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Standard of Truth: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Dr. Gerrit Dirkmaat
The purpose of this podcast is to help Latter-Day Saints better understand their history and increase their faith. The podcast hosted by Dr. Gerrit Dirkmaat, associate professor of Church History and Doctrine at BYU.
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- 3 days ago1h 18m
S6E37 Exceptions Are God's to Make
We celebrate 10 million downloads, the arrival of video recordings of the podcast, and a missionary listener who has built a four-generation podcast family tree using "phone checks" on exchanges. After Nauvoo and before St. George, where did the Saints receive their endowments? Gerrit walks through the Council House, the Endowment House, and Addison Pratt's 1849 endowment atop Ensign Peak, and why exceptions belong to God and His prophets, not to us. A listener shares how the podcast helped a friend through a faith crisis. Gerrit also reads a Shaker elder's 1830 journal account of Oliver Cowdery's visit: an early description of translation by spectacles and hat, and a rejection of the Book of Mormon because it fails to preach celibacy. If you are interested in joining us in 2027 in Palmyra and Kirtland, August 1st through August 7th, click on the link below and reserve your spot: https://pci.jotform.com/form/261567888174171 Sign up for our free monthly email: https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com (https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com/) If you have any questions or possible topics of discussion for upcoming podcasts, please email us at: questions@standardoftruthpodcast.com Sign up for our free monthly email: https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com (https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com/) If you have any questions or possible topics of discussion for upcoming podcasts, please email us at: questions@standardoftruthpodcast.com
- 1 weeks ago1h 9m
S6E36 Joseph Smith on the Second Coming (Churchy McChurch Church)
The heart of the episode is a Lyceum dive into a March 16, 1841 discourse of Joseph Smith on the Second Coming and the Millennium. Joseph taught that the wicked won't all be destroyed at Christ's coming, that non-members will remain through the Millennium, and that Christ will come and go rather than reside on earth continuously. We trace how Brigham Young echoed these ideas in Civil War-era sermons, contrast pre-, post-, and amillennial views, and close on the expansive, near-universal scope of salvation in Latter-day Saint theology. We also talk about college football, the perils of a name like "Kjersta," and the news that Richard’s son (Elder Parker LeDuc) finally requested podcast access after 34 days in the Mexico MTC (while Kai skips the overbooked Philippine MTC entirely and heads straight to the field). If you are interested in joining us in 2027 in Palmyra and Kirtland, August 1st through August 7th, click on the link below and reserve your spot: https://pci.jotform.com/form/261567888174171 Sign up for our free monthly email: https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com (https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com/) If you have any questions or possible topics of discussion for upcoming podcasts, please email us at: questions@standardoftruthpodcast.com
- 2 weeks ago1h 7m
S6E35 The Great Apostate Hall of Shame - #8 Ezra Booth Part 5 (FINAL)
Richard hadn't showered in days, his water heater's dead, and his family staged an intervention over his baggy clothes. We read emails from listeners and missionaries, including an elder serving in the California Ontario Mission, whose Gen Z slang ("capping," "yapping") had us reaching for a translation guide. Then we got into apostate #8: Ezra Booth. A former Methodist minister and early high priest, Booth apostatized barely a year into the Church and published the first widely reprinted insider attacks on Joseph Smith, fuel for Eber Howe's Mormonism Unveiled. We dug into Sidney Rigdon's public debate challenge, D&C 71, and why Booth grasped prophetic authority better than today's splinter movements. The takeaway, vet your sources and stay close to the prophets. If you are interested in joining us in 2027 in Palmyra and Kirtland, August 1st through August 7th, click on the link below and reserve your spot: https://pci.jotform.com/form/261567888174171 Sign up for our free monthly email: https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com (https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com/) If you have any questions or possible topics of discussion for upcoming podcasts, please email us at: questions@standardoftruthpodcast.com
- 3 weeks ago1h 4m
S6E34 The Great Apostate Hall of Shame - #8 Ezra Booth Part 4
In this episode, we continue our deep dive into Ezra Booth's anti-Mormon letters from October 1831, examining how this early apostate mounted his attack against our fledgling church. What fascinates us most is that Booth personally witnessed miracles, including Elsa Johnson's arm being healed, yet later dismissed such spiritual experiences as delusion or deliberate fraud. We highlight striking logical contradictions in his arguments: he claims only Joseph saw angels, then attacks witness testimonies about seeing them. His scattershot approach, depicting believers as liars, crazy, or stupid, mirrors modern anti-Mormon rhetoric perfectly. Ironically, Booth himself confirms early church members used "Melchizedek priesthood" language and testified of spiritual experiences, undermining later revisionist claims these were later developments. If you are interested in joining us in 2027 in Palmyra and Kirtland, August 1st through August 7th, click on the link below and reserve your spot: https://pci.jotform.com/form/261567888174171 Sign up for our free monthly email: https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com (https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com/) If you have any questions or possible topics of discussion for upcoming podcasts, please email us at: questions@standardoftruthpodcast.com
- Aug 20, 20261h 6m
S6E33 Did Brigham Revise Joseph's Journal?
