In this Standard of Truth Podcast, Dr. Dirkmaat discusses questions that can’t be answered without the restored gospel and why members who leave the Church struggle so much with the problem of evil. Without the restoration, and without the truths that came through Joseph Smith, there is no way to give a consistent answer. The restored gospel is the only framework that explains why evil exists, why mortality works the way it does, and how God can still be perfectly fair.

Here are the key points the restored gospel makes possible:

1. We lived with God before this life
Our spirits weren’t created out of nothing. We existed before, and we came to earth with purpose. That one truth changes everything about why we are here.

2. The Fall was part of God’s plan
Adam and Eve didn’t ruin God’s plan. They started it. The Fall opened the way for real agency, growth, and experience.

3. God is fair to every one of His children
Every person will have the same chance to accept Jesus Christ, whether in this life or the next. Salvation isn’t limited by time, place, or culture.

4. The Atonement reaches everyone
Through the temple and the work for the dead, Christ’s atonement applies to every soul. No one is shut out because of where they were born.

5. Agency only works with real knowledge
God doesn’t judge people for things they never understood. Judgment is based on light and opportunity, not accident or circumstance.

These answers only exist because of the restoration of the gospel through Joseph Smith. Without those restored doctrines, the basic questions of why we are here, why evil exists, and how God can be just simply cannot be answered.