Every question we’ve answered

If Muhammad and Joseph Smith both got a gospel from an angel, doesn't Galatians 1:8 prove Joseph was false?

“Now, for my question, in Brazil, many people know how to recite Our Father and other memorized prayers. But where does that culture come from? And why is it so dominant in the Catholic Church?”

Mormonism, started by Joseph Smith claiming an angel gave him a message. Islam started by Muhammad claiming an angel gave him a message.

“Mormonism, started by Joseph Smith claiming an angel gave him a message. Islam started by Muhammad claiming an angel gave him a message.”

What stood out from the October 2026 general conference, and what does President Christofferson's talk on gambling mean for a show full of sports picks?

“He said after all you can do was a common phrase meaning something like despite all you can do.”

“Elders say Cincinnati itself was cursed by Joseph Smith.”

“Did they stop doing the ordinance completely after they left Nauvoo and before the St. George Temple was finished, or did they do the endowment somewhere else during that time?”

What did Joseph Smith teach about the Second Coming and the Millennium at the Nauvoo Lyceum?

How did Ezra Booth's apostasy affect the Church, and what finally became of his letters?

“I've noticed often on both sides, anti-Mormon and true believing members, the trump card is you haven't done your own research.”

“I am wondering if you can tell me why my sister, who was recently baptized as a bickerton, as a bicker tonight, is trying to tell me that Brigham Young revised parts of Joseph Smith's journal and that this revised version is now what the church uses.”

Why did Ezra Booth leave the Church, and what did he do after he left?

Why does Ezra Booth rank number eight in the Great Apostate Hall of Shame?

“Do we have examples of Joseph Smith and others teaching from it in sermons?”

“It got me wondering if Joseph, having seen Jesus so many times, ever commissioned a painting of him or commented on artwork that depicted the Savior.”

“My question, how prominent is Calvinism in contemporary Christianity?”

“The Eighth Article of Faith qualifies the Bible as far as it is translated correctly. Who holds the authority to determine which parts are correct?”

If we made a top-ten list of the early Church's apostates, who would be on it, and who is Joseph Wakefield?

What was the Nauvoo Lyceum, and what did Joseph Smith teach there?

“I was wondering if you could tell us more about Anson, William, and Nelson Pratt.”

“We have received several requests from listeners, namely Aaron H and Marilee B., who wanted to know a little bit more about the King Follett sermon.”

“So we're about to get to the grievances when perhaps, just perhaps, Thomas Jefferson might bring me along to the revolutionary side and support America.”

Why did the colonies finally declare independence, and where did the ideas in the Declaration come from?

“As a missionary, I've noticed that many of my colleagues seem hesitant to discuss it due to its complexities”

Exactly what was the United Order? And how did people actually use it?

“Her teacher justified this by saying that technically, Jingle Bells is a Thanksgiving song, which as far as I have been able to find is false.”

“Where does the belief that we're all going to have to pack up and move to Missouri at some point come from?”

“My question is that the Catholic Church claims to have authority from Christ to Peter, the Apostle, and down the line in the church. How does this compare to or make sense to our authority from the Apostles to Joseph Smith?”

“Am I an idiot? I hear about the CES Letter occasionally. What is this?”

“What doctrine or teachings we have about when the spirit enters the body and the historical context for that?”

“I guess I wanted to see what your opinions are on the, on one statement that seems to come up a lot, that we shouldn't pray over the Book of Mormon because our feelings can get in the way.”

“Are there any obscure, lesser known, slightly niche witness or stories of the Angel Moroni?”

“Did Christ speak this as a general principle throughout all generations? Oh, no. He spoke to the present tense.”

“My question is this, since The Chosen is written and produced by evangelicals with some LDS influence, is there some changing in philosophy amongst other Christian faith traditions to allow for a doctrine such as we believe about the purpose of angels?”

“She explained that she doesn't want Jesus to come yet because she has dreams and goals and things she still wants to accomplish, and feels that his coming would prevent her from doing those things.”

Did Brigham Young really say Gadianton robbers still infest the mountains, and what is the spirit world like?

I've been told the same story multiple times with different twists, mainly the location, which is Brigham Young supposedly gave a talk down here and said the Gadianton Robbers still infest this area.

Did Brigham Young really say Gadianton robbers still haunt Southern Utah, and where do spirits go when they die?

“I've been told the same story multiple times with different twists, mainly the location, which is Brigham Young supposedly gave a talk down here and said the Gadianton Robbers still infest this area.”

A missionary's friend back home says Joseph Smith named his son Joseph as his successor, at Liberty Jail and at the temple lot in Nauvoo before 3,000 witnesses. Is that true?

