Two Timelines: Succession vs. Apostasy

Pentecost — The Church Is Born

The Holy Spirit descends; Peter preaches; 3,000 baptized. The Church begins with apostolic authority, the Eucharist, and visible structure.

AD 33

LDS Agreement

LDS theology affirms apostolic authority was present. Both timelines begin together.

St. Peter Leads from Rome

Peter establishes the Roman church; martyred under Nero c. AD 64–67. Bishop of Rome inherits Petrine authority.

~AD 64

Deaths of Peter & Paul

LDS narrative: apostolic authority begins to weaken as original Apostles die.

St. Clement of Rome writes to Corinth

Third successor of Peter intervenes in the Corinthian church — exercising Roman primacy while the Apostle John is still alive.

~AD 96

The Didache Composed

Describes bishops, Eucharistic sacrifice, baptism — recognizably Catholic, written within the apostolic generation.

St. Ignatius of Antioch

Writes seven letters en route to martyrdom. Describes bishops, priests, deacons; insists on the Eucharist as Christ's true flesh; names the "Catholic Church."

AD 107

⚠ LDS: "Apostasy Begins"

LDS claim: by this period, total apostasy has set in. Yet Ignatius — a disciple of the Apostles — describes a fully Catholic Church.

St. Justin Martyr

Describes Sunday worship: scripture readings, a homily, prayers, and the Eucharist — "the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh." Identical to the Mass today.

~AD 155

— According to LDS theology, no priesthood authority exists on earth —

St. Irenaeus of Lyon

Lists the unbroken succession of Roman bishops from Peter to his own day — names and dates. Teaches the Eucharist, apostolic tradition, and the authority of the visible Church against Gnostic heresies.

~AD 180

— Total apostasy (LDS claim) —

Council of Nicaea

318 bishops define the divinity of Christ: "true God from true God, consubstantial with the Father." The Nicene Creed. The Church speaks with conciliar authority.

AD 325

— Total apostasy (LDS claim). But these "apostate" bishops defined the Christology that all Christianity — including LDS — inherits.

St. Augustine of Hippo

The greatest theologian of the Latin West. Develops doctrines of grace, original sin, the Trinity, and the visible Church that shape all subsequent Christian thought.

AD 354–430

— Total apostasy (LDS claim) —

Councils of Hippo & Carthage

The biblical canon is formally defined — the very Bible all Christians (including LDS) read was assembled by these "apostate" Catholic bishops.

AD 393–397

— LDS trust a Bible compiled by a Church they claim had no authority to compile it —

St. Benedict & Western Monasticism

Monasteries preserve scripture, scholarship, and civilization through the collapse of Rome. The Church is the anchor of Western culture.

~AD 529

— Total apostasy (LDS claim) —

St. Thomas Aquinas

The Summa Theologiae — the greatest synthesis of faith and reason in human history. Catholic theology reaches its intellectual summit.

AD 1225–1274

— Total apostasy (LDS claim) —

Council of Trent

Defines the sacraments, justification, the canon of Scripture, and the Real Presence with precision. The Catholic Reformation.

AD 1545–1563

— Total apostasy (LDS claim) —

Pope Pius VII governs the universal Church

The 251st successor of St. Peter. An unbroken chain of named, documented bishops from Peter to the present day.

AD 1820

The "First Vision"

Joseph Smith claims God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him in a grove in Palmyra, NY, telling him all churches are wrong. Multiple conflicting accounts exist.

Apostolic Succession Continues

Catholic bishops worldwide continue ordaining priests and celebrating the Eucharist exactly as they have for 1,800 years — uninterrupted.

AD 1829

Priesthood "Restored"

Joseph Smith claims angelic visitations restored the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods. No contemporary witnesses. Details change in later retellings.

First Vatican Council

Defines papal infallibility and the knowability of God through reason. The Church continues to develop doctrine — never contradicting, always deepening.

AD 1870

Polygamy Crisis

Brigham Young's church practices polygamy as doctrine. Federal government intervenes. The practice is officially abandoned in 1890 under political pressure — not new revelation.

Second Vatican Council

The Church engages the modern world while reaffirming all prior doctrine. 2,500+ bishops participate — the largest council in history.

AD 1962–1965

Doctrinal Revisions Continue

LDS Church will reverse the priesthood and temple ban on Black members (1978), revise the temple endowment multiple times, and quietly abandon core doctrines like blood atonement and Adam-God.

Pope Francis — 266th Successor of Peter

The line continues. Every Catholic bishop alive today can trace his ordination, name by name, back through the centuries to the Apostles themselves.

Today

LDS Church — ~195 Years Old

The entire LDS priesthood authority rests on the uncorroborated testimony of one man about a private supernatural event in 1829.