Mormonism’s NOT so Great Apostasy

Mormonism’s NOT so great Apostacy
Hi, I’m Danny and I was an active Latter-day Saint for 60 years. Before I get started, I want to inform you that I will be mostly referring to Jesus by His Aramaic name “Yeshua” that He was called during His mortality on earth.
Mormonism declares – that Yeshua failed! At least that is the basis for which the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints exists today – the assertion that Yeshua promised to establish His church and to keep it going – but failed to do so. Not only did Yeshua fail, but He failed twice! He failed once following His mortal ministry in Israel and following His visit to the Americas. Neither attempt to establish His church and keep it going was successful according to Mormonism. Does that make Him a two-time loser!
As a young man serving a Mormon mission, I was instructed to teach the apostasy in the very first discussion or lesson. The Greek word “apostasia” means “falling or turning away.” It was important to drive home the fact that the primitive church went into apostasy soon after the death of Yeshua and His apostles. The missionary lesson was intended to set up the message of the restoration of the true church in these latter days through the Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith.
To make the point, we would read a prophecy from the Book of Mormon written around 600 BC about the distant but future arrival of Christian churches following the death of Yeshua and His apostles. 1 Nephi 13 “4 And it came to pass that I saw among the nations of the Gentiles the formation of a great church. 5 And the angel said unto me: Behold the formation of a church which is most abominable above all other churches, which slayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity. 6 And it came to pass that I beheld this great and abominable church; and I saw the devil that he was the founder of it.”
Unfortunately, this “great and abominable church” was identified by LDS Church Leaders as the Catholic Church. Then in the next chapter, 1 Nephi 14 “9 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look, and behold that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations, whose founder is the devil. 10 And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth. 17 And when the day cometh that the wrath of God is poured out upon the mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable church of all the earth, whose founder is the devil.” The Protestant churches are referred to here as “harlots” of the “great and abominable church,” also called the “Whore of all the earth.” Quite an indictment on all Christianity!
According to the Book of Mormon, these “evil” churches came about because of a great apostasy that took place soon after Yeshua and His apostles established the gospel among the Jews and Gentiles and then were killed off.
But when we read the Bible, we see that Yeshua – during His mortal ministry -promised guaranteed success in establishing His kingdom and that it would never be taken away from the earth. Matthew 16:15-18 “He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I WILL build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
Because His church was built upon “this rock” – meaning Himself – Christ assured His disciples that the “gates of hell” would not prevail against it. This plainly means that nothing could or would stop the progression of Yeshua’s growing church of true Believers. So, was this a faithful promise that was kept and upheld by the Son of God, or was it just hopeful wishing on the part of Yeshua?
I am convinced that Yeshua promised He WILL build His church, and the gates of hell would not prevail against it because, His divine protection would never allow its demise. And what is the correct meaning of the English term “church?” The word “church” is an anglicized term from the 13th century taken from the Greek word “Ecclesia” which means an “assembly,” “gathering,” or “body” of Christian believers. Nothing like material buildings. The word “church” was not meant to be a brick-and-mortar building or corporate religious institution. His church is made up of a body of true believers.
The Church was not meant to be a religious denomination. Born-again believers are the “body of Christ” or “the Church.” Apostle Paul wrote, Colossians 1:18, 24 “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:” 1 Corinthians 12:27 “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” Ephesians 1:22-23 “And hath put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.”
Now, if there was a complete falling away – then the gates of hell did prevail, and Satan won. But we know that no promise of Yeshua ever failed and there has never been a complete falling away as taught in Mormonism. The gates of hell would not prevail against His true Body of believers, which has been under the power of the Holy Spirit for nearly 2000 years even through the so-called Dark Ages.
He promised to be with us always, even to the end of the world. There were always faithful believers who remained committed to God’s Word and lived by the Spirit. Regarding the great commission Yeshua gave His disciples, Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, (until the apostasy takes place? No!) even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Why would God send His Son to establish His church, appoint apostles, teach them and send them out into the world to preach His gospel, only to let it fall into total apostasy? Yeshua said “all power” is given to Him in heaven and in earth. So, Yeshua has the power to build and grow His church and He continues to build His church today – outside Mormonism.
