The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ

The message any Latter-day Saint missionary you meet is this;

Throughout all ages God has had His Gospel taught on the earth by Prophet's. As we know from the Old Testament, people don't always accept the Prophet's God sends, this is called an apostasy. This cycle of acceptance and rejection continued even until Christ was on the Earth.

Christ calling His Twelve Apostles.

While Christ was on the Earth He accomplished many things in the very short span of 3 years. One of those things was establishing His church. In a letter to the Ephesians Paul explains just exactly what was a part of Christ's primitive church. He say's in Ephesians 2:20 that Christ's church was built on "Apostles and Prophets." However after Christ's Atonement, the church fell into an apostasy. In frantic efforts many of the Apostles were called to go preach the Gospel Christ had taught. However, there efforts were shadowed by the persecution and martyrdom they would soon experience.

After years of darkness and disarray, many people tried reforming "Christianity" back to it's former glory. As earnest and as good of intentions as these were without God's authority it could not be brought back into it's fullness. However becasue of these courageous reformers they gave rise to the founding and settling of America.

After hundreds of years since Christ was manifest on the Earth, He finally had called a Prophet to once again lead His people and restore His church. That Prophet was Joseph Smith. In the early springtime of 1820 a confused boy yearning for the truth adn knowledge about which church was truly God's and came across a passage of scripture In the Epistle of James that 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." Basically teaching us that if you have a question God will answer you and not hold anything back. Joseph decided to do as James directed and after going into a nearby grove of trees he says in his own words,



The First Vision.



"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!"

In this glorious vision God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph. They answered His question saying none of the churches currently established on the Earth were theirs, but that Joseph would be called as a Prophet and would again bring Christs church back in it's fullness.

To find out how you can learn more about Christ's restored church, click here.