One of the most compelling reasons I rejected the LDS idea of a Great Apostasy boils down to a simple question:
If the apostles died without successors and priesthood authority was lost, why don’t early Christians express alarm or lament?
It very much strikes me as a dog that didn’t bark.
The phrase “the dog that didn’t bark” comes from a Sherlock Holmes story, where Holmes points out an expected event not happening—a dog not barking—was actually a crucial clue.
In like manner, I believe that early Christians’ silence about the loss of apostles is itself a significant piece of evidence that challenges the LDS idea of a Great Apostasy.
A Thought Experiment: The Loss of LDS Apostles
Imagine for a moment if every living LDS apostle died suddenly without replacement. No new ones are called. Five years go by. Ten. General Conference continues, with talks given by 70s and other auxiliary leaders, but there are no new apostles sustained, no prophet leading the Church.
Eventually, the Quorum of the Twelve is simply referred to in the past tense. The Church carries on, but the structure Latter-day Saints believe to be essential—the prophetic and apostolic leadership—has vanished.
Wouldn’t there be widespread concern?
We would expect urgent discussion, widespread concern, and numerous talks, letters, and records reflecting grief over the loss of God’s appointed leaders
Members would be asking loudly: Where are God’s anointed ones? Where are the keys?
That’s why it’s so shocking and revealing that we do not see that kind of reaction in the Early Christian Church.
What LDS Leaders Say About the Loss of the Apostles
To understand why this silence in early Christianity is so telling, consider what LDS leaders say about the loss of apostles:
James E. Talmage, LDS Apostle and theologian:
We affirm that with the passing of the apostolic period the Church drifted into a condition of apostasy, whereby succession in the Holy 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 among men.: (The Vitality of Mormonism, pp. 109-110).
Boyd K. Packer, LDS Apostle:
“The most precious thing lost in the Apostasy was the authority held by the Twelve—the priesthood keys. For the Church to be His Church, there must be a Quorum of the Twelve who hold the keys and confer them on others.” The Twelve, General Conference April 2008,
According to LDS theology, the death of the apostles wasn’t just the end of an era — it was the loss of the most precious blessings of God and indeed even the end of Christ’s Church on earth.
But Early Christians Didn’t See It That Way
If this view were true, we would expect early Christian writings to reflect panic, mourning, or theological reorganization in the wake of apostolic deaths. We would expect believers to grieve the loss of priesthood keys. We’d expect letters and sermons calling for restoration, or at least reflecting a sense of tragic loss
But that’s not what we find.
We find no alarm over the absence of apostles.
No grief over lost priesthood.
No hint that the Church itself had ceased to exist.
Instead, we find confidence that the apostolic teaching remained alive in the churches, and that Christ was still building and preserving His body through the Word, the Spirit, and the faithful witness of His people.
John the Apostle
If the death of the apostles signaled a spiritual catastrophe, as LDS leaders claim, then the most obvious person to raise the alarm would have been John the Revelator — the final living apostle.
John lived longer than the rest of the Twelve, writing the Book of Revelation near the end of the first century. If priesthood succession and continual apostleship were vital to the survival of Christ’s Church, this would be the perfect time to say so and perhaps to call for the ordination of new apostles to replace those who had been martyred. But what do we see?
Silence.
In Revelation, John addresses churches with spiritual challenges—some are faithful, others have become seriously worldly and compromised. He calls them to repentance and perseverance. He exhorts them to hold fast to what they have received. But he never laments the absence of new apostles, nor does he instruct the churches to replace the apostolic office.
Even more striking: Revelation gives us vivid warnings about false teachers, people who falsely claim to be apostles (Rev 2:2), persecution, and future trials. If the total loss of apostolic authority were looming on the horizon, wouldn’t John—the last apostolic voice—have mentioned it?
Instead of alarm, John offers hope and correction. In his letters to the seven churches (Revelation 2–3), Christ rebukes sin, but never says the churches have ceased to be His. He warns that their “lampstands” may be removed if they do not repent—implying that they still shine. Even the flawed churches are treated as true churches, not as apostate impostors.
John’s tone is urgent, but not despairing. He sees false teachers and spiritual compromise, but never suggests that the Church has failed beyond recovery, nor that apostolic authority is ending. The Church is still present, still Christ’s, still bearing witness.
It is worth noting that I am focusing on John because he was the last Apostle, but the same could be said about the writings of Paul, Peter, James or Jude. Their letters focus on appointing elders and shepherds and emphasize Scripture and gospel teaching as the foundation, rather than the necessity of a continuous line of apostles. For instance, it is telling that Paul goes into detail about the qualifications for elders/bishops and deacons, but does not speak a word about the criteria for future Apostles. Again, given the weight that the LDS Church today places on this topic, the silence is deafening.
First Clement
Another particularly telling source is First Clement, a letter from Clement the Bishop of Rome to the Church in Corinth. This letter may have been written as early as 70 AD, but was likely written closer to 100 AD. In other words, Clement may have been writing almost immediately after the death of John the last Apostle. Clement writes about how the Apostles went about appointing bishops/elders and deacons as the “first fruits [of their labours],” (Chapter 42), and that after they appointed these ministers they instructed “that when these should fall asleep, other approved men should succeed them in their ministry.” (Chapter 44).
Clement is speaking specifically about the succession of offices in the Church. It is therefore particularly striking that Clement does not hint or suggest that there was ever a plan for the appointment of new Apostles. Nor does he see this as a reason for concern. Instead, he is confident that the Church of Christ is in steady hands as a result of the appointment of new bishops/elders and deacons. Clement’s optimism about the course of the Church is consistent with the witness of John.
Irenaeus
Writing in the late 2nd century, Irenaeus stood firmly against false teachers by pointing to the continuity of the gospel message:
He famously wrote:
“[T]he Church, having received this preaching and this faith, although scattered throughout the whole world, yet, as if occupying but one house, carefully preserves it.”
Irenaeus pointed to well-known leaders like Polycarp (a disciple of John) and to widely recognized churches, not because they held some hidden priesthood, but because they preserved the apostolic message in their preaching and teaching.
He emphasized that “the Gospel has come down to us” in purity and that what was taught by the apostles “preserved by means of the succession of presbyters in the Churches.
This is exactly what we’d expect if Jesus was building His Church and preserving His gospel, just as He promised.
Conclusion
If LDS truth claims regarding the great apostasy were true, we would expect to see stern warnings from Apostolic authors that new apostles needed to be called, and great panic as each of them died either by martyrdom or otherwise. We would especially expect this among the faithful courageous early Christians who were willing to give their lives for the cause of Christ. We don’t.
Like Sherlock Holmes’ famous dog that didn’t bark, the early Church’s calm continuity tells us something critical:
There was no Great Apostasy—because the Church was never lost. Christ is still building it, just as He promised.
