Standard of Truth

S5E27 - Used Car Salesman Johann Tetzel (formerly premium content from JSR)

Martin Luther's disgust with the used car salesmen of indulgence peddlers, Johann Teztel, drive him to cross the religious Rubicon and nail his 95 theses to the door.  The Protestant Reformation is about to explode.

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S5E26 - Prelude to the Reformation (formerly premium content from JSR)

Before we dive headfirst into Martin Luther we spend a little time talking about a few of his predecessors. We discuss the impact that Augustine of Hippo (354-430), John Wycliffe (1328-1384), and Jan Huss (1369-1415) had on Christian thought. We also discuss the merits of throwing people out of windows as a solution to your problems. 

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S5E25 - Formation of the New Testament (formerly premium content from JSR)

In this episode, we discuss whether or not God created the Dodge Dart. Marcion also had a question about whether or not the God of the Old Testament was the same as Jesus. His heretical arguments lead to the formation of the accepted Christian canon.

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S5E24 Was Hyrum Smith Called as an Apostle?

We begin the episode with Richard recounting a personal spiritual experience at a sacrament meeting in Fruita, Colorado… home of Mike the Headless Chicken. We then answer a litner’s question: Was Hyrum Smith an apostle? We discuss Hyrum’s unique role in the Church, drawing from Doctrine & Covenants 124 and the Council of Fifty minutes. Gerrit walks through the complexity of 19th-century Church leadership structure, why modern categories like “apostle” don’t always cleanly map to early Church roles, and why Hyrum’s spiritual authority was second only to Joseph’s. Finally, Gerrit shares a powerful, little-known sermon from Hyrum Smith delivered just months before his death, where Hyrum tells the Council of Fifty to stop worrying about how God’s work will be done, and start believing that He will do it.

 

Mike the Headless Chicken: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34198390

 

Kristy’s KorneЯ (Last Minute Lesson Prep): The Lord chastens Richard (D&C 58:4 and D&C 3:1)

  

Standard of Truth Tour dates for the summer of 2026: ⁠ https://standardoftruth.com/tours/

Missouri/Nauvoo – June 14^th through June 20^th – 3 spots left

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

S5E23 Faith Crisis

In this episode, we receive another email from an expecting mother and discuss whether Sir Isaac Newton dabbling in wizardry. We also talk about loved ones who go through a faith crisis and Gerrit shares experiences from the frontlines of faith conversations.

Kristy’s KorneЯ (Last Minute Lesson Prep): We introduce a new stinger and Gerrit gives a couple of nuggets for D&C 54 

Standard of Truth Tour dates for the summer of 2026: ⁠ https://standardoftruth.com/tours/ 

Missouri/Nauvoo – June 14th through June 20th – 6 spots
Palmyra/Kirtland – June 21st through June 27th – SOLD OUT 
Palmyra/Kirtland – July 12th through July 18th – SOLD OUT 

Sweetwater Rescue Temple Project: Helping the Saints of Lithuania get to the Helsinki, Finland Temple https://www.sweetwaterrescue.org/current 
If you would like to donate, please click on the link: https://www.sweetwaterrescue.org/donate 

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

S5B4 rerelease of S1E9 D&C 49

Revisit this classic episode, now rereleased as a bonus, for a reminder that even in the Restoration's earliest years, the gospel was already colliding with the religious fringe.

We go back to early 1831 and unpack one of the most unusual revelations in the D&C 49. Directed to the now all-but-extinct Shaker community, this revelation responds directly to a faith group that believed Jesus had already returned… as a woman.

What begins as a historical tour through a radical offshoot of Quakerism becomes a broader exploration of how early Latter-day Saints navigated wildly different theological worlds.

Standard of Truth Tour dates for the summer of 2026: ⁠ https://standardoftruth.com/tours/
Missouri/Nauvoo – June 14th through June 20th – 12 spots remaining
Palmyra/Kirtland – June 21st through June 27th – SOLD OUT
Palmyra/Kirtland – July 12th through July 18th – SOLD OUT

Sweetwater Rescue Temple Project: Helping the Saints of Lithuania get to the Helsinki, Finland Temple https://www.sweetwaterrescue.org/current
If you would like to donate, please click on the link: https://www.sweetwaterrescue.org/donate

Sign up for our free monthly email: ⁠ ⁠https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com⁠

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

S5E22 Anti-Mormon Claims on Social Media

In this episode, we discuss a cornucopia of issues from our Hindu and Buddhist friends to claims of sex trafficking by the New York Times. It takes about 45 minutes, but Gerrit’s dander is up. In fact, Gerrit’s dander has never been higher.

