Podcast
Standard of Truth
Hosted by Dr. Gerrit Dirkmaat · EN
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.
267episodes
Episodes
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S6E32 The Great Apostate Hall of Shame - #8 Ezra Booth Part 3
5d ago01:09:22Summary readyThis 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
SummaryS6E31 The Great Apostate Hall of Shame - #8 Ezra Booth Part 2
2w ago01:09:07Summary readyIn 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
SummaryS6E30 Where There's Smoke: The Bad Logic Behind Anti-Mormon Claims
3w ago01:13:12Summary readyIn 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
SummaryS6E29 The Great Apostate Hall of Shame - #8 Ezra Booth Part 1
4w ago01:02:56Summary readyRichard 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: 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
SummaryS6E28 Nauvoo Lyceum Part 2 and the Trinity
Jul 1601:09:04Summary readyIn 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 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
SummaryS6E27 As Far As It Is Translated Correctly
Jul 901:11:19Summary readyWas 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: 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
SummaryS6E26 The Great Apostate Hall of Shame - OLI Joseph Wakefield
Jul 201:05:38Summary readyThe 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: https://pci.jotform.com/form/261567888174171 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
SummaryS6E25 Nauvoo Lyceum & 1980s Church Movies
Jun 2500:58:34Summary readyWe 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: https://pci.jotform.com/form/261567888174171 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
SummaryS6E24 There's No Shame in "I Don't Know" and the Copyright Act of 1790
Jun 1800:57:15Summary readyThere's No Shame in "I Don't Know" and the Copyright Act of 1790 We are recording in front of a live studio audience in Palmyra in Palmyra, New York We open with the mailbag: Elder Cook asks how to answer hard historical questions without making things up and we talk matching your response to the difficulty, admitting what you don't know, finding common ground, and pivoting back to Christ. Then we dig into the 1830 Book of Mormon title page: why "author and proprietor" comes straight from the Copyright Act of 1790, why translators of the era used the same language, and how Abner Cole (alias Obadiah Dogberry) tried to print stolen text in the Palmyra Reflector. 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 If you have any questions or possible topics of discussion for upcoming podcasts, please email us at: questions@standardoftruthpodcast.com
SummaryS6E23 King Follett Sermon Part 3
Jun 1101:17:04Summary readyIn 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: https://pci.jotform.com/form/261567888174171 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
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