My Understanding of part of the process known as Apostasy

Apostasy

(This post is given as a precursor to the next.  It was originally all one, but this tangent made things too long for just one post.)

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned-" 
Mark 16:16.
With such an easy condition, mortal men still managed to screw things up.
Following the death of God who came in the flesh, True Teachings were given to those who possessed True Belief.  Those who possessed True Belief and thereby received True Teachings, were then known as True Witnesses of God.  This because they had known and received a Testimony from God, Himself; as opposed to having received it from another.  With a desire to perpetuate these  Teachings from God, these True Witnesses...witnessed to any who would listen.  This in hopes that others might gain True Belief through Faith on the name of God, so that they might also be saved by Him.
Initially, God came and taught those whom He found to be True Believers that could Witness of The Way which other men should go to obtain True Belief.  He commanded them to write those things which would assist others to believe so that they could in turn come unto Him.  However pride, envy, whoredoms, and all manner of abominations were present among those who received the teachings of the True Witnesses.  The desire to maintain possession of these prevented those who had received the teachings from receiving the same Witness, which is free to all who believe truly.
As a result of their refusal to abandon these, the True Witnesses died off, and those who remained were left with their pride, envy, whoredoms, etc., to be their god.  (This may seem a harsh judgement, but sadly it is no less a judgement that I pass upon myself at present, so with what judgement I judge, I know I am judged.)  This is not to say that there was nothing good about those who sought to carry on the tradition of believing in God who had come in the flesh.  It only signifies the reason for the results of what they received by what they performed.  With their hearts set upon the things of this world, the teachings that had been given by the True Witnesses were incrementally left to abandon.  Parts of the teachings were kept, but only the parts that appealed to the gods worshiped by those who also received the True Teachings.

Change and Decay  

An institution can live indefinitely whereas mortal men pass away with relative rapidity.  Among those who persisted in trying to obtain True Belief some saw that the best way to assist future generations in receiving these required teachings, was to give birth to an institution.
There is a funny thing about institutions.  In order to best preserve an institution, it is often easier for those who hold affiliation with it to deem it a "Corporation."  Corporation coming from the same root word Corps, or Corpse.  A body.  Bodies are either living or dead.  The rule (always followed by exceptions) is that once alive, bodies will always fight to perpetuate their existence.  Fight or flight, a cognizant body will seek its self-preservation. 
This new body, was created by good intentions.  However, as with Frankenstein, the corporation spawned by the institution ends up seeking the destruction of its maker.  Which is odd, because the creator of the corporation being an inanimate, immaterial being (good intentions) is sought to be destroyed by another inanimate, immaterial being.  A virtual arcane battle played out in the real world, long before virtual reality was only expected in an arcade.

The New Name Given by the New Father

The Corporation was dubbed -by itself- the "Catholic" church rightly so because as catholic -meaning universal- those who came together wanted a united, universal organization where all questions regarding God could be answered easily and systematically.  You see, the problem before the creation of the Corporation, was the widely varying interpretations of what exactly it was that mankind was suppose to believe about this God, Immanuel of whom the True Witnesses had taught others.  These others, in turn tried to pass on the teachings they had received to even more "others."
The inception of Apostasy had arrived before this point.  Yet like a liquid that transforms into a solid must receive a new name, the Apostasy born by those who insisted on serving other gods also received a new name.

Father of Righteous Desires

Truth isn't of this world.  It is comprised of a body, but It is humble, meek, and submissive.  It will permit you to seek after it or to seek to murder it.  It won't even put up so much as an appearance of a fight in return if you seek to do it harm.  (As a result of this disposition, Truth is given life over death; it cannot be killed.  It has been said, and that accurately so"...whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it.")  Truth always seeks God's sake or will. 
Being formed in weakness, men who insist on being alone without God in this world; are allowed by God to receive whatever it is that they desire.  Natural consequences occur from decisions made by imperfect men, that then create the flow of history, and God will prophecy of it for His sake that pertains to future generations.  
He prophesied of the Flood, He prophesied of the descendants of Abraham going down into Egypt, He prophesied that He would raise up Moses to lead them out of Egypt, He prophesied of their wickedness and thus their refusal to receive all that He would give them and subsequent condemnation/scattering away from their covenant land, He prophesied of His coming in the flesh, He prophesied of the apostasy of those who had covenanted to believe in Him after His coming in the Flesh and He prophesied of the redemption of the Remnant of Israel.

