---
title: The Articles of Faith
description: "1899 book by James E. Talmage, a Mormon apostle, written at the request of the Mormon Church's First Presidency: twenty-four lectures on the thirteen Articles of Faith, with notes, an outline for class review, and an index."
authors:
  - Talmage, James Edward
collections:
  - theology
tags:
  - theology
  - doctrine
  - 20th-century
  - mormon-writings
  - articles-of-faith
published: "1899"
publisher: The Deseret News
publisher_place: Salt Lake City
edition: First edition (Salt Lake City, 1899)
language: en
type: book
reference: 'James E. Talmage, *The Articles of Faith* (Salt Lake City: The Deseret News, 1899), "Preface."'
source:
  url: https://archive.org/details/articlesoffaiths00talm2
  identifier: articlesoffaiths00talm2
  scan: Harold B. Lee Library (Brigham Young University) copy of the 1899 Deseret News edition, Internet Archive
  transcription: OCR text of the 1899 scan, with line-break hyphens joined, running heads and page numbers removed and obvious scan errors corrected; printed pagination kept as page markers. Footnotes are kept as bracketed notes after the paragraph they follow. Not proofread against the page images.
curator_note: The 1899 first edition, before later revisions; treated as a Mormon primary source, included for historical and doctrinal study. Inclusion does not imply endorsement.
rights:
  status: public-domain
  basis: 1899 US publication (Salt Lake City, The Deseret News; copyright notice of 1899); published before 1931, so public domain in the United States
  source: https://archive.org/details/articlesoffaiths00talm2
  publication_year: 1899
  note: Publication year of the edition used is 1899; any modern rights notice in the Internet Archive metadata does not apply to this 1899 text.
---

# Preface

The lectures herewith presented have been prepared in accordance with the request and appointment of the First Presidency of the Church. The greater number of the addresses were delivered before the Theology Class of the Church University ; and, after the close of the class sessions, the lectures were continued before other Church organizations engaged in the study of Theology. To meet the desire expressed by the Church authorities, — that the lectures be published for use in the various educational institutions of the Church, — the matter has been revised, and is now presented in this form.

In anticipation of probable question or criticism regarding the disparity of length of the several lectures, it may be stated that each of the addresses occupied two or more class sessions, and that the present arrangement of the matter in separate lectures, is rather one of compilation than of original presentation.

The author's thanks are due and are heartily rendered to the members of the Committee appointed by the First Presidency, whose pains-taking and efficient examination of the manuscript, prior to the delivery of the lectures, has inspired some approach to confidence in the prospective value of the book among members of the Church. The committee here referred to consisted of Elders Francis M. Lyman, Abraham H. Cannon, and Anthon H. Lund, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; Elder George Reynolds, one of the Presidents of the Presiding Quorum of Seventy; Elder John Nicholson, and Dr. Karl G. Maeser.

The lectures are now published by the Church, and with them goes the hope of the author that they may prove of some service to the many students of the scriptures among our people, and to other earnest enquirers into the doctrines and practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. James E. Talmage.

Salt Lake City, Utah, April 3, 1899.