For Latter-day Saints, the history of Christianity between the death of the New Testament apostles and the rise of imperial Christianity under Constantine is more than a set of dusty debates. It is the period in which, as the Restoration teaches, the Church of Jesus Christ fell into a Great Apostasy—a time when divine authority was lost and human philosophies reshaped the gospel.

Catholics, by contrast, see these same centuries as the era in which Christ’s Church preserved the “deposit of faith” and clarified its teachings under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The tension between these two views begins in the second and third centuries.

A Fragmented Christian World

After the deaths of Peter, Paul, John, and the other apostles, Christian communities stretched from Rome to Syria to North Africa.

• No fixed New Testament. Various local churches cherished different writings—Gospels, letters, apocalypses—without an agreed-upon canon.
• Variety of leadership. Some congregations were led by a single bishop, others by a council of elders or traveling prophets.
• Doctrinal fluidity. Competing interpretations of Jesus’ divinity, the nature of God, and salvation abounded. Gnostic groups, Jewish-Christian sects, and charismatic movements such as Montanism all claimed to represent authentic Christianity.

For Latter-day Saints, this diversity is not merely the healthy growth of a young religion; it signals the loss of unified apostolic authority. Without living prophets to receive revelation, Christians relied on debate and philosophy to settle questions once answered by inspired leaders.

Early Voices and Competing Claims

Writers later known as the Apostolic Fathers—Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp, and others—attempted to defend and organize the faith. Their letters contain elements that resonate with both Catholics and Latter-day Saints:

• Continuing revelation. The Shepherd of Hermas (2nd century) speaks of visions and angelic guidance, echoing the LDS belief in ongoing prophetic communication.
• Authority and succession. Ignatius emphasizes obedience to local bishops, which Catholics see as the seed of episcopal hierarchy but which Latter-day Saints view as an administrative response to the absence of apostles.
• Warnings of apostasy. Clement and others lament schisms and false teachers, consistent with LDS teachings that corruption entered soon after the apostles’ deaths.

The Road to Nicene Christianity

By the mid-third century, a “proto-orthodox” coalition of bishops worked to standardize doctrine and practice. Councils met to settle disputes, and philosophers like Origen employed Greek metaphysics to explain Christian theology.
When Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in the early fourth century, this emerging mainstream gained imperial support and convened the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) to define the nature of Christ.

Catholics celebrate this as the Church, guided by the Spirit, clarifying the faith. Latter-day Saints see it differently: the very need for philosophical councils and imperial sponsorship reveals that the original priesthood authority and revelatory leadership had already been lost.

Why Catholics and Latter-day Saints Disagree

• Catholic View: Christ promised that His Church would endure (Matthew 16:18). The bishops of Rome and other sees preserved apostolic teaching, and the Holy Spirit protected core doctrine through councils and creeds.
• LDS View: Christ’s original Church was taken from the earth because of widespread apostasy. While sincere believers preserved many truths and sacred texts, the priesthood authority to receive binding revelation disappeared until it was restored through Joseph Smith.

Both perspectives acknowledge the same historical data—early councils, church fathers, doctrinal disputes—but interpret their significance differently. For Catholics, development proves divine guidance; for Latter-day Saints, it proves the need for a Restoration.

Conclusion

The second and third centuries were not merely a prelude to Constantine; they were the crucible in which Christianity’s many voices struggled to define themselves.

Catholics see the Spirit ensuring unity. Latter-day Saints see the absence of living prophets leading to fragmentation and the eventual necessity of a modern restoration of priesthood authority and Christ’s original Church.