The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Restorationism=== {{main|Restoration (Latter Day Saints)}} [[File:Joseph Smith first vision stained glass.jpg|upright|thumb|Adherents believe that [[Joseph Smith]] was called to be a modern-day prophet through a [[First Vision|visitation]] from [[God the Father]] and [[Jesus|Jesus Christ]].|right]] The LDS Church teaches that, subsequent to the death of Jesus and his original apostles, his church, along with the authority to act in Jesus Christ's name and the church's attendant spiritual gifts, were [[Great Apostasy#Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|lost]], due to a combination of external persecutions and internal heresies.<ref name=PMG>{{cite book|title=Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Missionary Service|publisher= [[LDS Church]]|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/bc/content/shared/content/english/pdf/language-materials/36617_eng.pdf|access-date=May 14, 2021|archive-date=March 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310070216/https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/bc/content/shared/content/english/pdf/language-materials/36617_eng.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|33}} The restoration—as represented by the church began by Joseph Smith—refers to a return of the authentic priesthood power, [[Gifts of the Spirit in Mormonism|spiritual gifts]], ordinances, living [[Prophet, seer, and revelator|prophets]] and revelation of the [[Early Christianity|primitive]] Church of Christ.<ref>{{Cite web |title=American Prophet, The Church: Beliefs and Doctrines |url=https://www.pbs.org/americanprophet/core-beliefs.html |access-date=June 30, 2023 |website=[[PBS]]}}</ref><ref name="Early Christ Quest">{{cite news|last1=Shipps|first1=Jan|editor1-last=Hughes|editor1-first=Richard T.|date=1988|title=The Reality of the Restoration and the Restoration Ideal in the Mormon Tradition|work=The American Quest for the Primitive Church|publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]] |location= Champaign, Illinois|isbn= 978-0-252-06029-8|url= https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/76agz7nq9780252060298.html |pages=181–195|access-date=April 16, 2021|archive-date=April 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416192825/https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/76agz7nq9780252060298.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This restoration is associated with a number of events which are understood to have been necessary to re-establish the early Christian church found in the [[New Testament]], and to prepare the earth for the [[Second Coming (LDS Church)|Second Coming]] of Jesus.<ref>{{cite book|last=Russell |first=Thomas A. |date=2010 |title=Comparative Christianity: A Student's Guide to a Religion and Its Diverse Traditions |location=Irvine, California |publisher= [[Universal Publishers (United States)|Universal Publishers]]| quote=Mormon Restorationism is the largest indigenous religious movement found in North America. Among its member churches are the approximately 100 or so groups that trace their roots |chapter=Joseph Smith, Jr. and Mormon Restorationism| page=151 |isbn=978-1-59942-877-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FmMarHDbglgC |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> In particular, Latter-day Saints believe that angels appeared to Joseph Smith and a limited number of his associates, and bestowed various priesthood authorities on them. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page