Diabolical Divisions

In this state of apostasy those who previously declared belief in Him, accepted those things that appealed to them, and left to wither on the vine those things which they either didn't understand or didn't want to hear. 
Not all chose the same things to accept.  Some, by reading the teachings of the Witnesses, interpreted that God was not originally God, but rather God was man who later got to be God because of His perfect devotion to the will of a true God.  Others interpreted, that the God who had come in the flesh was not God at all, but rather an inferior creation to God.  
As many as had received the Teachings, -of the The True Believers who were Witnesses of God- interpreted different aspects of those Teachings differently.  With the result being many different factions of believers of God.  
So some people started declaring that certain teachings were truer than others, and that there were other teachings that were wholesale fabrications!  Obviously what one chose to interpret about the Teachings dictated what was declared true, false and truer-than-false.

Nothing good comes to those, gullible enough to believe...too much

Well if True Belief is necessary, then the problem that a few realized was that there was too much belief.  So a reduction of belief was sought.  The dangerous problem was observed lying in the obfuscating grasses that were the Teachings of The True Witnesses. Because people could read and interpret them in any way they wanted; the teachings were far to dangerous to allow too many people to have access to them.
As a good disciple of God, it wouldn't be rightly pious to allow others to believe in false teachings or perpetuate truer-than-false teachings.  So attempts were made to round up copies considered (by your own consideration) error filled copies of the teachings that were floating around and discreetly as possible, destroyed.  This made angry those who supported the teachings which were deemed erronic by those doing the rounding up.  Battles ensued, tumults occurred, and eventually dissensions were the result.  
Some saying lo, here and others lo, there.  Normally nobody would give a crap, and everybody could go off and create their own version of build-o-religiously-based-institution, but the root of all evil was to be gained by some if unity could be gained.  In fact, due to the (depending on who you believe) imagination/machinations of one Emperor Constantine, by this point a whole empire depended upon the cohesiveness of the teachings, and a fractionation would be catastrophic to the overall corps of the Empire.  Once again, a body seeks to protect its own existence, and fighting instead of flight, always was the Roman way.  

This Means WAR!!!

This fighting with the virtual heretical opponent who threatened all with the loss of tithing income was achieved by...calling together "councils."  Or more clearly stated, those who were receiving the tithing money from those who believed whatever they were being taught by those who were receiving the tithing money (conflict of interest much?), were called together and told to get their act together....otherwise the result would be that they all would lose the cash cow they had come to live on.  In order to facilitate this putting together of their Acts (distant relation to the book of) it had been decided that this council must come to an agreement on: of what The Teachings consisted, who were the Witnesses (and who were not), how the teachings could be interpreted, and what would be the protocol for future divisions.  
As you might imagine, resulting from the many divisions more than one council was called and heated contention was a common visitor.  However, this God in which all present professed belief, never was stated to have made an appearance to help in clarifying any of the matters disputed.  An odd non-reaction, for One who promised to visit again and restore any missing knowledge.  No matter it seems because evidently in His omniscience He must have known the results that would come.
After a handful of councils,many difficult to understand statements were produced that nearly satisfied all present by confusing all, even if it didn't bestow any clear knowledge unto those whom lacked.  With this, creeds were issued, and finally a universal, one-size-fits-all institution born!  The various Bodies of believers previously divided now had been brought to the operating table together.  Some parts removed here, others altered there but nevertheless the important parts had all been sown together in one nice, albeit somewhat unsightly and kind of disjointed, universal body.  Expectations were that this disjointedness would eventually coalesce into a stronger, more efficient machine to produce salvation for all!      
The matter of what the Teachings consisted was fairly (but not really) settled, and the naming of the true witnesses could be hammered out overtime.  (Absence may make the heart grow fonder, but as earlier generations died off, the authoritative dogmatism of the Universal Church could settle into the minds of later generations to settle such matters by truth or fear.)  

