Lesson 1: Restoration Proclamation

The Great Apostasy

The Need for a Restoration of the Savior’s Church

light breaking through the darkness

Jesus Christ established His Church during His mortal ministry. Following His death and Resurrection, the Savior commissioned His Apostles to guide the Church with His priesthood authority and keys. Due to intense persecution and the death of the Apostles, people were left without divine direction from living prophets. Jesus Christ’s teachings and doctrine were altered, resulting in a period called the Great Apostasy. This lesson can help students understand the need for a restoration of Jesus Christ’s true Church in the latter days.

Possible Learning Activities

Living before the Restoration

Consider inviting students to discuss the following question with a partner or small group. You could also ask students to discuss more detailed questions, such as what they might have done for work and recreation, where they might have lived, what their house might have been like, and the types of food they might have eaten.

You could also use the supplemental learning activity “Imagine the religious confusion during the Great Apostasy” during this portion of the lesson.

Imagine you lived in the year 1800 instead of today.

• How would your life have been different?

  Explain that one difference would have been living without the gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth. To help students think about what this would have been like, consider asking questions like the following:

• What might your relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have looked like?

• What questions or concerns might you have had?

The Great Apostasy

To help students understand some of the events that led to the Great Apostasy, you could invite them to share what they know about these events or use some of the following summary. You could also use the video “What Is the Restoration?” from time code 0:32 to 2:08. This video is available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

Apostasy occurs when people turn away from the true doctrine of the gospel and reject the Lord’s authorized servants. One period of apostasy took place following the New Testament period, after the Savior established His Church and commissioned His Apostles to lead it.

“After the deaths of the Savior and His Apostles, men corrupted the principles of the gospel and made unauthorized changes in Church organization and priesthood ordinances. Because of this widespread apostasy, the Lord withdrew the authority of the priesthood from the earth” (Topics and Questions, “Apostasy,” topics.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).

Read the following scriptures, looking for conditions that existed on earth during the Great Apostasy.

• Amos 8:11–12

• 2 Nephi 26:20

• Doctrine and Covenants 1:15–16

• Doctrine and Covenants 112:23

Students could study these verses individually or with a group. You could also assign each group to study one set of verses and to share with the class what they found.

Use questions like the following to discuss what students learned from these verses. As part of this discussion, it may be important to explain that although the Savior’s Church and authority were not on the earth during the Great Apostasy, there were many individuals living during that time who loved God and strived to faithfully follow Him according to the understanding they had.

• What are some words or phrases you found that describe the condition of the world during the Great Apostasy?

• How could not having access to Jesus Christ’s true gospel be compared to a famine? What do Jesus Christ and His gospel offer that brings life and nourishment to the world?

• Why do you think it is important to understand the Great Apostasy and its consequences?

In response to the previous question, students might say something similar to the following truth: Jesus Christ’s doctrine and authority had to be restored to overcome the effects of the Great Apostasy. Consider writing this truth on the board.

The Restoration of the Savior’s gospel

Many times in the world’s history, Heavenly Father has helped His children who have fallen into apostasy by calling prophets to establish truth and declare the gospel. In our dispensation, He initiated the Restoration of the gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith (see Joseph Smith—History 1:15–20; Doctrine and Covenants 1:17).

The next lesson, “The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World,” will give students an opportunity to study more about the latter-day Restoration of the Savior’s gospel.

To help students recognize God’s pattern of blessing His children with the gospel after periods of apostasy, consider showing the video “Dispensations: The Pattern of Apostasy and Restoration” (6:52), available on ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Invite students to think about what they learn or feel about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as they watch the video.

• What do you learn about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ from Their willingness to restore the gospel to the earth during periods of apostasy?

• What does the restored gospel of Jesus Christ provide that helps you grow spiritually?

Explain the Great Apostasy and the need for the Restoration

To help students demonstrate their understanding of what they have learned, consider sharing the following scenario and giving students an opportunity to respond to it.

Imagine you have a friend who is not a member of the Church but is curious about your beliefs. After some discussion, your friend says, “Have you ever wondered why there are so many Christian churches on the earth? I don’t understand how people can decide which church to belong to when there are so many.”