What was happening to Joseph Smith and the young church in the summer of 1830, before the Lord gave D&C 24?

“Would you say that there are- there would be an experience or two as we start this episode out, that you could say, you know, here's the kind of thing that happens when you're out there.”

Who has the best team name in this year's Dead and in Hell March Madness bracket challenge, and can AI pick a better bracket?

What does the Lord actually say to Joseph in D&C 24, after a summer of mobs and arrests?

How did the story of Brigham Young and the president in hell end, and what does it teach about who is saved?

What did Brigham Young actually say to Judge Brocchus about Zachary Taylor being dead and in hell?

“Considering the strong denials from Joseph Smith III when he visited Utah, is it safe to say that he was unaware that his father had multiple wives?”

“Holly has an ancestor named Talitha Cumi-Garlic, or Ajo, if it's Spanish, I don't know.”

“Do you know of any historical context for that statement?”

“My question is, how can we coexist and keep relationships with people like my dad, who can't seem to leave the church alone for more than 20 minutes”

How should we approach D&C 132 and plural marriage in Sunday School, and how did William Smith's accusations turn Zachary Taylor against the Saints?

“Can you help me understand the difference in beliefs between the Church of Jesus Christ and ourselves other than just the following or then followed Sidney Rigdon after Joseph's death?”

What changed in the Doctrine and Covenants section headings, and why does the heading of section 132 no longer say 1831?

“Out of the Saints' Volumes or Revelations in Context is one better than the other.”

Would Zachary Taylor reward the Saints for their support by giving them a territory of their own?

“Why did Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ allow there to be periods of apostasy like the Great Apostasy?”

How should Latter-day Saints respond when people revile and persecute them, as President Nelson taught about being peacemakers?

Why did Brigham Young say President Polk would be damned, and what made Polk so hostile to the Latter-day Saints?

“My question is, did this happen and who is the president of the United States that Brigham Young was referencing?”

“How do those that believe in the Trinity explain those verses, assuming they study the King James Version of the Bible, me knowing full well that not every student of the Bible studies that particular version?”

“As far as I know, there are only two places we really learned about what happened to the plates after the translation.”

“Is there a reason only boys pass the sacrament? Do you think there might be a time when young women may pass it to the congregation?”

If God loves everyone, why is he hidden from so many people, and what do the atheist arguments about divine hiddenness and hell get right about traditional Christianity?

“I have an atheistic friend who has listened to several episodes of your podcast.”

“She asked me why we don't have crosses. And I told her the standard answer I was given as a child, we don't celebrate Christ's death but his resurrection. I'm not satisfied with my answer and was wondering if you had a better one.”

Were Brigham Young and the Twelve really cut off from the true priesthood, and was polygamy invented after Joseph Smith's death?

“I'm going to copy and paste a portion of the email that our daughter sent us and I would like to know if you have sources that any of this is true.”

“Is it possible that his only claim to veteran status somehow is from the Nauvoo Legion?”

Who was Martin Luther, and why did Johann Tetzel's sale of indulgences push him to write the 95 Theses?

What set the stage for the Protestant Reformation before Martin Luther?

How did Christians end up with the New Testament canon we have today, and why does it matter to Latter-day Saints?

“My son asked me if Hyrum Smith was an apostle, and I thought he was, so I googled it. And it said he was an apostle, but not a member of the Quorum of the Twelve. Can you explain the organization of the apostles at the time?”

“Do you think it's actually possible to share information that changes the arc of someone's faith crises?”

“I've had lots of friends and family leave the church, and I really enjoy learning from you on how to decipher some of these things from history. Can you please speak on this quote I attached?”

“If God cannot create matter, is he all-powerful? Additionally, how does our understanding of God fit within perfect being theology?”

“Do any of the churches that have split off from the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints either in the early days of the Restoration or Modern Movement have multiple witness events or claims that laid the foundation of their religious organizations or their teachings?”

“How has the church's perspective on Grace changed since the time of Joseph Smith?”

“The idea of calling Mary Magdalene a prostitute is one that is offensive to me. It is irritating. So Gerrit, where does that come from, and why am I so angry?”

What does D&C 19 teach about endless punishment, repentance, and what Jesus Christ suffered in Gethsemane?

“Where did Martin Harris get all the money he eventually used to pay for the printing of the Book of Mormon?”

“And he has someone in his ward going through a faith crisis, and they are saying there is no documentation of Elijah visiting until the 1850s.”

“The most common comment made by friends of other faiths is that we cannot be a Christian Church because we believe in the Godhead instead of the Trinity.”

“If God is a loving God, and there are people in the world who don't have access to the gospel and never will, why would God continue to allow these people to be created?”

