1. History of the Church
RELIGION 341
MISSOULA INSTITUTE OF RELIGION
SPRING SEMESTER 2014
2. Objectives
Increase your understanding of and appreciation for
key events in the history of the Church.
Increase your ability to distill principles and
doctrines from those events.
Increase your ability to apply those principles in your
life.
Increase your ability to explain and testify of those
principles and doctrines to others.
3. Text for the Course
Church History in the Fullness of Times ($9.50)
Online (free)
institute.lds.org
HTML format
PDF format
4. Course Expectations
Read the assigned text prior to class.
Identify and write down questions.
Distill principles and doctrines and write them down.
Share your discoveries in class.
5. Prelude to the Restoration
The New Testament Church
The Great Apostasy
The Long, Dark Night
Renaissance and Reformation
Discovery and Colonization of America
Religious Freedom in America
6. The New Testament Church
Christ restored the gospel and higher
priesthood.
He organized a church with a ―foundation of
apostles and prophets‖ (Ephesians 2:20).
The gospel went first to the Jews and then to the
Gentiles.
The ministry of the apostles spread the gospel
throughout the Middle East, Mediteranian, and
North Africa.
8. The Great Apostasy
Internal apostasy and rebellion
weakened the Church: ―men
arise, speaking perverse
things, to draw away disciples
after them‖ (Acts 20:30).
Periods of severe persecution
existed under Roman rule.
The Apostles were killed.
Pagan philosophies crept into
the doctrines of the Church.
9. The Great Apostasy
President Joseph F. Smith taught:
―Satan in his wrath drove the [Church] into the wilderness, or from the
earth; the power of the Priesthood was taken from among men, and
after the Church with its authority and gifts disappeared from the earth,
then in his anger the serpent continued his war upon all who had faith
and sought the testimony of Jesus, desiring to worship God according
to the dictates of conscience. So successful did he become that his
dominion extended over all the known world.‖
10. The Long, Dark Night
With the loss of the twelve apostles leadership fell to
local Bishops who began to define doctrine and
policy.
A few Bishops claimed superior authority
(i.e., Rome, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Antioch) and
influenced larger regions.
Christians were a threat to political and religious
leaders because of their stance on key issues that
made them ―un-Roman‖ and were persecuted.
12. The Long, Dark Night
Despite the persecution Christianity continued to
spread.
Due to political expediency and the weakening of
the Roman Empire previous edicts were rescinded.
Constantine comes to power and issues the Edict of
Toleration in 313 AD which grants individuals the
right to worship as they please.
Constantine’s acceptance and endorsement of
Christianity placed Christianity in partnership with
the aims of the empire.
13. The Long, Dark Night
In 325 AD Constantine was instrumental in calling
the Council of Nicea, the first of the great
ecumenical councils that established orthodox
Christian doctrine throughout the empire.
14. The Long, Dark Night
The revelatory process experienced by the Church
through the apostles is supplanted by
argumentation and decree leading to further
apostasy and distance from the teachings of Jesus
Christ.
Various European tribes turned the unity of the
west into shambles destroying the Roman Empire.
The Church was heavily influenced by the feudal
lords of these emerging European states resulting in
further discord.
15. Renaissance and Reformation
By the 14th Century a renewed interest in classical
Greece and Rome results in a rebirth in
literature, science, and art.
Interest in these earlier times turned attention to
the writings of the early church fathers and to the
scriptures themselves.
Seeking for an original faith, the stage was set for
the Protestant Reformation.
One of the chief reformers was Martin Luther.
16. Renaissance and Reformation
Martin Luther wrote:
―Unless I be refuted by Scriptural testimonies, or by clear
arguments—for I believe neither the Pope nor the councils
alone, since it is clear that they have often erred and contradicted
one another—I am convinced by the passages of Scripture, which I
have cited, and my conscience is bound in the word of God. I cannot
and will not recant anything; since it is insecure and dangerous to
act against conscience.‖
17. Renaissance and Reformation
Other well-known reformers include:
John Wycliffe
Ulrich Zwingli
John Calvin
William Tyndale
John Knox
18. Renaissance and Reformation
President Joseph Fielding Smith has written:
―In preparation for this restoration the Lord raised up noble men, such as
Luther, Calvin, Knox, and others whom we call reformers, and gave them
power to break the shackles which bound the people and denied them the
sacred right to worship God according to the dictates of conscience. . . .
