Mormons and the “Restoration of Truth”
I am starting a series on the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am going through their beliefs as stated on their official web page.
The first part deals with their understanding of the Restoration of Truth. At first glance, there is a fair bit that most Christians would agree with. It is true that God sent his prophets and then eventually sent his Son Jesus Christ. Jesus was rejected and was killed.
However, Mormons teach that the church fell away soon after the time of Jesus and that it was restored only with the appearance of Joseph Smith. There are a number of problems with this. When did the church fall away? The teachings of the Apostolic Fathers are in line with the New Testament. Was it at Nicaea (things are usually Constantine’s fault)? When was the apostasy? And what exactly was the error?
To understand what Mormons are really getting at, we must understand what the primary truth is. Most Christians would say that even if the church fell into some error (which of course it did), as long as people received in faith the forgiveness of sins and eternal life through the cross, there was still hope. But if you look at what they say about the life of Jesus, the first thing they say is not that Jesus died for our sins but that Jesus established his church (they mention his death but not atonement). The primary truth for the Mormons is not the cross or atonement but rather the authority of the church. Joseph Smith did not remind people of the hope of the cross but re-established the authority of the church.
This is where Mormons differ from orthodox Christianity. Christians believe the church is important but it is important as the vehicle which proclaims the message of the cross. It is not in the church that we find salvation but rather in the atonement of the cross. Paul in the New Testament (especially 1 Corinthians) teaches that it is the cross that is central to our faith and not a specific organization as the church.
