of physical things, especially the body. The body is a degraded thing (as is the rest of the world), and therefore God could not have a body. The passions and parts of the body were to be shunned. These ideas lead to ascetic teachings designed to escape the evils of the body.

b. Jesus (Mark 10:7-9) and Paul (Hebrews 13:4) both taught that marriage was honorable, it was determined that celibacy should be required for priesthood holders.

c. Paul prophesied that “in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry…”(1 Timothy 4:3 emphasis added)

9. A.D. 300-430 Baptism of Infants

a. It is recorded that the Bishop of Carthage in North Africa (Cyprian) baptized someone by sprinkling water instead of the traditional immersion because the person being baptized was physically impaired.

b. Saint Augustine (354-430) later preached the doctrine of original sin for the first time, or in other words, that infants are not covered by the Atonement. In order to overcome this new barrier of original sin, infant baptism began.

10. A.D. 363-397 Books of the New Testament Officially Canonized

a. Athanasius (A.D. 293-373), the bishop of Alexandria, after much debate, publicly listed as authoritative scripture the same twenty-seven books in our present New Testament.

11. A.D. 300-1000 Lots of stuff

a. By the fourth century, the Great Apostasy was in full effect. There years that followed are illustrated by many examples of this. One historian gives us an example of what was going on during this period:

It seemed impossible that things could become worse; yet Rome had still to see Benedict IX, A.D. 1033, a boy of less than twelve years, raised to the apostolic throne. Of this pontiff, one of his successors, Victor III, declared that his life was so shameful, so foul, so execrable, that he shuddered to describe it. He ruled like a captain of banditti rather than a prelate. The people at last, unable to bear his adulteries, homicides and abominations any longer, rose up against him. In despair of maintaining his position, he put up the papacy to auction. It was bought by a presbyter named John, who became Gregory VI, A.D. 1045. (John William Draper, Intellectual Development of Europe 1:378-82)

b. Another example of the Papal indulgences can be seen with John Tetzel, an official agent of the pope, traveled about selling forgiveness of sins. Milner said “Myconius assures us that he himself heard Tetzel declaim declaim with incredible effrontery concerning the unlimited power of the pope and the efficacy of indulgences. The people believed that the moment any person had paid the money for the indulgence he became certain of his salvation.” (Milner “History of the Church” Cent. XVI, ch. 2)

12. A.D. 1054 The First Major Split in the Church: Greek Orthodox Church

a. This split had almost nothing to do with the horrible behavior of the church, which included paying priests to absolve sins, murder of non-believers, and the usurpation of the church for the purposes of the state. The split was based on a centuries old argument concerning the head quarters of the church. The Roman Catholic’s headquarter remain Rome and the Greek Orthodox is now Istanbul (previously Constantinople).

13. A.D. 1079 Sacrament Changed

a. The sacrament, initially a very simple, solemn, and sacred ordinance was radically changed initially in the third and fourth centuries. “Errors concerning the sacrament, and its signification, and the manner of administering it, grew rapidly in the professed Christian churches during the early centuries of the Christian era. As soon as the power of the priesthood had departed, much disputation arose in matters of ordinance, and the observance of the sacrament became distorted.” (Elder Talmage, “Articles of Faith” Lecture 9, Note 4)

b. An example of the distortion of the sacramental ordinances is the doctrine of Transubstantiation, a term first used in 1079. From the Catholic Encyclopedia, it defines this doctrine as “according to the purpose of the Almighty, the substance of the bread and wine depart[ing] in order to make room for the Body and Blood of Christ.” In other words, the bread and wine no longer represent the Savior’s body, but quite literally the emblems become the body of Christ. (See http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05573a.htm#3 )

14. A.D. 1096-1834: The Crusades/ Inquisition

a. A.D. 1096-1204 The Crusades were military expeditions intended to retake the Holy Land from the Muslims. After some initial successes, this was a dismal failure on the part of the European Christians in nearly every regard. Muslim attitudes became very hardened against Christians, attitudes which still prevail in large part today.

b. A.D. 1129-1834: The Inquisition was a Roman Catholic tribunal whose purpose was to seek out and prosecute heretics. The accused were often tortured into confessing and then killed. The Inquisition was an example of the barbarism of the Middle Ages, and it is an embarrassment to modern Christians.

15. A.D. 1160: Waldo and the Scriptures “Nursery for the Reformation”

a. A merchant named Waldo hired a Monk to translate portions of the scriptures into his language. Waldo preached in secret and his followers were called Waldenses. George Albert Smith said: “They were severely persecuted by the Catholic Church, which anathematized them and inflicted upon them every penalty in its power—even excommunication, sword and fire. Notwithstanding all this the Waldenses progressed, and their doctrines and the work they performed was a nursery for the Reformation.” (Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. 13:293-294)

16. A.D. 1200: Doctrine of Supererogation

a. This doctrine was set forth “That there actually existed an immense treasure of merit, composed of the pious deeds and virtuous actions which the saints had performed byond what was necessary for their own salvation, and which were therefore applicable to the benefit of others; that the guardian and dispenser of this precious treasure was the Roman pontiff, and that of consequence he was empowered to assign to such as he thought proper a portion of this inexhaustible source of merit, suitable to their respective guilt, and sufficient to deliver them from the punishment due to their crimes.” (Mosheim “Eccl, Hist,” Cent. XII, Part II, ch. 3:4)

17. A.D. 1380-1388: Wycliffe’s Bible

a. Wycliffe is rightly honored for his role in bringing us the first English translation of the Bible. The church was angry at Wycliffe, reserving the right of scripture reading for clergy only.

