Restoration and apostasy are constants; one or the other is underway at all times. There is never stasis for Christ’s gospel. Apostasy loses, deducts, and subtracts truth. That process of losing light changes truth to error. To prevent salvation, it is not necessary for religion to become utterly corrupt; it is only necessary to change the ordinances and break the covenant.

Restoration removes errors, recovers lost truths, and returns a connection to heaven. In apostasy, God’s voice is quiet as men who pretend to speak for God multiply. In restoration, God speaks again. Whenever restoration is underway, there are new additions to scripture, recovered ordinances, and active expansion of mankind’s understanding of God.

The objective of restoration is to create covenant people; it is not just to help believers become born again, but to go beyond that to reconnect them to the family of God. There are Christian ordinances that go beyond faith, repentance, and baptism; these must be restored in their complete vigor and value.

Restoration always fulfills prophecy. There was a restoration when Joseph Smith was alive; it recovered a great deal of what had been lost. However, it did not complete the required work to fulfill all the prophecies and promises of Christ to the fathers. The final restoration Christ foretold will occur in a single generation prior to his return in glory.

Joseph Smith restored but also prophesied the failure of his effort and the rejection by the Gentiles of the fullness of the restoration. The Gentiles have rejected the fullness, and each generation since Joseph Smith’s death has rejected ever more of the restoration. The leaders of various Mormon factions have actively rejected increasingly greater parts of what God began through Joseph.

Restoration and salvation go hand in hand, but restoration requires the Lord to send his messenger to deliver his words. Without a messenger delivering the Lord’s message, his sheep cannot hear his voice. There is a lot of work still necessary to be done by God’s people; that work is now underway, and his voice can be heard.

In September 2017, in Boise, Idaho, a conference of believers accepted a new covenant and became the first people since the restoration began in Joseph Smith’s day to accept the Book of Mormon as the covenant. The people who accepted that covenant are now publishing new scripture, adding to the body of Christian teachings, and accepting more of Christ’s gospel.

They understand that as long as they remain faithful, God will continue to endow them with greater understanding. Anyone can receive the blessings that only come from hearing and heeding the Master’s voice. A new dispensation requires a new baptism. Baptism is available for all who have faith and repent.

In the past, God’s active voice is replaced by institutions that quickly fall into inevitable corruption. We avoid that; we do not have an institution, only shared beliefs and ordinances that unite our hearts. You can belong to or fellowship with any group you choose because baptism is offered freely to all. We pay no ministers, and therefore, profiting from preaching has ended among us.

If you believe in Christ and acknowledge Him as the Son of God who taught truth and died to save mankind from sin and death, then you should act on that by being baptized in His name. His doctrine is simple: believe in Him, repent of your sins, be baptized for the remission of your sins, and He will send the Holy Ghost to guide you.

Christ’s restoration is underway to prepare people for His return in glory. You can and should be restored to His household of faith, so you will be ready for His return.