In this episode, we respond to a litner’s email who has had many friends and family leave the Church. Gerrit describes all of the problems with the standard definitions of God without the further light we receive from the Restored Gospel. We cover just about everything from mosquitos to syphilis. Gerrit also answers a question about canes made from the coffins of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. Standard of Truth Tour dates for the summer of 2025: Missouri/Nauvoo – June 22nd through June 28th Palmyra/Kir...
Jul 18, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 4Ep. 29
In this episode, we answer some missionary emails relating to the First Vision, Joseph’s early persecution, and Joseph’s experiences attending other churches. There is also a healthy discussion about frocks. Standard of Truth Tour dates for the summer of 2025: Missouri/Nauvoo – June 22nd through June 28th Palmyra/Kirtland – August 3rd through August 9th Sign up for our free monthly email: https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com If you have any questions or possible topics of discussion for...
Jul 11, 2024•59 min•Season 4Ep. 28
We start the podcast with a discussion of General Authorities conference talks that focus on adultery. For the prize of a $50 Olive Garden gift card, we play everyone’s favorite game “Fun With Adultery” where Gerrit has to guess which decades adultery was a larger focus and which prophets and apostles spoke about the topic the most. Gerrit lost and Richard retained the $50 gift card for use in a future “Fun With _________” game. We answer a litner’s question about the change to the language used...
Jul 04, 2024•52 min•Season 4Ep. 27
We start with an email we received from a Catholic in Quebec and a new litner from France that we met on our recent Church history tour. In this episode we discuss the following quote from Joseph Smith "If a man commit adultery, he cannot receive the celestial kingdom of God. Even if he is saved in any kingdom, it cannot be the celestial kingdom." We discuss where this quote comes from, the context of the quote, and Gerrit shares a story about George Adams having a child through an adulterous re...
Jun 27, 2024•57 min•Season 4Ep. 26
It has been 180 since the prophet Joseph Smith was murdered in Carthage Jail. In this bonus episode, Gerrit discusses the martyrdom and shares his feelings about the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Jun 27, 2024•14 min•Season 4Ep. 6
As Gerrit and Richard return from several weeks of Church history tours there is much to discuss. Because of this, we wanted to provide a full Rex’s Elders Quorum President Warning that we begin our discussion of the Sword of Laban 42 minutes and 18 seconds into the episode. In this episode, we talk about our exploits on our recent Standard of Truth Tour. Have you ever wondered what it means to out kick your coverage or what a coffin corner punt is? You are in luck, Gerrit gives a great descript...
Jun 20, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Season 4Ep. 25
This episode was recorded in front of a live studio audience on the banks of the Mississippi River in Keokuk, Iowa. In this episode, we answer questions from the litners that are on the Standard of Truth Tour in Missouri and Illinois. Question: An LDS press was destroyed in Independence, but it was a big deal when the City of Nauvoo destroyed the Nauvoo Expositor. Other than LDS bias why was it different or was it different? Question: How can we start a Mormon Reparations movement? Question: Ger...
Jun 13, 2024•49 min•Season 4Ep. 24
From the shadow of the Hill Cumorah, we bring you questions and answer recordings in front of a live Standard of Truth Tour audience. Below are the questions that led the discussion for this episode: Who was Joseph Smith going to have as his vice-presidential running mate? How frequently did Church members gather for a “sacrament” meeting from 1830 to the end of the Nauvoo period? What is the Mount Rushmore of Restored Gospel doctrines/teachings? We know the plates were stored in a stone box (or...
Jun 07, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 4Ep. 23
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. Subscribe to our free monthly email - https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com/ Please visit our website at www.standardoftruth.com If you have any questions or possible topics of discussion for upcoming podcasts, please email us at: q...
May 30, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 4Ep. 22
As it is the season when many missionaries receive their callings, we want to help provide additional resources for mission prep. In this episode, we replay a premium episode from Joseph Smith and the Restoration that discusses the Nicene Creed. We inch ever closer to Joseph Smith and the Restoration by leaping from the 2nd century A.D. to the early 4th century A.D. We discuss the Arian Controversy and the Council of Nicea that was called to provide a definitive answer to the Nature of Christ. ...
