The Apostasy: Revisited

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has taught since its beginning that there was an apostasy of the Church that was founded by Jesus during his earthly ministry and led by the apostles after his ascension. This is a fundamental belief of our religion. Where there was an apostasy, there is a need for restoration.

To understand the Apostasy, we must first understand that Jesus established a church. We Latter-day Saints take this fact for granted, because we see conclusive evidence of church organization in the New Testament (e.g., Acts 1:12-16; 4:32-37; 6:1-7). It is a matter of doctrinal principle that wherever the gospel, the keys of the priesthood, and the saving ordinances exist, there will be found the Church of Jesus Christ. These circumstances existed from the very beginning of the Savior's ministry.

The book of Acts and the New Testament epistles contain a wealth of information about the ancient Church in its early years. After Jesus' resurrection it was presided over by His authorized apostles (Matt. 4:19-22; Acts 1:15-26). Local Church leaders served under the direction of the Twelve, (e.g., Acts 14:22-23) Spiritual gifts were common in the Church (Acts 2:1-4), and the power of Christ was at work as the message of salvation spread into many lands ( Acts 14:3-10). The vitality of the Church was evidence of its divinity. Its leaders possessed the authority of God, and its message was the pure doctrine of Christ.

A century later, things had changed dramatically. The original apostles were gone, but others were no longer being called to take their places. Even prominent Christians such as Justin Martyr (A.D. 110-65), in his Hortatory Address to the Greeks spoke with longing of the old days when the Lord's servants were among them. The doctrinal unity of which the Twelve were guardians had dissolved, and groups with very diverse teachings had come into existence and were competing for power in the Christian community. (See especially Hegessipus and also Irenaeus, Against Heresies; Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata, or Miscellanies; Tertullian, Against Marcion, Against Valentinius, Prescription against Heretics, Scorpiace.)

Rebellion and Revolution

Church members frequently turn to 2 Thessalonians 2:3 to identify what kind of Apostasy came about. The phrase in the King James Version is both inadequate and misleading, causing historical misinformation in the Church that has made it difficult to understand the nature of the Apostasy and how it happened. The intent of the original word is quite dramatic.

The Greek word used by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is apostasía (apostasy) . It is constructed from two Greek roots: the verb hístemi, "to stand," and the preposition apo, "away from." The word means "rebellion," "mutiny," "revolt," or "revolution," and it is used in ancient contexts with reference to uprisings against established authority.

In a revolution or rebellion, the objective is to remove the leaders and replace them with others whose views are more compatible with those of the rebels, resulting in new policies and new objectives. This describes what happened to the Early Christian Church, according to the New Testament. Because of rebellion against the authority and doctrine of the apostles, the Early Church came to an end less than a century after its formation. The detailed substantiation of this will appear in due time with a subsequent post.

The Apostasy refers to a rebellion against the true gospel of Jesus Christ that brought about the demise of the Early Church and to the period of time from its fall—about A.D. 100—until the time of the Restoration, beginning in 1820. But for most of the world, the Apostasy continues today.

Seducing Spirits

The most convincing witness to the apostasy of New Testament Christianity is the New Testament itself. Its writers prophesied that apostasy would take place and that it would have a grave effect on their work. Christ and the apostles anticipated the Apostasy and especially because they shed light on the nature of it and the process that brought it about. The following verses attest to the rebellion:

Matt 24:5, 9-11 "Many" false Christs "shall deceive many" (24:5). "Then shall many be offended" (24:10). The word offended is used to translate the Greek skandalízo, which means to "trip." In a religious context, it means to "give up one's faith": "many will turn away from the faith" (NIV), or "many will fall from their faith" (REB). And "many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many" (24:11). I find it curious that Protestants of today would want to apply these verses to nearly two millenia after they were written. Acts 20:29-31 "Grievous wolves" will "enter in among" the Church, and they will not spare the flock (20:29). "Of your own selves" men will arise, teaching "perverse things" so they can "draw away disciples after them" (20:30), or "in order to get the disciples to break away and follow them" (REB).

