S6E13 The CES Letter and Polygamy

Standard of Truth

Dr. Gerrit Dirkmaat

Religion & Spirituality

4.9 • 992 Ratings

🗓️ 26 March 2026

⏱️ 72 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this mailbag episode, we cover the origins and shortcomings of the CES Letter, correct false claims about the timeline of Joseph Smith’s practice of plural marriage, and firmly address the notion that polygamy wasn’t divinely commanded. Along the way, they share global polygamy statistics, reflect on lesser-known figures of faith who endured extraordinary trials, and offer thoughtful advice to a listener wrestling with a complicated pioneer ancestor. 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: ⁠⁠questions@standardoftruthpodcast.com

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Welcome to the Standard of Truth podcast. In this podcast, Dr. Garrett Dirk-Mott and Dr. Richard
0:08.2	Leduc explore the early history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the life
0:14.3	and teachings of the prophet Joseph Smith. They examine the original historical sources and provide
0:20.4	context for events of the past.
0:23.1	They approach the history of the church with faith, expertise, and humor.
0:37.4	Hi, welcome to another episode of the Standard of Truth podcast.
0:40.8	I'm your host, Dr. Garrett Dirkmont, and I'm joined by my friend, Dr. Richard Gladuke.
0:46.6	Hello, Garrett.
0:47.9	Thanks for having me back, despite being 43rd out of 300 and whatever people participating in the dead and in hell bracket buster NCAA challenge we couldn't fit we put more words in it than a book in the 19th century yeah a title page from the 19th century where it's like Mormonism unveiled or all the way down.
1:14.1	Where are you at in that challenge?
1:16.4	Interesting.
1:18.0	Yes, it's interesting.
1:18.9	I'm,
1:18.9	43rd.
1:19.4	Now, I have 13 of the 16 in the sweet 16.
1:23.6	So I feel like I've got a redemption story coming this weekend.
1:28.1	Where are you at?
1:29.7	One ninth out of 372 people.
1:33.3	So I mean, look.
1:35.3	Tied for nine.
1:36.5	Tied for ninth.
1:38.0	Tide for ninth.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Dr. Gerrit Dirkmaat, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Dr. Gerrit Dirkmaat and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.