Latter-day Saints pay all honor to these great and fearless reformers, who
shattered the fetters which bound the religious world. The Lord was their
Protector in this mission, which was fraught with many perils. In that day,
however, the time had not come for the restoration of the fullness of the
gospel. The work of the reformers was of great importance, but it was a
preparatory work‖ (Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3
vols. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954–56), 1:174–75).
20. Discovery and Colonization of America
―Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever
nation shall possess it shall be free from
bondage, and from captivity, and from all other
nations under heaven, if they will but serve the
God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath
been manifested by the things which we have
written‖ (Ether 2:12).
21. Discovery and Colonization of America
―And I looked and beheld a man among the
Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my
brethren [descendants of Lehi], by the many
waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it
came down and wrought upon the man; and he
went forth upon the many waters, even unto the
seed of my brethren, who were in the promised
land‖ (1 Nephi 13:12).
22. Discovery and Colonization of America
―And I looked and beheld a man among the
Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my
brethren, by the many waters; and I beheld the
Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought
upon the man; and he went forth upon the many
waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who
were in the promised land. ―And it came to pass
that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought
upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of
captivity, upon the many waters‖ (1 Nephi 13:1213).
23. Discovery and Colonization of America
President Joseph Fielding Smith said:
―The discovery [of America] was one of the most
important factors in bringing to pass the purpose
of the Almighty in the restoration of his Gospel in
its fullness for the salvation of men in the latter
days.‖
24. Religious Freedom in America
Additional religious groups such as Roman
Catholics and Quakers colonized throughout
America.
The Great Awakening began in about 1739 and
lasted for about two decades sweeping throughout
the colonies.
The religious zeal reflected in the Great Awakening
led to participation of both layman and ministers in
organized religion and in formation of democratic
order.
25. Religious Freedom in America
Europeans came to America seeking
economic, political, and religious freedom.
Many groups were intolerant of others beliefs such
as the Puritans who established the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts who believed they had the true
faith.
Dissenters such as Roger Williams, who later
established Rhode Island, rebelled against Puritan
ideas and advocated, among other things, for a clear
distinction between church and state.
26. Religious Freedom in America
The American Revolution provided a new sense of
freedom.
After a few years as an unsuccessful confederation
of states, the United States drafted a new
constitution in 1787 that was ratified in 1789
27. Religious Freedom in America
The Prophet Joseph Smith stated:
―the Constitution of the United States is a glorious standard;
it is founded in the wisdom of God. It is a heavenly banner; it
is to all those who are privileged with the sweets of
liberty, like the cooling shades and refreshing waters of a
great rock in a thirsty and weary land‖ (Joseph
Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph
Fielding Smith (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976), p.
147).
28. Religious Freedom in America
Concurrent with the Revolution and the drafting of
the Constitution was the Second Great Awakening.
New religious groups emerged such as the
Unitarians, Universalists, Methodists, Baptists, an
d Disciples of Christ.
A desire to return to New Testament Christianity
was shared by many.
The revivalism described by Joseph Smith in his
youth was a significant aspect of these
movements.
29. Religious Freedom in America
According to one historian, there was a special
timing to when the Restoration took place:
―Its timing in 1830 was providential. It appeared at precisely the right
moment in American history; much earlier or later and the Church might
not have taken hold. The Book of Mormon would probably not have been
published in the eighteenth century, in that still largely oral world of folk
beliefs prior to the great democratic revolution that underlay the religious
tumult of the early Republic. In the eighteenth century, Mormonism might
have been too easily stifled and dismissed by the dominant enlightened
gentry culture as just another enthusiastic folk superstition. Yet if
Mormonism had emerged later, after the consolidation of authority and the
spread of science in the middle decades of the nineteenth century, it might
have had problems of verifying its texts and revelations‖ (Gordon S. Wood,
―Evangelical America and Early Mormonism,‖ New York History, Oct. 1980,
p. 381).