May 23, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Season 4Ep. 21
If you love the anti-Mormon book Mormonism Unvailed boy, do we have an episode for you. In this episode, Gerrit reads from Mormonism Unvailed where definitive statement after definitive statement is given by friends and family of Solomon Spaulding saying how the Book of Mormon was taken word for word from Spaulding’s manuscript called “Manuscript Found”. Unfortunately for all of Spaulding’s lying friends and family, Manuscript Found is found and doesn’t resemble anything in the Book of Mormon at...
May 16, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 4Ep. 20
In a premium episode several weeks ago Gerrit may or may have gone on a rant about Doctor Philastus Hurlbut and Solomon Spaulding and we wanted to play a section of that rant. So In this episode, Gerrit provides additional context to Hurlbut and the Solomon Spaulding Manuscript. Gerrit also talks about the Restoration Proclamation that was read during General Conference in April 2020. Sign up for our free monthly email: https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com If you have any questions or p...
May 09, 2024•54 min•Season 4Ep. 19
We continue our discussion of Eliza Gibbs and the trials she suffered in Nauvoo, Iowa, and Utah. Despite her difficulty, she remained faithful. Gerrit shares a letter to Eliza from Wilford Woodruff to comfort her and share with her the laws that govern angels and spirits that depart this life. Sign up for our free monthly email: https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com We had a couple of cancelations and have a couple of spots available on the Palmyra/Kirtland tour and 2 spots available o...
May 02, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 4Ep. 18
We begin this episode, like most episodes, with a discussion of the faith crisis of a 19th-century 20-year-old woman with consumption (tuberculosis). She has a miraculous experience and seven years later is introduced to the gospel. She believes the message immediately and despite the opposition she faced by her family she joins the Church. Images mentioned on the podcast: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13hmR2rOTiVKUWRZblFsmG9hTwIu7R_oU?usp=share_link Sign up for our free monthly email...
Apr 25, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 4Ep. 17
In this episode, Gerrit discusses D&C 128 and the identity of the Angel Raphael. We start with what we know from modern revelation and then bring in the Apocrypha. We talk about the Book of Tobit, written by Tobit, where Raphael is discussed but his identity is not disclosed. Gerrit also discusses the Book of Jude and the Book of Enoch. The Book of Enoch is not in the Apocrypha but was mentioned in the Book of Jude and was in circulation at the time of Jesus. Photo of Raphael binding a demon...
Apr 18, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 4Ep. 16
Gerrit shares some of his thoughts about the responses to several talks during General Conference. He compares the responses of General Conference to the responses to “The Vision”. We read a letter from Joseph Smith discussing the response to “The Vision”. We also had a very kind anonymous donor offer to pay for the Standard of Truth Tour for six people. We are calling it the Dirk Moss Scholarship. The gift is for the Palmyra/Kirtland tour and people would still be responsible for booking their ...
Apr 15, 2024•30 min•Season 4Ep. 5
In this episode, Richard starts by thanking all the kind listeners who donated money to help 118 people in Peru travel to the Arequipa Temple. We discuss a listener’s question about Joseph Smith telling the missionaries in Cincinnati to wash the dust of that wicked city off their feet. Gerrit talks about the likely origin of that story and provides additional context. We also discuss the keys given to Joseph Smith by Michael and Gabriel and where we learn that Michael is Adam and Gabriel is Noah...
Apr 11, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 4Ep. 15
On Thursday we released an episode that sounded like it was recorded in Gerrit’s bathroom in a cave. We fixed the audio and explained how you can access it. We also give our thoughts from the 194th Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Spoiler Alert, we liked it. Sign up for our free monthly email: https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com The Kirtland temple is under new management. See it with us the first week of June. We have ordered a larger bus, ...
Apr 08, 2024•26 min•Season 4Ep. 4
We had a corrupted audio file that made the episode sound terrible. We have fixed the audio quality, however, the terrible content remains. We apologize for the inconvenience. We begin the episode with how a person can resolve concerns they may have with Church history. Gerrit begins by sharing several statements from Martin Harris as he witnesses of the Gold Plates. He also shares a testimony of Oliver Cowdery For details about our live studio audience recording on Saturday, March 16th please s...
Apr 04, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 4Ep. 14
In this episode, we really wanted everyone in attendance to feel comfortable, so we discussed politics and polygamy. We learned the history of political parties in Utah, and we talked about the insanity of Idaho’s Anti-Mormon Constitution that disenfranchised Mormons regardless of whether or not they practiced polygamy. We also learned that Richard is not capacitated to pronounce the word “anarchist”. Sign up for our free monthly email: https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com The Kirtland ...
