Church History
The Articles of Faith and Official Declarations 1 and 2


“Doctrine and Covenants Historical Resources: The Articles of Faith and Official Declarations 1 and 2,” Doctrine and Covenants Historical Resources (2025)

“The Articles of Faith and Official Declarations 1 and 2,” Doctrine and Covenants Historical Resources

The Articles of Faith and Official Declarations 1 and 2

Nineteenth-century photo of the Salt Lake Tabernacle.

The Salt Lake Tabernacle, ca. 1890, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, was the primary gathering space for semiannual general conferences for 132 years. In October 1890, President Wilford Woodruff’s Manifesto was read during general conference here, discontinuing the practice of plural marriage. Photograph by Samuel Horrocks, ca. 1890–1910, Church History Library, PH 8796.)

Historical Background

Revelations in Context

Essays on the background of each revelation.

The Messenger and the Manifesto

Official Declaration 1

Witnessing the Faithfulness

Official Declaration 2

Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days

Narrative history of events surrounding the revelations

Volume 2, Chapter 39

In the Hands of God

Volume 2, Chapter 40

The Right Thing

Volume 4, Chapter 18

All the Blessings of the Gospel

Volume 4, Chapter 19

United as a Family

People

Biographical facts and historical images of individuals associated with the revelations

Places

Maps and information about places associated with the revelations from The Joseph Smith Papers, Historic Sites, and other helpful sources

Events

Timeline placing each revelation in the context of key events in the Church’s first century

Topics

Essays on subjects related to the revelations.

Antipolygamy Legislation

Growth of Missionary Work

Manifesto

Plural Marriage in Utah

Political Neutrality

Priesthood and Temple Restriction

Sources

Historical background and the earliest version of each section of the Doctrine and Covenants, as published in The Joseph Smith Papers and the Church History Library catalog

Articles of Faith

Official Declaration 1

Revelation on Priesthood Accepted, Church Officers Sustained, General Conference, 30 September 1978

Every Faithful, Worthy Man in the Church May Now Receive the Priesthood, Ensign, July 1978

Artist’s rendering of a person being confirmed.

Restored ordinances bless the lives of all God’s children. Working in batik, a traditional art form in Sierra Leone, artist Emile Wilson shows local members officiating in the priesthood. Emile Wilson, Confirmation in Sierra Leone, 1992, batik, Church History Museum.