Apostasy

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Apostasy

The great apostasy

Evidence of a total apostasy

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• Biblical evidence of an apostasy after Christ
• Evidence of an apostasy after Christ from early Christian history other than the Bible
• Visible evidence of the apostasy

Biblical evidence of an apostasy after Christ

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• Question: Is there any Biblical evidence that the apostasy began?
• Question: Was the apostasy predicted by the Bible not complete?

Evidence of an apostasy after Christ from early Christian history other than the Bible

Summary: Do the Early Church Fathers and other post-Biblical documents shed any light on the apostasy?

Jump to details:

• Question: Is there any evidence of the apostasy from materials from early Christian history besides the Bible?
• Clement of Rome: "For this reason righteousness and peace are now far departed from you"
• Hegesippus: "These also, as there were none of the apostles left, henceforth attempted, without shame to preach their false doctrine against the gospel of truth"
• Ignatius: "the false prophets and the false apostles"
• Irenaeus: "evil is spread abroad among men"
• Tertullian: "Away with all attempts to produce a mottled Christianity of Stoic, Platonic, and dialectic composition!"
• Cyprian: Cyprian argued that since the Saints had sunk to such low levels of depravity they rightly deserved the harsh judgments of God
• Cyril of Jerusalem: "For men have fallen from the right faith; and some preach the identity of the Son with the Father...This, therefore, is the falling away"

Visible evidence of the apostasy

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• Question: Wouldn't some Christian author or members have noticed the apostasy?

Individual versus organizational apostasy

Summary: Does a belief in a complete or universal apostasy mean there are no "real Christians" outside of the LDS Church?

Jesus told Peter, "upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

Summary: Is Jesus' teaching about "the gates of hell" prevailing against "the rock" inconsistent with a belief in a universal apostasy?

Apostasy not complete?

Summary: Do other Christian denominations believe that no other church on earth is complete, or is this an arrogant belief assumed only by the "Mormons"?

Priesthood on earth during apostasy

Summary: Was the priesthood never actually lost from the earth, since John the Revelator, or the Three Nephites had the priesthood?

Relationship of the Church with other branches of Christianity

Summary: What does the apostasy doctrine mean with respect to the relationship of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to other branches of Christianity?

No true Christians

Summary: Does belief in a "complete apostasy" imply that there were no true Christians between the Apostasy and the Restoration?

Why did God allow it?

Summary: If there were some people who would have accepted the Gospel as taught in Mormonism, why did God allow the earthly Church to pass from the earth?