Editing Openai/691a45a6-8ed0-8010-a7d9-24657a41a9aa (section)

===== The question you’re brushing up against is interesting: =====
Did Christianity break, or did it grow?

Hyrum Smith’s talk assumes a break.
Most historians see growth—messy, uneven, sometimes ugly growth, but still continuity, not collapse.

Whether you interpret that growth as legitimate or illegitimate is ultimately a theological call, not something the historical record settles.

If you want, we can trace the specific LDS claims about authority loss (priesthood, apostolic succession, corruption, councils, persecution) and see how each one fares against what’s known from history. That’s where the analysis gets really interesting.