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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.
Episodes
7 days ago
7 days ago
In this episode we discuss a litners email where he asks about “the day and the hour” quote attributed to Joseph Smith and how some YouTube voices use it to fuel end times certainty. Gerrit breaks down why this kind of content deserves real skepticism: source quality matters, corroboration matters, and the Joseph Smith Papers exist for a reason. He explains how cherry picked, poorly sourced, or context free quotes can create anxiety, drive clicks, and worst of all, set people up for spiritual whiplash when predictions fail.
We had a couple of spots open up on our Standard of Truth Tour to Missouri/Illinois. We meet in Kansas City on Sunday, June 21st, and fly home from St. Louis on Saturday, June 27th.
https://standardoftruth.com/tours/tour-missouri-nauvoo-carthage-springfield-st-louis-june-21-27-2026/
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If you have any questions or possible topics of discussion for upcoming podcasts, please email us at: questions@standardoftruthpodcast.com
Thursday Feb 19, 2026
Thursday Feb 19, 2026
In this episode, we begin with a discussion prompted by a question about The Chosen; if the show depicts Joseph comforting Jesus in Gethsemane, is that a theological shift in broader Christianity toward the LDS idea that angels can be resurrected beings who once lived on earth?
From there, the conversation pivots into Part 2 with a deeper dive into the apocryphal Book of Enoch: why it mattered to early Christians, how Jude appears to quote it, and how Enoch’s dramatic narrative tries to explain the origin of evil through fallen angels, forbidden knowledge, and giants the size of Mount Garfield.
We had a couple of spots open up on our Standard of Truth Tour to Missouri/Illinois. We meet in Kansas City on Sunday, June 21st, and fly home from St. Louis on Saturday, June 27th.
https://standardoftruth.com/tours/tour-missouri-nauvoo-carthage-springfield-st-louis-june-21-27-2026/
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
Thursday Feb 12, 2026
Thursday Feb 12, 2026
It may be too early to say but based on the number of emails we have received from litners giving birth it appears that members of the Church are following the urging of President Oaks by increasing the size of their families.
We answered a handful of litner emails and then Gerrit began a discussion of the Book of Enoch. Given the subject matter we also celebrate the sesquicentennial residuum of George D. Watt’s declining toe fat and a footrace he won in Preston England on July 30th, 1837.
We had a couple of spots open up on our Standard of Truth Tour to Missouri/Illinois. We meet in Kansas City on Sunday June 21stand fly home from St. Louis on Saturday June 27th.
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
Thursday Feb 05, 2026
Thursday Feb 05, 2026
This episode centers on Brigham Young’s insistence that death does not transform us into something fundamentally different, but removes limitations that currently slow us down. Drawing directly from a funeral sermon, the discussion highlights how embodied beings, including Christ, move, visit, and perceive real places with speed and purpose rather than existing as abstract spirits.
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If you have any questions or possible topics of discussion for upcoming podcasts, please email us at: questions@standardoftruthpodcast.com
Thursday Jan 29, 2026
Thursday Jan 29, 2026
We begin the episode with a response to a litner’s email about signs of the times of the Savior’s Second Coming. Gerrit shares a sermon from Brigham Young that Wilford Woodruff said was one of the greatest sermons he had ever heard.
Crinkling Leaves Update: schedule a live virtual tourhttps://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/learn/locations/historic-sites-virtual-tours?lang=eng
We would love to invite you to join us on Saturday, February 28th, at 6:30 for fun, faith, and frivolity as we make predictions for the 2026 Super Bowl that occurred three weeks earlier and likely talk about who is dead and in hell, part 73. Still not convinced? What if we told you that we combed through all of our litner data to find a venue central to the largest number of litners, but ultimately settled on a location based on how close it was to Richard's house? Click the link below for tickets:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1980902400404?aff=oddtdtcreator
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
Thursday Jan 22, 2026
Thursday Jan 22, 2026
We begin this week's episode by asking if Gerrit is the reincarnated Apostle Matthias? (He’s not saying he is, but he is also not not saying it.)
Where did the thief on the cross go when he died? If Jesus went to “paradise,” why does Peter say He preached to “spirits in prison”? We read from theologian R.C. Sproul (because nothing says “good time” like Calvinism) and then pivot to Joseph Smith’s sermon teachings that reframe paradise, prison, and the afterlife in a way that resolves contradictions without doing interpretive backflips.
We would love to invite you to join us on Saturday, February 28th, at 6:30 for fun, faith, and frivolity as we make predictions for the 2026 Super Bowl that occurred three weeks earlier and likely talk about who is dead and in hell, part 73. Still not convinced? What if we told you that we combed through all of our litner data to find a venue central the the largest number of litners, but ultimately settled on a location based on how close it was to Richard's house? Click the link below for tickets:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1980902400404?aff=oddtdtcreator
We have had a couple of people cancel for the upcoming 2026 Summer Standard of Truth Tour scheduled for Kirtland/Palmyra, June 14th through the 20th
https://pci.jotform.com/form/260194925241153
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
Thursday Jan 15, 2026
Thursday Jan 15, 2026
After debating the college football national championship (with Richard very much not gambling… while also explaining the VIG in suspicious detail), Gerrit drops a sneak peek announcement: they might do another live event, likely in Davis County, with the goal of raising funds to help get more people to the temple in Kenya on the next Sweetwater Rescue trip.
What are the strongest, most legitimate arguments against faith, the Church, or God in general and how do you faithfully deal with them? Gerrit argues that the most serious challenge isn’t a niche historical complaint or a shallow “gotcha” claim, but the universal human problem: suffering. Why is the world so brutal if God is both good and powerful? He explores how Latter-day Saint doctrine reframes the question through the premortal life, moral agency, and a more expansive view of God’s work and purposes than classical Christian models often allow.
Finally, a listener from Southern Utah writes in with a gem of local folklore: Did Brigham Young really warn that “Gadianton robbers” still infest the area and are they out haunting the desert hills around St. George, Leeds, Apple Valley, and the Arizona mountains? That question kicks off the main theme for the next episode: the Latter-day Saint understanding of the spirit world.
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If you have any questions or possible topics of discussion for upcoming podcasts, please email us at: questions@standardoftruthpodcast.com
Thursday Jan 08, 2026
Thursday Jan 08, 2026
Thursday Jan 01, 2026
Thursday Jan 01, 2026
Standard of Truth Tour dates for the summer of 2027: https://standardoftruth.com/tours
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
Thursday Jan 01, 2026
Thursday Jan 01, 2026
In this episode, we discuss the explosive nature of the Book of Moses and a mob tearing down baptismal dams and dragging a woman away from baptism using power of attorney, 1830s-style. To provide context for the environment in Colesville we talk about Joseph Smith’s narrow escape from violent vigilantes, a heroic constable with a musket, and the early Saints’ intense persecution.
Kristy’s KorneЯ (Last Minute Lesson Prep): the whole episode
Standard of Truth Tour dates for the summer of 2027: https://standardoftruth.com/tours
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