Activity: The Power of the Articles of Faith

Discover how the Articles of Faith can strengthen your testimony and help you share the gospel.

When a friend asks a question about your religious beliefs, it might be helpful to use the Articles of Faith to answer. Here’s a group activity to help you learn.

Find a large ball (like a soccer ball or basketball or bouncy ball) and a marker. Make sure that the marker doesn’t use permanent ink. Then write the following 13 clues about the Articles of Faith on the ball:

1. Godhead
2. Adam
3. Atonement
4. Principles and Ordinances
5. Callings
6. Organization
7. Gifts
8. Scriptures
9. Revelation
10. Israel
11. Worshipping
12. Law
13. Paul

Stand in a circle with one person standing outside the circle with their back to the group (this person has access to the scriptures). Toss the ball around from person to person as fast as you can without dropping it. When the person outside the circle shouts Stop, stop passing the ball.

The person holding the ball looks at the word and number closest to their right thumb. Then the person tries to say in their own words what the corresponding article of faith means. The person could also try to recite the article of faith, or they could give an example of a question that could be answered by that article of faith.

Be sensitive to the abilities of your group members. Some people may struggle to memorize or to read. Consider how you can adapt this activity so everyone in your group can participate. For example, you could allow players to ask the person standing outside the circle to read the first five words of an article of faith as a hint.

• Create 26 cards, two for each article of faith. On the first 13 cards, write the words of each article of faith. On the next 13 cards, draw a picture representing the doctrine of each article of faith. Turn all cards upside down and take turns with a friend trying to find each match. When you turn over the text and the matching picture for one article of faith, keep the two matching cards and take another turn.
• Make a trivia game by creating cards with questions such as “Which article of faith talks about the admonition of Paul?” or “Which article of faith tells us that God still speaks to us?” After making the cards, play a few rounds with your group.

Encourage youth to talk about how what they are learning can help them and others grow closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Discussions can take place before, during, or after the activity and should last just a few minutes. You could ask questions like the following:

• Why do you think we continue to learn the Articles of Faith that the Prophet Joseph Smith wrote so long ago?
• Was there a time when you used the Articles of Faith to answer others’ questions? Can you imagine such a situation in the future?
• What feelings or impressions do you have about the beliefs taught in the Articles of Faith?

• “The Doctrines and Principles Contained in the Articles of Faith” (video), youth.ChurchofJesusChrist.org
• “Articles of Faith,” Gospel Topics, topics.ChurchofJesusChrist.org
• “The 13th Article of Faith: Standing Together” (video), youth.ChurchofJesusChrist.org

• Strengthening Scripture Study Skills
• Using the Book of Mormon to Answer Life’s Questions