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We meant to get to Muhammad. Instead, this became the Lord's Prayer episode. Elder Harris writes from Brazil, asking why so many people there recite the Our Father. We open Matthew 6, where Jesus warns against praying to be seen and against vain repetitions, then gives a prayer, since your Father knows what you need before you ask.  We cover the Joseph Smith Translation's "suffer us not to be led into temptation," the Didache telling early Christians to pray it three times a day, and the Puritans' 1645 opening prayer about their own vileness. Plus Cromwell in Ireland, John Calvin cough drops, and how new the sinner's prayer is. We end on why a Catholic reciting it is an act of faith, and a reminder that nothing separates you from the love of Christ. 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: ⁠⁠[email protected]

We stay in Doctrine and Covenants 45 and discuss Zechariah, the Second Coming, Mount of Olives spliting, the Jews ask "What are these wounds in thine hands?" and Jesus answers, "I am Jesus that was crucified." Gerrit untangles "they that have watched for iniquity" (it meansdefending sin, not spotting it) and lands on one of his favorite verses: the heathen nations shall be redeemed, a thunderclap for 1831 saints who did not yet have D&C 76. That sends us into the question Christianity cannot answer, Wes Huff's "they chose hell" dodge, why Richard has holy envy for Calvinists anyway, Alexander Campbell reading the Book of Mormon without real intent, and an 1818 missionary sermon sending 700 million souls, Catholics included, to a hopeless death. Plus 24 jingling keys. 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: ⁠⁠[email protected]

In part two of our Galatians 1:8 series, we return to the claim that an angel bringing “another gospel” proves Mormonism false. Gerrit then the argument back to 1831, reading from Abner Cole’s Palmyra Reflector and Alexander Campbell. Both compared Joseph Smith to Muhammad before the Church was even a year old. We also talk about why quick social media charts misrepresent what most Christians actually believe.  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: ⁠⁠[email protected]

In part four of our Doctrine and Covenants 45 series we finally dig into the section itself, and it turns out to be the inside story of Matthew 24. Gerrit shows what the revelation restores: the disciples asked about the Second Coming because they saw the separation of spirit and body as bondage, and Jesus noted that their enemies swore the temple could never fall. That sends us to Rabshakeh, the Assyrian general with the best trash talk in the Bible, and an army that woke up dead. We also cover wars and rumors of wars, why love waxing cold comes before iniquity, and my audited count of “love” in conference: 263, not 270. Gerrit’s favorite verse is next week, so don’t cancel yet. 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: ⁠⁠[email protected]

A missionary in the Philippines asks why early Saints never made the sign of the cross. A new dad, writing from the delivery room, asks about Joseph Smith’s politics and how they compare with President Oaks’s recent address. Gerrit explains the political manifesto, why Moses Thatcher was removed from the Twelve, and how sugar beets pushed Church leaders toward tariffs.  Then they take on a viral meme that groups Joseph Smith with Muhammad under Galatians 1:8. Gerrit walks through angels bringing new messages, from Abraham to John’s Revelation, and asks where the Bible says revelation ended. 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: ⁠⁠[email protected]

The Constitution is ratified, and now someone has to actually run an election. We dig into Article 2, Section 1 and the design flaw the founders didn’t see coming: electors cast two votes with no way to mark which was for president, and the runner-up became vice president. Why did the framers put layers between the people and the presidency? Their fear of anarchy gets a modern tour through Somalia, Libya, and Hurricane Katrina. 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: ⁠⁠[email protected]

We break down the October 2026 General Conference. The heart of the episode: President Christofferson's address on gambling. Richard debuts a montage of the duo's many tongue-in-cheek nods to President Hinckley's 2005 talk. 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: ⁠⁠[email protected]

The Samuel Osgood mailbag brings a big question from Michael: knowing what they'd think of us now, would the Founders be more or less hopeful than they were about Rome? We discuss that the Founders would marvel at America's economy and power while recoiling at how much authority sits with the president and the standing army, only Hamilton really wanted that, and maybe only for Washington. Along the way we talk about why the Soviet constitution reads like a "banger" yet guaranteed nothing (separation of powers is everything), incentive design over electing "the right people," and the fading of civic virtue that doomed Rome. The heart of it is New York's messy ratification, loyalists, land confiscation, and Hamilton's defense of the Senate as a stable check against a fickle public, closing as Virginia's yes finally drags New York across the line. 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: ⁠⁠[email protected]

