Within the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

, the "Articles of Faith" is a statement of beliefs composed by

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, h ...

as part of an 1842 letter sent to "Long" John Wentworth, editor of the ''

Chicago Democrat The ''Chicago Democrat'' was the first newspaper in Chicago, Illinois. It was published from 1833 to 1861. In 2017 Atom, LLC restarteChicago Democratand has built a website aimed at statewide coverage of news, sports, weather and information in Il ...

'', and first published in the Latter Day Saint newspaper ''

Times and Seasons ''Times and Seasons'' was a 19th-century Latter Day Saint newspaper published at Nauvoo, Illinois. It was printed monthly or twice-monthly from November 1839 to February 1846. The motto of the paper was "Truth will prevail," which was printed u ...

''. It is a concise listing of thirteen fundamental doctrines of

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects o ...

. Most

Latter Day Saint The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

denominations view the articles as an authoritative statement of basic theology. Some denominations, such as

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church), have adopted the articles as scripture (see Pearl of Great Price). For some sects, the Articles of Faith are known collectively as "An Epitome of Faith and Doctrine".

Wording

The full text is reproduced here. Later alterations to the text made by the LDS Church are indicated by strikethroughs and brackets.

Articles 1–4

Articles one through four read as follows:

# We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. # We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression. # We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. # We believe that ~~these ordinances~~ he first principles and ordinances of the Gospelare: ~~1st~~ irst Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; 2d econd Repentance; 3d
hird The hird (also named "Håndgangne Menn" in Norwegian), in Scandinavian history, was originally an informal retinue of personal armed companions, hirdmen or housecarls, but came to mean not only the nucleus ('Guards') of the royal army, but also ...
Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; ~~4th~~ ourth Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

The first four articles state basic doctrines of the Latter Day Saint movement. The first is often understood to state the doctrine of the Godhead. The second specifically rejects the teaching of

original sin Original sin is the Christian doctrine that holds that humans, through the fact of birth, inherit a tainted nature in need of regeneration and a proclivity to sinful conduct. The biblical basis for the belief is generally found in Genesis 3 ...

. The third states belief in the atonement of Christ taking effect for potentially all individuals (as opposed to

double predestination Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby ...

) conditional on following the laws and ordinances of the Gospel (as opposed to

unconditional election Unconditional election (also called sovereign election or unconditional grace) is a Calvinist doctrine relating to predestination that describes the actions and motives of God prior to his creation of the world, when he predestined some people t ...

). The fourth states the core principles and ordinances of

faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people ofte ...

repentance Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better. In modern times, it is generally seen as involving a co ...

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

and confirmation for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Articles 5–6

The fifth and sixth articles state beliefs regarding how the church should be organized; in particular, the requirement of

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

to the priesthood and prophetic governance through the use of priesthood keys to administer valid and licit ordinances (as opposed to a priesthood of all believers). The belief in a

church polity Ecclesiastical polity is the operational and governance structure of a church or of a Christian denomination. It also denotes the ministerial structure of a church and the authority relationships between churches. Polity relates closely to e ...

including

apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

prophets In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

and

evangelists Evangelists may refer to: * Evangelists (Christianity), Christians who specialize in evangelism * Four Evangelists, the authors of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament * ''The Evangelists ''The Evangelists'' (''Evangheliştii'' in Roma ...

is also stated.

Articles 7–9

Articles 7–9 state beliefs in sources of revelation: in gifts of the Spirit, in the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

and

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude ...

, and in continuing revelation:

Articles 10–12

Articles 10–12 state beliefs in the gathering of Israel, establishes ethics for religious freedom, and proper conduct for church members in society:

Article 13

The thirteenth article states beliefs in how one should conduct oneself. The "admonition of Paul" referenced appears to b
Philippians 4:8

Earlier Latter Day Saint creeds

The Articles of Faith are similar to, and may have been partially derived from, an earlier eight-article creed written by

Oliver Cowdery Oliver H. P. Cowdery (October 3, 1806 – March 3, 1850) was an American Mormon leader who, with Joseph Smith, was an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836. He was the first baptized ...