Mar 28, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 4Ep. 13
Like every sitcom in the 1980s, this episode was recorded in front of a live studio audience. We cannot even begin to thank all the amazing people who attended the event. People came from all over the country and we cannot properly articulate how much fun we had. Many listeners to the show brought friends and significant others who do not listen and have never listened. These people brought to the show against their will are the true heroes among us just behind the military, teachers, emergency ...
Mar 21, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Season 4Ep. 12
We finally get back to the Witnesses of the Book of Mormon. Sure, we first spend a little time talking about the Book of Abraham and the characters copied from the gold plates, but then we jump right into the Whitmer family being baptized. After much “teasing” by Martin, Oliver, and David Joseph Smith goes to the Lord and receives D&C 17 as a revelation. The Angel Moroni shows the gold plates to Oliver, David, and Martin, and the voice of the Lord commands them to testify of the Book of Morm...
Mar 14, 2024•1 hr•Season 4Ep. 10
In this bonus episode, we replay sections of a previous episode from season 3 where we discuss the origin of the Hosanna Shout and the dedication of the Kirtland Temple.
Mar 07, 2024•45 min•Season 4Ep. 3
In this episode, we discuss the historic purchase of the Kirtland Temple and other Nauvoo properties. Gerrit provides additional insight into the properties that the Church has acquired. Map of Nauvoo: https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/bc-jsp/content/jsp/images/content/library/pdf/D10_Nauvoo-Plat.pdf For details about our live studio audience recording on Saturday, March 16th please sign up for our free newsletter: https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com/ If you would like to join us o...
Mar 07, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Season 4Ep. 10
In this bonus episode, we discuss additional details of our live event on Saturday, March 16th at 6:00 PM in Orem. Space is limited so if you would like to purchase tickets to attend the event please click on the link below to sign up for the free monthly newsletter: https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com/
Mar 01, 2024•19 min•Season 4Ep. 2
In this episode, we begin the podcast by talking about the pseudepigraphal nature of some of the books of the New Testament and the problem with the process academics use for identifying pseudepigraphal records. We also talk about the importance of modern-day revelation in understanding the scriptures. A litner talks about their frustration with politics making their way into their Sunday experience and Gerrit shares a quote from Brigham Young that squashes the idea of political arguments in the...
Feb 29, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 4Ep. 9
In this episode, we take a slight departure from the Witnesses of the Book of Mormon to answer a litner’s question about Oliver’s attempt to translate the Book of Mormon. Gerrit provides additional context for Doctrine and Covenants Sections 7, 8, and 9. In addition, we find out that California exports 56 million pounds of cilantro per year. For details about our live studio audience recording on Saturday, March 16th please sign up for our free newsletter: https://standardoftruthpodcast.substac...
Feb 22, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Richard feels so confident coming off his first ever successful football pick (Kansas City over San Francisco) that he predicts the Collingwood Magpies to repeat winning back-to-back McClelland Trophies under the veteran leadership of Jack Crisp. Gerrit discusses the context and history of Doctrine and Covenants sections 10 and 17. Gerrit also talks about the items seen by the Three Witnesses, the Urim and Thummim, and the pattern the Lord has in making changes to revelations. For details about ...
Feb 15, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 4Ep. 7
In this episode, we continue our discussion about the witnesses of the Gold Plates, but we start with Richard’s picks for the Super Bowl which he claims to be his stone-cold lock of the century. We also read several wonderful emails from listeners. For those that care to listen to more spiritual matters the Rex’s Elders Quorum President start time is 27:17. We talk about a vision of the Savior had by Oliver Cowdery and his coming to Harmony to begin the work of translation. For details about our...
Feb 08, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 4Ep. 6
In this episode, we continue our discussion about the witnesses of the Gold Plates. We discuss the setting where Joseph first learns that he will be allowed to show the plates to witnesses. We also talk about the attempt by Lucy Harris to force Joseph to show the plates or be found guilty of fraud. Rex’s Elders Quorum President start time: 17:37 For details about our live studio audience recording on Saturday, March 16th please sign up for our free newsletter: https://standardoftruthpodcast.sub...
Feb 01, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 4Ep. 5