b. “A severe and intolerable law was enacted, with respect to all interpreters and expositors of the scriptures, by which they were forbidden to explain the sense of these divine books, in matters of faith and practice, in such a manner as to make them speak a different language from that of the church and the ancient doctors. The same law declared that the church alone…the holy scriptures were not composed for the use of the multitude, but only for that of their scriptural teachers; and, of consequence, ordered these divine records to be taken from the people in all places where it was allowed to execute its imperious demands.” (Mosheim, “Eccl. Hist., Cent. XVI, Part I, ch. 1:25)

c. “An epitaph written at St. Albans called Wycliffe ‘The devil’s instrument, church’s enemy, people’s confusion, heretic’s idol, hypocrite’s mirror, schism’s broacher, hatred’s sower, lies’ forger, flatteries’ sink, who, stricken by the horrible judgments of God, breathed forth his soul to the dark mansion of the black devil.’” Even after Wycliffe died, the church’s hatred towards him was unquenched. They dug up his body, burned it, and threw the ashes into a river.(Lenet Hadley Read, How We Got the Bible (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1985), p. 58.)

18. A.D. (about) 1440 Printing Press Invented

a. “Few tools were more effective than printing in paving the way for the great revival of learning, for the religious reformation, and for the breaking away of peoples and nations from religious domination. Without the discovery of movable type in about 1440 A.D. the barrier of gross darkness covering the apostate world could scarce have been pierced. One of the First books published was the Gutenberg Bible in 1456 A.D.

“Perhaps no important discovery in world history ever faced such intense and bitter opposition as arose over the use and spread of printing. Civil and exxlesiatical tyrants feared the loss of their ill-held and evilly-exercised powers should knowledge and truth be made available to people generally. ‘We must root out printing,’ said the Vicar of Croydon from his pulpit, “or printing will root us out.” (Bruce R. McConkie Mormon Doctrine, 2^nd ed.)

19. A.D 1492 Christopher Columbus “discovers” America

a. What does this have to do with the “restitution of all things”?

20. A.D. 1517 Lutherans

a. Martin Luther nails his 95 theses to the door of the All Saints Church. Though the church railed against him, Luther developed a large following. However it was not Luther’s initial intention to start a new church. He said: “I have sought nothing beyond reforming the Church in conformity with the Holy Scriptures. The spiritual powers have been not only corrupted by sin, but absolutely destroyed; so that there is now nothing in them but a depraved reason and a will that is the enemy and opponent of God. I simply say that Christianity has ceased to exist among those who should have preserved it.” (The Falling Away and Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ Foretold, pamphlet )

21. A.D. 1535 Church of England, aka Anglican Church, (In America: Episcopalian)

a. In 1529, Henry VIII wanted to divorce his wife, Cathrine of Aragon. The pope would not grant this request, and in 1535, parliament declared Henry VIII the supreme head of the Church of England, thus enabling him to grant his own divorce. There were many who did not recognize this within England, and Henry had many of them executed.

22. A.D. 1609 Anabaptists

a. A church was founded by John Smith based on the belief that only those capable of repentance could be baptized. These people were labeled Anabaptists or re-baptizers. They were persecuted and many of them were drowned. This was the beginning of the Baptist movement.

23. A.D. 1620: Mayflower

a. Puritans seek religious freedom in the New World

b. Seven ancestors of Joseph Smith were on board.

24. A.D. 1639: Massachusetts Bay Colony

a. Puritan minister Roger Williams founded the first Baptist church in America. Williams recognized that a reformation was not enough: “There is no regularly constituted church on earth, nor any person qualified to administer any church ordinances; nor can there be until new apostles are sent by the Great Head of the Church for whose coming I am seeking.” (Picturesque America, or the Land We live In, ed. William Bryant)

25. A.D. 1649: Presbyterians

a. John Calvin and John Knox were the forces behind Presbyterianism. The word Presbyterian refers to a representative form of church government. Calvin and Knox attempted to form a church government similar to that which was practiced in the first century.

26. A.D. 1738: Methodists

a. Brothers John and Charles Wesley attempted Oxford university in England. They were characterized on campus by their piety and methodical observance of religious observance.

b. The Wesley brothers did not intend to start their own religious sect. This is what John Wesley felt about traditional Christianity:

It does not appear that these extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost were common in the Church for more than two or three centuries. We seldom hear of them after that fatal period when the Emperor Constantine called himself a Christian…From this time they almost totally ceased…The Christians had no more of the Spirit of Christ than the other heathens…This was the real cause why the extraordinary gifts of the Holy ghost were no longer to be found in the Christian Church; because the Christians were turned heathen again, and had only a dead form left. (Wesley’s Work’s, vol 7, Sermon 89, pp. 26-27)

27. A.D. 1776 Beginning of America

a. Declaration of Independence Author Thomas Jefferson said this about religion:

The religion builders have so distorted and deformed the doctrines of Jesus, so muffled them in mysticisms, fancies and falsehoods, have caricatured them into forms so inconceivable, as to shock reasonable thinkers….Happy in the prospect of a restoration of primitive Christianity, I must leave to younger persons to encounter and lop off the false branches which have been engrafted into it by the mythologists of the middle and modern ages.

28. A.D. 1805 Joseph Smith Born

a. Joseph Smith describes the religiously charged environment of a time:

My mind at times was greatly excited, the cry and tumult were so great and incessant. The Presbyterians were most decided against the Baptists and Methodists, and used all the powers of both reason and sophistry to prove their errors, or, at least, to make the people think they were in error. On the other hand, the Baptists and Methodists in their turn were equally zealous in endeavoring to establish their own tenets and disprove all others. In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?”