The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Everyone knows about the recent $700,000,000,000 economic bailout, and I think all would agree that we could use a little of it. Suppose, then, that I use my computer skills to draft a check for myself. After all, I'm a citizen of the United States of America. And I'm not asking for much; $70,000 would be just enough to get me out of debt. But we all know that if I tried to cash that check, instead of giving me the money, the government would give me a new set of clothes: a bright-orange jumpsuit. Why? Because I do not have the authority to act in the name of the United States of America. The power to write checks and spend money belongs to the United States Treasury and other duly commissioned officers.

The same principle applies to the acts which men purport to do in the name of God. God will not honor the acts of man as His own unless He first authorized them.

The authority that God has given to man to act in His name is called the Priesthood. And to the presiding bearer of the Priesthood, God gives the Keys of the Kingdom, or in other words, the Keys of the Priesthood. The presiding bearer of the Priesthood is the President of the Church of Jesus Christ.

Adam was the first man, prophet, and President of the Church of Jesus Christ. God taught him that through Jesus Christ all mankind may be saved through obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. God also gave Adam the priesthood or authority to act in God's name. Adam received commandments from God, such as the law of sacrifice, for Adam, Eve, and their children to obey. Adam and Eve accepted these teachings, obeyed the commandments, and taught their children to do the same. Some of their children, like Abel, listened and accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. But others, like Cain, rejected Adam and Eve's teachings.

Those who rejected Adam and Eve's teachings cut themselves off from the Priesthood and its Keys and fell into what is called apostasy. Apostasy is when we are separated from the truth and light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

But because God loves His children, even those who do not listen to Him, He called another prophet, Enoch, to teach them of Jesus Christ and the Plan of Salvation. Enoch also received the Priesthood and its keys. When God calls a prophet, gives him the Priesthood and its Keys, and sends him to teach the Gospel to a people who are in apostasy, this is called a restoration. Enoch succeeded in bringing many to the knowledge of God's Plan of Happiness. He established the city of Zion, and they obtained heaven.

After Enoch, the world again fell into apostasy, but God called another prophet, Noah, who restored the Gospel of Jesus Christ for those who survived the flood.

The process of apostasy and restoration continued for thousands of years. God would call prophets who held the Priesthood and its Keys such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph of Egypt, Elijah, Elias, and so forth, and those prophets and their teachings would be rejected.

When Jesus Christ was born, the world was again in apostasy. Jesus was a prophet, but He was also more than a prophet. He was the Son of God. Through Him, God restored the truths of the Plan of Salvation. Jesus established His Church, paid the price of sin, and was resurrected.

But as you know, the world eventually rejected Jesus and His apostles, and it fell into apostasy. That is, no one held the authority to act in the name of God. No one held the Priesthood or its Keys.

So what would God do? The same thing He did whenever His children fell into apostasy anciently. God called a prophet to restore the true Gospel of Jesus Christ and the authority of the Priesthood.

In the early nineteenth century, a young boy in upstate New York wondered which church to join. His name was Joseph Smith. The many churches in his area said that it didn't matter which church you joined, as long as you accepted Jesus. But Joseph recognized that the several churches' good-will disappeared once people joined separate churches. The different churches fought over the meaning of the Bible and how to be saved.

Joseph was so confused that he turned to the Bible himself. One day, Joseph read James 1:5 which says if anyone lacks wisdom, he can ask God, and God will give him the wisdom he seeks. Joseph decided that if anyone lacked wisdom, it was him and decided that he would ask God which church to join.

On the morning of a spring day in 1820, Joseph, then fourteen years-old, went to a grove of trees and knelt to pray. As he prayed, he felt Satan attack him. He could not speak and feared that he would be destroyed. Joseph called out to God, and in the moment that he thought Satan would overcome him, Joseph saw a pillar of light above the brightness of the sun. And the light descended upon him. In the light, Joseph saw two Men standing above him in the air. One of them spoke, calling Joseph by name and pointing to the other, "This is my Beloved Son, hear Him!"

In response to Joseph's prayer, God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him!

Among other things, Jesus taught Joseph that no church on the earth had the fulness of His Gospel, and through Joseph, Jesus would establish the fulness of His Gospel and His Church on the Earth again.

Joseph was called to be a prophet. Later, he would translate the Book of Mormon from ancient plates written by prophets who lived on the American continent. Joseph also received the Priesthood and its Keys through the angelic visitations of John the Baptist, Peter, James, John, Moses, Elias, and Elijah. Because Joseph was a prophet and held the Priesthood and its Keys, he had the authority to act in the name of God. He taught of Jesus Christ and the Plan of Salvation. He also restored the Church of Jesus Christ as it had existed anciently.

What God did through Joseph Smith was the same thing He had done whenever His children had fallen into apostasy: He restored the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Plan of Salvation, and the Priesthood and its Keys through a prophet.

To read Joseph Smith's own account of what happened click here.