That is just what happened. False teachers arose, damnable heresies crept into the churches, the Gospel was corrupted, and a few generations after the gospel was introduced by the personal ministry of John the Baptist and the Messiah himself, the authority of God was taken from among men.
Hence, when a knowledge of the Gospel was restored to the earth in this last dispensation, it became necessary to restore also the authority to teach it, and administer its ordinances. For this purpose John the Baptist, laboring under the direction of Peter, James and John, was sent to restore sufficient authority to administer the outward ordinances, to teach faith and repentance, and baptize for the remission of sins.[O]
[Footnote O: Doc. and Cov. sec. xiii.]
Subsequently Peter, James and John were sent of the Lord[P] some time in the early summer of 1829, and ordained Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery to the holy Melchisedek Priesthood—in fact, they were ordained apostles. [Q]And as the "Melchisedek priesthood holds the right of presidency, and has power and authority over all the offices in the church in all ages of the world to administer in spiritual things"[R]—these men, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, had authority to administer in all the ordinances of salvation, and to organize the Church of Christ; which, under the direction of the Lord, they did. And thus, not only has the Gospel been restored to the earth in this last dispensation, but the authority to administer in all its ordinances, and to build up the Church of Christ and the Kingdom of God on earth has been brought from heaven and bestowed upon men.
[Footnote P: Doc. and Cov. sec. xxvii: 12.]
[Footnote Q: Doc. and Cov. sec. xx: 2, 3.]
[Footnote R: Doc. and Cov. sec. cvii.]
[CHAPTER XXXI.]
LAWS OF SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT.
If a man accepts the principles and obeys the ordinances I have now treated upon, and I hope with sufficient clearness, and they are administered by men having authority from God to act in his name, then he is born again, born of the water and of the Spirit—born into the kingdom of God, and hence is a child of God, a citizen of his kingdom.
And since by submitting to these ordinances a man is born into the kingdom, I would remind the reader that his position in that kingdom is closely analogous to the child just born naturally into this world. It possesses all the faculties, all the organs, all the limbs of a man, but they are in embryo, undeveloped. The new born infant has eyes, but it will be some time before it will be able to distinguish objects, or recognize even the kind face of its mother. It has ears, but it cannot distinguish sounds; a tongue but it cannot speak; limbs but it cannot stand or walk or run; nor has it control of the muscles of the hands or arms—it will have to wait for growth and strength before these organs of sense and motion are developed.