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Standard of Truth

Dr. Gerrit Dirkmaat

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.

  1. S3E4 - Orson Hyde's Account of the Angel Moroni and the First Vision

    3D AGO • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    S3E4 - Orson Hyde's Account of the Angel Moroni and the First Vision

    In this episode, go back into early Restoration history with an important source most listeners have never read: Orson Hyde’s early German missionary tract. Gerrit takes a slight detour into one of the show’s recurring themes: why some critics keep treating John C. Bennett like a trustworthy source, despite him being a lying liar and fornicating fornicator. Hyde’s account frames Joseph Smith’s early life and limited education, the religious confusion that pushed Joseph to James 1:5, and the First Vision described in language aimed at a German-speaking audience shaped by centuries of Catholic-Protestant conflict. 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

    1h 17m

  2. 5D AGO

    S6E7 The Book of Enoch Part 1

    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. 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

    1h 10m
  3. S3E2 - Constitutional Convention Nearly Falls Apart Over Representation

    FEB 8 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    S3E2 - Constitutional Convention Nearly Falls Apart Over Representation

    We discuss the most persistent tensions in American political history: representation, power, and who actually gets a voice in a federal system. Gerrit and Richard bounce from Gouverneur Morris to the Electoral College, the Three-Fifths Compromise, modern elections, and Senate rules to show how arguments that feel uniquely “today” are really old problems wearing new clothes. The core theme is that history rarely resolves itself cleanly, and when we strip events of their context or cherry-pick statistics to serve present interests, we end up misunderstanding both the past and the systems that govern us. 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

    1h 14m

  4. FEB 5

    S6E6 Gadianton Robbers Part 4 (Heavenly Travel)

    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.  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

    1h 9m
  5. S3E3 - Orson Pratt's Account of the Angel Moroni and the First Vision

    JAN 31 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    S3E3 - Orson Pratt's Account of the Angel Moroni and the First Vision

    In this episode we review an 1840s missionary tract by Orson Pratt, An Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions and of the Late Discovery of Ancient American Records. Gerrit walks through Pratt’s retelling of the First Vision. Pratt highlights Joseph’s fear of trusting salvation to “chance,” takes denominational disagreement seriously, and frames the First Vision as an answer to a real theological problem: if churches teach opposing doctrines about salvation, authority, and ordinances, how does a sincere seeker know where God actually stands? Pratt’s expanded account of spiritual contrast: Joseph is shown not only divine glory, but also a vision of the “Prince of darkness” and his hosts as a way to learn, early, how to detect temptation and discern power.  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

    1h 18m

  6. JAN 29

    S6E5 Gadianton Robbers Part 3 (Brigham Young Sermon)

    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

    1h 5m
  7. S3E2 The Temptation of Joseph Smith

    JAN 25 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    S3E2 The Temptation of Joseph Smith

    We pick up Oliver Cowdery’s account of Moroni’s visitation and the events of September 21–22, 1823, where Cowdery promises not to digress and then immediately does. We discuss Joseph Smith’s temptation as he walks to the hill, torn between God’s command and the very real possibility that a record of gold could rescue his impoverished family. Drawing on Cowdery’s letters and Joseph’s later history, we explore why this wasn’t a cartoonish moral failure but a subtle, powerful test of motives, culminating in Joseph’s own blunt admission that he failed, repented, and learned firsthand the power of the adversary. 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

    1h 4m

  8. JAN 22

    S6E4 Gadianton Robbers Part 2 (the Spirit World)

    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

    1h 6m
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Hosts & Guests

4.9
out of 5
948 Ratings

About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Gerrit Dirkmaat
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    458
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2022 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Standard of Truth
  • Provider
    Standard of Truth Podcast

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