Sanctuary: Discovering the Temple

This is part two of a two part conversation with Dave. If you have not first listened to part one that was released last week, check that out first! I credit Dave, among others, with playing a significant role in igniting my fascination with the temple. About a year and a half ago, I was introduced to his work, and I was immediately captivated by it. His ideas opened up entirely new ways of seeing...

I credit Dave, among others, with playing a significant role in igniting my fascination with the temple. About a year and a half ago, I was introduced to his work, and I was immediately captivated by it. His ideas opened up entirely new ways of seeing the temple and became the catalyst for a deep exploration of our sacred ordinances. Since then, I have felt a steady invitation from God to meet Him...

This episode has been a long time coming. More than any other topic, our community has asked questions about the Divine Feminine and Heavenly Mother. There is so much to explore, especially in relation to the temple, and I hope this is the first of many conversations on the subject. Many of us feel the absence of the feminine in our stories, symbols, and ordinances. Years ago, I began my own searc...

As a lover of poetry, I was especially excited to bring Darlene Young on for a conversation about two passions close to my heart. One day, I was struck by the realization that poetry and the temple feel deeply similar to me. Both feel like crossing a threshold — moving from the concrete into the abstract, the mundane into the sacred, mortality into eternity. Darlene has an extraordinary gift for c...

Something I have wrestled with in my own faith journey is how I can simultaneously feel such a strong witness of restored gospel truths and ordinances while also recognizing immense truth and beauty in other religions. In this conversation, Dave shares his journey of developing a deep love and appreciation for all faith traditions, and how embracing other religions has not threatened his own faith...

As a feminist and lifelong member of the LDS faith, Deidre brings an important voice to this community. In this episode, she shares her own temple journey, which—like mine—began with challenges but ultimately evolved into something deeply meaningful. She describes the temple as a space that empowers her as a woman and expresses her belief that it holds a vision of who women truly are and who God i...

Matt is a strong believer in developing an understanding of the biblical temple to increase our temple literacy, and he has dedicated most of his life’s work to studying this very thing. This episode felt like a continuation of my previous conversation with Josh Matson. Matt helps us explore more deeply the similarities and differences between the modern LDS temple and the ancient Israelite temple...

In this conversation, Josh walks us through the pattern of the ancient tabernacle and Solomon’s temple, helping us begin to understand what temple worship and sacrifice looked like for the ancient Israelites. Gaining an understanding of what the temple experience was like anciently has really helped to enrich my relationship with our modern temple. I was struck by both the similarities and the dif...

As we began preparing to create the Sanctuary podcast, one of our goals was to offer a resource for those preparing to attend the temple for the first time. We wanted to have a straightforward conversation about what you can expect in the endowment ceremony and provide some context to help you begin understanding the purpose behind these sacred rituals. In this episode, Jasmin and I zoom out and t...

This conversation with Matt was one of my favorites. I am endlessly fascinated by ritual. Why have humans, since seemingly the beginning of time, performed rituals? I want to understand the role ritual plays in my life, in my community, and in the world. I have wrestled with it. I have hated it. I have been transformed by it. I have come to deeply love it—and will likely cycle through all of those...

I was so grateful to have the pleasure to speak with Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife for this episode.. This conversation is another exploration of covenants, but from the framework of the stages of development. This episode begins with Jennifer introducing the three stages of development she describes in her work, and from there she helps us get a feel for how we might relate to God’s laws based on t...

Gosh, I really can’t express how much I loved this conversation with George. It felt like a celebration of life—and an invitation to live and love it more fully. This conversation explores the five covenants we make in the temple, with particular emphasis on the first and the last: obedience and consecration. George shares his personal journey of coming to know the true God and of developing his o...

This conversation with Jennifer was especially meaningful to me because it explores embodiment, a pillar of my personal spirituality. Jennifer beautifully explains how our ordinances teach us the necessity of embodiment in discipleship. We perform ordinances with our bodies to symbolize that the spiritual journey requires more than intellectual belief—it calls for our whole selves. As Jennifer say...

Jared Lambert is a historical linguist specializing in the ancient Near East and the Hebrew Bible. He is a former military linguist in the United States Army and previously served as the lead linguist over sacred materials for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, working directly with temple-related content. Jared holds multiple degrees across linguistics, history, and religious studie...

I’m so excited to share this beautiful conversation I had with Jenet Erickson with you. Being just a few days away from Christmas, this felt like the perfect episode to share because it feels like it is just drenched in Jesus. Jenet Erickson is an associate professor in Religious Education at Brigham Young University and a research fellow of the Institute for Family Studies and the Wheatley Instit...

Hannah Packard Crowther is a beautiful human and a thought-provoking writer. She is the author of Gracing , published by Faith Matters, where she reflects on grace not simply as a theological idea, but as an everyday, lived partnership with God. She holds a master’s degree in biological science education from BYU, and she’s a longtime mother, an aspiring theologian and poet, and a beachcomber when...

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 fo...

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 parti...

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...

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 strugg...

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 info@faithmatters.org with your questions and suggestions....