Sunday, August 22, 2010

Which is the true Church of Jesus Christ?

First let me state I recognize that all churches teach the truth as they understand it, help their members come closer to God, be better people, do good works and help people. The true Church of Jesus Christ isn't true because the people in it are better than anyone else, more faithful, try harder to please God, because it has more members, or has been around longer than others. There are many good churches, however God is not a God of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33) and Jesus Christ only organized one Church, as Paul taught; one Lord, one Faith and one Baptism (Ephesians 4:5) so there can only be one True Church of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ himself went to John the Baptist to be baptized because John had the Priesthood Authority (Authority to act in God's name) to perform the ordinance (Matthew 3:13-17). Because of this we know that this Priesthood Authority is extremely important to have. Only the true Church of Jesus Christ is authorized to act in God's name and has this priesthood authority, the authority to act in God's name. This is what makes it the true church, Jesus Christ establishes it, reveled it's doctrines, authorizes it, recognizes the works of it's priesthood as valid and binding, and the church is lead by those who have been chosen by him and ordained with his priesthood authority. Which is the true Church of Christ today if any? I will endeavor to answer that question as best I can. I will show though bible scriptures some of the structure of Christ's church and the doctrines He taught. What happened to that organization? Does your church match the structure of the church Christ organized and teach all his doctrines? If you have an open mind and are willing to learn, I have some answers for you. You must gain the testimony and witness of the Holy Spirit on your own, that is something I can not teach or give you, it comes through study and sincere fervent prayer for answers.

Organization of the True Church

We are told there is what in Ephesians 4:5?
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism.
Christ choose his Apostles after prayer.
Luke 6:12-16
12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
13 And when it was day, he called [unto him] his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;
14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,
15 Matthew and Thomas, James the [son] of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,
16 And Judas [the brother] of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
Mark 3:14
14 And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
15 And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:
Luke 10:1
1 AFTER these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
What is the foundation of Christ's Church?
Ephesians 2:20
20 And are built upon the foundations of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;.
What did Christ give, for what reason and how long?
Ephesians 4:11-14
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:
14 That we [henceforth] be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, [and] cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
After the crucifixion of Christ and death of Judas the Apostles prayed for revelation and choose a replacement apostle.
Acts 1:22-26
22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all [men], shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,
25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.
26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
Philippians 1:1
1 PAUL and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:
How were the leaders of Christ's church called?
John 15:16
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
Hebrews 5:4-10
4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as [was] Aaron.
5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.
6 As he saith also in another [place], Thou [art] a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
Moses the Prophet ordained Aaron to serve the Lord.
Exodus 28:1
1 AND take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, [even] Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons.
Exodus 40:13-16
13 And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.
14 And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats:
15 And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.
16 Thus did Moses: according to all that the LORD commanded him, so did he.
The church to be lead by revelation from God.
Amos 3:7
7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
Luke 1:70
70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
Commanded to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all nations baptizing them into the Church.
Matthew 28:19-20
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.
Leaders of the church to serve willingly and not for money.
1 Peter 5:1-2
1 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight [thereof], not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

Doctrines of the True Church

Salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ
Acts 4:10-12
10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
11 This is the stone which was set at naught of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
12 Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Baptism by immersion by one with authority.
Matthew 3:13-16
13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
14 But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer [it to be so] now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
Romans 6:3-6
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted TOGETHER in the likeness of his death, we shall be also [in the likeness] of [his] resurrection:
Gift of the Holy Ghost given by laying on of hands by those with authority.
Acts 8:14-17
14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
17 Then laid they [their] hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are separate and distinct individuals who are one in knowledge, power, purpose, virtue, mercy and action.
John 8:16-18
16 And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.
17 It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.
18 I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.
Matthew 3:16-17
16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Matthew 16:15-17
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
John 17:11
11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we [are].
John 20:17
17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and [to] my God, and your God.
Acts 7:55-56
55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
Christ has Body of flesh and bones after resurrection.
Luke 24:36-39
36 And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace [be] unto you.
37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
Acts 1:9-11
9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
We are all literally spirit children of God our Heavenly Father.
Acts 17:26-29
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
Hebrews 12:9
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected [us], and we gave [them] reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
Jeremiah 1:5
5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Job 38:1-7
1 THEN the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
2 Who [is] this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
7 When the morning stars sang TOGETHER, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
We must show Faith and Works and will be judged and rewarded for them,
but are saved by Grace if we repent of our sins for we all fall short.
James 2:14-16
14 What [doth it] profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be [ye] warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what [doth it] profit?
Matthew 7:21
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 16:27
27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
Hebrews 13:21
21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom [be] glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Revelation 20:12-13
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Revelation 22:12
12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward [is] with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
Those with authority have power to heal.
Mark 3:14-15
14 And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
15 And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:

Why are these things important?