#We believe in God, and his Son Jesus Christ. #We believe that God, from the beginning, revealed himself to man; and that whenever he has had a people on earth, he always has revealed himself to them by the Holy Ghost, the ministering of angels, or his own voice. We do not believe that he ever had a church on earth without revealing himself to that church: consequently, there were apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, in the same. #We believe that God is the same in all ages; and that it requires the same holiness, purity, and religion, to save a man now, as it did anciently; and that as HE is no respecter of persons, always has, and always will reveal himself to men when they call upon him. #We believe that God has revealed himself to men in this age, and commenced to raise up a church preparatory to his second advent, when he will come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. #We believe that the popular religious theories of the day are incorrect; that they are without parallel in the revelations of God, as sanctioned by him; and that however faithfully they may be adhered to, or however zealously and warmly they may be defended, they will never stand the strict scrutiny of the word of life. #We believe that all men are born free and equal; that no man, combination of men, or government of men, have power or authority to compel or force others to embrace any system of religion, or religious creed, or to use force or violence to prevent others from enjoying their own opinions, or practicing the same, so long as they do not molest or disturb others in theirs, in a manner to deprive them of their privileges as free citizens-or of worshiping orshippingGod as they choose, and that any attempt to the contrary is an assumption unwarrantable in the revelations of heaven, and strikes at the root of civil liberty, and is a ubversionof all equitable principles between man and man. #We believe that God has set his hand the second time to recover the remnant of his people, Israel; and that the time is near when he will bring them from the four winds, with songs of everlasting joy, and reinstate them upon their own lands which he gave their fathers by covenant. #And further: We believe in embracing good wherever it may be found; of proving all things, and holding fast that which is righteous.

Subsequent early creeds predating the Wentworth Letter included a five-article creed by

Joseph Young __NOTOC__Joseph Young (April 7, 1797 – July 16, 1881) was an early convert to the Latter Day Saint movement and was a missionary and longtime general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was an elder br ...

, an eighteen-article creed by

Parley P. Pratt Parley Parker Pratt Sr. (April 12, 1807 – May 13, 1857) was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement whose writings became a significant early nineteenth-century exposition of the Latter Day Saint faith. Named in 1835 as one of the first ...

, a nineteen-article creed by

Orson Pratt Orson Pratt Sr. (September 19, 1811 – October 3, 1881) was an American mathematician and religious leader who was an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints). He became a member of the ...

and a sixteen-article creed by

Orson Hyde Orson Hyde (January 8, 1805 – November 28, 1878) was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement and a member of the first Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus ...

Other versions

A similar but altered version of the creed with fourteen articles was published by James H. Flanigan in April 1849 in England, and quoted in some other nineteenth-century sources. This inserted an additional article after the tenth ("We believe in the literal resurrection of the body, and that the dead in Christ will rise first, and that the rest of the dead live not again until the thousand years are expired."), and made various other changes, such as giving a longer list of gifts of the spirit in the seventh article, appending "

the Lord's supper The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...

" to the list of ordinances in the fourth article, mentioning "all other good books" in the eighth article, and appending "looking forward to the 'recompense of reward.'" to the last article, amongst other changes. This version is sometimes mistaken as being the original. A significantly longer, extended revision of the creed, which contains twenty-five articles and is known as the Articles of Faith and Practice, is used by the

Church of Christ (Temple Lot) The Church of Christ, informally called Hedrickites and the Church of Christ (Temple Lot), is a denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement headquartered in Independence, Missouri, on what is known as the Temple Lot. The nickname for members of ...

, the

Church of Christ (Fettingite) The Church of Christ, informally referred to as the Fettingites, is a denomination within the Latter Day Saint movement which split from the Church of Christ—informally known as "Hedrickites"— in late 1929. The faction was formally established ...

, the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message and the Church of Christ with the Elijah Message (Assured Way). The Word of the Lord, regarded as scriptural by the Fettingites and by both Elijah Message groups, declares these articles to be inspired and forbids changing their wording. The version currently published by the Temple Lot group has a different version of Article 20 to the version used by the other groups, denouncing

cohabitation Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not married, usually couples, live together. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become increas ...

and

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

in addition to

plural marriage Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more th ...

References

*. *. *. *. *. *.

External links

* of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. {{DEFAULTSORT:Articles Of Faith (Latter Day Saints) 1842 in Christianity 1842 documents Latter Day Saint statements of faith Latter Day Saint terms Pearl of Great Price (Mormonism) Works by Joseph Smith Works originally published in Times and Seasons