What was the restoration? What did it restore? Why was it needed?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, directed by Jesus Christ through living prophets and apostles, carries forth the work of the Master, teaching the restored doctrines and administering, with full authority, the valid ordinances of salvation.
Apostasy and Restoration
An important component of Christ's mortal ministry on the earth was establishing a formal organization, a church. To the Apostles, Christ gave the charge and the authority to carry on the work of his ministry after his Crucifixion. Among their primary responsibilities were preaching the gospel, administering essential ordinances of salvation to those who believed, and authoritatively declaring the true and valid doctrines of the kingdom of God.
Within the first century A.D., however, the Apostles were killed, the doctrines were changed, and the truth was abandoned. A resultant spiritual darkness covered the earth for centuries until one morning in the spring of 1820 when God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to a young boy named Joseph Smith and initiated a restoration of all the truths, powers, and priesthood authority of the ancient Church. Because of this restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ:
•A correct knowledge of the Godhead is once again on the earth.
•Priesthood authority to act in the name of God is once again on the earth.
•Revelation from God for the direction of mankind is again received by a living prophet.
•The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, the Holy Bible, and other sacred scriptures lead to a knowledge of God and faith in his purposes. The scriptural canon is not closed.
•Missionaries now serve throughout the world, bringing knowledge of the Restoration of the gospel to people in many nations.
•Essential ordinances of salvation and exaltation for the living and the dead have been restored; temples are built worldwide for this purpose.
•The Church of Jesus Christ grows in strength, lending both spiritual and temporal aid to the many peoples of the earth.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was officially organized on 6 April 1830 with six members. Today congregations of the Church are found in more than 160 nations and territories. With more than 11 million members, it is one of the fastest growing religions in the world and one of the largest Christian churches in the United States.
