THE GREAT APOSTASY Considered in the Light of Scriptural and Secular History James E. Talmage Deseret Book Company Salt Lake City, Utah Copyright 1958 Deseret Book Company. All rights Reserved. This work is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The views expressed herein are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Church or of Deseret Book Company.
About this Book The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly known as the Mormon Church) claims the restoration of the gospel and the reestablishment in these latter days of the church established by the Savior himself in the Meridian of Time. Why should there be need of a restoration, if the Church of Jesus Christ has continued among men with unbroken succession of priesthood and power? Because, declares James E. Talmage in The Great Apostasy, the original church was changed, and an apostasy did occur. "The restored Church affirms that a general apostasy developed during and after the apostolic period, and that the primitive Church lost its power, authority, and graces as a divine institution, and degenerated into an earthly organization only," he writes. Dr. Talmage writes of predictions concerning the apostasy, the condition of the church in the apostolic period, the persecutions of the early-day saints, internal problems in the church, and some of the external problems that led to apostasy from the teachings and organization of Christ's church. He then concludes with a discussion of the Reformation and revolts against the Church of Rome, culminating in the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ through the Prophet Joseph Smith in the nineteenth century.
About the Author Few writers in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have made as great a contribution to Church literature on doctrinal subjects as James E. Talmage. Jesus the Christ, The Articles of Faith, and The House of the Lord, as well as The Great Apostasy, are classic best sellers even today, nearly half a century after his death. Dr. Talmage also prepared for publication some of the latter-day scriptures, including the Pearl of Great Price, which he divided into chapters and verses. Elder Talmage was born in England September 21, 1862, and immigrated to Utah in 1876. He received a B.S. from Lehigh University in l884 and a Ph.D. from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1896. He was professor of chemistry and geology at Brigham Young Academy in Provo, Utah, 1884-88; president of the LDS College in Salt Lake City, 1888-93; president of the University of Utah, 1894-97; and then professor of geology at the U. of U. until 1907, when he resigned to spend full time as a consulting geologist and mining engineer. Next 4
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