Heidi writes mid-labor to ask about D&C 76: does rejecting the gospel in this life really cap you at the terrestrial kingdom? We discuss that we simply don't know what fully constitutes a person's opportunity to accept Christ, and that a bitter, door-slammed missionary is nobody's final judge. Joseph Smith's own teachings point to a far more merciful God.    That flows into a heavyweight take on "after all we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23): Pelagius, Calvinism vs. Arminianism, evangelicalism's assurance-of-salvation hybrid, and President Oaks's "Have You Been Saved?" The through-line: we're saved only by grace, and living prophets, not proof-texts, tell us how that grace applies.   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: ⁠⁠[email protected]

In this episode we continue our discussion of Doctrine & Covenants Section 45 and its message of hope for the Second Coming. Richard shares why verses 3-5 are his favorite in all of scripture: the Savior as our advocate, pleading our cause not for what we've done but for what He did. Gerrit connects it to D&C 29 and Matthew 24, unpacking Christ's three questions about the signs of His coming. 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: ⁠⁠[email protected]

We crack open an all-missionary mailbag with letters from the Philippines, Cincinnati, and beyond. Then the big question: was Cincinnati really cursed by Joseph Smith? We dig into D&C 61, trace how "well nigh ripened for destruction" shifted across the manuscript versions, and follow Orson F. Whitney's later meetinghouse dedication, settling the folklore with actual sources (plus a spirited defense of five-way chili).    A tender Yom Kippur reflection on grace we don't deserve gives way to the 1831 Lockport Balance's "Gold Bible" hit piece, where an over/under on "Joe" mentions reveals how casually, and confidently, falsehoods get printed.   Broadcasting from Medellín, Pablo Escobar's 200 feral hippos and all   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]

New York didn't want to ratify, and definitely didn't want to do it in Poughkeepsie. We dig into the strangest ratification fight yet: a Dutch-rooted colony of landed gentry, a governor (George Clinton) who championed the common man, and anti-federalists like Melancton Smith warning that two governments taxing one people would hollow the states into a powerless Roman Senate. 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 If you have any questions or possible topics of discussion for upcoming podcasts, please email us at: ⁠⁠[email protected] Sign up for our free monthly email: ⁠ ⁠⁠https://standardoftruthpodcast.substack.com⁠⁠

We celebrate 10 million downloads, the arrival of video recordings of the podcast, and a missionary listener who has built a four-generation podcast family tree using "phone checks" on exchanges.  After Nauvoo and before St. George, where did the Saints receive their endowments? Gerrit walks through the Council House, the Endowment House, and Addison Pratt's 1849 endowment atop Ensign Peak, and why exceptions belong to God and His prophets, not to us. A listener shares how the podcast helped a friend through a faith crisis. Gerrit also reads a Shaker elder's 1830 journal account of Oliver Cowdery's visit: an early description of translation by spectacles and hat, and a rejection of the Book of Mormon because it fails to preach celibacy. 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] 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]

Happy Constitution Day! In this episode, we dig into Patrick Henry's fiery opposition at the Virginia Ratification Convention, his warning that a president commanding a standing army could crown himself king, and that too few representatives invite corruption. Along the way: whether an armed citizenry could really stop the modern military, the strange saga of John Tyler (the accidental "Whig" who governed as a Democrat and became the most hated president of his day), the 2010 Bell, California pay-raise scandal, and the eerily profitable stock trades of members of Congress. It closes with George Washington's letters as Virginia and New Hampshire ratify, and Henry's remarkable pledge to oppose the Constitution peacefully, through the system, once he'd lost. 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]

The heart of the episode is a Lyceum dive into a March 16, 1841 discourse of Joseph Smith on the Second Coming and the Millennium. Joseph taught that the wicked won't all be destroyed at Christ's coming, that non-members will remain through the Millennium, and that Christ will come and go rather than reside on earth continuously. We trace how Brigham Young echoed these ideas in Civil War-era sermons, contrast pre-, post-, and amillennial views, and close on the expansive, near-universal scope of salvation in Latter-day Saint theology.   We also talk about college football, the perils of a name like "Kjersta," and the news that Richard’s son (Elder Parker LeDuc) finally requested podcast access after 34 days in the Mexico MTC (while Kai skips the overbooked Philippine MTC entirely and heads straight to the field).    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]