Thess 2:1-12 The apostasía (Paul wrote the, not a) will take place (2:3): "the rebellion" (NIV, NRSV), "the Great Revolt" (JB). Satan—the "man of sin," "the son of perdition"—will come tolead it (2:3). He will sit in God's place as though he were God (2:4). This "mystery of iniquity" was being held back at the time Paul was writing until God withdrew the power that restrained it (2:6-8).

1 Tim 4:1-3 In "the latter times," that is, the final days of the Early Church, "some shall depart from the faith," following "seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils" (4:1). Examples of false teachings are a prohibition against marriage and the introduction of unauthorized dietary restrictions (4:3).

2 Tim 4:3-4 There would be a rejection of "sound doctrine" (4:3). Having "itching ears" for religion, they will obtain teachers after their own liking (4:3). They will "turn away their ears from the truth" and turn to "fables" (4:4).

2 Peter 2:1-3 "There shall be false teachers among you" (2:1), who will "secretly introduce" (NIV) "damnable heresies" (2:1). "Many" will follow them (2:2), as a result of which "the way of truth" will be blasphemed (2:2). Thus they will "make merchandise of you" with false doctrine (2:3): "feigned words" (KJV), "stories they have made up" (NIV), "sheer fabrications" (REB).

1 John 2:18 "Ye" were warned that "antichrist" would come in "the last time," which, according to John, was the time in which he wrote.

Jude 1:4, 17-19 There had been warnings long ago about people infiltrating and perverting the faith: "certain men crept in unawares" (1:4). The apostles warned of "mockers" in the "last time" (1:17-18). Rev 13: 1-9 Satan's beast will blaspheme "against God" and his work (13:6). He will "make war with the saints" and will "overcome them" (13:7). He will have power over "all that dwell upon the earth" (13:8).

These verses show clearly the pattern of how the Apostasy would work: the rejection of true doctrine, the appearance of self-appointed teachers, and the introduction of man-made religion. Subsequent history shows that the Church did not survive the process intact.

 

What Do We Mean by "True Church"?

Consider this topic a companion to the current discussion taking place at BethAnne's place http://mylifeasafailure.blogstream.com/

Investigators who are not members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are often puzzled when they hear us say that ours is the "true church." Because the Lord has declared such to be the case
D&C 1:30, we need not apologize for this assertion, nor should we think ourselves bold for believing it. But we do need to know what it means.

Obviously, if there is a true church, it is not because the people in it are "truer" than others or because they try harder to please God. BethAnne lists the attributes of the True Church. For the longest time it did not exist on this Earth. As BethAnne declared a church can only be the church of Jesus Christ if the Lord himself establishes it, authorizes it, and recognizes its works as valid and binding. The question, then, is not one of good intent but one of divine authorization.

The scriptures teach us that this divine authorization is to be manifested in two fundamental ways:

• It provides the authority for God's earthly servants to act in his name,


• The teachings that are revealed from him and are acknowledged by him are correct.

As a consequence, the true church must possess true authority and true doctrine, and both of these must be revealed from God. I believe that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meets these necessary requirements.

True Authority

We must remember that the Lord taught his ancient apostles, whom he had identified to be ministers of the gospel, he said, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you" John 15:16. Most readers of the New Testament overlook the importance of this short sentence, but it carries a message that is a fundamental principle of true religion. People do not have the right to call themselves to act in God's name. Need I say that nowhere in the scriptures do we have examples of the Lord's true servants designating themselves to his work.

Neither a yearning to serve, nor a sense of mission or purpose, nor any level of a love of God and fellowmen—however it may be confirmed and no matter how sincere these may be— authorizes one to enter the Lord's ministry. The only precedent is the scriptural precedent. The scriptures clearly show that the call must be from God. And where God already has true servants on earth, the call comes through them, his representatives.

True Priesthood Authority

This principle is taught in the New Testament in a discussion of priesthood authority: "No man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron" (Heb. 5:4). Check out how Aaron was called in the Old Testament. The Lord's authorized servant, Moses, learned by revelation that it was God's will that Aaron serve (Ex. 28:1) Accordingly, the prophet called and ordained him (Ex. 40:12). Jesus called the apostles (Matt. 4:19) and seventy others to minister in his name. After his resurrection, the apostles, who served as his representatives on earth, called another to replace Judas and join them in their apostolic work (Acts 1:15-26)). They also called seven others to important assignments (Acts 6:3-6), as well as elders and bishops to preside in local congregations (e.g., Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5). This pattern is always followed when authorized servants of God are found.

