“It was foreseen that the powers of evil would be permitted to prevail in the west as in the east … .
“An earlier prophecy relating to the degradation of the surviving remnant of Lehi’s descendants, was uttered by Nephi, as a result of a revelation communicated to him through angelic visitation [see 1 Nephi 12:19–23] … .
“The scriptures … show that widespread apostasy from the Church was foreseen; that the corruption of the Church itself was likewise foreknown; and that on both hemispheres a general apostasy was foretold” (Talmage, Great Apostasy, 32–33).