When Life Becomes the Temple Journey: A conversation with James Goldberg

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

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