Kristy’s KorneЯ (Last Minute Lesson Prep): D&C 49 discussion about Shakers  
  
Standard of Truth Tour dates for the summer of 2026: ⁠ https://standardoftruth.com/tours/
Missouri/Nauvoo – June 14th through June 20th – 12 spots remaining 
Palmyra/Kirtland – June 21st through June 27th – SOLD OUT
Palmyra/Kirtland – July 12th through July 18th – SOLD OUT

Sweetwater Rescue Temple Project: Helping the Saints of Lithuania get to the Helsinki, Finland Temple https://www.sweetwaterrescue.org/current
If you would like to donate, please click on the link: https://www.sweetwaterrescue.org/donate

Sign up for our free monthly email: ⁠ ⁠https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com⁠
 
If you have any questions or possible topics of discussion for upcoming podcasts, please email us at: ⁠⁠questions@standardoftruthpodcast.com

S5E21 Worship Services and the Omnipotence of God

In this episode, we hope the litners will also enjoy a heartfelt shout-out to Elder Crum, Elder Crum, possibly a third Elder Crum and his Deseret flag sewing companions, a reflection on the doctrine of intelligence from D&C 93, and a deeper exploration into the Latter-day Saint rejection of creation ex nihilo.

 

Kristy’s KorneЯ (Last Minute Lesson Prep): Latter-day Saint worship services were designed to be open to all, excommunicated members, seekers, and non-believers. This was VERY uncommon at the time D&C 46 was received.

  

Standard of Truth Tour dates for the summer of 2026: ⁠ https://standardoftruth.com/tours/

Missouri/Nauvoo – June 14^th through June 20^th  

Palmyra/Kirtland – June 21^st through June 27^th – SOLD OUT

Palmyra/Kirtland – July 12^th through July 18^th

 

Sweetwater Rescue Temple Project: Helping the Saints of Lithuania get to the Helsinki, Finland Temple https://www.sweetwaterrescue.org/current
If you would like to donate, please click on the link: https://www.sweetwaterrescue.org/donate

Sign up for our free monthly email: ⁠ ⁠https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com⁠

 

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

S5E20 The Power of Shared Visions

This episode begins with a high-stakes battle of identity between Richard and his more successful French Canadian biochemist doppelgänger. Things escalate quickly to NBA heartbreak, papal betting odds, and whether Calvinist theologians would bet on a Pope “if predestination already picked the winner.” Gerrit helps Kristy prepare her Mother’s Day sacrament meeting talk and then we discuss shared visionary experiences that make LDS history uniquely hard to dismiss.

 

Kristy’s KorneЯ (Last Minute Lesson Prep): D&C 45 Stand in Holy Places

 

Standard of Truth Pope Predictions:

1. Pietro Parolin
2. Luis Antonio Tagle
3. Matteo Zuppi
4. Pierbattista Pizzaballa
5. Peter Turkson

 

Standard of Truth Tour dates for the summer of 2026: ⁠ https://standardoftruth.com/tours/

Missouri/Nauvoo – June 14^th through June 20^th  

Palmyra/Kirtland – June 21^st through June 27^th – SOLD OUT

Palmyra/Kirtland – July 12^th through July 18^th

 

Sweetwater Rescue Temple Project: Helping the Saints of Lithuania get to the Helsinki, Finland Temple https://www.sweetwaterrescue.org/current
If you would like to donate, please click on the link: https://www.sweetwaterrescue.org/donate

Sign up for our free monthly email: ⁠ ⁠https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com⁠

 

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

S5E19 Saved by Grace

In this episode we answer another email written by a litner in labor. We discuss grace and how do Latter-day Saints understand it differently than other Christians. Along the way we also have a heated debate over how to pronounce “pecan” and discuss what a terrible parent Richard is as he tries to justify missing his son’s MTC drop-off and return.

Standard of Truth Tour dates for the summer of 2026: ⁠ https://standardoftruth.com/tours/

Missouri/Nauvoo – June 14^th through June 20^th  

Palmyra/Kirtland – June 21^st through June 27^th – SOLD OUT

Palmyra/Kirtland – July 12^th through July 18^th

 

Sweetwater Rescue Temple Project: Helping the Saints of Lithuania get to the Helsinki, Finland Temple https://www.sweetwaterrescue.org/current
If you would like to donate, please click on the link: https://www.sweetwaterrescue.org/donate

Sign up for our free monthly email: ⁠ ⁠https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com⁠

 

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