Show Notes
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]
More from Standard of Truth
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).