The Book of Discipline contains two historic documents which are the core of the Church’s official doctrine: The Articles of Religion and The General Rules. The Articles of Religion, like the General Rules, have remained intact in every Methodist Book of Discipline since 1808, by constitutional restriction. The language and style is largely that of the Book of Common Prayer with which John Wesley was familiar in the 18th century. He extracted 24 articles from the original 39 Articles of Religion of the Church of England and sent them, along with his Sunday Service, to the American Methodists in 1784. In addition to the original, two later articles by legislative enactment are included: Of Sanctification and Of the Duty of Christians to the Civil Authority.
— The People Called Methodists, p 94
Like other Christians, Methodists have historically affirmed the great creeds of the early church, such as the Apostolic and Nicene Creeds. See Methodist Doctrines for detail statements.