The Doctrines and Principles contained in the Articles of Faith!

The Doctrines and Principles contained in the Articles of Faith

By Elder L. Tom Perry

What Stood out to Me:

1. We Learn from the first article of faith that the Godhead is three personages: God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost.

2. The second article teaches us that we are responsible for our own actions on earth.

3. The third gives a vision of the Savior's mission for the salvation of Father in Heavens's children.

4. The Fourth teaches the importance of basic principles and ordinances.

5. The Scriptures guide us to a standard of truth by which we can judge the knowledge we are receiving, whether it be true or false.

6. The doctrine is to the Church like a battery is to a cell phone. when you remove the battery from your cell phone, it becomes useless. A church in which true doctrine is no longer taught is similarly useless. It cannot guide us back to our Heavenly Father and our eternal home. 

7. After we start to  understand the basic doctrine of Christ, the fifth and sixth articles of faith teach us about the organization and the order of the priesthood.

8. When we receive the priesthood, we receive the authority to act in the name of God and lead in ways of truth and righteousness. This authority is a vital source of righteous power and influence for the benefit of God's children on earth and will last beyond the veil. It was necessary for the priesthood to be restored before the true Church of Jesus Christ could be organized. This is the fundamental lesson we learn from the fifth and sixth articles of faith.

9. The next three articles of faith-seven, eight, and nine-outline resources available to instruct us in our mortal journey. We are given spiritual gifts to guide us as we follow the Lord's teachings and to protect us from evil. The scriptures are another guide; if we read carefully the word of God, He will reveal our path back to eternal life.

10.  The tenth, eleventh and twelfth articles of faith instruct us on how to conduct missionary work and share the gospel in a world of many nations and various laws.

11. The thirteenth article of faith provides special insight into how we should conduct our lives and present ourselves.

12. The truths taught in the Articles of Faith build upon one another like the components of a cell phone mutually supporting one another. Like the elaborate supply chain that adds components to a cell phone, the Articles of Faith supply us with key doctrines of the Restoration. Each article of faith adds unique value to our understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

13. You young men-I encourage you to use your bright minds to study and learn the Articles of Faith and the doctrines they teach. They are among the most important and certainly the most concise statements of doctrine in the Church. If you will use them as a guide to direct your studies of the gospel of Jesus Christ, you will find yourself prepared to declare your witness of the restored truth to the world. You will be able to declare in simple, straightforward, and profound ways the core beliefs you hold dear as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

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The Articles of Faith

(as found on lds.org)

 1 We ^abelieve in ^bGod, the Eternal Father, and in His ^cSon, Jesus Christ, and in the ^dHoly Ghost.

 2 We believe that men will be ^apunished for their ^bown sins, and not for ^cAdam’s transgression.

 3 We believe that through the ^aAtonement of Christ, all ^bmankind may be ^csaved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

 4 We believe that the first principles and ^aordinances of the Gospel are: first, ^bFaith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, ^cRepentance; third, ^dBaptism by ^eimmersion for the ^fremission of sins; fourth, Laying on of ^ghands for the ^hgift of the Holy Ghost.

 5 We believe that a man must be ^acalled of God, by ^bprophecy, and by the laying on of ^chands by those who are in ^dauthority, to ^epreach the Gospel and administer in the ^fordinances thereof.

 6 We believe in the same ^aorganization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, ^bprophets, ^cpastors, ^dteachers, ^eevangelists, and so forth.

 7 We believe in the ^agift of ^btongues, ^cprophecy, ^drevelation, ^evisions, ^fhealing, ^ginterpretation of tongues, and so forth.

 8 We believe the ^aBible to be the ^bword of God as far as it is translated ^ccorrectly; we also believe the ^dBook of Mormon to be the word of God.

 9 We believe all that God has ^arevealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet ^breveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

 10 We believe in the literal ^agathering of Israel and in the restoration of the ^bTen Tribes; that ^cZion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will ^dreign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be ^erenewed and receive its ^fparadisiacal ^gglory.

 11 We claim the ^aprivilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the ^bdictates of our own ^cconscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them ^dworship how, where, or what they may.

 12 We believe in being ^asubject to ^bkings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in ^cobeying, honoring, and sustaining the ^dlaw.

 13 ^aWe believe in being ^bhonest, true, ^cchaste, ^dbenevolent, virtuous, and in doing ^egood to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we ^fhope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to ^gendure all things. If there is anything ^hvirtuous, ⁱlovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.