Our Faith

We are faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Our basic beliefs are summed up in what we call The Thirteen Articles of Faith:

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

When Joseph Smith prayed in the woods at the age of 14, he was visited by two personages: God the Father, and Jesus Christ, so we know that they are separate beings (though one in purpose). We pray directly to our Heavenly Father, and believe He created each of us and we are His spirit children. To read more and for scripture references visit this page and this page from lds.org.

2 We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.

                  
We believe that babies come to Earth, pure and innocent, so there is no need to baptize them. To learn more about baptism, please visit this page (on Mormon.org). To learn more about what modern revelation teaches us about Adam and Eve, visit this page on lds.org.

3 We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

To understand more about our Savior's atonement, please visit this page.

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.

Marissa was baptized at the age of eight in Arequipa, Peru

To read more about the fourth article of faith, please visit this page.

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.

6 We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the same organization that Jesus Christ set up when he walked the earth. We have a quorum of twelve apostles and a living prophet. We have the Priesthood, which is God's authority here on earth. To learn more, please read A Brief Introduction to the Church.

7 We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.

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.

We love and study the Bible in-depth. We have additional scripture as well, which all testify of Jesus Christ. To explain more about our beliefs on the Bible, please visit this helpful page. Please read The Book of Mormon and give it a chance. It's a beautiful, true book of scripture which actually compliments the Bible. There is a promise given at the end of The Book of Mormon, which you can find here.

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.

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.

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.

12 We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.

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.

Our Heavenly Father has a plan for each of His children which we often call the Plan of Salvation or the Plan of Happiness. It's a beautiful plan and you may learn more about it by requesting a visit with our delightful missionaries (missionaries such as my sweet daughter, Marissa) or just by browsing Mormon.org. You may also request a free Book of Mormon and/or a free Bible.