First principles

The fourth Article of Faith explains:

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.

This statement of basic principles of the gospel orders them sequentially. They are the required steps for membership in the Church and define the process of preparation for working out our own salvation.


After we have come to have faith in Christ (necessary before we can take the second step), repented of our sins through His unfathomable atonement (necessary before we can take the third step), accepted baptism for membership in His Church and for witness that we accept the baptismal covenant, (necessary before we can accept the gift of the Holy Ghost), and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost to be a comforter and guide in our lives, then we are equipped to embark on the journey through this life that will take us back to our Father in Heaven.

Perhaps this is one reason why children, at eight years of age, make these covenants and are given these wonderful gifts – so that they are better prepared to repel the whisperings of the adversary as they begin at that tender age to work out their own salvation.

This straightforward preparatory sequence is not well ordered in the scriptures. If we did not have the basic guidance provided by Joseph Smith as he joined these principles together, we might have a more difficult time understanding the true order of preparation and the real requirements for salvation.

One of the great misconceptions in the non-LDS Christian world is the idea that we are saved when we simply accept Christ and believe on his name. Scriptures such as the one in John 5:24 give the impression (when lightly interpreted) that belief is all that is necessary:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

In fact, Jesus was teaching the very first principle of the Gospel as defined in the fourth Article of Faith. A check of the footnotes for verse 24 in the LDS edition of the scriptures reveals that the word “faith” can be substituted for “belief” in that verse. The Savior was identifying the starting point on the path to eternal life, not the end point. He taught this principle many times during his earthly ministry. Always, when he performed a miracle, he did so based on the faith of the person who was receiving the blessing. In John 14:1, He said: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.”

The Book of Mormon helps to clarify the true order of these principles. During Christ’s visit to the Americas, he preached all four of the basic principles of the gospel in the order defined by Joseph Smith to the people:

...Yea, blessed are they who shall believe (have faith) in your words, and come down into the depths of humility (repent) and be baptized, for they shall be visited with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and shall receive a remission of their sins. (3 Nephi 12:2) (italics added)

So we can begin to understand that these basic principles of the Gospel are the gateway to eternal life, not the termination point. Christ himself taught that “He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. (Matt 24:13)

Nephi teaches us in 2 Nephi 31:18, 20 that once we have satisfied these basic requirements, we can then begin to work out our own salvation.

"And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive."

"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life."

Modern scripture (D&C 14:7) reaffirms this:

And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.

“Enduring” brings us joy because of the knowledge of our ability to work out our salvation and the eternal – and earthly – happiness doing so brings. “Behold, we count them happy which endure.” (James 5:11)