# Did the Church Fall Into Apostasy? > Latter-day Saints teach a Great Apostasy after the Apostles, restored through Joseph Smith in 1820. Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Christ freed his people from Babylon the Great in 1919. Matthew 16:18 says the gates of hell shall not prevail. - Canonical: https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/did-the-church-fall-into-apostasy - Religions: Christianity, Jehovah's Witnesses, Latter-day Saints - Denominations: none - Beliefs: none - Tags: apostasy, restoration, church - Updated: 2026-10-13 - Author: [Paul Ambrose](https://apologetics.wiki/author/hi-its-paul) ([GitHub](https://github.com/hi-its-paul)) Latter-day Saints teach that after the Apostles died, men corrupted the gospel and the priesthood was withdrawn, until the Father and the Son appeared to Joseph Smith in 1820. Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Christ freed his people from captivity to Babylon the Great in 1919 and appointed the faithful and discreet slave. [Matthew 16:18](/bible/matthew/16/18) [(5)](#ref-5) says the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church Jesus builds. Jesus is God. Real corruption in the churches is not the same claim as a vanished gospel. ## Key Points - [Gospel Topics, Apostasy](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/apostasy?lang=eng) [(1)](#ref-1) says that after the Savior and the Apostles, men corrupted the gospel and the ordinances, and the Lord withdrew the priesthood until 1820. - The same page calls this “restored,” not “reformed,” Christianity, and says parts of the scriptures were corrupted or lost. It also says the restored church will not be destroyed again. - [Joseph Smith—History 1:19](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/js-h/1?lang=eng&id=19) [(2)](#ref-2) says he was told to join none of the churches, for they were all wrong, and that their creeds were an abomination. - [Why 1919?](https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/pure-worship/teaching-boxes/why-1919/) [(3)](#ref-3) says the years 1914 to early 1919 were a test, and that in 1919 Christ freed his people and appointed the faithful and discreet slave. - The [New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) of Matthew 16:18](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/matthew/16/#v40016018) [(4)](#ref-4) says the gates of the Grave will not overpower the congregation. [Matthew 16:18](/bible/matthew/16/18) [(5)](#ref-5) in the King James says the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. - [Matthew 28:20](/bible/matthew/28/20) [(5)](#ref-5) says Jesus is with his disciples alway, even unto the end of the world. [Jude 3](/bible/jude/1/3) [(7)](#ref-7) speaks of the faith once delivered to the saints. ## What Latter-day Saints Call the Great Apostasy [Gospel Topics, Apostasy](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/apostasy?lang=eng) [(1)](#ref-1) defines apostasy as turning away from the principles of the gospel. The Great Apostasy is the example it gives: > When individuals or groups of people turn away from the principles of the gospel, they are in a state of apostasy. One example is the Great Apostasy, which occurred after the Savior established His Church. After the deaths of the Savior and His Apostles, men corrupted the principles of the gospel and made unauthorized changes in Church organization and priesthood ordinances. Because of this widespread apostasy, the Lord withdrew the authority of the priesthood from the earth. This apostasy lasted until Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son appeared to Joseph Smith in 1820 and initiated the Restoration of the fulness of the gospel. The page says the priesthood was conferred on Joseph Smith by the ministering of angels, and that this is “restored,” not “reformed,” Christianity. Converts, it says, did not think they were leaving Christianity. They were joining what they believe is a more complete church. During the apostasy, it says, people were without direction from living prophets. Many churches were established, but they did not have priesthood power. “Parts of the holy scriptures were corrupted or lost,” and no one had authority to confer the gift of the Holy Ghost. The page then says the gospel has been restored, and that this church will not be overcome by a general apostasy. It cites Doctrine and Covenants 138:44 and Daniel 2:44 for that claim. Verse 44 names Daniel, who foresaw the kingdom of God in the latter days, never again to be destroyed nor given to another people. Personal apostasy, it says, is still a danger for a member. [Joseph Smith—History 1:19](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/js-h/1?lang=eng&id=19) [(2)](#ref-2) is the 1820 vision in his own account. He was told to join none of the churches, “for they were all wrong,” and the Personage who addressed him “said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight.” [Joseph Smith and Revelation](/latter-day-saints/joseph-smith-and-revelation) is that history on this site. [Do Mormons Believe God Was Once a Man?](/latter-day-saints/do-mormons-believe-god-was-once-a-man) is one teaching that restoration is asked to carry. The concession is on the page’s own terms. Churches have divided, and clergy have taught what the New Testament does not teach. Division and error are in the record. The page’s claim is stronger than that. It says the priesthood left the earth, the fulness of the gospel was gone, and scripture was corrupted or lost, until 1820. ## What Jehovah’s Witnesses Say Was Restored [Why 1919?](https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/pure-worship/teaching-boxes/why-1919/) [(3)](#ref-3) asks why God’s people were freed from Babylon the Great in that year. It says Jesus began reigning in 1914, and that he did not immediately free his servants or appoint the faithful and discreet slave in 1914. The years 1914 to early 1919 were a test. Many were disappointed when the end did not come in 1914. Charles Taze Russell died in 1916. Divisions followed in 1917. In 1918 Joseph F. Rutherford and seven associates were imprisoned, and the Brooklyn headquarters closed. The page then says that in 1919 Rutherford was released, a convention was planned, *The Golden Age* (now *Awake!