Our Articles of Faith
We are fellow beneficiaries of the legacy of the original thirteen Articles of Faith written by Joseph Smith, and acknowledge them as foundational guiding principles of our religion. Because so many saints today have lost and forgotten other foundational early teachings, we have been inspired to add eleven new articles that summarize teachings of Joseph which were not made public at the time the prophet wrote the original thirteen. Some of these later teachings were not published until after the saints reached Utah because of conspiring men and precarious political conditions in Nauvoo, but they were established as core doctrines of the Restoration by Brigham Young and other faithful men and women.
Article 1.
We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
Article 2.
We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.
Article 3.
We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
Article 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.
Article 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.
Article 6.
We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
Article 7.
We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
Article 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.
Article 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.
Article 10.
We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
Article 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.
Article 12.
We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
Article 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.
Article 14.
We believe that Adam and Eve are the heavenly parents of our spirits, who condescended from their celestial thrones and glory to provide mortal bodies for us, their children; we also believe that after Adam and Eve completed their mission as the progenitors of the human race, they returned to their celestial glory to govern the affairs of their children and creation.
Article 15.
We believe that our Eternal Father and Heavenly Mother were once mortals as we are now and lived on a different Earth, and that through the atonement of Their Savior as well as making and living up to eternal covenants they qualified themselves for the blessings of exaltation and Godhood.
Article 16.
We believe that as the literal descendants of God we have the same opportunity to participate in the same eternal pattern, to become joint heirs with our Savior, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and receive the same blessings of exaltation and eternal lives.
Article 17.
We believe in the establishment and consecration of holy temples for the administration of sacred ordinances wherein the opportunity and blessings of exaltation are made available to all who choose to qualify for and receive them.
Article 18.
We believe that the eternal and unchanging requirements of salvation and exaltation will always be founded upon the same principles, laws, and covenants which are fulfilled in the administration of the restored ordinances; and that the covenants, principles, and administration of these ordinances are not to be denied or altered otherwise the keys of the priesthood will become a cursing rather than a blessing.
Article 19.
We believe that the fullness of the priesthood restored by Joseph Smith along with all of its associated keys and authority may be conferred upon all men who are prepared and qualified to receive it by a holy anointing; this ordinance, called the Second Anointing, is administered to men one at a time, by revelation and at the hands of others who have previously received it, and is the highest and holiest ordinance administered by men on this earth.
Article 20.
We believe that when a husband and wife have received and kept all of the covenants and ordinances of the gospel and faithfully endure to the end of God’s perfecting work in their lives, they will be invited to enter into the presence of the Lord to receive a divine blessing and inheritance under God’s own hands, either in this mortal lifetime or in the hereafter.
Article 21.
We believe that the family is the fundamental unit of society and that family bonds, including marriage, can be made eternal through the new and everlasting covenant of marriage, wherein a man receives his wife who gives herself to him through the sealing ordinance administered by the priesthood, and who then go on to nurture and cultivate a relationship that is sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise.
Article 22.
We believe that Joseph Smith restored and lived the principle of plural marriage as a fundamental and required component of the new and everlasting covenant of marriage, and as a condition that must be entered into to receive the highest glory of eternity, wherein multiple women are voluntarily married and sealed with a single man of their own free will and choice, thereby providing every woman with the opportunity to marry a godly man of her choosing and be a mother in Zion.
Article 23.
We believe that when women have made covenants with God and their husband, that they obtain the right and privilege of calling upon their husband’s priesthood to administer to her family in times of need; we also believe that through the sacred ordinance of the Second Anointing, a woman has the privilege of being a vessel for the priesthood and can administer in the priesthood as directed by God.
Article 24.
We believe that our physical bodies are created male and female as distinct, incomplete, and complimentary halves which manifest an unchangeable and eternal identity that we all possessed before birth; and like any other temporal weakness common to mankind, gender dysphoria, homosexual attraction, and other distortions of our eternal identities are not sinful in and of themselves, but when acted upon, legitimized, or excused they result in severe consequences of spiritual and temporal destruction to ourselves, our families, and society.