Apostasy
- A turning away from the truth — by an individual or a whole people — after having received it.
- Specifically, the Great Apostasy: the period after the death of Christ's original apostles when, Latter-day Saints believe, priesthood authority and gospel fulness were lost, making a Restoration necessary.
The Great Apostasy is the backdrop for the Restoration through Joseph Smith. On an individual level, apostasy means abandoning or actively opposing the faith; a person in that state is an apostate.