Editor's Notes
The restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the establishment of Zion are the two great events in the history of mankind that precede the second coming of Jesus Christ. “The building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of God in every age,” wrote the Prophet Joseph Smith. “It is a theme upon which prophets, priests and kings have dwelt with peculiar delight; they have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live.”1 This latterday restoration is the last act in God’s divine drama for his children before the Millennium. This is the “dispensation of the fulness of times” (Ephesians 1:10) in which the “restitution of all things” would take place as the Lord promised through “all his holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:21).The gospel is actually older than the earth itself. Its principles are eternal and were made known to God’s children in the councils in heaven. The Father’s plan centered on Jesus Christ, who was chosen to be the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). In those councils our Heavenly Father explained that the earth would provide a place of testing for his children, declaring, “And we will prove them herewith, to seeif they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them” (Abraham 3:25). Therefore, the Father granted his children the eternal principle of agency so that they might choose good over evil. Lucifer rebelled against the Father and his plan and was cast out of heaven. He became known as Satan, or the devil, the father of all lies, who on earth would deceive men and “lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto [God’s] voice” (Moses 4:4).On the other hand, God has raised up prophets to teach his children the saving principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ. From the beginning there has been a struggle between the kingdoms of God and Satan. The Church of Jesus Christ, the Lord’s earthly organization, was established at times on the earth to gather the chosen and obedient children of God into a covenant society and to train them to fight evil. The true Church has the necessary principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ that lead to eternal life.A period when the Lord reveals his gospel doctrines, ordinances, and priesthood, is called a dispensation. For example, there were the dispensations of Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and of the Nephites. These dispensations gave the faithful and obedient the opportunity on earth to overcome the wicked world and prepare for eternal life by conforming to the principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Time after time the flowering of the true Church was followed by an apostasy, or a falling away from the truth. Thus in world history these flowerings and apostasies were cyclical. Each time the Lord’s people fell into apostasy, there came a need for a restoration of the gospel. The Restoration discussed in this text is simply the last in the series of restorations that have occurred through the ages.
When the Lord Jesus Christ was born into mortality and ministered among Israel, he restored the gospel and the higher priesthood. He organized a church with a “foundation of the apostles and prophets” (Ephesians 2:20) to carry on the work after him. The Savior spent much ofhis ministry privately tutoring his Apostles, giving them the authority and keys to continue the work after his death. He chose Peter, James, and John to be the presiding Apostles. At his ascension he commissioned the Apostles to carry the message of salvation unto all the world.The Church was small in numbers when the Apostles assumed its leadership. Just over a week after the Savior’s ascension, the Holy Spirit was manifest in rich abundance on the Day of Pentecost as the Apostles taught the gospel and bore witness of the reality of the resurrected Lord. On this occasion three thousand people were baptized into the Church. TheApostles continued to minister with power and authority resulting in theconversion of additional thousands. So far, the gospel had been confined tothe house of Israel. One day, however, as Peter was praying on the roof of ahouse in Joppa, he had a vision in which he learned that God is no respecterof persons, that no group should be regarded as unclean, and that thegospel should go to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews (see Acts 10:9–48). The conversion of Saul of Tarsus sometime later was of greatsignificance to the growth of the Church. Saul, who had been persecutingthe early believers, beheld the Savior in a bright light while on the road toDamascus. “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest” (Acts 9:5), proclaimed therisen Lord to the stricken Pharisee. And Saul, the agent of the Sanhedrin,became Paul the defender of the faith, a “chosen vessel” (Acts 9:15) toproclaim the name of Christ before Gentiles and kings. Over the next thirtyyears this intrepid Apostle, along with many other devoted disciples whoaccompanied him, spread the gospel message and established branches ofthe Church throughout much of the Roman Empire. As growth continuedand branches multiplied, elders, bishops, deacons, priests, teachers,and evangelists (patriarchs) were called and given proper authorityby the Apostles.