We open with incredible news from Sweetwater Rescue: a second Kyulu Stake group reached the Nairobi Kenya Temple and set a record for the most endowments performed in an African temple in a single day. Gerrit answers a litner’s question on whether or not Brigham Young secretly altered Joseph Smith’s journals to invent polygamy, a claim popular among denialists. Gerrit's dander meter climbs as he unpacks what "revised history" actually meant, why the sources hold up, and the irony of the charge coming from the Bickertonite tradition, which rejects nearly everything Joseph taught after the Book of Mormon. If you are interested in joining us in 2027 in Palmyra and Kirtland, August 1st through August 7th, click on the link below and reserve your spot: https://pci.jotform.com/form/261567888174171 Sign up for our free monthly email: https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com (https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com/) If you have any questions or possible topics of discussion for upcoming podcasts, please email us at: questions@standardoftruthpodcast.com
- Aug 13, 20261h 9m
S6E32 The Great Apostate Hall of Shame - #8 Ezra Booth Part 3
This episode of the Standard of Truth continues discussing the apostasy of Ezra Booth, a former Methodist minister who joined the early Church after witnessing Joseph Smith heal Elsa Johnson’s arm. Gerrit traces Booth’s journey to Missouri in 1831, his disillusionment upon finding the future site of Zion to be a rough frontier town, and his subsequent public renunciation of the faith through nine letters published in the Ohio Star. We examine how Booth reframed Mormonism as a deliberate deception rather than sincere belief, and how anti-Mormon arguments shifted from “converts are biblically ignorant” to “converts are insane” once educated ministers joined. Link to the Norm McDonald’s Better Than Ezra joke: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Zyaf1Vg4S7I If you are interested in joining us in 2027 in Palmyra and Kirtland, August 1st through August 7th, click on the link below and reserve your spot: https://pci.jotform.com/form/261567888174171 Sign up for our free monthly email: https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com (https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com/) If you have any questions or possible topics of discussion for upcoming podcasts, please email us at: questions@standardoftruthpodcast.com
- Aug 6, 20261h 9m
S6E31 The Great Apostate Hall of Shame - #8 Ezra Booth Part 2
In this episode we dive deeper into Ezra Booth, ranked #8 in the "Great Apostate Hall of Shame." Once a prominent Methodist minister leading anti-Masonry campaigns in Ohio, Booth's conversion to Mormonism shocked his community and sparked heated newspaper responses. We examine his miraculous experiences witnessing the instant healing of Eliza Johnson and attending the historic June 1831 ordination of high priesthood in Kirtland, where Satan allegedly manifested to disrupt proceedings. Yet despite these profound spiritual experiences, Booth would soon apostatize, becoming one of the Church's most vocal and cruel enemies. The episode explores how even those who witness divine power can fall away, emphasizing the importance of daily spiritual practice. If you are interested in joining us in 2027 in Palmyra and Kirtland, August 1st through August 7th, click on the link below and reserve your spot: https://pci.jotform.com/form/261567888174171 Sign up for our free monthly email: https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com (https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com/) If you have any questions or possible topics of discussion for upcoming podcasts, please email us at: questions@standardoftruthpodcast.com
- Jul 30, 20261h 13m
S6E30 Where There's Smoke: The Bad Logic Behind Anti-Mormon Claims
In this episode, Gerrit pays a heartfelt tribute to Eric Smith, a beloved Joseph Smith Papers colleague and devoted listener who recently passed after a long battle with cancer, complete with the legendary tales of stolen break-room milk and a service missionary's knuckle-deep Oreo heist. The mailbag delivers a live-show love story, a a testimony-strengthening note from Kimberly, and a listener's run-in with anti-Mormon radio. That sparks a robust discussion on how critics caricature Latter-day Saint belief without ever reading Doctrine and Covenants 76. Poor Ezra Booth gets bumped yet again. Gina and Eric’s Cancer Relief Fund https://www.gofundme.com/f/eric-and-ginas-cancer-relief-fund?attribution_id=sl:87024ae3-cbef-4e34-98d5-176e68d9ec63&ts=1784776752&utm_campaign=natman_sharesheet_dash&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link&video_sharing=enabled If you are interested in joining us in 2027 in Palmyra and Kirtland, August 1st through August 7th, click on the link below and reserve your spot: https://pci.jotform.com/form/261567888174171 Sign up for our free monthly email: https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com (https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com/) If you have any questions or possible topics of discussion for upcoming podcasts, please email us at: questions@standardoftruthpodcast.com
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About Standard of Truth
The purpose of this podcast is to help Latter-Day Saints better understand their history and increase their faith. The podcast hosted by Dr. Gerrit Dirkmaat, associate professor of Church History and Doctrine at BYU.
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