Inoculation Against Heresy

Yet the problem of what to do with any future divisions needed immediate reprisal.  This because those who had been rejected by the council's vote, were still out their preaching vehemently their disgust at having been cut off from what a majority considered Orthodox.  Not really a problem if those pesky parishioners didn't demand on being taught the truth.  Yet the parishioners also stubbornly insisted on maintaining the highly coveted tithing income to remain in their sole possession and to only be allocated to the preacher of their own choice.  Something had to be done!  Preaching of course; to persuade the minds of those who might listen that you possessed orthodoxy while your opponents were the REAL heretics.  Which meant more battles.  Which meant continued contention.  Which signified the ever present problem of not getting your full measure of tithing dollars.  
Attempts were continually made to persuade opposing sides to come to the universal teat of a larger offering base than what one could build through individual effort.  Where the persuasion of bribery failed, threat of damnation would be the contemporary champion to prevail.  Fathers, preachers and ministers who wouldn't bow a submissive knee to the Universal Golem, were publicly excommunicated.  Allowing all who listened to the excommunicants to know that if they persisted, they would be damned to hell as well.  
Despite the complete lack of such a thing in the Teachings of the Witnesses, an easy explanation was contrived to show how in the Teachings of the Witnesses there was an account of God having given one man the power to seal on earth and in heaven.  Seal what?  To what?  Apparently that question wasn't asked or answer passed along.  No matter.  A line was connected from that first witness to another man who liked and really, really admired the first man.  The second man liked the first so much, that he followed him around a lot, and when the first died, he took the Teachings of the first and taught them to whomever would listen.  The group who listened decided second hand knowledge is as good as first and decided he would be a good teacher.  He taught for a while but came into some personal problems with the local authorities in Rome.  He knew another guy who also knew the first and so the group that followed the second guy, now followed the third.  There was even a fourth guy who knew the first guy.  He later became the leader of the group.  
This group wasn't official but declared their Officiality because of the supposed awesomeness of the first guy.  So because the first guy knew God, from actual first hand knowledge, and because he ended up dying in their barrio they believed that they were the premier group of believers in God.  
This then resulted in a line of people claiming to be The Officials of all believers in God, leading down to the group who decided that as a result of this line of Office being present with them in Rome, they now had the power to offer or reject salvation to any who rejected them.  Despite God having said that He alone maintains that right, and He employs no servant there.