St. Luke 13:23-30
23 Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,
24 ¶ Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.
27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.
29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
30 And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.
Matthew 7:20
20 Wherefore by their fruits [works] ye shall know them.
Matthew 7:21
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Hebrews 13:8
8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.
Ephesians 4:5
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism.
Ephesians 4:11-14
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:
14 That we [henceforth] be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, [and] cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;


What happened to the Church
that Christ organized?

Rulers and people gathered TOGETHER against the Lord
Acts 4:26-27
26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered TOGETHER against the Lord, and against his Christ.
27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered TOGETHER.
Christ told the apostles they would be killed.
Matthew 24:9-12
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
John 16:1-4
1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.
4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.
After Paul's departing, the flock shall not be spared and men arise speaking perverse things.
Acts 20:29-30
29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
False apostles, deceitful workers to arise.
2 Corinthians 11:12-15
12 But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we.
13 For such [are] false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
15 Therefore [it is] no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
Saints removed from Christ and following another gospel.
Galatians 1:6-9
6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any [man] preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
Departing from the faith, changing the doctrines, false prophets, turning to fables, teaching the things they wish to hear.
1 Timothy 4:1-4
1 NOW the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
3 Forbidding to marry, [and commanding] to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
2 Timothy 4:3-4
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
2 Peter 2:1-2
1 BUT there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
Ungodly men are changing the faith and denying Jesus Christ.
Jude 1:3-4
3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort [you] that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
The second coming would not happen until there was a falling away from the truths taught by Christ.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3
1 NOW we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and [by] our gathering TOGETHER unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a *falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
* The Greek word translated in the King James as "a falling away" isApostasia from which the English word Apostasy is derived. Apostasiacomes from two Greek root words, a verb histëmi which means "to stand" and a preposition apö "away from" TOGETHER it means rebellion, revolt or revolution. The NIV version of the bible renders it "the rebellion", the NRSV "the great revolt".
Church to be restored before second coming.
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.

We can see that Christ told the apostles that they would be killed and their followers persecuted because of wickedness of the people. After Christ left the apostles in charge they taught the gospel and tried to keep the organization of the church TOGETHER. In the epistles the leaders of the church tried to keep false doctrines from creeping into the church and the teachings of Christ from being lost. In Galatians Paul marveled that the saints (followers of Christ) were so soon falling away from the Gospel. This was the beginning of the great apostasy (a·pos·ta·sy: Abandonment of one's religious faith, a political party, one's principles, or a cause.)
Eventually due to persecution from the Jews and Romans the apostles were scattered and could not call new apostles to replace those who were killed. The Roman persecution began with Nero in 64 AD and the Martyrdom of Peter and Paul in 65 AD, until the Edict of Milan in 313 AD. Eventually all the Apostles were killed and the leadership of the church was left to the local leaders. The bishops and elders were left on their own with out revelation from God to guide them. Even before the loss of the apostles we see how the teachings of Christ were being lost and replaced or distorted, almost all of Paul's writings in the New Testament were attempts to correct incorrect teachings in the church. Jewish traditions, pagan rites, Greek Philosophy all crept in to corrupt Christ's teachings. Over time the true teachings of Christ were lost and distorted. Have you ever asked yourself the origins of our holiday traditions; Easter rabbits, eggs and Christmas tree's for instance? All pagan rituals adopted by the apostate Christians.
"Christianity did not destroy paganism; *it adopted it. The Greek mind, dying, came to a transmigrated life in the theology and liturgy of the Church; the Greek language, having reigned for centuries over philosophy, became the vehicle of Christian literature and ritual; the Greek mysteries passed down into the impressive mystery of the Mass." (Will Durant, The Story of Civilization [New York: Simon and Schuster, 1944], 3:595.)
Three hundred years later, Constantine the Great, a Roman Emperor (307 - 337 AD) found political advantage in fostering Christianity to help solidify his empire. He made it his state religion even though he was not a Christian himself, but a sun-worshiper. There was much division among the various Christian sects over the doctrines of Christianity, so Constantine used his state power to settle these divisions. He called a counsel of the bishops in his empire, in Aries. (Church doctrine decided by committee, not by revelation from God...) Some of the clergy present objected to the decisions made concerning baptism and authority of the church. So Constantine used force to bring them into line, a massacre ensued and those who objected were either killed or banished. The bishops who opposed him were replaced with those of his own choice by his political authority. This was just the beginning of control of the apostate church by civil leaders for centuries to come.
There was a dispute in Alexandria between the Athanasians and Arians over the nature of God, so Constantine called another bishops conference, the General Council of the Church at Nicia in 325 A.D. Constantine, an uninspired, unbaptized sun-worshiper made the decision over which side he felt was right and banished the Arians who still objected. From this came the Nicene Creed which many Christian sects today still profess to some extent. Nicene Creed on Wikipeda From Constantine on, Roman Emperors in Constantinople controlled the state church until 1054 AD when Rome and Constantinople split into the western and eastern Churches. About 476 AD is considered the fall of the Roman empire and the beginning of the dark ages which lasted until the age of Renaissance about 1000 years later.

