What is a Restoration?
Today I wanted to look into why we had a restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ rather than a
reformation or even just a reorganization. Let's jump in!
As we know, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ came to this earth and established His church. With divinely inspired instruction He organized and called the 12 Apostles. (see Matthew 10) He called the 70. (see Luke 10:1-9) Christ founded the saints of the time in the only veritable and sound base: The doctrines of his masterful teachings.
Soon after his Death and Resurrection, he charged the Apostles to go abroad, preaching the gospel and building up His church and the kingdom of God on earth (see Matthew 28:18-20) We know the Apostles worked hard and had much success but as time rolled forward, persecution reared its tumultuous head and the church and it's saints began to fracture and dwindle even with the Apostles crying for them to return to the foundations of the gospel. (see Revelations 1-3)
Soon a degeneration of the church led to what is known as widespread apostasy (a turning away from God and his truths). The very name of Christ the Savior was used and misused by those who may not have fully understood the gravity of their actions, and essential doctrines and truths were eventually lost.
When I looked up the definition of the word "Restore" I found the following: "bring back into original existence, use, function or position" As we turn back to those 3 words "Restoration, Reformation, and Reorganization" we can observe the subtle differences between them.
A Reformation (I opened another dictionary) would be an attempt to recreate what was lost with what was already there in it's broken form, notwithstanding that the changed model was already missing precious truths and doctrines. We know that it was indeed attempted across time. Martin Luther, as an inspired man, saw and understood that there were errors in the church, and in his effort to "reform" it he inadverdently created numerous more with a myriad of conflicting ideas. Thus, a reformation was not sufficient.
A Reorganization (dictionaries are marvelous tools) involved changes and the imposition of a new organization.
The fault therein would be that whatever changes were added or subtracted could not be held up by
individuals who had no authority to do so besides their good intention and ideas.
A Restoration is not a small claim, that is fairly clear. The Church of Jesus Christ was brought back in it's brilliance, with divine instruction and help, bringing to light many of those truths that had been lost, such as the organization of 12 Apostles and a living Prophet to guide this restored church. As we understand what the restoration implies, we come to see that, because of the inherent impediments in reorganizing and or reforming, a restoration was not only logical, but necessary. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints today stands as a monument to the ever present guidance of the Lord Jesus Christ and our Loving Heavenly Father in those times ancient and modern alike.
reformation or even just a reorganization. Let's jump in!
As we know, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ came to this earth and established His church. With divinely inspired instruction He organized and called the 12 Apostles. (see Matthew 10) He called the 70. (see Luke 10:1-9) Christ founded the saints of the time in the only veritable and sound base: The doctrines of his masterful teachings.
Soon after his Death and Resurrection, he charged the Apostles to go abroad, preaching the gospel and building up His church and the kingdom of God on earth (see Matthew 28:18-20) We know the Apostles worked hard and had much success but as time rolled forward, persecution reared its tumultuous head and the church and it's saints began to fracture and dwindle even with the Apostles crying for them to return to the foundations of the gospel. (see Revelations 1-3)
Soon a degeneration of the church led to what is known as widespread apostasy (a turning away from God and his truths). The very name of Christ the Savior was used and misused by those who may not have fully understood the gravity of their actions, and essential doctrines and truths were eventually lost.
When I looked up the definition of the word "Restore" I found the following: "bring back into original existence, use, function or position" As we turn back to those 3 words "Restoration, Reformation, and Reorganization" we can observe the subtle differences between them.
A Reformation (I opened another dictionary) would be an attempt to recreate what was lost with what was already there in it's broken form, notwithstanding that the changed model was already missing precious truths and doctrines. We know that it was indeed attempted across time. Martin Luther, as an inspired man, saw and understood that there were errors in the church, and in his effort to "reform" it he inadverdently created numerous more with a myriad of conflicting ideas. Thus, a reformation was not sufficient.
A Reorganization (dictionaries are marvelous tools) involved changes and the imposition of a new organization.
The fault therein would be that whatever changes were added or subtracted could not be held up by
individuals who had no authority to do so besides their good intention and ideas.
A Restoration is not a small claim, that is fairly clear. The Church of Jesus Christ was brought back in it's brilliance, with divine instruction and help, bringing to light many of those truths that had been lost, such as the organization of 12 Apostles and a living Prophet to guide this restored church. As we understand what the restoration implies, we come to see that, because of the inherent impediments in reorganizing and or reforming, a restoration was not only logical, but necessary. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints today stands as a monument to the ever present guidance of the Lord Jesus Christ and our Loving Heavenly Father in those times ancient and modern alike.
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