James L. Barker: LDS Historian and Author of 'Apostasy from the Divine Church'

James L. Barker was a Latter-day Saint historian and scholar whose multi-volume work 'Apostasy from the Divine Church' (including 'The Divine Church' volumes) traces the long history of the apostasy from the primitive Church and sets the stage for the Restoration. A careful scholar, Brother Barker believed that the honest study of Christian history would confirm the need for the Restoration brought forth through the Prophet Joseph Smith. His work remains a respected Latter-day Saint treatment of the apostasy and the restoration, and a faith-promoting witness that the Lord prepared the world for the return of His Church through a long, discernible providence.