When the apostles gave the new believers the gift of the Holy Ghost, a convert named Simon, recognizing that the apostles had authority from God, attempted to purchase it (Acts. 8:18). Even with his confused understanding of the nature of priesthood, he realized that he could not call himself to it but must receive it from God's servants who already possessed it.

As with priesthood, doctrine can only be recognized as true and authoritative if it is revealed from God.

True doctrine flows from true priesthood authority.

True doctrine is not conjured up through the philosophies of men.

Joseph Smith taught that the Melchizedek Priesthood "is the channel through which all knowledge, doctrine, the plan of salvation and every important matter is revealed from heaven." It is "the channel through which the Almighty commenced revealing his glory at the beginning of the creation of this earth and through which he has continued to reveal himself to the children of men to the present time and through which he will make known his purposes to the end of time."

Through Joseph Smith, a modern prophet, we learn that the Bible does not contain all that God revealed anciently, nor did it arrive in our day without inaccuracies. He taught that "many important points, touching the salvation of man, had been taken from the Bible, or lost before it was compiled." He said that he believed in the Bible "as it came from the pen of the original writers," or "as far as it is translated correctly" (Article of Faith 8), with "translated" seemingly referring to the entire process of transmission from the original manuscripts to modern-language translations. But "ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or designing and corrupt priests have committed many errors."

Because this modern-day revelation of priesthood and doctrine brings back authority and truth that had existed in earlier times, we call this process the Restoration.

We proclaim that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored and that the Church of Jesus Christ, long absent from the earth, is again to be found and is acknowledged as the Lord's Church. Christ directs his Church as BethAnne describes in her most recent topic.

Why is it the true church? Because the Lord established it, revealed its teachings, revealed the authority under which it is governed, continues to direct its affairs, and recognizes its works as valid and binding. And where is the One God who does not change the directness of His path, it has been that way from the beginning. Unchanged from the beginning, only missing for a time.

As stated in my last post, HBO takes great pains in developing an Introduction to each of their Original Series that remains significant throughout the life of the series. My last post pointed that out for the Sopranos.
However, in my opinion, nothing touches the Intro to the BIG LOVE.

The Intro begins with the view focused laterally on a beam of light descending diagonally from above with a backdrop of what can be supposed to be the snow crested mountains above Salt Lake Valley. At this the music begins. It's the Beach Boys singing

God Only Knows

I may not always love you
But long as there are stars above you
You never need to doubt it
I’ll make you so sure about it

God only knows what I’d be without you

If you should ever leave me
Though life would still go on believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would living do me

God only knows what I’d be without you

God only knows what I’d be without you

If you should ever leave me
Well life would still go on believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would living do me

God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows what I’d be without you
God only knows (Repeated)

The music with the sweet clean harmonies of the Beach Boys runs through the entire intro.

The view then pans down the beam of light as if descending as if from a ladder until the camera is parallel to Bill Paxton (the husband) who is caught gazing up the beam ala: The Sacred Grove. His gaze is now directly into the camera. He is standing in skates on a small stretch of ice in the middle of arid prairie lands during the day.

The camera resets and shifts to his first wife who is skating toward him, only from about 20 ft away, they circle in a standard dancing position. Everyone in the intro is dressed in white, from head to toe. As she arches backward gracefully, she morphs into His second wife. (Everything has a soft and bright appearance to it. There is always a great affection in the gazes throughout. The sisters never look at each other, they are rather constantly looking at him.) As the second wife comes up out of the arch, a new camera view notes the third wife skating ever gracefully to him and as they embrace in a spin she lays her head gently upon his chest.

Then the camera resets where the other two are circling within 5 feet and the camera catches in succession in closeup, as they all enter the moving circle, the clasping of hands showing the same simple gold band on the index finger of all four of them. This is broken up with closeup views of the tender looks they have for each other.

The camera resets from across the pond about 20 feet away with a crack in the ice quickly forming, silently widening and progressing to the spinning 4 in the circle. They at last notice the peril and as the lead edge of the crack enters their circle, they break hands and skate in different directions off camera.

