The Great Apostasy - The Story and Philosophy of Mormonism

The Great Apostasy

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly known as the Mormon Church) claims the restoration of the gospel and the re-establishment 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.


The Story and Philosophy of Mormonism

The Story of “Mormonism” as presented in the following pages is a revised and reconstructed version of lectures delivered by Dr. James E. Talmage at the University of Michigan, Cornell University, and elsewhere. The “Story” first appeared in print as a lecture report in the Improvement Era, and was afterward issued as a booklet from the office of the Millennial Star, Liverpool. In 1910 it was issued in a revised form by the Bureau of Information at Salt Lake City, in which edition the lecture style of direct address was changed to the ordinary form of essay. The present or third American edition has been revised and amplified by the author.

The “Story” has been translated and published abroad. Already versions have appeared in Swedish, modern Greek, and Russian. 

The subject matter of The Philosophy of “Mormonism” was first presented as a lecture delivered by Dr. Talmage before the Philosophical Society of Denver. It appeared later in the columns of the Improvement Era, and translations have been published in pamphlet form in the Danish and German languages.

The present publication of these two productions is made in response to a steady demand.

Salt Lake City, Utah,
March, 1914.