One of the promises of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that it offers the “restoration of all things.” Latter-day Saints are told that their church brought back ancient lost traditions and covenants that originated at the time of Adam and Eve, but were lost during the Great Apostasy.
Joseph Smith and his church seemed to take this idea very seriously. For instance, his adoption of polygamy was based on his study of the patriarch Abraham and other biblical figures who had multiple wives. And in the revelation that he claimed to receive, God expressly linked the practice of polygamy to God’s work through Joseph Smith to “restore all things.” (D&C 132:40).
Another verse that reflects this concept of a restoration of all things is one which speaks of how in the future God will once again ordain and approve of animal sacrifices: “The sons of Aaron shall offer an acceptable offering and sacrifice, in the house of the Lord” (D&C 84:31). Joseph Fielding Smith taught that this meant that “the law of sacrifice will have to be restored, or all things which were decreed by the Lord would not be restored. It will be necessary, therefore, for the sons of Levi, who offered the blood sacrifices anciently in Israel, to offer such a sacrifice again to round out and complete this ordinance in this dispensation. Sacrifice by the shedding of blood was instituted in the days of Adam and of necessity will have to be restored.” (Doctrines of Salvation 3:94). These two examples show an extremely literal notion of a “restoration” of old testament practices that is pervasive in the LDS Church.
For a long time I found this idea of a restoration of all thing sterribly exciting. Who doesn’t want to be part of restoring ancient traditions that date back to creation?
But when you look at it closely, the idea of a “restoration of all things” as understood in the LDS Church is highly problematic and contrary to the Biblical narrative. In the Bible, Jesus comes and does away with old covenants and brings in a new and superior covenant. He does not “restore” Israelite traditions, but fulfill them fully and provide his followers something new and superior.
The Book of Hebrews explains this with particular clarity. The letter was written to Jewish Christians who were tempted to return to the rituals and covenants and ceremonies of the Old Covenant. The Epistles central message is that Jesus is the fulfilment of all of this things and that they were just a type and shadow of him.
In Chapter 8, the author compares the old Covenant with Christ’s new covenant
“But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises. For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.” The author further elaborates: “By calling this covenant ‘new,’ he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.”
Elsewhere Paul uses other vivid metaphors to make a similar point: 1) A child transitioning from following a children’s tutor to being an heir (Gal 4); 2) The difference between being a slave or being truly free (Gal 4 again); 3) a woman whose husaband dies freeing her from the old marriage covenant (Romans 7). These all represent something radical and dramatic and new that Christ’s death inaugurated in the believer.
What has been superseded by Christ is NOT a practice that needs to be restored, but something that is to be done away with. What we receive in Christ is based “on better promises.” Indeed, it is based on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ which offers us perfect assurance.
The same is true for so many of the things that LDS people have “restored.” We do not need a levitical priesthood becuase we have a single perfect high priest who once and for all sacrificed on our behalf. See Hebrews 4. We do not need an earthly temple, becuase Christ has sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us as temples. See Hebrews 8, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
While the impulse towards restoration is a good one, unfortuantely the LDS Church has allowed this principle to undermine the radical change that Christ’s death and resurrection brought into salvation history.
Paul in his letter to the Colossians warns about this very tendency to hold onto types and shadows of Christ rather than embracing the Christian liberty that comes in Christ:
“Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” Col 2:16-17
Joseph Smith’s vision of a “restoration of all things” led him and other latter-day saints to look beyond the mark. In some instances they reintroduced practices that God had never ordained or established such as polygamy. IN other instance, they brought back things like an Aaronic Priesthood or temples that had served a valuable function once but that had always been intended to point to Christ.
All of these things distract our attention from Christ who is the reality and substance of all of these things.
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As an aside, the phrase “restitution of all things”/”Restoration of all things” comes from Acts 3:19-20 which is part of Peter’s preaching at the temple of Jerusalem. The best interpretation of these verses does not involve some kind of restoration ala Joseph Smith. Instead, this verse speaks of the fulfilment of all of God’s promises to Israel in Christ.
As renowned New Testament scholar F.F. Bruce explained, “if the meaning “restoration” (well attested for this word) were the only one possible here, one could adduce Paul’s picture of a renovated creation coinciding with the investiture of the sons and daughters of God (Rom. 8:18–23). But the meaning “establishment” or “fulfilment” is equally well attested, and makes good sense in the present context, in reference to the fulfilment of all Old Testament prophecy, culminating in the establishment of God’s order on earth.”
F. F. Bruce, The Book of the Acts, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1988), 85.