Standard of Truth

Dr. Gerrit Dirkmaat
Standard of Truth
Latest episode

291 episodes

  • Standard of Truth

    S6E10 Live! With Chocolate-Flavored Candy and Zero Tertullian

    05/03/2026 | 1h 15 mins.
    In this special live studio recording of the Standard of Truth Podcast, Dr. Gerrit Dirkmaat and Dr. Richard LeDuc are joined by an in-person audience for a lively mailbag episode. The hosts tackle a question submitted mid-labor, fielding a request for obscure Angel Moroni stories guaranteed to keep the asker out of church leadership. 

    Gerrit shares an account from Edward Stevenson describing a roadside encounter with Moroni during the translation period, as well as a powerful testimony from Wilford Woodruff about three angelic messengers dressed in temple clothing who rescued him and George A. Smith from evil spirits in London.

    The episode also dives into the speculative attempts to pin down the exact date of the First Vision, complete with an impromptu weather analysis presentation from Richard. 

    The hosts then answer a question about Hyrum Smith's prophetic role, reading from his 1842 sermon definitively interpreting the Word of Wisdom's "hot drinks" as tea and coffee, paired with a complementary Brigham Young sermon warning that dismissing prophetic counsel leads gradually to apostasy. 

    The episode closes as Gerrit shares the story of Emmeline Anderson, an unsung hero of early church history whose faith remained unshaken even after losing her husband and teenage son in the 1846 Battle of Nauvoo.

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    If you have any questions or possible topics of discussion for upcoming podcasts, please email us at: ⁠⁠[email protected]
  • Standard of Truth

    S6E9 Prepare, Don’t Predict the Second Coming

    26/02/2026 | 1h 19 mins.
    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/

    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: ⁠⁠[email protected]
  • Standard of Truth

    S6E8 The Book of Enoch Part 2 (Giants in the Land)

    19/02/2026 | 1h 10 mins.
    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: ⁠⁠[email protected]
  • Standard of Truth

    S6E7 The Book of Enoch Part 1

    12/02/2026 | 1h 10 mins.
    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: ⁠⁠[email protected]
  • Standard of Truth

    S6E6 Gadianton Robbers Part 4 (Heavenly Travel)

    05/02/2026 | 1h 9 mins.
    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: ⁠⁠[email protected]

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About Standard of Truth

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.
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