How did the Three Witnesses come to see the plates, and what does D&C 17 promise them?

We're going to try something a little bit different: what happens when people use an AI chatbot to look up history and Church history, the way they used to use Wikipedia?

“Why do apostles no longer say, thus saith the Lord, or use that kind of language?”

“I remember reading somewhere that the apostles who served with Brigham Young were afraid of voicing their true feelings or opinions about matters because of how he treated naysayers.”

What does D&C 10 teach about Satan's opposition, the lost 116 pages, and the plan the Lord prepared to answer it?

When was D&C 10 received, and what does it teach us about how the Book of Mormon was translated after the 116 pages were lost?

“Is there anything in historical documents about miscarriage or stillbirth, particularly about where those spirits end up?”

Can Satan repent? Not that he would, but if he could, is that option available?

“He mentioned in passing that if he had more time, that he could tell a story of the Prophet Joseph Smith raising someone from the dead.”

How exactly did the murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith take place? 'We're not entirely sure how it is that the events of the actual murder took place.'

So then leading up to the day of the martyrdom, what do you feel kind of best sets the stage and kind of best describes what happens there?

What were the events that led to that awful tragedy, the murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith?

In part one, Gerrit, you kind of set the table for why section 93 is such an enormous revelation. And in part two, you talked a little bit about the nature of Christ as explained through this section. And so what are we going to talk about in part three?

You went pretty deep into the issues and problems that arose in the early Christian church relating to the nature of Jesus Christ. Could you kind of give a little bit of a recap?

This section sheds light on a 2000 year old question relating to the nature of Jesus Christ. So Gerrit, what are some of the philosophical or theological issues that section 93 helps to provide clarity for?

How should Latter-day Saints view the Apocrypha, and what did the Lord tell Joseph Smith about it in D&C 91?

If Joseph Smith is promised the mysteries of the kingdom once he finishes translating the Bible, how does he know where the Bible ends, and does the Apocrypha count?

In part one we talked about the historical context of when Joseph Smith received the Word of Wisdom. In this podcast we want to talk about its progression from 1833 till today.

Today we're gonna talk about one of Joseph Smith's most well-known revelations, especially to Latter-day Saints, The Word of Wisdom. So Gerrit, where does this revelation come from?

What is D&C 83 about, and why would the Lord give a revelation on who has a claim on consecrated land?

What is D&C 49, the revelation the Lord gave for a mission to the Shakers, and what does it teach about marriage, meat and the Second Coming?

How will the Standard of Truth release episodes this year, now that Search These Commandments is covering the Doctrine and Covenants?

What was it like for President Roggero and the Saints of Rio Gallegos to finally go to the temple, and what does he want listeners to know?

How do you tell a real Joseph Smith letter from a fake one, and what do you do with someone who says it's all fraud and lies?

Has the day of miracles ceased, or is God still moving things behind the scenes today?

“She brought up how Joseph Smith was in a room full of people when the angel Moroni came to him. Why didn't others see him?”

“do you think she saw the plates before the three and the eight witnesses did?”

Is the United States the only promised land, or is Zion bigger than that?

“So please give us, who may leave this world with boxes unchecked, some idea what the prophets say.”

“How far removed was Rigdon from the church? Has he already started separating himself?”

“But I figured that if there were actual historical evidences of some form of mental illness by Sydney, Gerrit might be able to shed some light on that.”

“a friend lightly cursed president Joseph Fielding Smith for destroying some pages of Joseph Smith's history, not wanting to upset the faith of the saints”

“Why does our religion get joked and ridiculed everywhere you look?”

With the film Six Days in August coming out, what is it about, and what was going on in the Church at that time?

“Essentially, the question is, why would God create a tree that Adam and Eve could partake of if he knew that they were going to partake of it, right?”

Why did God create us, and why would an all-powerful God allow Satan and so much suffering?

I received a book from an unknown sender that is called Joseph Smith Revealed, a faithful telling, exploring, and alternative polygamy narrative.

If an unpublished vision isn't where doctrine comes from, how should Latter-day Saints actually prepare for the Second Coming?

“So the subject is Supposed Joys of Relation. This is circulating on Facebook and Twitter. Interested in your take seems sketchy to me.”

“When did deacons start passing the sacrament and doing these other jobs? Also, when did the deacons start becoming approximately 12 years old?”

What did the Saints do when Brigham Young learned the handcart companies were stranded in 1856, and what can that teach us today?

Joseph used John Bunyan's stories as a source for the Book of Mormon.

“How much money did Joseph Smith have when he died?”

Is the claim on X true that Joseph Smith never really practiced plural marriage and was a fallen prophet?

“My question is, did Joseph write the Lectures? Why was it removed? And do we know these things?”

