Standard of Truth

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

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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:

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If you have any questions or possible topics of discussion for upcoming podcasts, please email us at: ⁠⁠questions@standardoftruthpodcast.com

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:
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Richard braves self-diagnosed tuberculosis as he and Dr. Gerrit Dirkmaat dig into the mailbag: identical twins listening from two different Zions, an ambitious MTC zone leader, and a great question from Joni. Did a prophet really call Del Parson's red-robe painting the most accurate likeness of Christ? Gerrit explains why that's folklore, and why the anti-Catholic climate of the Second Great Awakening made images of Jesus and even crosses on churches, unthinkable for early American Protestants. 

Then the Great Apostates Hall of Shame lands at #8: Ezra Booth, the Methodist minister converted by a miraculous healing in the Hiram, Ohio home, who reportedly walked away once he realized the Restored Church offered no paid clergy.

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:
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In this episode, we continue our discussion of the Lyceum (debates/discussions) in Nauvoo. From the most popular chewing tobacco (it is Copenhagen byt the way) to manners and the Trinity, we  just about cover everything

#SmallWonder

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Was Francis Scott Key a bitter recluse who denounced America and wrote the anthem from a boat offshore? No, no he was not.

 

Elder Gurr writes in with an investigator's list of questions, and we tackle the big ones. Who holds the authority to decide which parts of the Bible are "translated correctly"? Who decided the canon, and why did Protestants pull the Apocrypha after 1,400 years? On grace versus works, why "saved by grace alone" quietly assumes a premise a billion Catholics reject, and why Calvinists and Arminians don't even worship the same Jesus.

 

The upshot: the disagreement itself is the case for a Restoration.

 

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:

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The podcast begins with the US-Bosnia World Cup match (SEC championships as the definitive metric), then open the Phoebe Draper Palmer Brown mailbag. Jerry from North Dakota earns a heartfelt thank-you and an unnecessary swipe at the Bismarck capitol building, plus a Roosevelt-in-the-Badlands tangent and BYU's windowless MARB building. Elder Ballard (the Nauvoo Mississippi River mission one) requests a new segment: ranking the top apostates.

 

Enter the debut of the "The Great Apostate Hall of Shame." First up, outside-looking-in: Joseph Wakefield, a powerhouse early missionary who baptized George A. Smith, then apostatized, joined Kirtland's anti-Mormon committee, and helped hire Philastus Hurlbut.

 

Reason for Apostasy: He couldn't accept D&C 76's expansive vision of heaven.

The Takeaway: Don't let any belief become the one that separates you from the prophet.

 

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:

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We are recording in front of a live studio audience in Nauvoo, Illinois. 

In this week's episode, we begin with a movie review of the 1980s classic Prodigal Son and Cipher in the Snow, and then make the obvious transition to Nauvoo Lyceum. Gerrit regales the audience with several topics discussed in this adult education program, and we cover the Chestnut Hill College Lacrosse Team's dominance from 2021 to 2024

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:
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In this episode, we answer a litter's questions who wrote while in "DEEP" labor asking about the lesser-known Pratt brothers and an audio submission from Filer, Idaho about the legend that Joseph of Arimathea brought the teenage Jesus to Cornwall. Gerrit traces the idea to William of Malmesbury's 12th-century history of Glastonbury and its tangle of Arthurian folklore.

 

We close with part three of our King Follett sermon series, where Gerrit warns against apologists who lean on the Thomas Bullock account's apparent mistranscription to claim Joseph taught God was God from all eternity, arguing that you can't play historian with one discrepant source against five consistent ones, and that watering down what Joseph actually taught to appease traditional Christian critics is selling your birthright for a mess of pottage that won't even fill you up.

 

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:

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This episode was recorded 4 1/2 years ago, but was never released. In this episode, Gerrit provides context around the setting of Joseph Smith’s King Follett Sermon.

If you would like to follow what Sweetwater Rescue is doing, specifically our most recent trip to Nairobi Kenya please follow us on Instagram or Facebook. 

 

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