The Great Apostasy: The Apostasy Caused the Dark Ages

Both Jesus Christ and his apostles prophesied of a universal apostasy 1—a loss of the simple purity of the gospel and the authority of the Church of Jesus Christ. They also foretold of the latter-day Restoration of the Lord’s true Church and gospel.

The Great Apostasy resulted from the martyrdoms of Jesus and the apostles

Can you imagine the United States’ President, Vice President and Speaker of the House all being killed at the same time? To make matters worse, what would happen if the enemies of the United States were a combination of its citizens plus foes of foreign lands? If the leaders were gone and if enemies were attacking on every side, the country would experience anarchy, chaos and confusion.

That is precisely what happened to the original Church of Jesus Christ after the Lord’s death. Wicked people, both inside and outside the church, persecuted and killed many church members and the apostles. Once the apostles were killed, their priesthood authority to perform saving ordinances, such as baptism and marriage sealings, could no longer be found on the earth.

Moreover, the apostles were the foundation of the church and the only ones Jesus had given power to govern and to preach and safeguard the pure doctrines of the gospel. With the apostles gone, unauthorized people arose and usurped the apostles’ authority, proclaiming themselves leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ. They began to corrupt the original gospel doctrines, and make self-serving changes to the Church organization and its ordinances. Christianity became splintered; its doctrines became confusing; and its foundation of Apostles and the power of Jesus Christ were non-existent.

Description of the Great Apostasy

Elder James E. Talmage, a modern-day apostle, wrote:

The apostasy progressed rapidly, in consequence of a cooperation of disrupting forces without and within the Church. The dreadful persecution to which the early Christians were subjected drove great numbers of Christians to renounce their allegiance to Christianity, thus causing a widespread apostasy from the Church. But far more destructive was the contagion of evil that spread within the body, manifesting its effects mainly in the following developments:

1. The corrupting of the simple principles of the Gospel of Christ by admixture with the so-called philosophical systems of the times.
2. Unauthorized additions to the rites of the Church, and the introduction of vital changes in essential ordinances.
3. Unauthorized changes in Church organization and government.
4. The result of the degeneracy so produced was to bring about an actual apostasy of the entire Church. 2

The terrible losses of the Great Apostasy

Now men, who had received no authority from Jesus Christ, were leading factions of the Christian church. Revelation from God ceased. The world fell into the Dark Ages—darkness reigned because light had stopped flowing from heaven. The Church of Jesus Christ could no longer be found in its purity. Bands of Christians clung to pieces of the gospel, but they had to rely on human wisdom and corrupt leaders to interpret the scriptures and the principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The losses of the Great Apostasy were enormous:

• Lost was the knowledge of God and his attributes of character.



• Lost was the knowledge of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.



• Lost was the gift of the Holy Ghost, which teaches us all truth.



• Lost was priesthood authority to preach the pure gospel and administer the gospel's saving ordinances.



• Lost was Jesus’ perfect Church organization that was to be built upon the “foundation of the Apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone.” 3

The Great Apostasy over the centuries

Over time, the anarchy within the original Church of Jesus Christ and the dissatisfaction with the resulting Christian churches caused the fracturing and emergence of many Christian churches. These churches had differing ideas about the character of God and the atonement of Jesus Christ, and they had myriad clashing interpretations of the scriptures and gospel doctrines. Men assumed to have the priesthood power of God to lead their churches, but their assumption could neither produce the miracles of the apostles, nor draw down continuing revelation from God, nor authoritatively administer the saving ordinances of the gospel.

After centuries of spiritual darkness, people began seeking for original gospel truths that had been lost in the Great Apostasy. They recognized that the true Church of Jesus Christ could not be found on the earth, and that many of the doctrines and ordinances of the gospel had been corrupted. They began to protest against current religious practices and sought for greater religious light and freedom.

Many of these protesters spoke of the urgent need for a return to the true Church of Jesus Christ. None of them claimed to be called of God as a prophet. Rather, they called themselves reformers—not restorers—because that was all they could do: try to reform the existing religious teachings to conform to the original teachings of Christ.

This period of Reformation led to the formation of many Protestant churches, which opened the way for the RESTORATION of the actual Church of Jesus Christ with all the truths, powers, and apostolic organization that existed in the original Church.

Learn more about the Religious Reformers >

Questions about 'The Great Apostasy: The Apostasy Caused the Dark Ages'

• Did Jesus and the apostles prophesy about the Great Apostasy and the eventual Restorationof the true Church of Jesus Christ?



• What caused the Great Apostasy?



• When the apostles were martyred, what died with them?



• What losses resulted from the absense of apostles legitimate priesthood power?



• The Reformers recognized that the true Church of Jesus Christ was not on the earth. What did they attempt to do?



• The Reformation movement prepared the world for what important event?

References for 'The Great Apostasy: The Apostasy Caused the Dark Ages'

1. Matthew 24:9-12; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 – Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold" (Matthew 24:9-12). "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and [by] our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3).
2. The Vitality of Mormonism, p.110 - 111
3. Ephesians 2:20