Apostolic Succession

I'm giving a lesson in Sunday School today about the apostolic succession of leadership in the LDS Church following the martyrdom of Joseph Smith. Since we teach that our system of leadership (apostles, etc.) is patterned after Christ's original church, it is important to make the connection of apostolic succession in modern times to those of ancient times, and since we teach that Joseph Smith restored the priesthood which was lost to the world after Christ's apostles died, we must ask what happened to the original apostolic succession?

Well, saying that the priesthood was "lost" when the apostles died is not quite accurate. It was really  more complicated than that.

The apostles, it is true, did not ordain new apostles (after adding Paul to their numbers), but they did ordain bishops to lead local congregations or churches in their absence with the intent that these bishops would continue to ordain new bishops in their stead. The Roman Catholic Church as well as the Orthodox and some Lutheran churches claim that this succession has continued down through time in an unbroken chain.

The LDS Church and many other churches and historians disagree. There is plenty of evidence to support the claim that the original apostolic succession of church leadership through its bishops has been broken on many fronts.  Here is a good article that explains some of this evidence: http://www.northforest.org/CatholicControversies/SuccessionBroken.html

If indeed the apostolic succession from the original apostles to today was broken, then Joseph Smith was right in believing that the priesthood authority needed to be restored on earth before the Church could move forward.

As the President of the Church (like the apostle Peter before him), Joseph Smith held all the keys of authority of the Church. He was smart in that he anticipated his own death, and in 1843-1844 he bestowed the keys of authority to the Twelve Apostles. So, when Joseph died in 1844, the authority to lead the Church passed to the Twelve Apostles who, in 1847, selected Brigham Young as Joseph's successor as President.

This process of succession has continued in the LDS Church until the present day and will continue as long as the Church exists.