In your study journal, create a brief outline that contains scriptures and ideas you could share that might help your friend. Be sure to include what you have learned today about the Great Apostasy and the need for the Restoration. Try using your own words to express why a restoration of the Savior’s doctrine, authority, and Church was necessary to overcome the effects of the Great Apostasy.

Consider sharing your testimony of the truths you have discussed in this lesson. You might invite students to pray for an opportunity to share with someone else what they learned today and the importance of the Restoration.

Additional Resources

What was lost during the Great Apostasy?

Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

Elder Robert D. Hales

After the Savior’s Resurrection, He commissioned His Apostles to lead the Church and administer gospel ordinances. Faithful to this charge, they were persecuted, and some were eventually martyred. As a result, the Lord’s priesthood authority was no longer on earth, and the world fell into spiritual darkness. In the centuries that followed, God’s children had the Light of Christ, could pray, and could feel the influence of the Holy Ghost. But the fulness of the gospel had been lost. There was no one left on earth with the power and authority to lead the Church or perform sacred ordinances such as baptism, conferral of the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the saving ordinances of the temple. (Robert  D. Hales, “Preparations for the Restoration and the Second Coming: ‘My Hand Shall Be over Thee,’” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2005, 89)

How did the Lord prepare for the Restoration during the Great Apostasy?

President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught how the Lord prepared for the Restoration of the gospel:

President M. Russell Ballard

As we consider how the Lord prepared the world for the Restoration, we should always remember that much of what He accomplished was through the lives of individuals—ordinary men and women who, in some cases, accomplished extraordinary things. (M. Russell Ballard, “How the Lord Prepared the World for the Restoration,” Ensign, Jan. 2020, 19)

To learn more about this preparation, consider reading President Ballard’s entire article.

Did people in Joseph Smith’s day know there was a need for a restoration?

The video “A Search for Truth” (15:43) tells the story of Wilford Woodruff’s search for the Savior’s Church.

Supplemental Learning Activities

Essential components

To help students understand the essential parts of the Savior’s Church and what was lost during the Great Apostasy, consider bringing to class a mechanical part that is necessary for a machine or piece of equipment to work (such as a power cord from an appliance or computer, a chain or wheel from a bicycle, or spark plugs from a car). Show students the part and ask them what it belongs to and what it does. (If you don’t have access to a mechanical part, draw one on the board.) Consider asking questions like the following:

• What happens when this part is missing from the piece of equipment it belongs to?

• What are some essential components of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? What would happen to the Church if these components did not exist?

Write the heading Essential Elements of Jesus Christ’s Church on the board. Help students identify essential elements from the scriptures, such as the following:

• Apostles and prophets form the foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ (see Ephesians 2:19–22).

• Priesthood authority is given by Jesus Christ (see Mark 3:13–14).

• In the Church of Jesus Christ, we can receive ordinances that are necessary for our salvation (see John 3:5; Acts 2:37–39).

• Jesus Christ leads and guides His Church through revelation to His prophets and apostles (see Matthew 16:15–19; Ephesians 4:11–13).

Imagine the religious confusion during the Great Apostasy

As students ponder what it might have been like to live during the Great Apostasy, they may benefit from hearing the following experience:

In preparation for the April 2020 general conference of the Church, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Patricia Holland, imagined they lived in the early 1800s. They pondered the confusion they might have felt and the things they might have hoped for spiritually (see Jeffrey R. Holland, “A Perfect Brightness of Hope,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2020, 81–84).

If available, consider watching “A Perfect Brightness of Hope” from time code 0:00 to 7:16.

Spiritual nourishment from Jesus Christ and His gospel

Prior to studying the verses about the Apostasy, consider showing images of a dead and a living plant. You could also bring these items to class if you have them available. Invite the students to discuss what led to the plants looking so different and what spiritual analogies we could make from these plants. Discuss also how staying connected to Jesus Christ helps us stay spiritually nourished and healthy. Students could read John 15:4–6 and consider how the Savior’s teachings relate to the early Saints during the Great Apostasy.