The camera resets to an entirely different setting. Bill Paxton finds himself in a place where he is surrounded by overlapping and intersecting shear veiled curtains. He is looking for them and they him through the veils. However, in seeing one he does not stop his movement until He has located and approached all of them together within the veils.

The camera resets to surreal place. They are all sitting at a dinner table with the table set on what appears to be a primordeal ball...a tiny planet because of the immediate curvature of the ground on both sides of the table. They are literally sitting amid the planets and stars in the distance. There is nothing alive and surfaces are smooth as a billiard ball. There is a barren planet looking much closer than our moon in the sky above them and as the camera retreats a planet between the table and the camera comes into screen from the top right. The HBO Logo appears on the screen and the scene fades away as the Beach Boys finish the song.

I am mesmerized by this intro. We have mortality, mortal death, passing through the veil, and the celestial kingdom all in 50 seconds. In my mind, I can't think of a better stretch of 50 seconds ever on television......apart from watching our Prophet speak.

As a consequence of now watching the first episode three times, I have become impressed that this is a family that detests the compound where many of the fellow members of the polygamist cult live and hardly thrive. They are determined to be separate from this cult, yet as a family they have agreed to live with everything in common (united order) and are wed for all time and eternity (certainly without proper authority).

For those that want to see the ugly of polygamy as is found equally in conventional marriage, they will see plenty of it in the "compound" but it is my impressions and instincts that whispers to me the struggles of these four people with their children will not mirror that world is at all. And I can imagine their struggle will be against all influences that contaminate their sweet love for each other.

Thus, once again, we have Good opposing Evil. The Good is found in the personal battles of each of the four in this marriage. The bad are those who are always there in the world. They are those who would destroy in others what they do not have for themselves. There will be casualties on both sides as in each HBO Series. But I would be surprised to see this union destroyed.

There is a brief space of time at the beginning of each and every episode of an HBO Original Series that provides the setting of the mood for the viewer and an opportunity to run the credits. But I never see the credits. It usually lasts no more than a minute. But that moment provides us with insights about where the produces are going to take us.

If you recall in the Sopranos from episode 1 some six years ago there has been the same signature intro to each and every episode. It has Tony driving across town, through toll booths, passing noted businesses and homes shown throughout the series. And through it all we have Tony driving puffing on a cigar. Nothing of the Sopranos signature intro has changed excepting for a 1 second glance at the Twin Towers. But the real message is found in the lyrics of the song accompanying the signature.

Woke Up This Morning

You woke up this morning
Got yourself a gun,
Your mama always said you'd be
The Chosen One.

She said: You're one in a million
You've got to burn to shine,
But you were born under a bad sign,
With a blue moon in your eyes.

When you woke up this morning
All that love had gone,
Your Papa never told you
About right and wrong.

But you're, but you're looking good, baby,
I believe that you're feeling fine, (shame about it),
Born under a bad sign
With a blue moon in your eyes.

Woke up this morning
Got a blue moon in your eyes
Woke up this morning
Got a blue moon in your eyes
Woke up this morning

You woke up this morning
The world turned upside down,
Lord above, thing's ain't been the same
Since the Blues walked in our town.

Baby, but you're, but you're one in a million
You've got that shotgun shine; shame about it,
Born under a bad sign,
With a blue moon in your eyes.

Woke up this morning
Woke up this morning
Got a blue moon in your eyes
Woke up this morning

The lyrics curiously guide the viewer in each of the episodes and reveal themselves to be foundational to the real issues of the series.

Knowing this from the Sopranos, we can now take this understanding to the brand new HBO Original Series, "Big Love". I take you here in this manner because what is revealed in Big Love is startling and very pleasant for those with eyes to see and ears to hear. That's because it is a vision.