*) was started, and the preaching work was organized. Its conclusion is: > Clearly, Christ had freed his people from captivity to Babylon the Great. He had appointed his faithful and discreet slave. [Who Is the Faithful and Discreet Slave?](/jehovahs-witnesses/who-is-the-faithful-and-discreet-slave) is that appointment in their reading of Matthew 24:45. [What Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe?](/jehovahs-witnesses/what-do-jehovahs-witnesses-believe) is the wider account, including 1914. The page treats 1919 as the end of a captivity, not as the first moment the gospel had ever been on earth. The practical claim is still that Christendom had held God’s people, and that the slave who explains the Bible was appointed then. ## The Congregation and the Gates of the Grave The [New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) of Matthew 16:18](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/matthew/16/#v40016018) [(4)](#ref-4) says Jesus will build his congregation, “and the gates of the Grave will not overpower it.” [Matthew 16:18](/bible/matthew/16/18) [(5)](#ref-5) in the King James says, “upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Their study note reads the gates as death, which will not permanently restrain the congregation, because of the resurrection. The sentence is still a promise about the congregation he builds. It is not a blank between the Apostles and a later restoration. [Matthew 28:20](/bible/matthew/28/20) [(5)](#ref-5) says he is with them alway, even unto the end of the world. [Ephesians 2:20](/bible/ephesians/2/20) [(6)](#ref-6) says the household of God is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone. [Jude 3](/bible/jude/1/3) [(7)](#ref-7) says to contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. Once delivered is not withdrawn and returned in 1820 or 1919. [What Happened at the Council of Nicaea?](/christianity/council-of-nicaea) is the fourth-century council that confessed the Son as God, of one being with the Father. [The Trinity](/christianity/the-trinity) is that confession. A council can fail a later reader and still be a council of the church Jesus said he would build. Jesus is God. The gospel that says so did not have to be restored in order to be true. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Did the Church Disappear After the Apostles? Gospel Topics says the priesthood was withdrawn and the fulness of the gospel waited until 1820. [Matthew 16:18](/bible/matthew/16/18) [(5)](#ref-5) says the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. [Matthew 28:20](/bible/matthew/28/20) [(5)](#ref-5) says Jesus remains with his disciples to the end of the world. ### What Did Joseph Smith Say About the Churches? [Joseph Smith—History 1:19](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/js-h/1?lang=eng&id=19) [(2)](#ref-2) says they were all wrong, and that their creeds were an abomination in his sight. That is his account of the 1820 answer. It is the claim the Nicene confession declines. ### When Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Say Christendom Was Left? [Why 1919?](https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/pure-worship/teaching-boxes/why-1919/) [(3)](#ref-3) says Christ freed his people from Babylon the Great in 1919 and appointed the faithful and discreet slave. The page dates the test from 1914, not from the death of the Apostles. ## Keep Reading - [What Happened at the Council of Nicaea?](/christianity/council-of-nicaea) - [The Trinity](/christianity/the-trinity) - [Joseph Smith and Revelation](/latter-day-saints/joseph-smith-and-revelation) - [Who Is the Faithful and Discreet Slave?](/jehovahs-witnesses/who-is-the-faithful-and-discreet-slave) - [What Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe?](/jehovahs-witnesses/what-do-jehovahs-witnesses-believe) - [Do Mormons Believe God Was Once a Man?](/latter-day-saints/do-mormons-believe-god-was-once-a-man) ## Passages Quoted on This Page ### Matthew 16:18 King James Version. > And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. ### Joseph Smith—History 1:19 English, churchofjesuschrist.org. [Open on churchofjesuschrist.org](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/js-h/1?lang=eng&id=19) > I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.” ### Matthew 16:18 New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible). [Open on jw.org](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/matthew/16/#v40016018) > Also, I say to you: You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my congregation, and the gates of the Grave will not overpower it. ### Matthew 28:20 King James Version. > Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. ### Jude 1:3 King James Version. > Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. ### Ephesians 2:20 King James Version. > And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; ## Sources Numbered to match the HTML References list. Item 1 is `#ref-1` under `#references`. Scripture links to the King James Version on this site. 1. [Gospel Topics, Apostasy](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/apostasy?lang=eng) (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Great Apostasy, and the Restoration begun in 1820.) 2. [Joseph Smith—History, 1:19](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/js-h/1?lang=eng&id=19) (Pearl of Great Price. The churches were all wrong, and their creeds an abomination.) 3. [Why 1919?](https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/pure-worship/teaching-boxes/why-1919/) (Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, Pure Worship of Jehovah. Christ appointed the faithful and discreet slave in 1919.) 4. [New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible), Matthew 16:18](https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/matthew/16/#v40016018) (2013 edition. The gates of the Grave will not overpower the congregation.) 5. [Gospel of Matthew, 16:18; 28:20](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/matthew/16/18). King James Version 6. [Letter to the Ephesians, 2:20](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/ephesians/2/20). King James Version 7. [Letter of Jude, 1:3](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/jude/1/3). King James Version 8. [Doctrine and Covenants, 138:44](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/138?lang=eng&id=44) (The church’s Gospel Topics page cites this verse for the claim that the church will not be destroyed again.) ## See Also - [Is Jesus God?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/is-jesus-god) — Yes. Jesus is truly God and truly human. Where Jesus claimed to be God is this page: he forgave sins, applied God’s name and honor to himself, and received Thomas’s confession that he is Lord and God. - [The Trinity](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/the-trinity) — Christians confess that the one God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: not three gods, and not one person taking turns. - [What Is the Deity of Christ?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/deity-of-christ) — The deity of Christ is the confession that Jesus is truly God and truly human. This page maps how Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Latter-day Saints, and atheists hear that claim. The verses are on the passage page. - [When Was Christianity Created?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/when-was-christianity-created) — Acts places the Spirit on the disciples at Pentecost in Jerusalem, and the name Christian at Antioch. Jesus is the one that church confesses. The Council of Nicaea in 325 does not found it. - [Who Started the Catholic Church?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/who-started-the-catholic-church) — The Catechism says Jesus inaugurated the Church and made Peter its rock. Westminster says Christ is the only head and the pope cannot be head. The fetched texts do not say Constantine founded it.