The Church of Jesus Christ in Ancient and Modern Times

Lesson 3: The Church of Jesus Christ in Ancient and Modern Times

Review of Lesson 2: The Plan of Salvation

The plan of salvation answers the questions, where did we come from? why are we here? and where are we going? We lived with God before we came to this earth. As a part of His plan the earth was created for us to inhabit so that we could prove ourselves worthy to live in His presence again. Because of the Fall of Adam and Eve, we will die and become separated from God. The Atonement of Jesus Christ allows us to overcome the effects of the Fall. While on earth, we must exercise faith, repent, be baptized, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and keep the commandments so that we can fully apply the Atonement.  When we die our spirits go to the spirit world until the time of our resurrection.  After the resurrection we will be brought before Jesus Christ to be judged according to our works and the desires of our hearts. According to our judgment, we will inherit the celestial, terrestrial, or telestial kingdom.

Introduction to Lesson 3: The Church of Jesus Christ in Ancient and Modern Times

Essential Vocabulary:

Apostasy – A period of spiritual darkness caused by the rejection of God’s teachings. People, communities, and nations fall into apostasy when they reject God’s chosen prophets.

Priesthood - The authority of God given to man to act in His name for the salvation of His children.

Prophet - A man that is called by God to speak for Him. Prophets teach God’s children about His nature and what He expects of them. All prophets bear witness of Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world.

Books Needed:

The Holy Bible – any good translation can be used.  Mormons typically use the King James Version of the Bible, and quotes in the text will come from that translation, but if you have a different translation, that is okay.

The Book of Mormon – A companion volume to the Holy Bible which was translated by the Prophet Joseph Smith from ancient records.  If you do not have a copy, you may get a free copy online at Mormon.org. You may also either contact the local Mormon missionaries or see the text of the Book of Mormon online at http://scriptures.lds.org/en/contents.  The Book of Mormon will be explained in more detail in this lesson.

Lesson 3: The Church of Jesus Christ in Ancient and Modern Times

God calls prophets to teach His children

We learned in the plan of salvation that God desires us to be with Him after this life. He wants us to experience joy, and He knows what we need to do while on this earth to obtain true joy. God has always revealed His plan for us to be happy through prophets of God. Prophets are holy men of God who are called to be true messengers of Jesus Christ. Amos, an Old Testament prophet taught “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”  (Amos 3:7)  Therefore, prophets are called to teach the true gospel of Jesus Christ and administer ordinances such as baptism by immersion and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost.  Prophets are able to do this because they are given the Priesthood, or the authority to act in the name of God for the salvation of mankind.  Sadly, not everyone accepts the teachings of prophets. In fact, throughout the Old and New Testaments, there are repeated examples of people persecuting, rejecting, and even killing the prophets. When people become so wicked, God removes the priesthood and stops calling prophets, and the people fall into a state of apostasy.  During periods of apostasy, true doctrines are corrupted and people fall into great unbelief. There is a noticeable pattern throughout the Bible of prophets being called to teach the truth, and then people falling into apostasy. After a period of apostasy, another prophet is called to restore the true teachings of Jesus Christ to the earth. Prophets such as Noah, Abraham, and Moses are examples of prophets called to restore truth.

Points to ponder:

What is the importance of having a prophet on the earth?

Why are there times in history in which God takes His prophets from the earth?

Jesus Christ established His Church

A few hundred years before the time of Jesus Christ, the people again fell into apostasy. Jesus Christ, our Savior, helped to bring the church and His teachings out of this Apostasy.  During the ministry of Jesus Christ, He performed many miracles and taught His gospel to the multitudes. To establish His church, Christ called twelve special disciples whom He named Apostles (Luke 6:13). He gave them priesthood authority by laying His hands upon their heads and ordaining them. He said to them in John 15:16,

“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you.”

How did Jesus Christ establish His Church and why was it established this way?

Ephesians 4:11-14

How did the different positions in the Church work together?

1 Corinthians 12:13-29

What was the foundation of the Church?

Ephesians 2:19-20

Jesus Christ and the Apostles were the foundation of His Church, and He constantly taught them how to govern the affairs of the Church. Christ knew that soon He would be gone from the earth, and the Church would be left to the Apostles. When His time came, Christ willingly suffered for our sins in the Garden of Gethsemane and suffered the torture and agony of being hung on the cross. He was resurrected from the tomb and continued to guide His Church through His Apostles. Sadly, even after the Savior’s ministry, the people gradually rejected the Church and the teachings of Jesus Christ. The Apostles and many of the disciples of Christ were rejected and killed, and the Church ultimately fell away.

