5. _Restoration of the Church_. "In the first ten centuries immediately following the ministry of Christ, the authority of the priesthood was lost from among men, and no human power could restore it. But the Lord in His mercy provided for the re-establishment of His Church in the last days, and for the last time, and prophets of olden time foresaw this era of renewed enlightenment, and sang in joyous tones of its coming."--(See Dan. 2:44, 45; 7:27; Matt. 24:14; Rev. 14:6-8.) "This restoration was effected by the Lord through the prophet, Joseph Smith, who, together with Oliver Cowdery, in 1829, received the Aaronic Priesthood under the hands of John the Baptist, and later the Melchizedek Priesthood under the hands of the former-day apostles, Peter, James and John. By the authority thus bestowed, the Church has been again organized with all its former completeness, and mankind once more rejoices in the priceless privileges of the counsels of God. The Latter-day Saints declare their high claim to the true Church organization, similar in all essentials to the organization effected by Christ among the Jews; these people of the last days profess to have the Priesthood of the Almighty, the power to act in the name of God, which power commands respect both on earth and in heaven."--(The Author, "Articles of Faith," Lecture 11:12.)