Standard of Truth

A listener’s question about D&C 76 opens a discussion of mercy, postmortal repentance, and why one rejected missionary encounter cannot determine a person’s eternal fate. The conversation then tackles “after all we can do,” grace versus works, Pelagianism, Calvinism, Arminianism, evangelical salvation assurance, and prophetic teachings on repentance, covenants, and becoming like God.

Missionary letters from the Philippines and beyond open a lively investigation into whether Joseph Smith cursed Cincinnati. Manuscript changes in Doctrine and Covenants 61, Orson F. Whitney’s later dedication, and five-way chili all enter the debate. The discussion then turns to a vicious 1831 newspaper attack, Yom Kippur and grace, and how wild historical claims expose unreliable sources.

A look at how Latter-day Saints received temple endowments before Utah temples were completed, including Addison Pratt’s remarkable mountain-top ordinance. The discussion explores authorized exceptions, human imperfection, and why God determines when rules may bend. It also features a rare 1830 Shaker account of Oliver Cowdery, spectacles, a hat, and an unusual rejection of the Book of Mormon.

A deep dive into Joseph Smith’s 1841 teachings on the Second Coming, the Millennium, and Christ’s intermittent earthly presence. The discussion compares premillennial, postmillennial, and amillennial views, explores agency, embodiment, and resistance to temptation, and examines Brigham Young’s related sermons. Personal stories, missionary updates, college football, and tricky Norwegian names add lively detours.

Richard hadn't showered in days, his water heater's dead, and his family staged an intervention over his baggy clothes. We read emails from listeners and missionaries, including an elder serving in the California Ontario Mission, whose Gen Z slang ("capping," "yapping") had us reaching for a translation guide. Then we got into apostate #8: Ezra Booth. A former Methodist minister and early high priest, Booth apostatized barely a year into the Church and published the first widely reprinted insider attacks on Joseph Smith, fuel for Eber Howe's Mormonism Unveiled. We dug into Sidney Rigdon's public debate challenge, D&C 71, and why Booth grasped prophetic authority better than today's splinter movements. The takeaway, vet your sources and stay close to the prophets. 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: ⁠⁠[email protected]

In this episode, we continue our deep dive into Ezra Booth's anti-Mormon letters from October 1831, examining how this early apostate mounted his attack against our fledgling church. What fascinates us most is that Booth personally witnessed miracles, including Elsa Johnson's arm being healed, yet later dismissed such spiritual experiences as delusion or deliberate fraud.  We highlight striking logical contradictions in his arguments: he claims only Joseph saw angels, then attacks witness testimonies about seeing them. His scattershot approach, depicting believers as liars, crazy, or stupid, mirrors modern anti-Mormon rhetoric perfectly. Ironically, Booth himself confirms early church members used "Melchizedek priesthood" language and testified of spiritual experiences, undermining later revisionist claims these were later developments. 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: ⁠⁠[email protected]

A Kenyan temple group sets an African record with 47 endowments. The discussion then tackles claims that Brigham Young altered Joseph Smith’s journals to manufacture evidence of plural marriage. It explores what historical revision really meant, how conflicting sources should be weighed, and the irony of criticism from traditions that reject Joseph Smith’s later revelations. The conversation closes with a warning about confirmation bias and online prophets.

This 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: ⁠⁠[email protected]

A deep dive into Ezra Booth’s dramatic path from prominent Methodist leader to outspoken opponent. They cover his surprising conversion and the furious newspaper reaction. Listeners hear vivid accounts of instant healings and chaotic spiritual manifestations at the 1831 Kirtland gatherings. The hosts reflect on how powerful experiences did not prevent a later falling away.

In 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: ⁠⁠[email protected]