Might Makes Right

With this new found power, everything was right with the world.  Occasionally dissidents would pop up, but nearly always the new Exaclibur of excommunication beat any who defied the Universal church.  However, sometimes the problem wasn't dissidents, but rather usurpers. 
With the resultant marriage of the body of the Universal church, and the body of the Roman Empire there came disputes in the midst of the Empire regarding ownership of lands.  Divisions resulted in the Empire, yet all of the dividing conquerors claimed to be believers of the same god.  This positioned the Officials of the Corporation with authority to settle matters between the conquerors.  Except for those whom the Officials ruled against in a particular matter.  Then a common problem came by a tantrum thrown by the losing party against the very Officials they had once petitioned.  More battles, more tumults, more dissensions.  
Once again something had to be done!  A group of wealthy nobles volunteered to be the military arm of the Corporation.  However, it was sensed that it would be (maybe just slightly) questionable for a Body of Officials who had declared to follow a God that required His followers always to turn the other cheek against antagonists; to instead bring down a war against its own adherents.  
Well this group of wealthy nobles that had nothing better to do, decided that they would create a pathway for all in Europe to safely traverse from their homelands all the way down to walk where God had walked, while in the flesh.  Now it wouldn't be prudent for the wealthy nobles to put their lives at risk seeking to defend these poor followers on the road to Jerusalem, so they sought volunteers.  Only a few from each divided part of the Empire so as not to show favoritism to the travelers of any given part of the Empire.  With the poor volunteers guarding the way, the wealthy noblemen found it becoming to establish bases in each divided portion of the empire and who better to head each base up...but the wealthy noblemen.  This they said would be so that the travelers could easily bring their monies to the base of the military arm, headed by the nobles and deposit it there.  In return for this deposit they would get a slip noting the transaction so that when they got to their destination, they could present the slip to the nobleman heading the military base there and he would in turn give them the amount prescribed on the slip.  This was done in hopes to cut down on the marauding bands of land pirates that would stalk the trails for the pilgrims making their way to the Holy Land.  
All of this was done for a nominal fee, exacted by the nobles.  The military arm of nobles began to make a good wage for their honorable duties.  However, wars resulted in Jerusalem from the arrival of all of these believers in a different God than the one in whom those who currently resided in the area now believed.  Additionally when the pilgrims were found without money, they were either murdered or kidnapped and held for ransom.  The nobles would keep the money if the owner of the slip died, because the pirates weren't very good about returning the slips to the families of the deceased.  The pirates had little interest in tracking down a base of the military arm, because often times those whom they had robbed had been peasants and therefore to travel hundreds of miles to try to redeem what ever small amount the peasant had deposited would not be worth the risk for a criminal to go to a city where they might be recognized by others whom they had assailed.  
Regardless, the nobles that comprised this military arm of the Corporation of the Universal church amassed an incredible wealth.  So large that pretty soon as there began to be battles between the differing factions of the Roman empire, the leaders of these factions would seek out this military arm for loans to finance battles.  Despite it being against the law in all of Christendom, the Nobles would oblige these leaders by lending; with interest.  However, that was the OLD law/covenant, and therefore could be disregarded with impunity...unless it was advantageous not to do so.  
These loans made to rulers of the Empire -paid back with interest- gained the Order an even greater wealth.  With this the Corporation realized how it could keep down the destruction caused by a tantrum if thrown by a leader of one of the factions of the Holy Roman Empire.  Their enemies would be financed by this "military" order, and in this: international banking as we know it today, was born!  Simple and effective.  
However, with every new thing created a new paradox is born.  Power to lend money used to finance wars creates a lot of convenient friends and admirers.  This took the heat off the Corporation of the Universal church, and placed it squarely on the military order.  As had been done before, all of the factions of the empire at first sought the military order's blessing (of money to fight their competitors) and when winners were ordained and losers condemned...the losers gained a distaste for the financiers.  Beyond that problem The Corporation of the Universal Church, didn't like competition for affection created an equal if not larger one.  Suspicion begat paranoia and pretty soon kisses to the ring of the Officials slowed and so the Sceptre had to come out to remind everyone of who the REAL god of this world is.
The race was on and as can be prognosticated by any of the three Juwes thirsty for the blood of Hiram Abiff, one of the leaders of the Empire brought charges of heresy against the military order and received the blessing of the Highest Official of the Universal church -who sought to bring unity to the divided secular and spiritual sides of the Empire- to confiscate the wealth of the military order.  A vicious trial of interrogation ensued and after enough inhumane torture, confessions of the oddest variety came forth.  So odd it sounded convincing enough to not only excommunicate the nobles, but to burn them at the stake!  (The authority to "seal" on earth, taken to its limits.)  
Well just like a young teenage couple in love experimenting with a first kiss, the Corporation having once crossed the line figured there was no reason not to keep crossing it.  Despite proclaiming to abide the precepts of a New Covenant, this practice could be justified by applying advantageous excerpts of the Old.  However, selectivity was permissible because obviously the Official line descending upon them from the first Witness authorized them to interpret what was and what was not Official teaching.  
Over the following centuries more excommunications, more burning's and murders happened in order to keep "heresy" out.  