“So how do you bring across the faith position when people feel like faith is a cop-out?”

“Do you have any documents of Joseph Smith going to any other church on Sunday after he had the First Vision experience?”

“Where did this language originate and what are the implications of the different phrases?”

“Are we to understand that anyone who has committed adultery will never receive Celestial glory?”

“Gerrit, Sword of Laban, where is it at? Where can we find it and why do we not have it right now?”

“Would you say, who would you say are the top ten villains of the Restoration?”

Taylor would like some more elaboration around the laws that were passed or attempted to pass around eradicating the early members of the church slash pioneers.

How did the books of the New Testament come to be chosen, and when was the Bible's canon actually set?

Did God the Father create Jesus, and how did Christians settle that question at the Council of Nicaea?

Where did the claim that Solomon Spaulding wrote the Book of Mormon come from, and does it hold up?

“How does a historian guard against the fact that Joseph and Sidney could have tried to ensure no paper trail would show that they knew each other?”

What happened to Eliza Dana Gibbs after she reached Nauvoo too late to meet Joseph Smith?

“Dear Becky and Angie, will you please ask your husband to talk more about the women in the church history?”

Do we know anything more about Raphael?

“Where do we learn that Gabriel was Noah when he was on earth?”

“Can you share your top five episodes that would be good for me to listen to again and share with them as it applies to growing their faith and walking back to the church?”

“When did Utah transition from a Democrat to Republican state? And what are some of the reasons?”

Is there a source, besides Mormon's description in Words of Mormon, stating that 1 Nephi through Omni were the last books translated by Joseph Smith and then placed at the beginning?

“Do we know of any existing copies of these drawings?”

What did the Church just acquire from the Community of Christ, and why does it matter?

I'm struggling with faith recently, partly because many New Testament books may be pseudepigraphal, and partly because many members use the gospel to confirm their politics. How do I hold on?

“What was Oliver supposed to study out in his mind?”

“How does the church view evolutionary theory in Big Bang?”

“What I want to know is, was there anything akin to service mission in the early church? Or was there only strictly teaching missions?”

At what point does Joseph know that there's going to be witnesses of the plates?

“Is there any light you can shed on when Joseph actually was told or realized he would be functioning as a prophet of the Lord?”

“Where could I find information on his life that I could listen while driving for work?”

“Recently we received a missionary reference from online. So we called him and he began to talk about someone named Arnold Potter and he claims to be the Mormon Christ. I'm not sure who he is or honestly what's happening.”

What did the very first reader of the Book of Mormon see in its original 1830 preface, and why did it later disappear?

“What has been the favorite site that you've seen so far? What did you enjoy most? And why did you enjoy it the most?”

What should we feel, and remember, on the 180th anniversary of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith?

How should Saints respond after general conference when a prophet teaches something they find hard to accept?

Why did last week's episode sound like it was recorded in a cave, and how can listeners fix it?

Where does the Hosanna Shout come from, and when did the Saints start waving handkerchiefs?

Where and when is the live studio recording, and how do listeners get tickets and the newsletter?

Would listeners come to a live studio audience recording of the podcast in Utah, and how will they find out the details?

Did Moroni really dedicate the Manti Temple site, and is he the guardian angel of the United States?

“Give us a lowdown on Christmas traditions and Santa Claus in the colonial days and times of the early church.”

Why does Joseph Smith matter so much, and what do you give up if you give up on him?

Where did the story of Joseph Smith walking on hidden planks come from, and why does it keep being repeated?

“Did this happen? Who was involved? What do other sources look like for this event?”

How did Moroni keep teaching and correcting Joseph after the first failed visit to the hill?

Why couldn't Joseph get the plates on his first visit to the hill?

What was Moroni teaching Joseph Smith to prepare him to be a prophet?

What time of night did Moroni first appear to Joseph? I always assumed it was before midnight, since everyone would have gone to bed early by candlelight.

What was Joseph Smith's world like before the angel Moroni came?

What happens when our politics or our heroes start to matter more than the prophet?

“I see no indication that I will see my pet in the next life. The scriptures and modern-day prophets do not comment on this at all, correct?”

“How did the Hosanna Shout come to be, and what is its significance?”

“How do you square that with the comments the preacher made at Alvin's funeral that Alvin was in hell since he had not been baptized?”

What happened to George Adams after he left the Saints?

“I have been taught that there were some struggle between the Council of Fifty and the Quorum of the Twelve about who should be in charge of the civil matter of moving the Saints west and that this was one of the questions behind the need for Section 136.”

“Anyone above a stake president has always been referred to as a General Authority.”

