James is a fascinating human and Latter-day Saint, and brings a truly unique perspective to our faith. In his words, his family is Jewish on one side, Sikh on the other, and Mormon in the middle. He works as a historian for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and is also a poet, novelist, essayist, playwright, documentary filmmaker, scholar, and translator. He’s won the Association for Mormon letters awards in the Drama, Novel, and Creative Nonfiction categories, and has been a finalist in the Poetry and Criticism categories. He’s also one of a rotating cast of scholars on BYUtv’s Come Follow Up series. He is a frequent contributor to Wayfare and a co-author of the book Latter-day Sikh.

It was such a joy to sit down with James and talk temple. We begin by exploring his unique blend of Jewish, Sikh, and Mormon heritage, and how that has influenced his experience of ritual and sacred space in an LDS context. James speaks to the value of encountering ritual in other faiths as a way to prepare for the temple, as well as the role of religious imagination and the transformative power of fully inhabiting a story. We weave through stories, personal experiences, and poetry in our exploration of the temple journey.

My ultimate take away is that when we let the temple bleed out into every part of our life and who we are, every moment becomes the journey back to God. Life becomes the temple journey. As James says, “The temple is the invitation to develop eyes to see the holiness everywhere; that’s the spirit of endowment.”

Find James’ new book Latter-day Sikh at Deseret Book

Find James’ poetry collection Phoenix Song anywhere you buy books online

Find Song of Names wherever you buy books online.

Follow James on Substack at jamesgoldberg.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.sanctuarypod.org

Sarah is a writer, filmmaker, and recent PhD graduate in literature. Together with her husband, she is a co-author of The Book of Mormon Storybook and the human behind the Instagram account @forlittlesaints. She also works as the Root Director of Peacemaking at Mormon Women for Ethical Government.

In this episode, Sarah shares her surprise in being invited onto the show due to not having a particularly strong relationship with the temple—yet this was precisely why I wanted to have a conversation with her. As someone who has had my own challenges in my temple journey, and who sees and feels the struggles many around me share, it felt important to have a conversation about the reality that our temple experience doesn’t always fit our ideals.

Together we discuss the journey of making peace with your experience, how to create space for the diversity of experiences within a community, and the spiritual practice of embracing the unknown. Sarah shares about her work with Mormon Women for Ethical Government and what she has learned about peacemaking, the importance of drawing out differences, and allowing things to be unresolved.

Sarah has also written beautifully about covenants. Together we explore the “impossible task” of making promises to give your absolute all to God, and the possibility that maybe the point of making covenants isn’t to perfectly keep them, but to deepen our relationship with Christ.

Read Sarah’s essay “Covenants by Immersion” on WayfareMagazine.org.

Preorder her new book, The Bible Storybook: The Old Testament, at forlittlesaints.com

Listen to Sarah read her scripture retellings for children in Scripture Stories for Little Saints, a new podcast from Faith Matters.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.sanctuarypod.org

Melinda W. Brown is an author and educator with a master’s degree in Christian Practice from Duke Divinity School, where she focused on Christian Education. She is the author of Eve and Adam: Discovering the Beautiful Balance (Deseret Book, 2020) and An Endowment of Love: Embracing Christ’s Covenant Way of Living and Loving.

In this episode, Mindy and I drop into the heart of the temple and what we believe God is intending to do in our lives through the temple. We explore what becomes possible when we move away from a “duty-bound, transactional” approach to God and the covenants we make with Him, and instead really see covenants for what they are—a deepening of relationship with Him and with each other.

We explore the value of involving the body in the act of temple rituals when making commitments to God, how to “mine symbols for new meanings”, and the reality that the temple might not be the place you feel God’s love most.

Ultimately, we both believe that the temple experience isn’t about earning Heaven in the future, but about teaching us how to experience Heaven here and now.

You can find Mindy’s book An Endowment of Love: Embracing Christ’s Covenant Way of Living and Loving on Amazon or at Deseret Book.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.sanctuarypod.org

It felt only right to begin this journey with sharing my own.

I grew up in the heart of Utah County in what I would refer to as a “cliche Mormon household.” Two faithful parents, seven children, a father who works at BYU—I was living the stereotype. But at age 15, due to a series of painful events and a battle with my mental health, I left the faith of my childhood.

I spent the next 8 years struggling, wandering, and searching for truth—until five years ago, when I had a miraculous, born-again encounter with Jesus Christ while living in Thailand.

I never wanted to come back to religion, but was guided to eventually read the Book of Mormon. I quickly received a witness of its truth.

A couple of years later I went through the temple for my endowment—but despite my extensive preparation it was not what I expected. The challenge of that experience initiated a journey of deeper study to find out what all of this is really about.

That journey continues today, and my hope is that you will join me as I continue to reach for understanding and meaning in this peculiar place that is The House of the Lord.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.sanctuarypod.org

Sanctuary: Discovering the Temple is a new podcast from Faith Matters where we hold curious, open, & honest conversations as we explore and re-discover the temple together. In this short introductory episode, host Larkin Swain welcomes you to the project and gives a brief explanation of her background. We would love to hear from you! Email [email protected] with your questions and suggestions.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.sanctuarypod.org