Articles of Faith

Articles of Faith is a short religious text by Joseph Smith, first published in 1842. It presents thirteen core beliefs of the Latter Day Saint movement and was originally written as part of a letter sent to Long John Wentworth, editor of the Chicago Democrat. The text is now included in the Pearl of Great Price, and in several Latter Day Saint traditions it is treated as an authoritative summary of basic theology.

This book suits readers who want a compact entry into Mormon history, Christian creeds, or religious writing that lays out doctrine in a clear, numbered form. There is no narrative to follow here, just a concise statement of beliefs, which makes it easy to approach in one sitting. Its distinctive feature is how a brief letter grew into a text that some denominations read as scripture, so it also connects naturally to other doctrinal and theological writings.