“I recently learned of a meeting Joseph Smith had with most of the Quorum of the Twelve. In this meeting, Joseph Smith gave the keys of the kingdom to the Twelve. And I was looking for more information about the meeting and what sources exist for it.”

Where does the phrase "the standard of truth has been erected" come from?

“What are the chances truly that I found the right one? And if I have, which I think I have, why would the Lord pick someone like me to carry that fire? Why not someone more competent?”

“if there is no hell, why does it get mentioned so much in the Book of Mormon?”

“did the Lord ever address the seeming contradiction between the New Testament and modern scripture?”

“Did early members, including Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, really speak in tongues as she claims? If so, was this different from how Pentecostals do it now?”

“Apparently, Joseph Smith once dressed down Brigham Young publicly for something that he did not do. Brigham's humble response was, quote, Joseph, what will you have me do? So, is there a documented occurrence of this”

Did Joseph Smith prophesy that Boggs would die a violent death, or that a church would cast a shadow over his grave?

“We were told by several members that Joseph Smith had prophesied that a church spire would overshadow the grave site of Governor Boggs.”

Why wasn't the Quorum of the Twelve organized right away, and how did the first apostles rank?

“So, baptism prompted the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood. What prompted the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood?”

“I just need to know if Seymour Brunson is really buried where the newer headstone is or if he is buried in the old Nauvoo Cemetery.”

“This morning, I remembered my political philosophy professor at the BYU related a story of Joseph Smith becoming fed up with the institutionalization of the church and wanted to step down as prophet and have Hyrum take over so he could simply be a priest or be simply a priest. How much truth is there to this?”

“I've heard in the case of women being sealed to multiple men, they'll be able to choose which one they want to be sealed to, but is this doctrine or just speculation?”

“Happiness is the object and design of our existence and will be the end thereof if we pursue the path that leads to it.”

“We might take a lesson from an account, given by the prophet, of a vision of the resurrection, in which he records that one of the saddest things he had ever witnessed was the sorrow of members of the church who came forth to a resurrection below that which they had taken for granted they would receive.”

“Did the prophet Joseph Smith use a seer stone as well as the Urim and Thummim to translate the Book of Mormon?”

What happened in Harmony after the lost 116 pages, and why do D&C 4 and 5 matter?

When did the apostasy begin, and how far did it go?

What should a young missionary know and do to prepare before leaving on a mission?

“Before my mission, I heard on a podcast that the Smith family used to do sacrifices or some sort of non-conventional religious practice. And that these could look satanic to us.”

“How do we reconcile Heavenly Father's foreknowledge with our agency?”

“The real question they, I, have concerns the supposed hiding or covering up of the church's past. They ask, why all of a sudden do we know this? Or why did it take so long for the Joseph Smith papers to be published for the world?”

“I have noticed that on the podcast, you still used Mormon when talking about us historically. Is this because, that is how we are referred to historically?”

“We were talking in young women's about families and a leader said, very matter of fact, that we picked our families in heaven. Did we?”

“However, I do want to know how this pastor could think that the Bible was the unerring word of God.”

“And I guess my question is, why doesn't it read the same in the Book of Mormon?”

“How do you approach historical topics where experts don't agree?”

“On this day, Mrs. Cartwright drowned during her baptism. Weeks earlier, she was so furious at her husband's baptism, she said, I hope to God, if ever I am such a fool, that I'll be drowned in the attempt.”

“Did Joseph Smith ever say there were little men living on the moon?”

“Trying to claim that the Joseph Smith papers shows that there is no evidence for the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood.”

“Brother Madsen stated or states that the information we have from Joseph Smith Jr. indicates that he understood the two prophets lying dead in the streets to be Elijah and Enoch. Is there any type of documentation that would verify this statement?”

“I asked my grandma once if it was true that Brigham Young and John Taylor didn't like each other.”

“It's that time of year that we talk about Mary a lot, but what about Mary's mother?”

“Are most Christians essentially polytheists, or am I so caught up in my Latter-day Saint upbringing that I've been blind to all these years what they truly believe?”

“What was Christmas like in pioneer days?”

Does every time a bell rings really mean an angel gets its wings, and what do Latter-day Saints believe angels are?

How did the early Saints feel about the Fourth of July, and why did they stop celebrating it in Nauvoo?

Can Gerrit fact-check the Church history cards from the Blast from the Past board game, with no prep?

“Or are there tools or ways of thinking I need to learn to adopt to shortcut my trust and accept things I'm told at face value?”

“So, the question, are Mormons Christian, really going back to how the Christians got an idea of who Jesus actually was?”

Are Latter-day Saints Christian, and why do other Christians say they're not?

Is it true that the only place in the entire Joseph Smith history where Joseph inserted quotes is around the Lord's words that "they draw near to me with their lips"?

