If Mormonism is true and the apostasy started after Jesus' ascension why did God take so long to do something about it when Smith showed up in 1820?

Question

Close to 2,000 years elapsed after the ascension of Jesus Christ and the death of His Apostles until Joseph Smith had his first vision in 1820. In that vision Smith was told by two personages (presumably God the Father and the Son) that he must join none of the current churches because they were all corrupt.

Apparently, men corrupted the principles of the gospel and made unauthorized changes in Church organization and priesthood ordinances. This is explained in detail here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/apostasy?lang=eng

It should be noted that in the Bible God anticipated this would happen and there are strong warnings for those who apostatized. 1 John 2:19, "They went out from us but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us."

There is also the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares that Jesus spoke of at Matthew 13:24-30. And what the Apostle Paul said at 2 Corinthians 13:5, "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith, examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless you fail the test?" Eventually apostates will be made known by their fruit, Matthew 7:16-20.

So again, why did it take so long for God to do something about apostasy when He "supposedly" appeared to Joseph Smith in 1820? In view of this fact even before the resurrection of Jesus, He and His Apostles warned us that this would happen and how to recognize apostasy.

Answer 1

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do not have a definitive answer to this at question, but the primary theory is it wouldn't have survived earlier (see below for further explanation). Similar questions could be asked about why did Jesus wait until he did to come (ie why didn't he come sooner/later)?

The primary theory on why it took ~2000 years to restore the gospel is the gospel wouldn't have survived earlier because of limited religious freedom (see below on importance of reformers, many reformers in Europe in the 15-1600s were imprisoned and killed for trying to change up the existing church, let alone establish a new one, earlier the apostles/disciples were martyred which led to the apostasy-According to the LDS, when did the 'true church' cease to exist). So the restoration couldn't happen right away as Jesus's followers were killed. And later other churches didn't allow other denominations.

Prophets lead what are called dispensations, which are when (1) God has at least one authorized priesthood leader on the earth and (2) this leader, a prophet, learns about the plan of salvation directly from God. The prophet then teaches, or dispenses, the gospel to the people.

Some important ones were those of Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus Christ, and Joseph Smith. The Lord began a dispensation through each of these prophets.¹ This current dispensation is prophesied to be the last until the Second Coming (D&C 27:13)² I bring up dispensations in that the plan wasn't to have a restoration happen temporarily and be lost again, but to have one final dispensation.

A few points to consider:

• God's ways/reasons are not man's ways

  Isaiah 55:8-9

  8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

  9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

• the entire world (past/present/future) benefits from Jesus Christ's Atonement, the when of the Atonement isn't the important part, the Atonement is the important part

• our ability to be tested in mortality does not require the church, though it is a great benefit. (The ordinances required for exaltation can happen later by proxy-for those who didn't have the opportunity)

• though the LDS believe in an apostasy, that does not mean other denominations do not have some truth or do good (we have the bible, which led Joseph Smith to read/pray and restore the church); other denominations have brought, and continue to bring the basic message of Jesus Christ to millions of people. The Holy Ghost can be felt by all (According to LDS, do all non-LDS Christians lack the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and if so, how does this lack manifest itself in the lives of non-LDS? and How do Latter-day Saints explain testimonies of profound experiences with the Holy Spirit in other denominations?)

  During the Great Apostasy, some religious-minded people in Europe realized that the gospel of Jesus Christ was not being taught correctly. These reformers were not prophets, but they did their best to teach the truth as they understood it. They helped make the Bible available to more people. Many fought for religious freedom and opened the way for the Restoration of the gospel.¹

The gospel restoration started with Joseph Smith but is ongoing today³

See also:

• Prelude to the Restoration, Church History in the Fulness of Times Student Manual
• The Restoration of the Gospel in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, Doctrines of the Gospel Student Manual
• Why 1820 (youtube),Hyrum Smith, 1988 Ricks College

_{1 What, Why, and How: A Breakdown of the Restoration, New Era 2018}

_{2 The Last Dispensation, Elder Alvin R. Dyer Apr 1972 General Conference}

_{3 The Ongoing Restoration, Elder LeGrand R. Curtis Jr. 2020 and Article of Faith 9}