Conditions of Apostasy

     Throughout the scriptures, we find many times when the children of God had lost the true gospel of Jesus Christ and fallen into a state of apostasy.  Sometimes this was done willfully, as with the Sadducees and pharisees at the time Jesus came to walk upon the earth with mortal men.  Sometimes it was done unintentionally, as with many of the people at the time of Noah and the flood.  Whatever the case, it happened many times throughout the history of the world as recorded in the Holy Bible.
     Some of these times include the time of Noah, the time of Abraham, the time of Isaiah, the time of Jeremiah and his contemporaries, and the time of Malachi in the Old Testament.  In the New Testament, Christ comes to Israel when many had fallen into apostasy and few followed His gospel.  He restored the truth of His gospel while walking among the children of men.
     The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, also demonstrates this condition.  The majority of the population of the world fell into this state of apostasy at the time of the Tower of Babel.  Because of this, Jared and his family were separated from the rest of the people because they were faithful to God, continuing to have faith and hope in their Redeemer. 
     Many generations later, the descendants of Jared and his family also fell into a state of apostasy.  Their apostate condition became so severe that Heavenly Father withdrew His Spirit from among them.  The entire nation was destroyed in war as Lucifer, the great destroyer, fed upon their lusts for power.
     The Nephites and Lamanites, who inhabited the American continents after the Jaredites, came to America because of apostate conditions in Israel that would have resulted in the death of Lehi, the father of these two great nations.  The Lamanite nation fell into a state of apostasy from almost the moment they came to America, and most of their history is lived in this condition. 
     The Nephites, on the other hand had the gospel of Jesus Christ through much of their existence.  They fell into apostasy many times throughout their history, but would return with either the call of the prophets, or the call of death and destruction, depending on their level of resistance.  Ultimately, however, both nations fell into a state of apostasy that resulted in the destruction of the Nephites and the loss of the gospel light in the lives of the Lamanites.
     As we study these many occasions of apostasy, we find one common response the Lord made.  In every instance, the Lord sent prophets to testify to the people of the true gospel of Jesus Christ.  If the people heeded the call of the Lord's prophets, they came back to His ways and were spared from destruction.  Study the life of King Hezekiah in the book of Isaiah to learn of this.  So prophets were always the first response to apostasy.  And as long as the people were righteous these prophets were present to help keep them on the path of God.
     However, when the people became so wicked that they rejected the prophets, the Lord would allow death and destruction to fall upon them.  Sometimes He would even withdraw His prophets from among them because of the magnitude of their apostate condition.  If this was the case, He would allow them to suffer in apostasy until they had become humble enough for His truth to be restored.  He would then send prophets again to bring the people back to the truth through their testimony.
     So, by studying the apostasies of the scriptures, we can learn that God taught His gospel to the people through prophets in order to call them back to Him.  In my next blog entry, I will focus on what members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recognize as the great apostasy.