“I have heard all my life that Abraham Lincoln was one of those that appeared to Wilford Woodruff in the St. George temple, requesting his temple work to be done. Did this really happen?”

How did President Polk and the Latter-day Saints end up agreeing to raise the Mormon Battalion?

What news was Brigham Young receiving from Washington that made the Saints' situation seem even worse?

Why did the Latter-day Saints decide to leave the United States, setting the stage for the Mormon Battalion?

How should we answer Kathleen Melonakos's claims that Joseph Smith's ideas came from Dartmouth College, Masonry and a counterfeiting ring?

“Could you give me a rebuttal to this woman who says she looked at court documents to write her book?”

Did Joseph Smith send Orson Hyde on his mission to Palestine so that he could marry Marinda Hyde while he was gone?

Is it really true that Joseph Smith even sent men on missions and while they were gone, he married their wives? If not, how do we know it isn't?

“Your discussion kind of made it sound like blessing slash prosperity, and their opposites are not attributable to God, but are more often just cosmic part of the plan we agreed upon. So far, 70 years, I have been living under the assumption that God will bless us for our righteousness.”

Does keeping the commandments guarantee temporal blessings like money, health and prosperity?

“If we are having a hard time and not feeling blessed, don't have money, health, prosperity, etc. Then we must be sinful or being punished by God. Where does that idea come from? Is that a Calvinistic world view?”

How reliable are the books and websites that claim to explain the signs of the times and when the Second Coming will be?

What did the early missionaries teach? How is it that thousands of people flocked to a new church based on what the missionaries told them?

“I came across a quote from Joseph Smith that I wanted to know for sure if it was true or if it was one of those quotes that have passed through five different people.”

What's going on with the Saints, with Joseph Smith and with this revelation when D&C 58 says "after much tribulation come the blessings"?

How might historians approach authenticating antiquities such as the recently discovered daguerreotype claimed to be of Joseph Smith, or other family heirlooms?

Where did the Book of Mormon take place?

How did Latter-day Saints in Joseph Smith's time view the Apocrypha?

When you're told you'll be blessed once you finish the translation of the Bible, how do you know when you're done, and what do you do with the Apocrypha?

Can the 1831 revelation W. W. Phelps sent to Brigham Young in 1861 be reliably tied to Joseph Smith, and what was it really about?

“Do you believe this revelation can be reliably attributed to Joseph Smith?”

“How can I know whether to accept a religious account as historical fact?”

How did the early Latter-day Saints feel about the Fourth of July?

What other revelations did Joseph Smith receive that never made it into the Doctrine and Covenants?

What are some of the revelations Joseph Smith received that never made it into the Doctrine and Covenants, and why weren't they included?

Why has God suffered so great a calamity to come upon Zion?

“Why is it that in July of 1833, a mob forms and violently demands that the Latter-day Saints leave their lands?”

Why did the Missourians come to see the Latter-day Saints gathering to Jackson County as a threat?

How does the Mountain Meadows Massacre fit its historical context, and does it show, as Under the Banner of Heaven claims, that the faith itself is violent?

What happens when a friend or family member who has seen Under the Banner of Heaven asks about it, and how can members respond?

Why were so many disappointed when they reached Zion, and what happened to people like Ezra Booth?

What did the idea of Zion mean to the early Saints, and why did they feel so compelled to settle in Jackson County, Missouri?

If both the Saints and their Missouri persecutors believed they were upholding American ideals, what does the Boston Tea Party show about American ideology?

“I'm curious about the book that Elder Oaks wrote back in the 80s. How much can that book be trusted? I know Elder Oaks is an apostle, but he wrote this book prior to his calling. I know he researched the court records, but can anyone gain access to that information to verify his work?”

I've heard that Joseph Smith just stole the temple ceremony from the Masons.

What was the Church's early participation or involvement in Freemasonry?

Did the Book of Mormon influence Abraham Lincoln, changing his view of Latter-day Saints and leading to the Emancipation Proclamation?

With the table set on the Republican Party, how did Abraham Lincoln and the Latter-day Saints actually see each other going into and through the start of the Civil War?

What was Abraham Lincoln's involvement with the Latter-day Saints, and what impression did the Saints make on him during the Civil War?

Listeners asked for an episode on Emma Smith; instead, who is a lesser-known hero of early Church history whose faith we should know?

If baptism is essential, how do we handle mistakes in performing it, and what happens to children, as early Latter-day Saints had to work out?

“my question is, how do historians deal with oral history not authenticated by any written documentation?”

Picking up from part one: does the rest of the evidence in the video "Who Killed Joseph Smith" hold up, starting with Joseph's sister Katharine as its star witness?