Next: The 50 second Signature Into Big Love

Originally aired: Sunday March 12, 2006 on HBO

Writer: Will Scheffer, Mark V. Olsen

Director: Rodrigo Garcia

Show Stars: Melora Walters (Wanda Henrickson), Shawn Doyle (Joey Henrickson), Joel McKinnon Miller (Don Embry), Jolean Wejbe (Tancy Henrickson), Jeanne Tripplehorn (Barbara "Barb" Dutton Henrickson), Harry Dean Stanton (Roman Grant), Grace Zabriskie (Lois Henrickson), Ginnifer Goodwin (Margene Heffman), Douglas Smith (VI) (Ben Henrickson), Bruce Dern (Frank Harlow), Chloe Sevigny (Nicolette "Nicki" Grant), Daveigh Chase (Rhonda Volmer), Bill Paxton (Bill Henrickson), Amanda Seyfried (Sarah Henrickson)

All Guest Stars: Matt Ross (Alby Grant), Mary Kay Place (Adaleen Grant), Tina Majorino (Heather Tuttle)

As a publicity stunt for the premiere, HBO sent out cards that looked like wedding invitations to the wedding of Barbara Dutton, Nicolette Grant, and Margene Heffman to Bill Henrickson on March 12, 2006 at 10 p.m. The wedding invitations even had the return address as Sandy , Utah .

Jeanne Tripplehorn who plays Barbara Henrickson, Bill's first (and legal) wife, says that at first it was very difficult for her to relate to the role. She couldn't understand why a wife would willingly share her husband with other women. As far as I am concerned, she is in for a big surprise.

Although the events of the show take place in Salt Lake City, Utah, it is actually filmed mostly in California, where men in much greater numbers juggle threee women in their lives. Another curiosity is that executive producer Tom Hanks was briefly LDS when he was a small child. (What might this tell you?)

The First Episode

This new HBO Original Series makes it redundantly clear that nobody should be confused about what religious persuasion this new family is bonded to. There’s a statement at the beginning and at the end. They belong to a cult, not the LDS Church. The show is both filled with juicy material and yet very moving. Star Bill Paxton is excellent and believable as the man with three wives, seven kids and a thousand problems. There are no garments, nor is there a single reference to the Book of Mormon.

The episode opens with everybody virtually kissing everyone else. Bill is returning from work and is being welcomed home by each of his wives. The affection is quite mundane were it not that three wives who are “bonded through time and all eternity” are present for a whole family dinner. While juggling the act of accepting greetings from each of his wives and kids, the routine of the evening is ultimately interrupted and Tom roused from bed with a call from Joey in the middle of the night with news that Tom’s father was gravely ill at the compound and needs to go to the hospital. When Tom and first wife arrive at the compound, it has every appearance of a third world country or parts of Kentucky I have visited in the past. Dad is found on the floor unconscious in the livingroom (later to be discovered to be suffering from chronic arsenic poisoning), with mother demanding that Tom leave him alone and that he is alright.Tom's parents have it together in the same way that Tony Soprano's parents have it. Later at the hospital in a fit of anger mom tries to manhandle him out of the hospital bed being sympathetically restrained by the good man, Tom. Throughout all this Tom is taking calls concerning the imminent opening of a new addition to his hardware store chain which eventually comes off clean with all three wives in attendance, just not close by..

This episode provided valuable character development. In spite of some bias I have read concerning the friction between the wives, this does not prove out. They are tight, work together like an Relief Society Presidency meeting, and lean on each other’s shoulders. Anybody who thought polygamy required conformity or women who are willing to be dominated or abused have much to learn from this series.

The first episode closes with Tom going to bed with his first wife, smartly slipping his first Viagra into his mouth, slipping into bed with her laying on her side away from him. As he cuddles up , her eyes widen noticably and out of her mouth comes with a kind tone “Not tonight honey”. He rolls over to his back creating a large tent in the covers. On his face there is something of a snicker, the kind of snicker that speaks to the fact that it is probably OK with the idea anyway. While gazing at the ceiling, he mutters, "Honey, I think mom is trying to kill dad."

It may disappoint some, but this is not series that is going to showcase the ugliness of tortured women in captivity. Although in this episode there is a poinant scene where Tom has a conversation with a 14 year old youth of the camp which he had seem to know from an earlier time. In it, she mentions she is marrying the Roman, the prophet of the compound. The prophet is in fact something of an emaciated mobster who is tailed by his son everywhere he goes. Well, Tom is openly disturbed at the news and exclaims, "no, you mustn't. Nevertheless, I am more please with the value of the first episode than I had expected, thinking that it would take some time to warm up to the characters.

We shall see where this goes from here. As you know, with me when the line is crossed and I reject something, it turns out permanent.