Thirteenth Article of Faith

13 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.

In a nutshell, we strive to be good people and seek after good things. Basically we try to pattern our lives after our Savior's life. We believe in being good Christians.

Elder Mark E. Peterson said:

“Honesty, truth, virtue, and kindness are hallmarks of true Christianity. If we lack them, we can hardly say that we follow Christ. …

“… Professions of piety, without the works of piety, are sheer hypocrisy and are dead—even ‘as the body without the spirit is dead.’ (James 2:26.)” (“We Believe in Being Honest,” Ensign, May 1982, 15).

Elder James E. Talmage wrote:

“Religion without morality, professions of godliness without charity, church-membership without adequate responsibility as to individual conduct in daily life, are but as sounding brass and tinkling cymbals. … Honesty of purpose, integrity of soul, individual purity, freedom of conscience, willingness to do good to all men even enemies, pure benevolence—these are some of the fruits by which the religion of Christ may be known, far exceeding in importance and value the promulgation of dogmas and the enunciation of theories” (Articles of Faith, 429). 

President Hinckley had this to say about the 13th Article of Faith:

“[This] article of our faith is one of the basic declarations of our theology. We ought to reflect on it again and again. Then, whenever we might be tempted to do anything shoddy or dishonest or immoral, there would come into our minds with some force this great, all-encompassing statement of the ethics of our behavior.” -- President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008), “Fear Not to Do Good,” Ensign, Jan. 2000, 2.

As members of the Lord's true church we strive to develop Christlike characteristics and live a Christlike life.