Several listeners emailed about a new video claiming new forensic evidence that Joseph and Hyrum Smith were murdered by an inside conspiracy. Does it hold up?

What about the vision of disease and sickness attributed to John Taylor that is making its way around the internet? Where does it come from?

Was the White Horse Prophecy embraced by Church leadership, and where does the expression that the Constitution would hang by a thread come from?

Why does D&C 41, a fairly obscure revelation, give us insight into Church history and into Joseph Smith's character?

Why is the Book of Moses one of the most profound evidences of Joseph Smith's prophetic calling, when most of us don't even think of it as a revelation?

What will the Standard of Truth Church history tour include, and why go see these places in person?

“So Renee, where did Gerrit get his love for history?”

Continuing the discussion of the Council of Fifty minutes after the historical context of parts one and two.

Continuing the Council of Fifty minutes: how did the council function, what was its plan, and how did that affect Latter-day Saints going forward?

What was the Council of Fifty, what was its historical context, and what did Joseph Smith teach in it?

There's a part to the movie where it's kind of repeated several times. And it's the idea that every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings. And so we wanted to talk a little bit about angels in this podcast.

In this week's podcast, we're going to conclude the three parts podcast... now we're gonna start getting into some of the beliefs and parts of his platform, kind of where he's at. We last left with his letter back to John C. Calhoun, and I think we're gonna pick up here with Henry Clay.

Picking up from Part 1: Joseph has written to candidates in both parties, and we started with John C. Calhoun. What did the other potential candidates write back?

In this week's podcast, we want to talk a little bit more about Joseph Smith's presidential campaign... dive a little deeper and to go in a little more detail about some of his positions and then maybe even some of the interactions that he had with other candidates.

“Well, do you think they'll ever add any other sections to the Doctrine and Covenants?”

What makes a revelation? What revelations were selected to go into the Doctrine and Covenants? Are there revelations that aren't in the Doctrine and Covenants? What types of things become sections, and how does that change over time?

So when they found the manuscript, Gerrit, my guess is that the argument went away and that it no longer exists anymore.

With Eber Howe, and so picking up there, what's going on?

In this week's podcast, we want to discuss some of the early antagonists to Joseph Smith. So, Gerrit, what are, or who are, some of the early antagonists to Joseph Smith, and kind of what's their approach?

So there's obviously multiple different accounts, and there's different target audiences for each one. Well, which one of them was then published first and became the most widely used at the time and why?

So I was just curious that there's multiple accounts of the First Vision given by Joseph Smith over the years. And I would love to know some of the differences between the accounts and why certain things maybe are emphasized and others are not. And how do you reconcile those differences?

In part one, Gerrit, you kind of set the table for why section 93 is such an enormous revelation. And in part two, you talked a little bit about the nature of Christ as explained through this section. And so what are we going to talk about in part three?

You went pretty deep into the issues and problems that arose in the early Christian church relating to the nature of Jesus Christ. Could you kind of give a little bit of a recap?

This section sheds light on a 2000 year old question relating to the nature of Jesus Christ. So Gerrit, what are some of the philosophical or theological issues that section 93 helps to provide clarity for?

In this part two, we're going to conclude the discussion around the translation of the plates. So Gerrit, where did you want to pick off from where we left?

And so Gerrit, as it relates to you describing the translation of the Gold Plates, how do you go about that? That's quite the story, quite the telling.

In part one we talked about the historical context of when Joseph Smith received the Word of Wisdom. In this podcast we want to talk about its progression from 1833 till today.

Today we're gonna talk about one of Joseph Smith's most well-known revelations, especially to Latter-day Saints, The Word of Wisdom. So Gerrit, where does this revelation come from?

In Come Follow Me we're discussing Doctrine and Covenants 87 as it relates to the Civil War. What context can you provide for us with this particular section?

What is D&C 49, the revelation the Lord gave for a mission to the Shakers, and what does it teach about marriage, meat and the Second Coming?

Someone shared a video and article claiming Joseph Smith received his visions and translated the Book of Mormon through psychedelic drugs such as toads, herbs and mushrooms. "Brother Dirkmaat, I'm trying to keep an open mind. But, you know, this is probably a little too far." Is there evidence for this?

Is there progression from kingdom to kingdom, telestial to terrestrial and so on?

Why is D&C 76, "The Vision," among the most radical things Joseph Smith taught, so at variance with the rest of the Christian world that some found it blasphemous?

So then leading up to the day of the martyrdom, what do you feel kind of best sets the stage and kind of best describes what happens there?

What were the events that led to that awful tragedy, the murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith?

How does he receive, Doctrine and Covenants, Section 28, how does he receive that revelation?