Radioactive Fall Out

Yet despite this extreme activism to ensure orthodoxy, more and more dissidents popped up and became convinced of the error of the Corporation.  
A strangle hold had been placed on the Teachings of the Witnesses of God.  Nobody but those authorized by the Corporation was permitted to not only own a copy, but to even read them.  With time, language had changed, and yet the Teachings were still only read by those educated in the old language of the Officials of the Corporation.  This ensured that the average person had little to no understanding of what was being read to them in their religious services.  
The Officials of the Corporation preferred this.  Ironically they declared that it would keep heresy down and thereby perpetuate the living status of the organization.  However, one of those authorized by the Corporation to read the Teachings, felt like a great wrong was being done by the Officials in the Corporation.  He wasn't the only one, but he became one of, if not the loudest to proclaim it.  Having been educated to read in the old language he could read the teachings for himself.  From His reading, he began to interpret the teachings very differently than any other official inside the corporation.  This was not authorized!  He began teaching that everyone should have their own copy of the Teachings.  This was expressly forbidden!  He translated the Teachings from the old language to his contemporary language and began teaching from his interpretation.  "WO, WO, WO!!!" proclaimed the Officials of the Corporation.  They excommunicated him, as they had the dissidents before.  However, in time they realized that this didn't have the effect that it once did.  Those who heard the preaching of the man, didn't care that he had been excommunicated.
The Officials of the Corporation began to fear for the continued existence of their institution.  After much discussion, it was decided: they were the administrators ordained by the mysterious, unseen, indiscernible hand of god to protect the homunculus bride of god.  They must protect her sanctified life!  
They excommunicated any who professed belief in what the man had taught.  They sought diligently to find any who possessed copies of his Satanic interpretation, and to destroy the copies and excommunicate those evil possessors!  
All to no avail.  Like a smoldering candle that is brought to flame with the opposition of breath blowing against it, the man and his Teachings jumped from the candle to the parched wheat-and-tear field upon which it stood.  (Kind of a silly, place to hold a candle if you don't want fire.)
Soon there were other dissenters.  These would not be entertained as the first.  Having previously put to death usurpers under the justifications explained above, there was no reason any longer for the same justifications to be unequally applicable for dissenters.  The gloves were now off.
These dissenters were seeking to steal the hearts of others who would be true believers in the body of this bride of their god, if it were not for hearing the persuasiveness of the evil dissenters!  The ends justify the means!  As maniacally uttered as the Queen of Hearts, "Off with their heads!" was the mantra. 
Maybe not always to the fulfillment of that statement, many were burned at the stake and murdered by other means...but murder was the result of apostasy sewn in corruption centuries before by those bearing good intentions, yet having no direct, personal Testimony from Jesus. 

Thesis  

Many suppose that the Truth was fully rectified when the battle of those protesting the Universal church was won by independence to worship how they chose.  However, sadly such was not, nor can not be the case.  The Truth is only rectified when the Truth is known.  None of those who dissented from the Corporation ever professed to have known God as the original witnesses did.  In fact I am not aware of any of them that professed to posses or know the Truth; only that they BELIEVED the Truth could be found in the teachings given to them by the Corporation.
To compound the problem of this matter, in the intervening millennia because of the dissensions that occurred among those who sought positions of power over mankind, the Teachings were changed.  Some excised from the whole, others altered, some by translations and most by way of interpretation.  
God with His omniscience, foreknew all that would be fall the generations of the world.  In His power and compassion He prophesied of these things by preparing Teachings from more True Witnesses of Him that wouldn't be passed down by the hands of mankind trusting their prideful ability to maintain the precious Truth contained therein.  Rather these Teachings were principally prepared and handled only by True Witnesses of God.  According to covenants made by God to these Witnesses, they were preserved by the Power of God to come forth in our day.  That this generation may have the opportunity to lay hold on the truths contained in the Teachings handed down to us by our fathers.  
These Teachings are known to us as The Book of Mormon.  I have read this book.  The greatest message that I get out of the Book of Mormon, -that would otherwise be hard to extract from the teachings passed down to us by our fathers- is that Christ is knowable.  Nearly every author in The Book of Mormon saw Him, spoke with Him, was redeemed by Him and received His Testimony.  Almost everyone of the authors of The Book of Mormon were people who were not Officials, administrators, or in any type of earthly positions of power over others.  Yet, only because of their Faith in Jesus Christ, they were able to come into His presence and know Him.  
Jeremiah, having lived in a time when God's people -Israel- had broken their covenant with Him; prophesied of a time when God would once again make a new covenant.  The qualifier Jeremiah explained the Way to know when that covenant had been made.  It would be when there is a people on the earth that will need not say one to another, "Know, ye the Lord!" for they will ALL know Him, from the least to the greatest.  
Through The Book of Mormon, God seeks to make this covenant with you.  He wants to restore to you knowledge about Him.  This so you can Know Him. 
The Book of Mormon proclaims that it is only the first in a line of Teachings to be restored; but that the others will only be restored when there is a people on the earth with Faith to receive more.  
I don't care what, if any Corporation you're joined to currently.  I am not inviting you to leave it or to be a part of some earthly Corporation.  I invite you only to read the Book of Mormon.  Doubt not, but be believing!  Come as in times of old and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.  Gather from its pages the Truth given as a merciful gift there by One who loves.  
I believe that by doing this you will come to know God.  He will come to you as He has promised, and manifest Himself unto you.  

What greater gift can their be?