`A key document of the restoration of gospel'
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At the April 1992 general conference, Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve referred to a letter that Joseph Smith wrote in 1842 to John Wentworth, editor of the Chicago Democrat as "a key document of the restoration of the gospel."
Mr. Wentworth had asked the Prophet for a statement of his religious beliefs. Joseph Smith's response, commonly known as "the Wentworth Letter," presents a "sketch of the rise, progress, persecution, and faith of the Latter-day Saints." (History of the Church 4:535.)"It apparently was the first published account of principal events that occurred in the thirty-six-year period after the Prophet's birth," Elder Wirthlin said of the document. "The last part of the letter, the Articles of Faith, is a concise statement of fundamental beliefs of the Church. The fact that one heaven-inspired person rather than a council of scholars produced this remarkable document is another evidence of Joseph Smith's divine calling." (See History of the Church, 4:535 note.)
The Articles of Faith contain 13 separate statements, each expressing a belief of the Church. An official expression of Latter-day Saint doctrine, they are published at the end of the Pearl of Great Price.
In writing the Articles of Faith, it appears that the Prophet avoided using a hard-line or dogmatic style of writing. The wording of the Articles of Faith is open, even friendly. Those who sincerely desire to know what the Church's tenets are will certainly find the Articles of Faith appealing to read.
