Introduction

Was there a need for the “restoration” of the original Church of Jesus Christ?

‍ ‍‍Welcome to The Mormon Mann Channel. I am Kendall, The Mormon Mann. In this video, we are going prove or disprove, using only the Holy Bible, Joseph Smith’s claim that there had to be a restoration of the original Church that Jesus Christ established on the earth when He was here. ‍

In this series of videos, I am challenging 83 of Joseph Smith’s teachings that he set up in the name of “Restoring the Fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” I will include all of the hard topics like:

• Righteous Mormons can become Gods

• Blacks and the Priesthood

• Polygamy and

• The mysteries of the kingdom of God!

If you would like to follow what the Bible has to say about these 83 teachings of Joseph Smith, then please, press the “Subscribe” button below. If you understand and agree with what you will be learning, then press the “Like”  button below.  If you disagree with the Biblical support given, then press the “Dislike”  button below.  

What is the Restoration?

Today, we are going to talk about the restoration of the original Church of Jesus Christ. We Mormons define the restoration of the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ as just that…Christ, Himself, bringing back all the precious elements of his original church.  This includes:

• The priesthood

• Christ’s teachings

• His ordinances

• His temples

• The covenants

• The original organization and

• His “Mysteries.” 

I will be getting into detail on “His Mysteries” in chapter 16 – Exaltation.

Christ’s Words on Fulfillment

Matthew 5:17, 18

17. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 

18. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

As Christ said, not “one jot or one tittle” will be forgotten or passed over from the law.  Christ was talking about fulfilling all that the prophets have foretold in the scriptures, both Old and New Testaments. 

This includes:

• The prophecies of the prophets, apostles, and Christ himself about the apostasy.

• The prohecies of the Restoration,

The Key Passage — Acts 3

I will start with what is taught in the Book of Acts, chapter 3:  

Acts 3:19-21

19. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

20. And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:

21. Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

Three Key Elements

One: “When the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord”

The term “refreshing” implies renewal—restoring something that has faded or been lost. As discussed in the previous video on the topic of the apostasy, the Biblical prophets and apostles described the state of the Christian churches in the early 1800’s as needing a refreshing. This refreshing will come from the “presence of the Lord.” Which means that the Lord will be present when this refreshing occurs.

Two: “And he shall send Jesus Christ”

What happened to Joseph Smith when he went into the sacred grove to pray to Heavenly Father and find out which church he should join? Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith. Jesus Christ was sent to the earth once again.  

Three: “Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things”  

Again, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “restitution” as an act of restoring or a condition of being restored. This is where we believe that Jesus Christ restored His original Church of Jesus Christ back on earth. Jesus Christ actually named this restored church…The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I want to point out that heaven was to receive Jesus Christ until this time. This explains the following:

1. Isaiah’s prophecy that there was to be a “darkness that covered the earth” (Isaiah 60:2).

2. Amos’s prophecy that there was to be a famine in the land from “hearing the words of the Lord. (Amos 8:11).

3. That the official doctrine of all the major Christian churches was that “the heavens are closed, there is not any more direct revelation from Jesus Christ.”

This is a very important prophecy that all must understand! Everything that Joseph Smith taught about his first vision and the beginning of the restoration of the original The Church of Jesus Christ fits! He was only 15 years old at the time of this first vision!  

Now, let’s talk about the Old Testament prophets that prophesied of the restoration.

Isaiah 11:11

11. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people…

Jeremiah also taught that in the last days the Lord would make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.    

Jeremiah 31:31

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

How many of you have heard of the Lord making a new covenant with the house of Israel? He has already fulfilled this prophecy!   Further down in this passage Jeremiah says that the house of Judah broke that covenant.   Another Old Testament prophet, Daniel, prophesied in chapter 2: (Slide 12).  

Dan 2:44

And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.‍ ‍

Teaching of Jesus Christ

Now, moving on to an interesting teaching by Jesus Christ. A very important happening in Christ’s ministry was the transfiguration of Jesus, where, with the glory of God the Father, Moses and Elias appeared to Jesus while in the presence of Peter, James, and John. You can find this in Matthew 17:1-8.  

After the transfiguration and as they were coming down from the mountain, the apostles asked Jesus about Elias and why the scribes say that Elias must come first.  Jesus answered them:

Matt 17:11

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.‍ ‍

Here Christ tells them that Elias “shall first come and restore all things.”  Recognizing that Christ has already come and organized His church, Christ then tells the apostles “that Elias had already come and the people knew him not.”  They were thinking of Elias being John the Baptist, who was rejected and killed. Although Elias had already come, Christ prophesied that “Elias truly shall first come and restore all things.”   In fulfilling this prophecy, both John the Baptist and Elias appeared to Joseph Smith. John the Baptist conferred the Aaronic Priesthood to Joseph Smith and what Elias did when he appeared is too long to explain here.  

Apostolic Teachings

Moving on to what the Apostle’s Taught about the Restoration. The apostle Paul wrote to the saints this:

Eph 1:10

That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:‍ ‍ Paul also wrote about the Jewish branches being broken off until the fullness of the Gentiles.

Romans 11:25

For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.

When is the “fullness of the Gentiles?” 

Answer:  Is not the “fullness of the Gentiles” going on now with the tremendous number of Christians, most of which are gentiles?  

Revelation of the Angel

John also taught about the restoration.  In his Book of Revelations, he actually saw the angel who came down and initiated the restoration.

Rev 14:6

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.

We believe that this angel was the Book of Mormon prophet Moroni. Moroni met and taught Joseph Smith on numerous occasions as Jesus Christ restored His fulness of the gospel.

