Hello, why religion friends? John Hilton here.

In the 1980s, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was building a temple in Stockholm, Sweden.

When local opposition arose, Christor Stendal, the Lutheran bishop of Stockholm, was asked whether such a temple should be built.

His response was remarkable.

He encouraged people to leave room for holy envy, a phrase he coined to describe the idea

that it's not only okay but even admirable to appreciate elements of another religion.

Speaking specifically of Latter-day St temple practices, Stendahl said,

In my religious tradition, our dead are forgotten. We don't think about them. They're gone.

But the Mormons want to bring the benefits of Christ's atonement even to their ancestors.

That I envy and admire.

Latter-day Saints in Sweden were blessed by Stendahl's generous and open-hearted response.

In my own life, his phrase, holy envy, has helped me better appreciate the goodness in other

faiths. Today we'll be listening to Dr. Sean Hopkins, an expert in interfaith dialogue, who has

developed holy envy for many aspects of Judaism.

The enthusiasm, the joy, the fervor, and then there's this moment as the sun is setting,

where you stand and you turn to the door and you sort of bow forward and you're welcoming in

Queen Shabbat, right?

The Sabbath in this very joyous way.

The Sabbath is here, this time of rejoicing that God's work is being fulfilled, right?

And then depending on the service you go to, there'll be tambourines, there'll be music,

they're singing, all that kind of rich worship. And I think Latter-day Saints, we have this in our own ways, but it's expressed

so differently and in really beautiful ways. Beyond developing Holy Envy, there are additional

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