WE BELIEVE IN THE RESTORATION

Restoration
• Bringing into existence again
• Bringing back to original condition, appearance, etc.
• Giving back something lost or taken away

In The Church of Jesus Christ, when we say that we believe in the restoration, we are typically saying that we believe in the Book of Mormon and the restored gospel. While that is true, the extent to which we believe in restoration actually extends well beyond that. We actually believe in many restorations, some of which have already occurred and some of which we look forward to in the future.

We believe in the restoration of the relationship between mankind and God

When man was first created, he had a close relationship with God:

• God created woman so the man would have a companion.
• God provided a beautiful garden with plenty to eat.
• God walked in the garden and conversed with them.

However, that close relationship was lost when the man and woman disobeyed God and ate of the forbidden fruit. They tried to hide themselves from God (Genesis 3:8-10) and God eventually banished them from the garden where they had all spent time together (Genesis 3:23-24).

For centuries, there was a barrier between God and man. They communicated by long- distance messaging between heaven and earth but they did not dwell together. Finally, in order to restore the relationship, Jesus Christ (“God the Son”) was sent to be physically present among people, suitably being referred to as “God with us”.

“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (Matthew 1:23)

Even when Jesus departed, He sent the Holy Ghost to represent Him and dwell with us, such that the restored relationship between God and man could continue.

“I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;…he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:16-17)

And, because Jesus was crucified and resurrected, we have the opportunity to dwell with God for all eternity when we depart from this life on earth.

“For were it not for the redemption which he hath made for his people, which was prepared from the foundation of the world, I say unto you, were it not for this, all mankind must have perished. But behold, the bands of death [are] broken, and the Son reigneth, and hath power over the dead; therefore, he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead. [Believers] are raised to dwell with God who has redeemed them; thus they have eternal life through Christ, who has broken the bands of death.” (Mosiah 15:19,20,23)

We believe in the restoration of each individual’s relationship with God

Each person who is born is born as a child of God – created in His image and loved as a member of His family. But then, the day comes for each when they reach the age of understanding and human tendencies cause them to choose sin, thereby separating them from God. However, God is always seeking an opportunity to restore that relationship, bringing each son or daughter back into the family of God. When that happens, there is great rejoicing in heaven – a broken relationship has been restored!

The parable of the “prodigal son” depicts this. In the parable, a young man chooses to separate himself from his father’s household and go out on his own. The young man lives a sinful lifestyle, wasting what his father had given him. Finally, the young man realizes that he was better off in his father’s household. He returns, perhaps wondering if he will even be welcome.

“But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. [The father said] this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.” (Luke 15:20,24)

Mosiah 27 gives the account of a young man named Alma, the son of the chief priest, who became a very wicked man and went around trying to destroy the church that his father was leading. His father prayed diligently for his son and God then sent an angel who spoke to Alma with a voice of thunder and convinced him that he was wrong and needed to repent. Alma said, “I rejected my Redeemer, and denied that which had been spoken of by our fathers; but… he remembereth every creature of his creating” (Mosiah 27:30).

“And his father rejoiced, for he knew that it was the power of God. And he caused that a multitude should be gathered together that they might witness what the Lord had done for his son.” (Mosiah 27:20-21)

Today, each person in the world who is living a sinful lifestyle has the opportunity to be restored to the family of God. They just need to repent of their sins and be baptized in the name of Christ to have their relationship with God restored.

“There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth” (Luke 15:10)

We believe in the restoration of the priesthood authority of Jesus Christ

A key belief of The Church of Jesus Christ is that the priesthood authority was taken away when men altered the Church from the way Jesus and His original Apostles set it up.

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.” (Amos 8:11- 12)

Also prophesied in Revelation 12:1-6, the period of time that the priesthood authority was gone (approximately 1260 years) is known as the Apostasy.

“And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” (Revelation 12:5-6)

Finally, in 1829, the priesthood authority was restored to mankind which is how the priesthood of The Church of Jesus Christ is authorized to act on behalf of Jesus Christ today.

