Joseph states that the first principles of the gospel are to know for a certainty the character of God.

Date: Aug 15, 1844
Type: Meeting Minutes / Notes
Source: Joseph Smith, Jr.
LDS
Hearsay: Scribed Verbatim
Reprint
Reference: Joseph Smith, 7 April 1844 Discourse, Times and Seasons 5, no. 8 (August 15, 1844): 614
Scribe/Publisher: Times and Seasons
People: Joseph Smith, Jr.
Audience: Reading Public
Transcription: These are incomprehensible ideas to some, but they are the simple and first principles of the gospel, to know for a certainty the character of God, that we may converse with him as one man with another
Source Link: https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/discourse-7-april-1844-as-published-in-times-and-seasons/3
Citations in Mormonr Qnas: Star Wars and Spencer W. Kimball