Personal Fact Sheet About the Church

Article of Faith #1

We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in His Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

Idea for Family Home Evening Lesson:
Write your own Fact Sheet about what we believe as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints AND brief responses to questions people might ask us about the Church.







This was a challenge or assignment given to each of us in the talk by Elder Ballard during the October 2007 General Conference.


What I believe? (be prepared to tell people what you believe)


First, get a copy of the Articles of Faith. Every child before the age of 12 is challenged to memorize them.

What are they?


Answer: In 1842, Joseph Smith was inspired to write a fact sheet about the Church in which he listed 13 statements of believe in response to a request by a newspaper editor. The list of beliefs called the Wentworth letter) was later titled the "Articles of Faith." These thirteen items were first published in the Nauvoo Times and Seasons in March 1842 and were later included in the 1851 British Mission pamphlet The Pearl of Great Price, compiled by Elder Franklin D. Richards.


That pamphlet was revised in 1878 and again in 1880. In the 1880 General Conference, the Church voted to add the Pearl of Great Price to the standard works of the Church, thus including the thirteen articles.


Second, Elder Ballard suggested we prepare a one page fact sheet to go along with our personal copy of the Articles of Faith (found immediately following the Pearl of Great Price in your scriptures).


Response: What did Nephi say in 1 Nephi 3:7 when he was given such assignments? "I will go and I will do." (So can you pull up a blank word document or get a blank sheet of paper and begin yours today?)

Personal Fact Sheet on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

• Mormon - a nickname for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Members are often referred to as "Mormons" because of a belief in the Book of Mormon. They are also called "Latter-day Saints" or "LDS". The word Saint means "member" according to the Bible.
• Book of Mormon - a second witness for the Bible. A proof that Joseph Smith was a prophet. A record of the people who lived on the American continents at the same time prophets lived in Jerusalem.
• Church history - restored in 1830 in upstate New York by Joseph Smith who was the first prophet in these days. Today the headquarters of the Church is in Salt Lake City, Utah and Gordon B. Hinckley is the current prophet.
• Membership - there are over 13 million people who belong to the Church and they live in 176 countries. About 6 million members live in the United States where it is the fourth largest Christian denomination. It is one of the fastest growing Christian religions in the world and completes a new chapel every day of the year. Members follow the commandment of old in paying a tithe of their earnings making this possible.
• West Indies Mission - there are over 6,400 members living in the West Indies Mission. The mission includes the islands ofSt. Maarten, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago; and the countries of Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.
• No Paid Clergy - local congregations are led by volunteer, unpaid members. Both men and women serve in assigned leadership positions, but no position is more important than another.
• Family - Mormons place strong emphasis on the family as the basic unit of the Church and of society. We have a deep commitment to marriage (defined as a union between one man and one woman).
• Polygamy - a limited practice, also found in the Old Testament, discontinued by revelation in 1890, some 117 years ago.
• Sunday worship - anyone can attend Sunday services in our meeting houses. Here we worship together, instructing one another from the scriptures.
• Programs for all ages - The Church has auxiliary programs for women, youth and children as a support to the family.
• Geneology - the highest and most sacred ordinances of our faith relate to our families, both living and dead. Some of these ordinances take places in temples. For this reason there is much focus on extended family, geneological research, and personal family history.
• Health code - Mormons neither smoke, drink coffee, tea or alcohol, or take drugs. In 1833 the Lord revealed to Joseph Smith the Word of Wisdom, which is the way to live in order to enjoy a long and healthy life.
• Missionaries - over 70,000 members volunteer at their own expense to serve for 18 to 24 months in humanitarian efforts, Church service assignments and full-time missionary service throughout the world.
• Priesthood - in 1978 the Lord revealed the instruction that all worthy males should hold the Priesthood, which is the authority to act in God's name.