Wikipedia: Fall or Decline of the Roman Empire
Wikipedia: Dark Ages

Nicene Creed

The Synod at Nice set forth this Creed.

The Ecthesis of the Synod at Nice.

"We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten of his Father, of the substance of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father. By whom all things were made, both which be in heaven and in earth. Who for us men and for our salvation came down [from heaven] and was incarnate and was made man. He suffered and the third day he rose again, and ascended into heaven. And he shall come again to judge both the quick and the dead. And [we believe] in the Holy Ghost. And whosoever shall say that there was a time when the Son of God was not, or that before he was begotten he was not, or that he was made of things that were not, or that he is of a different substance or essence [from the Father] or that he is a creature, or subject to change or conversion--all that so say, the Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematizes them."

The Seven Ecumenical Councils, ed. H. Percival, in the Library of Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, 2nd series (New York: Charles Scribners, 1990), Vol XIV

Every honest Christian needs to ask themselves if God directed his church through an uninspired sun-worshiper. Certainly the same God who said he would reveal his will though his Prophets doesn't govern his church by a committee, or control it by civil government. Constantine was baptized on his death bed in 337 AD, but I wouldn't consider this worth calling him a Christian, although he often is in various writings. In truth he was a pagan all his life. At best it can be said he stopped state persecution of Christians with the Edict of Milan, but then he instituted state control of the churches and united them as a political move to consolidate his empire.
Centuries later after the decline of the Roman Empire, starting in the 1500's came reformers, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox and others who started the protestant movement, so called because they protested doctrines and beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church. They believed the truths of the Gospel were not being taught, yet they didn't agree on what the truth is. King Henry the VIII of Britain confronted the leadership of the Catholic Church wanting a divorce. He appealed to the Church in Rome and was denied. In his anger he seized the property of the Church and with the help of Parliament, he organized and founded the Church of England. By what authority did he do this, indeed by what authority did any of the Churches operate? By civil authority as it had for centuries. How can this be the divine authority of God, who said he would do nothing without reveling his will for the people by a Prophet? (Amos 3:7) After the reformers came the formation of many different churches, until today we have many different sects and even hundreds of nondenominational Churches each teaching their version of the gospel.
What happened to the organization and authority of the Church Jesus Christ organized? I submit to you it was lost from the earth through wickedness of the people. The same people that crucified Jesus Christ and killed the apostles did their best to destroy the Church of Christ. For almost 300 years after it was Roman state policy to persecute Christ's followers before it was adopted as the state religion for political reasons. This was the apostasy that Jesus Christ and the Apostles warned would come. Christ told the apostles they would be killed and the Apostles repeatedly wrote epistles to the saints (members of the Church) correcting doctrine and saying the doctrines of Christ were being changed and the people removed from the true Gospel of Christ that the Apostles taught. The apostasy was well under way even before all the apostles were killed as evidenced by the writings of Paul, everything after that was just a continuation of the process. A complete history of the apostasy, and religious history from the time of Christ until now is way beyond the scope of this page. I have only mentioned it in brief to make my points. I didn't even mention such important events as Gutenburg inventing the movable type printing press and Wycliffe's English translation of the bible allowing the bible to be in the hands of the people for the first time.
All is not lost, as was promised today the true Church of Jesus Christ has been restored by the power and grace of God in these the last days, to prepare us for Christ's second coming. The true church is on earth once again and is again lead by a Prophet of God and 12 apostles. It has both the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood authority to act in the name of Jesus Christ, it's ordinances are recognized by God as valid. It's members are blessed to have the restored gospel in their lives. We want to share those blessings with all people. If you are interested in learning about The Church of Jesus Christ, I recommend getting in contact with the full time missionaries in your area. You can arrange for them to contact you by calling 1-800-638-1119. If you don't want to do that, then visit the Church's web page (URL's below) where you can find all kinds of information about the Church's teachings and programs. You can learn about God's Plan of Salvation and the Book of Mormon on other pages of my Website. I testify to you that God has revealed to me the truth by the Holy Spirit and I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints IS Christ's church on earth today. Come and learn from us the simple truths of Jesus Christ's gospel, and share the blessings we enjoy.
Since putting up the Plan of Salvation page I have been continually challenged by some to question my faith. Satan does his best to deceive and drive people away from Christ's true church. Don't be carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. (Ephesians 4:14) This page is my answer to those people who have been deceived and try to persuade me and others to not follow Christ's one true Church. I pray that the Spirit will touch their hearts and some day their lives will be enlightened by the truth, that all will some day receive the truth. My faith is built upon the rock of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the witness I have of the Holy Sprit is unshakable. I do not need to question it because I know this witness is true and God does not lie. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which is the restoration of the church that Jesus Christ organized during his ministry on earth and then it's authority and truths were lost due to apostasy which He warned would come after the end of His mortal ministry.

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