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You said that you were confused as you
read one of our messages that says that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints is the original church God intended. You asked if this is really
so and how do we know that for sure? I wish I had more time and space than
this e-mail will allow to elaborate on this. I will try and clarify this
for you as best as I can.
When Christ was on the earth in the
meridian of time, He organized His church. The New Testament is quite clear
on that. After His death, the apostles went out one by one to the world,
as it was known then, to preach the gospel to all that would hear. As the
years went by, one by one the apostles were killed. They were the ones
who had the authority to act in the name of Jesus Christ. They were the
ones who held the priesthood. When they could not get back together as
a body and choose future apostles, eventually that priesthood authority
which Christ had established through His apostles, was gone. The last apostle
that we hear of is John. While banished to the isle of Patmos, he wrote
the Book of Revelation (sometime between 78 and 90 AD).
As the years went by, factions of Christianity
began to break off from the original church because there was no central
leadership to guide and direct them. By around 300 AD there were so many
factions of Christians that Constantine, the emperor of Rome, who was not
a Christian at all, decided to hold what we have come to know as the "Council
at Nicea." In the year that the council convened, many representatives
from the several Christian sects outlined and established what the doctrine
of Christianity should be. Isn’t it amazing that the apostles were killed
because they would not capitulate their knowledge of the doctrine of Christ,
but these "representatives" of the various Christian sects, within one
year of meeting, capitulated and allowed men to determine by their own
wits what Christianity would believe, and their leader, Constantine a non-Christian,
was the director?
From this sprang the Catholic Church,
and was the most predominant of all faiths. Soon, the Greek Orthodox Church
broke away from the Catholics. From 1200 to 1600, there were countless
reformers and protesters (Protestants) who also broke away from Catholicism
claiming that it’s doctrine was incorrect and the authority of the priesthood
was not there.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints is that same church that Christ organized when He was on the earth
and was restored to the earth through the prophet, Joseph Smith. Its organization
is the same that existed in the original church. It has at its head a prophet.
He is assisted by twelve apostles and other priesthood holders as in Christ’s
original church.
I’m grateful that you are in search
of the truth and I would love to carry-on a longer dialogue than this,
but there is just not enough space here for now. You were also wondering
if I could more fully describe the three degrees of glory or the three
kingdoms and how one achieves each step.
I have a suggestion. Would you allow
me to ask a couple of representatives from our church to call on you to
explain what we believe, why it is truly different, and take time to answer
specifically each and every question which I have not been able to properly
treat in this short e-mail. I am completely confident that once you hear
and have a chance to study the things that we believe, you will find that
it is the very truth that you have been seeking. I know that God loves
you and directs your path as you lead a righteous life.
Please let me know if I should send
those representatives and be sure to include your telephone number and
address.
beliefs@donny.com
Thanks,
Donny
Sincerely,
Donny Osmond
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