The Great Apostasy

Points to Ponder:

Christ and the Apostles were the foundation of His Church. What happened to the Church after they were killed?

What did Christ tell His Apostles about what was going to happen to them?

Matthew 24:9-11

What did Paul say would happen to the Church before the Second Coming of Christ would occur?

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3

What does the Book of Mormon teach about the false churches that would be built up after Christ’s Church fell away?

2 Nephi 28:3-5

2 Nephi 26:20-21

After the death of Christ and the Apostles, the Church fell into another apostasy.  This is referred to by Mormons as the “great Apostasy.”  Christ and His apostles had kept the Church together by correcting false teachings and practices.  Without these individuals and the priesthood that they held, false teachings entered the Church.  Ordinances such as the correct way to baptize and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost were changed over time.  Doctrines such as the nature of God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost were changed.  Over the course of the next couple centuries, the Church of Jesus Christ had completely changed, and had become a church of men’s teachings.  Eventually, during the Middle Ages, there were men and women who started to recognize that the teachings and practices of the church were not in harmony with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Inspired men and women protested against the churches of their time. Many spoke of the need for a restoration of truth, but none of them claimed that God had called them to restore the church.  The protests of these people led to many Protestant churches being formed, which resulted in an increased emphasis on religious freedom.  Just as had happened many times throughout the Bible, the world was again being prepared for another prophet to be called to restore the truth and establish the Church of Jesus Christ.

The Restoration of Christ’s Church in the last days

Points to ponder:

Why did the church need to be restored?

How did Christ give the priesthood to the Twelve Apostles? How was it restored?

What would it have been like to live in the time of Joseph Smith with all of the religious contention that surrounded him?

To bring back His Church to the earth, Jesus Christ called another prophet. This prophet’s name was Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith grew up in the early 1800′s in upstate New York.  During his teenage years, there was a great religious excitement in his town. The different churches were contending with each other to convert everyone to their respective faiths. The Bible teaches that in Jesus Christ’s time there was “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5). Joseph was searching for the one true Church that Christ had established. He describes his feelings during this time and what he did to find out the truth in his history:

During this time of great excitement my mind was called up to serious reflection and great uneasiness; but though my feelings were deep and often poignant, still I kept myself aloof from all these parties, though I attended their several meetings as often as occasion would permit… but so great were the confusion and strife among the different denominations, that it was impossible for a person young as I was, and so unacquainted with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who was wrong.

In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?

While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know; for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible. (Joseph Smith-History 1:8, 10-12)

After Joseph read James 1:5, he knew that the only way he was going to find out which church to join was to ask God. He had asked everyone else. He spoke with the many pastors and teachers in his area but they all had very different opinions on what the Bible was teaching. He knew that the answer he needed was going to come from God. He had great faith in the words of James 1:5 that if he were to ask God that he would receive an answer and that God would not upbraid, or scold him for asking a question. In the spring of 1820 he went to a quiet grove of trees near his home to pray. He wanted to pray vocally in a place where he could be alone to commune with his Father in Heaven. As Joseph Smith prayed, he had an incredible experience in which he saw God, the Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ. Joseph described the experience in this way:

I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.

When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other-This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him! (Joseph Smith-History 1:16-17)

Heavenly Father introduced His Son, Jesus Christ, to Joseph. Jesus answered Joseph’s question. He told Joseph not to join any of the churches because they were all wrong. He said, “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” (Joseph Smith-History 1:19).

Even though many good people believed in Christ and tried to understand and teach His gospel, they did not have the fullness of truth or the priesthood authority to baptize and perform other saving ordinances.

Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet, and over the next few years, he was prepared to restore Christ’s Church on the earth. The Church was established in 1830. The name of the Church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The reason for this name is that it is the very Church Christ established when He was on the earth. This Church has now been restored in these last days, or latter days, before His Second Coming.

Before the Church could be restored to the earth, the priesthood had to be restored. In 1829, several heavenly messengers were sent to bring back the authority of the priesthood. John the Baptist appeared and conferred upon Joseph Smith and his associate Oliver Cowdery the Aaronic Priesthood, which includes the authority to perform the ordinance of baptism. Later, Peter, James, and John (three of Christ’s original Apostles) conferred upon Joseph and Oliver the Melchizedek Priesthood, the same authority that they had received under the hands of Jesus Christ. With this authority, Joseph was able to bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost, establish Christ’s Church, and call Twelve Apostles.

