The Church Jesus Christ Established

Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

— Matthew 16:18

One Church — Not Many

One unified body with one foundation, one authority, and one set of ordinances.

There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism.

— Ephesians 4:4–5

Paul makes the singularity unmistakable. The existence of 45,000+ competing Christian denominations today is not the fulfillment of Christ’s design — it is evidence of its disruption.

How Christ Organized His Church

Christ did not gather followers and tell them to read a book. He organized a specific institutional structure with specific people holding specific authority:

The Twelve Apostles

Called by name. Ordained personally by Christ. Given specific keys and authority.

And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils.

— Mark 3:14–15

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you.

— John 15:16

This ordination was not symbolic. It was a real conferral of real authority — the power to act in God’s name.

The Seventy

Beyond the Twelve, Christ called and organized the Seventy:

After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place.

— Luke 10:1

This office — the Seventy — exists today in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a General Authority quorum. It is absent from every other Christian denomination.

The Complete Organizational Blueprint

Paul describes the full structure:

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith.

— Ephesians 4:11–13

Three critical observations:

1. Apostles are listed first— they hold the highest keys
2. The purpose is unity of faith— a unity that does not exist among 45,000 denominations
3. It continues “till”— meaning these offices are needed until unity is achieved. Since unity has not been achieved, the offices are still needed.

Bishops, Elders, and Deacons

The New Testament describes additional offices:

For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God.

— Titus 1:7

Ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee.

— Titus 1:5

Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued.

— 1 Timothy 3:8

Every one of these offices exists in the restored church today. Most Protestant denominations have eliminated or redefined them.

The Cornerstone

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.

— Ephesians 2:19–20

The Law of Witnesses

Christ established a governing principle for how truth is confirmed:

In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

— 2 Corinthians 13:1

One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin… at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

— Deuteronomy 19:15

This principle — established in the Law of Moses and reaffirmed by Paul — explains one of the most important purposes of the Book of Mormon. The Bible is the first witness of Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon is the second. Together, by the law Christ himself established, they constitute a legally sufficient testimony.

Revelation as the Foundation of Knowledge

When Peter testified that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, Christ’s response revealed how divine knowledge actually works:

Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.

— Matthew 16:17–18

What Christ’s Church Looks Like

Based purely on the New Testament, the true church of Jesus Christ must have:

*See Chapter 10 for discussion of Revelation 22:18 and its proper context.

Every one of these elements exists in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. No other church on earth claims all of them.

The Question That Eliminates Most Claimants

The Catholic Church claims apostolic succession — but the historical chain is documented to be incomplete and disputed in the first two centuries. The Eastern Orthodox Church makes the same claim with the same problem. Protestant denominations do not even attempt this claim. Most acknowledge they cannot trace authority back to Christ.

Only one church answers this question differently — not by claiming an unbroken human chain, but by claiming the authority was restored directly from heaven by resurrected beings. That claim is either the most important truth in the modern world, or the most audacious fraud. The evidence presented in this study makes the case that it is the former.