When you look on many of our modern-day Temples, at the top spiral, there is an angel blowing his trumpet. This represents Moroni spreading the everlasting gospel to every nation, kindred and tongue.

We currently have 350 Houses of the Lord that are dedicated, under construction or announced and in planning. These Temples are being built throughout the world.

The restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is bringing the Lord’s new covenants to the members worldwide. I will delve deeply into the Houses of the Lord in chapter 14, about video 21.    

How Would Christ Restore His Church?

In the same passage that is spoke of in Acts 3:17-21, where the “times of refreshing will come from the Lord,” It was to be through a prophet that the Lord would “raise up.”  

Acts 3:22

For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.

The Old Testament prophet Amos, telling how God works, stated:  

Amos 3:7

Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

It is very important that everybody listen to that prophet who will be raised up, because if they don’t:  

Acts 3:23

And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

Not only did Paul speak of this prophet that would be raised up, but Moses also spoke of him:

Deuteronomy 18:15

The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;‍ ‍

And again, three verses later: ‍ ‍

Deuteronomy 18:18

I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him, 19. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.   (Slide 24)

Who is this prophet?

This prophet that is supposed to be raised up is commonly accepted as Jesus Christ Himself.  But, in Acts they are speaking after the time of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.  Jesus Christ was already raised up. 

In Acts, they were now specifically speaking of the “times of refreshing.”  

Could they be speaking of another prophet that will be raised up in the “times of refreshing?”

For the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there is another prophet! His name was to be Joseph.  This is found in 2 Nephi of the Book of Mormon.  

2 Nephi 3:11-15

11. But a seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and unto him will I give power to bring forth my word unto the seed of thy loins—and not to the bringing forth my word only, saith the Lord, but to the convincing them of my word, which shall have already gone forth among them.‍ ‍

14.  And thus prophesied Joseph, saying; Behold, that seer will the Lord bless; and they that seek to destroy him shall be confounded; for this promise, which I have obtained of the Lord, of the fruit of my loins, shall be fulfilled, Behold, I am sure \of the fulfilling of this promise;

15. And his name shall be called after me; and it shall be after the name of his father.  And he shall be like unto me; for the thing, which the Lord shall bring forth by his hand, by the power of the Lord shall bring my people unto salvation.

Joseph is speaking here about this prophet being called after him…Joseph. And it shall be after the name of his father…Joseph.

We have Joseph Smith Jr. and his father named Joseph Smith Sr..

I want to remind you that when all of this restoration process started, Joseph Smith was only fifteen years old. He got this Apostasy and Restoration right! ‍ ‍

Could a fifteen-year-old boy have made up a story such as this?‍ ‍

Many religious leaders have questioned why the Lord would choose a young boy and not an educated, experienced religious leader of the time to be the prophet of the restoration.  To answer this, we will look at how Jesus Christ set up His original church.  When He called the twelve apostles, Christ did not choose any of the Jewish leaders to be one of those apostles.  Jesus Christ’s reasoning for this was, in His own words: (Slide 30)  

Matthew 9:17

Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.‍ ‍‍ ‍

This conversation was also recorded in Mark 2:22 and Luke 5:37.

These last three scriptures were of the account where some Pharisees were dining with Christ and they were asking Christ questions.  One account had the disciples asking why the apostles did not fast like the Pharisees. 

These questions were about organizing Christ’s church.  

In the same manner that Christ organized His church in His day, Christ repeated the same act—He chose a person that was not greatly affiliated with or trained by the current churches of the time. 

The important fact to consider is that Christ did choose a certain person to be His mouthpiece here on earth—a prophet. ‍ ‍

Amos 3:7

Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.  

This restoration of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continued over the next twenty-four years.  As the restoration took place Christ and His angels revealed a few secrets here and there as Joseph Smith and the saints were prepared to receive them. 

Many of these “secrets” and their details will be discussed in videos that will follow.  

Referring back to The Biblical Support Chart where we are tracking the Biblical support for Joseph Smith’s teachings, I believe there is credible support that the Bible commented on the potential of the restoration in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. 

There is potential support for the way Joseph Smith claimed that the restoration took place, that is, through a prophet, by celestial beings appearing to him. ‍ ‍

The Biblical Support Chart

‍Is the following topic supported in the Bible?‍ Yes or No

1. Does the Old Testament Comment on the possibility of a “Restoration of all things?” Yes

(Isaiah 11:11,12; Jer 31:31; Dan 2:44)

2. Does the New Testament Comment on the “Restoration of all things?” Yes

(Acts 3:19-23; Matt 17:11; Eph 1:10; Romans 11:25; Revelations 14:6)

3. Does the Bible support the visitations of angels and/or ancient prophets appearing on the earth? Yes

(Matt 17:1-8)  

Conclusion

Now that the apostasy and the restoration of the original Church of Jesus Christ has been substantiated in the Bible, it will be interesting to look at the actual organization of that church. 

Assuming the original Church of Jesus Christ was lost and then restored, a good look at the “jot and tittle” from the Bible will be looked at to see just how that Church was organized and operated.  I will give some important elements that should be included in the restored church. 

What Comes Next?

The next Chapter 3 – The Church As One will give some great detail on this matter.   Thank you for staying tuned in with me! If you somewhat agree that there is Biblical support for a “falling away,” please press the Like button below.

If you would like to follow what the Bible has to say about over 80 of Joseph Smith’s teachings, then press the “Subscribe” button, and you won’t miss out on any of them!   Thank you for your time and your sincerity in following our Savior, Jesus Christ!   ‍

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