This will finish up the last of the The posts preceding this have the rest:
Mormon Articles of Faith: We Believe . . . Part 2
Mormon Articles of Faith: We Believe . . . Part 1
Eleventh: 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.
This is a big one for Mormons. From the time Joseph Smith, Jr. had The First Vision there has been persecution. It reached its most brutal height at 5:15 in the evening of June 27th of 1844 when our prophet, Joseph, and his brother, Hyrum, who was also the Church Patriarch, were assassinated by a mob with their faces painted black. The persecution continued for decades to come, but not at that level.
It became so important that the principle of religious freedom, guaranteed all Americans in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution,
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. (U.S. Constitution, Amendment 1)
be granted to every Mormon, that Joseph Smith, Jr. included it in the Articles of Faith which he wrote in answer to a request from a Chicago newspaper. Even now, when the anti-Mormon attacks are rising to a higher level than they have been in decades, this Article of Faith declares to the world that we wish the right to worship according to the dictates of our conscience and we afford you that same right.
Twelfth: We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
Mormons are taught to obey the law, it’s as simple as that. There are times when that becomes very difficult, for instance, when German Mormons were drafted into Hitler’s army, they had no choice but to fight because we stand by what we believe: we are subject to the law.
Thirteenth: 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.
This Article of Faith is truly wonderful. It is the description of all Mormons who live their religion. We try so hard to seek after the good qualities outlined above. As disciples of Jesus Christ, it behooves us to behave like He did, and that is “being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men.” Those can’t just be words, they must be a constant way of life.
Joseph Smith