Was there an apostacy? There were some pockets of apostasy in the early church where followers were being deceived by false teachers. On a couple of occasions, Paul warned those who would be misled and would fall away from the truth. 1 Timothy 4:1-3 “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, 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, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.” Paul was referring to a particular kind of local apostasy of Gnosticism. He says, “some” – not most or all would depart from the faith.
If Paul meant a universal apostasy, why did he write this about the church of Christ? Ephesians 3:21” Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” If a complete apostasy occurred in Christ’s Church, how would Christ have been able to receive “glory – throughout all ages”? God received glory in the Christian Church from the time of Paul’s writing to the present day, and He will continue to receive such glory through all succeeding generations.
Paul wrote, 1 Corinthians 3:10-11 “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise Master Builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” The foundation of Christ was laid once and for all. Joseph Smith who came along in 1830 would lay his own foundation to build his own church upon – separate and distinct from the permanent foundation Yeshua laid.
Speaking of the church – Paul writes, Ephesians 2:20 “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.” The apostles and prophets were the foundation, and Christ is the Rock or “chief corner stone.” God wouldn’t lay a faulty foundation – one that would crumble and fall away. His foundation was laid permanently and securely, once and forever. And the Ecclesia or Church meaning the body of Believers continues to be built upon that foundation ever since. Apostle Peter referring to the body of Believers wrote, 1 Peter 2:5 “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Paul then adds, Ephesians 2:21-22 “ In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”
Scripture declares, Hebrews 12:28 “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.” So, the kingdom or church of God “cannot be moved” or “shaken” or “fall away.” It has been solid and secure since the days in which it was established.
Judas, the half-brother of Yeshua wrote, Jude 3 “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” The gospel of faith was once for all delivered to the saints – not to disappear for nearly 1800 years before coming back. If Yeshua was the Good Shepherd, why would He abandon His flock sheep for 1800 years, then come back to rescue and restore it? Doesn’t make biblical sense.
On the contrary, Joseph Smith in one of his several accounts of his first vision records this: Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith History 1 “18 My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)—and which I should join. 19 I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: ‘they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.’ 20 He again forbade me to join with any of them;”
If the great apostasy did happen and all Christian groups were wrong and an abomination in God’s sight – then Yeshua and His apostles were liars – plain and simple. And Joseph Smith was right in his account of the First Vision.
Historical evidence, however, speaks against the LDS doctrine of a complete apostasy of the Christian church and undermines the whole reason for the Restoration and the LDS Church’s existence. Outside of Mormonism, Christianity is the world’s largest religion. As of 2024, there were over 2.6 billion Christians in the world. This represents about 31% of the world’s population. Christianity didn’t fade away after Yeshua and His apostles laid the foundation of the faith. It grew exponentially, covering the earth.
Despite how Christianity survived the centuries, Joseph Smith—a self-proclaimed prophet, said something pompous – He alleged that he was “greater” than Jesus.
Joseph Smith was so proud of his accomplishments that he announced himself to have outdone Christ. History of the Church, Vol. 6, p. 408 “I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet.”
Wouldn’t it have been interesting to be in heaven when the boastful and prideful Joseph Smith upon his death came face to face with Yeshua the Son of God, to make an accounting of his life? How shameful he must had been as he reflected upon his arrogant statement.
So, what do you think? Was there a great apostacy? After reading Scripture and carefully considering what Yeshua and His disciples accomplished, I’m convinced there was never a great apostasy. It is a lie manufactured by Joseph Smith and perpetuated by the LDS Church and its missionaries today. Did Yeshua fail? Absolutely Not! He is God and cannot fail.
Something to consider! I’ll be soon release, another video on the difficulty Mormonism has of explaining a complete apostacy. I will clearly refute the great apostasy by using their own scriptures.
Please share with family and friends. And check out more episodes like this at Talking to Mormons. com.
In the meantime, God Bless!

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