For starters, the Articles of Faith are a good set of basic doctrines which should be accepted prior to joining the church. I won't list them here.

To be more specific, I believe when I was a missionary giving baptismal interviews, I would commonly ask people two type of questions: what they believe, and what they agree to do.

*belief questions*

1. do you believe in God?

2. do you believe in Christ, and that salvation comes through Him?

3. do you believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God

4. do you believe that the Book of Mormon is the word of God?

5. do you believe that Gordon Hinckley (the current President of the Church) is a prophet of God?

*action questions*

1. will you attend church regularly?

2. will you keep the Law of Chastity, that is abstain from sexual relations except with your spouse?

3. will you keep the Word of Wisdom, that is abstain from coffee, black tea, alcohol, tabacco, and illegal drugs?

4. will you keep the Law of Tithing, that is donate 10% of your income to the church

5. (possibly ask them about fasting once a month and donating fast offerings, but I can't remember for sure)

The reason I asked these types of questions was twofold, to make sure they understood, and to make sure they were ready. For example, asking them what they understood about Joseph Smith, and what they thought about him was a good measuring stick to see if they really had an inkling of what the missionaries had (supposedly) taught them.

Also, I should note, if one loses faith, or does not hold to the standards agreed upon, that does not necessarily mean the person would be kicked out of the church. I haven't been involved in any excommunications, so I can't say for sure when they would occur, but some general rules seem to be: (a) each case is handled individually, (b) some offenses are more serious than others, and (c) people with more ecclesiastical responsibility are held to a higher standard. So for example, a "regular" member would probably not be excommunicated for failing to keep the Word of Wisdom, but a bishop might be. I doubt anyone would be ever be excommunicated for failing to pay tithing. Regular members may well be excommunicated for cheating on their spouses. Point (d) about excommunication is that (paradoxically) it generally does not happen unless the member desires to stay active in the church-- otherwise the member just stops coming.