Mormonism: The False Doctrine of Total Apostasy
The Mormon doctrine called “The Total Apostasy” is the false doctrine promulgated by the Mormon sect that teaches that the original Church of the New Testament, the Catholic Church, fell into total apostasy after the death of the last apostle despite the lack of any evidence of this having occurred. The Mormon doctrine of Total Apostasy had to be promulgated by Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon Church, to grant himself total authority as the "true church.” The only other Church which can contest this claim is the Catholic Church since it has existed since 33 A.D., during the times of the New Testament.
Fortunately, for those who seek the truth, Sacred Scripture provides the means to determine the true Church, should such an occasion of competing claims arise. The New Testament describes the Church in this way:
The Church has existed in every generation (Ephesians 3:21)
The Church devotes itself to the apostles’ teaching and the breaking of bread (Acts 2:42)
The Church offers the sacrifice of the Mass every day (Malachi 1:11) (Daniel 12:11)
The Church teaches the same body of doctrine that can be found in the Bible with the same church model described in it, thus rendering the idea of denominations unbiblical (1 Corinthians 1:10)
The Church is universal (click here)
The Church binds and looses (Matthew 16:17-19, Matthew 18)
The Church has the power to forgive sins (John 20:20-23)
The Church has bishops who are the successors of the original apostles (Acts 20:28)
The Church speaks with the voice of Christ (Luke 10:16)
If the Mormon Church, or any church, fails to meet even one of these criteria, it is not now, nor was it ever, the true Church. The Mormon Church was founded in the 19th century and has since proclaimed that the early Church fell into total apostasy at some point in the second century A.D. For these claims to be true, roughly 17 centuries would have had to pass without the true Church existing in the world. This fact alone demonstrates that Mormonism fails to meet even the first criteria on the list above. Indeed, despite its claims to the contrary, it fails to meet any of the criteria listed above.
Joseph Smith, the self-proclaimed prophet and founder of Mormonism, claimed he was visited by angels and given a private revelation that he would restore Christ's church. However, this very claim, in fact, proves the Mormon church is not the true Church. If the claims were indeed true, it would mean that Christ either lied to the faithful or that He was not able to keep His Church together as He promised He would:
Matthew 16:18 - “And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
Ephesians 3:21 - “To him be glory in the church, and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, world without end.” Amen.
John 16:13 - “But when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will teach you all truth. For he shall not speak of himself; but what things soever he shall hear, he shall speak; and the things that are to come, he shall shew you.” (Here, Jesus is speaking to His Church)
John 14:18 - “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
Matthew 28:18-20 - “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me . . . and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.’."
Christ's Church is described as an unmovable rock, yet Mormon doctrine claims it fell apart and had to be restored in the 19th century. Even when there comes a Great Apostasy, not everyone will apostatize (total apostasy). Any attempt to use Scripture to prove otherwise does nothing more than read something into Scripture which is not there. While apostasy is prophesied by Paul in 2 Thessalonians, there is no mention of total apostasy. Further, as demonstrated above, such a total apostasy would defy the promises of Christ that He would always remain with His Church. The Mormon sect did not exist for almost 2,000 years of Christianity, and if God promised to be with His Church in every generation, then this makes no sense.
We must always aim to harmonize Sacred Scripture rather than create novel ideas which put different passages at odds with themselves with contradiction. The Mormon concept of total apostasy, taken at face value, unfortunately creates this very dilemma. On one hand, you have Scripture clearly teaching numerous times that the Church founded by Our Lord will exist in every generation until the end of the age and that the gates of Hell will not be able to prevail against her; on the other hand, the Mormons posit that shortly after the 1st century, she will plummet into utter complete apostasy for centuries. This view then assumes Scripture can contradict itself, which is impossible.
As 2 Thessalonians 2 noted, there will indeed be an apostasy, a revolt, a falling away. However, we need to examine the specific context. St. Paul tells us that this apostasy will occur right prior to the arrival of the man of perdition, the Antichrist. So he is not describing an event to take place in his time frame, but rather towards the end of the age. First there will be an apostasy, proceeded by the Antichrist, who will then be defeated by the Second Coming of Our Lord. This is not a 1st century event that St. Paul is describing, but rather an event to take place towards the end of world.
So then how do we harmonize the two teachings side by side? We note that the Church exists until the end of time, and shortly before the end of time, an apostasy will occur of many believers (not a total apostasy of all believers). And when we dig further into 2 Thessalonians 2, we see St. Paul give the solution for avoiding this apostasy. He says, “Stand firm and hold fast to all I have taught you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.” In other words, Christians will avoid falling away from the faith by clinging to Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture. This is precisely how Christians have stood strong throughout history whenever heresies would crop up, including the Mormon heresy.
To demonstrate the problem this creates practically, consider Matthew 18:15-18, which states: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you… If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Catholics and Mormons both agree that in this passage, Jesus is instructing us to obey His authoritative Church, which He has given the gift of infallibility. Because of this authority He has given His Church, we can be sure that if we look to the Church for guidance, we will be led to the truth. Now consider that if Mormonism is true, this infallible Church did not exist from roughly 100 A.D. until 1820. For the millions of Christian faithful who lived during that 1,700-year period, to whom could they go in search of the truth? Christ’s promise to be with His Church until the end of the age would have been broken for these people. This thought is inconceivable, unbiblical, and heretical.
Mormonism fails in every regard when determining the true Church. Its very existence and claims of authority fly directly in the face of Sacred Scripture, logic, and reason. God provided us with His Church and gave it the promise of eternal guidance in truth. Christians must cooperate with these blessings and use critical thinking to examine our beliefs. Should our beliefs become counter to the Word of God, we must realize we are no longer putting our faith in God but in ourselves.
