Articles of Faith
Mormons accept the principle of continuous revelation as an essential feature of faith in God and Jesus Christ, whose relationship with His children is ongoing, and His words to us, continual.
Joseph Smith, the first prophet and the first president of the Mormon Church received in 1842, from the Chicago Democrat’s editor John Wentworth, a request for information about the Mormon Church. In his reply the prophet Joseph Smith included a list of 13 main beliefs of members of the Mormon Church. In time this collection of beliefs was formally adopted into the standard scriptures of the Church, and is known today as the Articles of Faith.
While they are not a complete summation of every doctrine of the Church, the Articles of Faith nonetheless provide great insight into the basic theology of the Mormon Church.
Elder James Talmage, a former member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wrote, as part of his introduction to his book about the Articles of Faith, that they “present important doctrines of the Church in systematic order, and they suggest themselves as a convenient outline for a study of the theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” This section of the website will offer the complete text of his book.
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The Articles of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
1 We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. (Read more)
2 We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression. (Read more)
3 We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. (Read more)
4 We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Read more)
5 We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands, by those who are in authority to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof. (Read more)
6 We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, viz., apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc. (Read more)
7 We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, etc. (Read more)
8 We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. (Read more)
9 We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. (Read more)
10 We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion will be built upon this [the American] continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory. (Read more)
11 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may. (Read more)
12 We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law. (Read more)
13 We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul-We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things. (Read more)
(Joseph Smith).
March 11th, 2010 at 11:23 am
The Church is very active in Mongolia, should you ever visit the capital or a non-rural area. If you will go to http://www.mormon.org, you can request a contact from the Mormon missionaries there who will help you with your studies. Good luck!!
March 11th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
The Mormon Church has many members in Kenya. Go to the following website and ask for Mormon missionaries to come to you: http://www.mormon.org
March 11th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Mormons believe in three separate beings who are one in purpose — God the Father; His Son, Jesus Christ; and the Holy Ghost.
April 15th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Are you kidding? Establishing an eternal marriage is no easy “hook up”! Nobody does it to satisfy male urges. Even when the Lord instituted polygamy for a brief time, it was a difficult system for all involved, even Joseph Smith. It demanded the utmost purity of heart and behavior, sacrifice and humility. And even when polygamy was practiced, women had more rights and independence than women in the rest of the secular United States. You are way off base. To learn more, go to http://www.mormon-polygamy.org.
May 10th, 2010 at 4:15 pm
Hi, Lisa. If you’ll look in the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 29, you’ll see why the Book of Mormon is the word of God. The Lord speaks to anyone who seeks Him, and those to whom He has spoken are often commanded to write what God has said for the benefit of God’s other children. A group of Israelites was led away from Jerusalem just before the Babylonians destroyed the city. God led them into the wilderness and then to the Americas. They were “Jews.” Because they were of the chosen people, God called prophets from among them to teach them the gospel and prepare them for the coming of Christ. Because they were children of Israel, Christ then visited them and taught them after He was resurrected. He told them that He was then going to visit the Ten Lost Tribes, who also were being taught by prophets and writing their own scriptures. Remember that they are supposed to return soon. What will Christians do with their writings? Reject them, because Revelation is the last book in our current Bible? Also, what if ancient texts are discovered in the Middle East that are missing books from the Bible? The Bible refers to some scriptures that we don’t now have in our possession. As it says in 2 Nephi, “why do ye murmur because ye have more of my word”?
Here’s why it seems like Mormons put more emphasis on the Book of Mormon. In many cases scriptures in the B of M and the Bible are nearly identical. For some reason, the B of M language is almost always clearer. This might be because it was translated in the 1800′s instead of the 1600′s. The language is just simpler than the King James. Also, reading it is such an extreme spiritual experience, we just love it.
We do believe in the gift of tongues. All of the charismatic gifts are present in the Church and we experience miracles daily. However, the gift of tongues is one that is easy for Satan to mimic. We do not believe in talking in gibberish or babbling. The gift of tongues, as it was manifest at Pentacost by the apostles of Christ, is to increase understanding through the power of the Holy Ghost to bring people to Christ. Thus, several thousand people at the Feast of Weeks heard the gospel in their own tongue and they were converted. This is not what’s being done in pentacostal churches. Is understanding increased when people get up and speak “prayer talk”? This is the test. Speaking in tongues is manifest among our missionaries who teach in foreign countries. Through fasting and prayer and humility, they become fluent at light speed. Many organizations have come to Utah to try to figure out how this is done, but they can’t find anything special in our language-teaching methods in the Missionary Training Center. It’s the gift of tongues.
May 17th, 2010 at 3:39 pm
Absolutely. Christ, because He was born to a human mother, took upon Himself a physical body and lived in the flesh on earth. However, because of His divinity, He had the power to lay down His life and take it up again, the first person to ever have been resurrected from the dead. He gave His life willingly for us. No one had the power to take it from Him. He now reigns from on high.
June 2nd, 2010 at 12:03 pm
No. Mormons do believe that we existed as spirit children of God before we were born with mortal bodies here on earth. At death, the spirit and the body separate, and the spirit goes to a spirit paradise to await resurrection and judgment. After judgment we inherit an eternal kingdom of glory, but no reincarnation on earth.