We believe in the restoration of the fullness of the Gospel

One of the causes of the Apostasy (during which the priesthood authority was removed) was that people changed or eliminated the ordinances of the Church that Jesus had instituted.

“The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have trans- gressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant” (Isaiah 24:5)

The coming forth of the Book of Mormon and the restoration of the priesthood authority resulted in the fullness of the gospel being restored, including the restoration of the ordinances as they were originally performed.

Baptism – Originally performed by immersion in natural bodies of water, baptism was changed such that it was performed in pools or by sprinkling or it was even made optional altogether. The ordinance was restored to its original method per the specific instructions of Jesus in 3 Nephi 11:23-26. Baptism was originally for adults only, tied to repentance, but was later changed to be performed on babies or little children who were incapable of repenting. The original purpose of baptism was restored to be consistent with the teaching in Moroni 8.

Bestowal of the Holy Ghost – Originally performed as an ordinance by laying on of hands of the ministry (see Acts 8:18), the bestowal of the Holy Ghost later became something that was supposed to just happen automatically when a person accepted Christ. The ordinance was restored per the specific instructions in Moroni 2:2-3.

Communion – Originally performed the way that Jesus did it with His Apostles at the Last Supper (breaking bread and eating it and drinking wine from a single cup, as described in the gospels and 1 Corinthians 11), communion was later changed to consist of other things (wafers, grape juice, water) or was made optional altogether. When the gospel was restored, the ordinance was restored to its original form.

Anointing with Oil – The method of anointing the sick (as described in James 5:14-15) was eliminated but was restored when the gospel was restored.

Feet Washing – The ordinance of Feet Washing, as instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper (as described in John 13) was eliminated but was restored when the gospel was restored.

Blessing of Children – The ordinance of blessing children, based on what Jesus did with the children in Mark 10:13-16, was eliminated and/or replaced with baptism of little children. The ordinance was restored to be consistent with how Jesus blessed the little children in 3 Nephi 17:21-24.

In addition to the restoration of the ordinances, the restoration of the fullness of the gospel also restored knowledge of the identity of a portion of the House of Israel as well as prophecies of future events regarding them.

“Many generations after the Messiah shall be manifested in body unto the children of men, then shall the fulness of the gospel of the Messiah come unto the Gentiles, and from the Gentiles unto the remnant of our seed – And at that day shall the remnant of our seed know that they are of the house of Israel, and that they are the covenant people of the Lord” (1 Nephi 15:13-14)

We believe in the restoration of Israel

The scriptures and history note that the various tribes of the House of Israel have been scattered throughout the world as a result of not recognizing Christ as the Savior. However, there are many prophecies that indicate that God will eventually restore Israel, gathering them together in the kingdom of God on earth, known as Zion.

“I have read these things that ye might know concerning the covenants of the Lord that he has covenanted with all the house of Israel – That he has spoken unto the Jews, by the mouth of his holy prophets, even from the beginning down, from generation to generation, until the time comes that they shall be restored to the true church and fold of God; when they shall be gathered home to the lands of their inheritance, and shall be established in all their lands of promise” (2 Nephi 9:1-2)

We believe in the restoration of the soul and body after death

For each of us, the time will come when we will depart from this life – our soul will separate from our corrupted earthly body. However, if our relationship with God has been restored, we can look forward to eternal life with God when our soul will be restored to a spiritual body (a restored version of our earthly body that will live forever). (See 1 Corinthians 15:42-44).

“The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame. And now, this is the restoration of which has been spoken by the mouths of the prophets – And then shall the righteous shine forth in the kingdom of God.” (Alma 40:23-25)

Why do we believe in restoration?

Our God is not one who loses people or is satisfied to have them remain separated or corrupted. He is always seeking to restore. So, we believe in restoration because our God is a God of restoration.

In the love of God,

The Quorum of Twelve Apostles

James Crudup, Joel Gehly, Pete Giannetti, John Griffith, Scott Griffith, Paul Liberto, Thomas M. Liberto, Leonard A. Lovalvo, Frank Natoli, Paul A. Palmieri, Peter Scolaro, Jerry Valenti

www.thechurchofjesuschrist.org