Why do Mormons consider "restitution of all things" in Acts 3:21 a restoration of the Church?

Question

I don't get why Mormons interpret this verse as Peter's prophesy about the restoration of the real Church through the prophet Josef Smith. It doesn't say "restoration of the Church", but it says "restoration of all things". One can say that the Church is included in "all things", but then the question rises: why then we see the restored Church (LDS) today, but not all the other things in the universe? Again, one may say that "until the restoration of all things" may mean "until the beginning of restoration of all things" and that this restoration will begin with the Church, but then the question rises: what about the words right before that ("Jesus, whom heaven must indeed receive until the restoration of all things")? It says that Jesus will be in the heaven until the restoration of all things, which means that He will come back - or at least will not be in the heaven anymore - when the restoration of all things begins. If so, why then Mormons say that Christ is still in the heaven?

Answer 1

I have grown up in the LDS church and never once heard that verse used to describe the need for the restoration. There are other verses that talk about a falling away (2 Thes 2:3) that is interpreted as an apostasy. However, the truth lies in the fact the God's power was taken from the earth as the early saints were persecuted, scattered and killed. This led to variations and distortions of the doctrine that developed from not having sufficient leadership or communication. Think about even when the apostles were still alive and trying to run the church in various places. Even in the Bible they mention local leaders not listening to the leaders of the church. The Catholic doctrines come mainly from council hundreds of years later which tried to reconcile the various beliefs of Christians. Although they had good intentions and gave a valiant effort, these men could only rely on their knowledge, thus they did not come up with a pure doctrine.

The restored gospel came from God through a prophet, thus keeping it pure. That is why the restoration was necessary.

Answer 2

The restitution, or restoration of all things are those gospel essentials that were lost through the ages of translations, omissions, or purposeful deletions. Some of the gospel essentials are:

1. The mode of baptism and for whom it is required to attain exaltation.
2. Ordinances performed in the temples of the Lord for those passed beyond.
3. The restoration of the keys of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods.

You've had some superb answers given thus far. The Lord Jesus Christ sits now at the right of the Father, but He does visit the temples built for Him--those 124 holy places built by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

If the interpretations of Acts 3: 21 are bothersome as you say they are for you, then simply admit that you don't go along with what the verse says. That is your right. It is what it is.

Answer 3

"Jesus, whom heaven must indeed receive until the restoration of all things" simply states that the Second Coming of Christ shall not occur before the "restoration of all things." He is still gathering his elect from the four corners of the earth. He is still working through his mortal servants in His Church. The restoration has much more to do than with the actual physical organization called the Church. It also has to do with the restoration of the Gospel: the pure unadulterated gospel as taught by Jesus Christ.

"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,..." (Revelation 14:6.)

If the Gospel was never lost from the earth... then why did God send ANOTHER angel to fly in the midst of heaven to preach the everlasting gospel? Because there was an apostasy. And the angel in the above passage is representative of a composite of angelic messangers restoring the everlasting Gospel and the Keys of the Kingdom to the earth. The angel represents, Moroni, John the Baptist, Peter, James, and John, Elias, Elijah, and other angelic messangers that restored precious things to the earth in these latter-days.

Scriptural evidence of the Apostasy of the Early Christian Church can be found in reference (1).

Scriptural evidence of the eventual Restoration of the Gospel and the Church in latter days can be found in reference (2).

Answer 4

You are right in your assumption that Jesus will be in heaven until the Restoration of all things. When the restoration began, Jesus appeared to Joseph Smith alongside God the Father. So in a very real sense, Jesus was in Heaven until the restoration began. Jesus did come to the earth as the restoration was now getting underway.

Answer 5

I am afraid to say that you are mistaken in your statement. That passage refers to Jesus Christ not Joseph Smith for my proof of this follow this link http://scriptures.lds.org/en/acts/3 and read the text written in italics at the top of the page that same text is found in every copy of the Bible that the church publishes. To make sure that I am perfectly clear about what I am talking about I will quote it here. "He names Christ as the prophet of whom Moses spoke."

However if you want scriptures on the apostasy and the restoration then I can help you with that as well.

The following link will take you to a section of scriptures out of the King James version of the Bible that we believe talk about the Apostasy of the early Christian church
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/tg/a/130 (there are some passages at the bottom that refer to Latter-day Saint scripture but the top is all from the Bible)

The following is a link that leads to passages from the scriptures that talk about the restoration of Christ's church on the Earth
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/tg/r/109
We do NOT believe that all of these talk about Joseph Smith. We just believe that they talk about the restoration of the Gospel.

Answer 6

As a Mormon, we've no longer something against Jehovah's Witnesses, if that what you recommend. We in simple terms have distinctive evaluations. in simple terms because of the fact we expect of that we are the only actual faith does not recommend that different religions are thoroughly fake- we've self assurance the comparable issues as many different religions, we in simple terms have self assurance that our church is composed of each little thing it relatively is actual, and does not incorporate any falsehood- as we've self assurance that some religions have actual key techniques, some do no longer incorporate the entire actuality, ect. The Mormons have 13 verses interior the e book of Mormon that state their ideals- and variety eleven states: eleven. We declare the privilege of worshiping the Almighty God in accordance to the dictates of our very own wide awake, and we enable all adult men the comparable privilege, enable them to worship how, the place, or what they could. in assessment to the anti-Mormons, we've self assurance that that is as much as a man or woman to be sure what faith we are, or the place we worship, or what they worship, and that is none of our corporation to criticize or intrude with that.

Answer 7

Mormons always interpret the Bible wrongly.

As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, unto their own destruction.
II Peter 3:16
King James Version

Answer 8

Because they misinterpret the verse. But that is just one verse they misinterpret,.Pray for them. They are blind, yet don't know it. It's sad because they are hard-working, innocent,devout people.