What do we believe? In 1842, Joseph Smith penned 13 answers to that question, explaining the basic doctrines and practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We all know his Articles of Faith. But there’s a deeper question that sits at the center of each woman’s faith life: What do I believe? Lyric Montgomery Kinard joins Cynthia and Susan for a discussion about personal vs. institutional articles of faith. Though they may change with our life experience, is there value in not just thoughtful consideration of our own beliefs, but actually writing the answers to that question down for ourselves?
Notes & Quotes:
Mary Magdalene Revealed: The First Apostle, Her Feminist Gospel & the Christianity We Haven’t Tried Yet, by Meggan Watterson
An Eternal Quest: Freedom of the Mind, by Hugh B. Brown, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, ed. by Dean C. Jessee
Discourse, 8 April 1843, The Joseph Smith Papers
History, 1838–1856, volume E-1 [1 July 1843–30 April 1844], The Joseph Smith Papers
The 13 Articles of Faith
“There will never be a voice outside of you that is wiser than your soul-voice or holds more authority over what is best for you. You need guidance and support not to follow someone else’s truth but to remain loyal to your own. The voice that will guide you to your highest potential is within you.” — Meggan Watterson, Mary Magdalene Revealed
“…one cannot think right without running the risk of thinking wrong, but generally more thinking is the antidote for the evils that spring from wrong thinking.” — Hugh B. Brown, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
“The first and fundamental principle of our holy religion is, that we have the right to embrace all, and every item of the truth, without limitation or without being circumscribed or prohibited by the creeds and superstitious notions of men.” — Joseph Smith, The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith
“I never thought it was right to call up a man and try him because he erred in doctrine. It looks too much like Methodism and not like Latter-day-Saintism. Methodists have creeds which a man must believe or be kicked out of their church. I want the liberty of believing as I please. It feels so good not to be trammeled. It doesn’t prove that a man is not a good man because he errs in doctrine.”
— Joseph Smith, as reported by William Clayton, The Joseph Smith Papers
“The inquiry is frequently made of me, ‘Wherein do you differ from others in your religious views?’ In reality and essence we do not differ so far in our religious views, but that we could all drink into one principle of love. One of the grand fundamental principles of Mormonism is to receive truth, let it come from whence it may. … Christians should cease wrangling and contending with each other, and cultivate the principles of union and friendship in their midst; and they will do it before the millennium can be ushered in and Christ takes possession of His kingdom.” — Joseph Smith, The Joseph Smith Papers