From the time of Joseph Smith, the Church has been led by Jesus Christ through a prophet and Twelve Apostles. The current prophet and President of the Church is Thomas S. Monson.

How can I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet?

We learn from the Bible that we can judge a prophet by their fruits. Matthew 7:16-20 reads:

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

We learn from these verses that if a tree brings forth good fruit, we can know that it is a good tree. If a prophet brings forth good fruits, or works, we can know that the prophet is a true prophet.

The Lord provided a fruit of the prophet Joseph Smith. Joseph was led to an ancient record of scripture comparable to the Bible. This record, engraven upon gold plates, was translated through the power of God by Joseph Smith and published as the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon contains the record of prophets that God called in the ancient Americas and His dealings with them. The Book of Mormon is convincing evidence that Joseph Smith was a prophet.

Read the following paragraphs from the introduction to the Book of Mormon and answer these questions:

We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost. (See Moroni 10:3-5.)

Those who gain this divine witness from the Holy Spirit will also come to know by the same power that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is his revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the Second Coming of the Messiah.

How can I know that the Book of Mormon is true?

What do I need to do?

How will the answer come?

When I know that the Book of Mormon is true, what else will I know?

To gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon a person must read it, ponder, and pray in faith to know that it is true.  We are promised that if we do this the Holy Ghost will manifest the truth of the Book of Mormon to us. As the Book of Mormon is a fruit of the Prophet Joseph Smith, we also know that he was a true prophet and that Christ’s Church has been restored through him.

The Book of Mormon is primarily a testament of Jesus Christ. The title page of the Book of Mormon declares that one of the purposes of the Book of Mormon is to convince Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ and that He manifests Himself to all nations. The assignment given at the end of lesson 1 was to read 3 Nephi 11. This chapter is the beginning of Christ’s ministry among the people of the Americas. The introduction to the Book of Mormon describes Christ’s ministry in this way:

The crowning event recorded in the Book of Mormon is the personal ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ among the Nephites [the people of the Americas] soon after His Resurrection. It puts forth the doctrines of the gospel, outlines the plan of salvation, and tells men what they must do to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come.

How can we know that the Book of Mormon is true?

As we read in the introduction to the Book of Mormon, prayer is central to discovering spiritual truths. The Holy Ghost will manifest the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon as we pray with real intent. Real intent means that we intend to act upon the answer that we receive.

To pray we first address our Heavenly Father. We then give gratitude for the blessings that we have received. Next, we ask Him for the things that we desire. We can ask for any blessings that we need as well as answers to questions that we have. As we pray to know that the Book of Mormon is true, God will answer us with a spiritual assurance by the power of the Holy Ghost. We close our prayers by saying, “in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.”

The assurance from the Holy Ghost usually comes in a quiet manner. Paul describes the feelings of the Spirit in his epistle to the Galatians:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

As we pray we will gain a testimony by these feelings of the Holy Ghost.

Summary:

Throughout time God has called prophets to teach His children how to return to live with Him. Many times throughout history the prophets were rejected and even killed. When the prophets were rejected there were times of apostasy, or falling away from the truth. When Christ came to the earth He taught His gospel and established His Church. Just as the prophets of old were rejected, Jesus Christ Himself, the Son of God, was rejected and killed. After His death the Apostles continued to guide the Church until they were also killed. The world experienced a long night of Apostasy. Just as He had done in the past, God called another prophet to end this apostasy and restore the Church. Joseph Smith was that chosen prophet. He received the priesthood authority and was directed to establish the Church of Jesus Christ in these last days. The Book of Mormon is convincing evidence that Joseph Smith was a prophet. We can know that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet through sincere study and prayer.

The Challenge:

Begin reading the Book of Mormon. Start by reading the Title Page and Introduction to the Book of Mormon. Consider the purpose of the Book of Mormon and how reading and applying its teachings can help you draw closer to Christ. After gaining an overview of the Book of Mormon begin reading First Nephi chapter one. Pray to know that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a true prophet.

Visit Mormon.org to find the meeting house nearest you. To see the way that the Church of Jesus Christ is established on the earth today, attend church on Sunday.

As you come to know that the Book of Mormon is true and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s Church upon the earth today, prepare to be baptized for the remission of sins and to become a member of Christ’s Church. You will learn more about baptism in Lesson 4. Meet with the local missionaries to find answers to any questions that you have. To prepare for Lesson 4 consider the following:

What did Jesus Christ do for me that I may gain salvation?

What does Jesus Christ expect of me?