We recently had a general conference. It seems like every general conference there are many people within the church that disagree with things said by the prophet or other apostles. How is this different to or similar to the early church?

Why history matters to Latter-day Saints, and why it matters so much more to them than to other Christians.

We've received several requests from friends and listeners to the podcast that have wanted to know a little bit more about Gerrit: him as a boy, him growing into a man, and then him choosing a career of little to no money.

Listeners have asked about Gerrit and Michael MacKay's book, From Darkness Unto Light: Joseph Smith's Translation and the Publication of the Book of Mormon, so what's in it beyond the two-part translation episode?

How exactly did the murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith take place? 'We're not entirely sure how it is that the events of the actual murder took place.'

“In last week's episode, we kept everyone on a cliffhanger relating to Doctrine and Covenants section three.”

“In this week's episode, we're gonna talk about Doctrine and Covenants, section three.”

Can we finally wrap up D&C 45 and put a bow on it?

Why go after New England first? Is it because they're the ones causing all the ruckus, while Georgia isn't as worked up?

Right after declaring independence, how did the Americans nearly lose the whole revolution, and what turned it around?

With the Howe brothers holding power to negotiate peace, why couldn't they even get a letter to George Washington?

“Where are the most loyalists?”

Months before declaring independence, why did the colonists invade Canada, and how did it go?

With fighting already under way in Massachusetts, why did the Continental Congress still send King George a petition begging for peace, and how did he answer?

After Lexington and Concord, the British are the ones trapped in Boston. How does Gage fix what he started?

What was General Gage supposed to do about a rebellion he couldn't ignore and couldn't crush without starting a war?

Maybe the colonists felt that this was the parliament that was acting this way, and if they could just appeal to the king...

What was the more insidious side of the Boston Port Act, and what else did Parliament pass to punish Boston?

“Are any of these people that are kind of causing this, this excitement among the colonists, are any of them punished or captured or tried?”

If I'm just a regular shop owner, I'm not a fan of the taxes, and I'm also not a fan of extortion. So where is the majority of colonists?

After the Stamp Act failed, what did Britain try next to make the colonies pay, and why did it make things worse?

While the upper class protests the Stamp Act through the Stamp Act Congress, what are the regular folks doing?

Why did the Sugar Act barely cause a stir, while the Stamp Act set the colonies on fire?

“How could Calvin really believe this?”

Now that Amherst has stopped giving gifts to the Native Americans, what happens next, and how does Pontiac's Rebellion change British policy?

“Why in the world did they found the Church in Fayette?”

What are the five points of Calvinism, TULIP, and why did Calvin believe them?

How do you go from the greatest imperial victory in British history to the American Revolution only twelve years later?

How did John Calvin take the Reformation further, and why does it matter for the world Joseph Smith grew up in?

After Braddock's crushing defeat, how did the Seven Years' War play out, and how did Britain end up with all of New France?

What makes the Grandin Print Shop a holy place, when no angel ever appeared there?

Where are we transitioning from Martin Luther and the selling of indulgences?

How did the Seven Years' War, the French and Indian War, begin in North America?

Why is the Hill Cumorah a holy place, and what happened to Joseph there before he ever got the plates?

If Hobbes says people are basically selfish, what did John Locke say instead, and how did his ideas shape the American colonies?

“where do you think the First Vision took place?”

As we move into the 18th century, what differences, issues and problems are building between the colonies and England on the road to the Revolutionary War?

What was Palmyra like when the Smiths arrived, and why were they so poor there?

What is purgatory, and why does it matter for understanding the Reformation that Joseph Smith was born into?

How were the southern colonies, South Carolina and Georgia, founded, and why were they so different from each other?

Why would Joseph Smith call Colesville the seat of Satan, and why is it still a holy place?

Before we get to the southern colonies, how did slavery come to the Americas, and why was the Caribbean at the center of it?

“Gerrit, so what, why Colesville, what happened there? What's going on?”

After the Council of Nicaea, is the issue settled? No more arguments to be had over the nature of Christ?

“Okay, so we have the southern states and the way that they're founded. We have the northern colonies and the way that they're founded. What about states like Pennsylvania and cities like Baltimore?”

What was Bacon's Rebellion, and why did it push Virginia from indentured servants to African slavery?

“So is the first, then, translation of the Book of Mormon starts in harmony or does it start in Palmyra and then goes in harmony?”

What early heresies bubbled up in Christianity, and what did the church do to settle them?

What was the Great Inversion, and why did it make the English colonies so different from New France and New Spain?

Why start a tour of Church history sites in Harmony, and why didn't Isaac Hale want Joseph Smith to marry his daughter?