The Great Apostasy Quotes

“We affirm that with the passing of the so-called apostolic age the Church gradually drifted into a condition of apostasy, whereby succession in the priesthood was broken; and that the Church, as an earthly organization operating under divine direction and having authority to officiate in spiritual ordinances, ceased to exist.”
― James E. Talmage, The Great Apostasy, Considered in the Light of Scriptural and Secular History (Annotated): Enriched Edition. Latter-day Saint Perspectives on Primitive Christianity and Restoration

“As the members increased, it was found impracticable for the apostles to devote the necessary attention and time to these temporal matters, so they called upon the members to select seven men of honest report, whom the apostles would appoint to take special charge of these affairs. These men were set apart by prayer and by the laying on of hands.—(Acts 6:1–7.)”
― James E. Talmage, The Great Apostasy, Considered in the Light of Scriptural and Secular History (Annotated): Enriched Edition. Latter-day Saint Perspectives on Primitive Christianity and Restoration