I will begin with a doctrine that has been changed by today’s Church to refute all past and future Church doctrine changes. It allows, also, for the changing of any Church policy, though the Church never directly explains what difference a “policy” and a “doctrine” actually have (at least, not consistently.) The Church has claimed that doctrine is the unchanging stuff, the perfect stuff, the stuff straight from God. Policy is just the instruction manual, or the handbook, to build the Doctrinal House. You could change the handbook a little, carefully. You could, say, use four-inch drain pipe instead of three-inch drain pipe. But the Doctrinal House is still basically the same. It still looks the same. Maybe the water flows into the sewer a little easier.
If we’re going to use this “Policy vs Doctrine” fine-print-loophole, we’ve got to make sure of one thing though: the Doctrine House actually has to stay the same! Even basically the same, if we’re planning on giving up a little ground.
Even more, once the House is finished, it’s got to stay finished! A perfect house doesn’t need any renovations. Add-ons aren’t necessary. “Well,” you say. “Nobody ever said it was perfect.” And you’re right! It’s run by men. But it wasn’t created by man. At least, we aren’t supposed to believe that it was. It was created by Jesus. So yes, here and there, we might allow for some minor modifications to a policy, like that of the sacrament being passed, perhaps. “Pass with your right hand, now, boys. Only the right hand.” There’s nothing wicked about that. But the sacrament has to remain the same. The doctrine of it. The reason for it. The people passing it. The people taking it. The blessing. It’s all got to stay the same, because it was put there by the One who never changes!
But, today’s Church has pulled a doctrine from the past, changed it irreversibly, and stuck it right back into the Handbook, a doctrine, which, changed, makes it possible to change all the others. That doctrine says this: the Church wasn’t actually completely restored with Joseph Smith. You thought it was, but you’re wrong. Joseph Smith just got it moving, just pushed the first few dominoes down, and it’s been in a process of restoration ever since. So, any changes that are made aren’t changes to a perfect Church restored completely. They’re just part of an “ongoing restoration.”
The excuse has been made. Joseph’s restoration just wasn’t enough. The Church is still being restored.
“’We’re witnesses to a process of restoration,’ said the prophet [Russell M. Nelson.] ‘If you think the Church has been fully restored, you’re just seeing the beginning. There is much more to come. … Wait till next year. And then the next year. Eat your vitamin pills. Get your rest. It’s going to be exciting.’ [1]
The phrase “ongoing restoration” had never been used by a Prophet or Apostle until 2019. Two hundred years after Joseph Smith’s First Vision, the living Prophet declared, for the first time, that the Restoration wasn’t complete. Since then, it’s been used in General Conference over and over. It’s ubiquitous now.
“If you think the Church has been fully restored, you’re just seeing the beginning.”
Why might we think that? What has given millions of Latter-day Saints, over two hundred years of Church history, the impression that the Church was restored completely?
Once, this was the doctrine. This was the reason to go to Church! You were a Mormon because being a Mormon meant being a part of the “Restored Church!” You weren’t part of a Church that was just okay but getting better, approaching restoration, almost there, in the works. You were a part of Christ’s Church, restored to the Earth!
You didn’t believe this out of nothing. You were told this. Over and over and over again.
In contrast to the phrase “ongoing restoration” being used a few dozen times, and only after 2018, the phrase “has been restored” was used more than 600 times in General Conference, spoken by Prophets and Apostles. “Restored church” has been used nearly 400 times.
John Taylor, the Prophet, spoke of the Church’s restoration “in its fullness.” The meaning was unmistakable. It was all there, every part of it, all of the bits and pieces of the gospel that Jesus Christ put on the Earth.
“As religionists our faith is that God has spoken, and that angels have ministered to men; that the everlasting Gospel has been restored in its fullness, simplicity and purity, as it existed in Jesus’s day. “ [2]
The past Church has gone even further. It was not enough to claim that the gospel was restored. No, they made it clear: Joseph Smith restored Christ’s church. It is important to note that the following information is often the first thing that prospective members learn about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as it resides on the Church’s missionary page.
“In 1820, God and Jesus called a new prophet to restore the true Church. His name was Joseph Smith.”
“God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, told Joseph not to join any of the existing churches. They said that through him, Jesus would eventually restore His original Church. Joseph Smith would become a prophet, just like biblical prophets of old. Over time, he was given the important priesthood authority that had been lost and with it the power to baptize, heal the sick, and call Apostles and other leaders. The restored Church was officially organized on April 6, 1830.”
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Jesus Christ’s restored Church. Jesus is at the head of His Church and actively guides us toward God through a modern-day prophet.” [3]
What, then, should we do, if that modern-day Prophet contradicts all other Prophets (who, it’s important to note, were modern in their respective days?)
The truth is this. Until Russell M. Nelson, the Church was restored. Fully. Completely. Entirely.
I must make this absolutely clear. During the lifespan of the Church, with the exception of a few recent years, all changes made to the Church and its doctrines were changes made to the exact Church that Jesus Christ himself established on the Earth (according to the Church’s own doctrine of its complete restoration.) That perfect thing, that one-true religion, put there by the only perfect one who could do it—just wasn’t perfect enough for the modern Prophets.
It is not correct to justify changes made to Church doctrines by claiming that the Church is still in its stages of restoration, and changes must be made. This is a blatant lie. It’s nothing more than a weak attempt at gaslighting members, an attempt to convince them that the changes are justified, and that the Church is still the Church.
[1] Russell M. Nelson, “Latter-day Saint Prophet, Wife and Apostle Share Insights of Global Ministry,” Newsroom, Oct. 30, 2018, newsroom.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
[2] John Taylor, “Choice of Rulers—Headship—One Man Power—The Yoke of Jesus,” Journal of Discourses 15:29, 1872
[3] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Come Unto Christ, “Jesus’s Restored Church”
