Readings #7

Salt Lake Tribune highlights:

• Only 63% of LDS believe in climate change, below the 87 and 83% among Catholics and Protestants

• The issue isn’t what mormons believe but what many mormons think environmentalists believe 

• LDS doctrine says we are “stewards” of the earth, but there is no official church stance on environmental issues

• The idea floated around that “Christians don’t need to worry about the environment because Christ soon will return and cleanse the earth”

• "Environmentalism is an expression of a broader belief system that is not as easily compatible with, say, a Mormon belief”

• Contention is seen in the LDS church as something evil…LDS people don’t enjoy going to rallies, where they are around people who are shouting and angry, and who are holding up signs with strong language

Why is it when we are taught that we are “stewards of the earth” that we don’t take political actions that are equivalent of that belief? The line from the article that Christ will just come and cleanse the earth so we don’t have to care for it really stood out to me. The story from the Bible (in Matthew 25) talks about a man who gave one of his servants 5 talents, one of them 2 talents, and the last one single talent. He leaves and returns to see how they have done with what he gave them. The first two doubled their talents and the man was very pleased. The servant who only had one buried it to save it, and the man called him a wicked and slothful servant. To me this story relates to this article because the earth and all of it’s bounty can be equated to our talents given to us by the Lord. We may live in a jungle, desert, or city, but regardless of what we have we are responsible to make it better than how we found it. If we do care for our corners of the earth, the Lord might say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matt 25:21). 

It is true that mormons hate contention. They generally don’t want to start fights, rally, yell, or upset others, and this tends to keep them away from supporting environmentalism. One thing the article failed to mention was that rallying is not the only way to make a change. It might be true that mormon’s won’t be screaming with signs in political rallies, but that doesn’t mean they can’t make a change. Peaceful protesting and respectfully living what we believe can make a difference too. 

Enoch’s Vision and Gaia highlights: -Gaia: a term used by some modern scientists and naturalists who suggest that the earth’s biosphere can be better understood as a living organism, which maintains an equilibrium and relative constancy of temperature, atmosphere, and biospheric and geophysical cycles necessary to sustain life. 

• LDS concept of preexistence of souls promotes a reverence for the earth and it’s creatures 

• “The blood of every beast will I require at your hands” Gen 9:9-11

• Joseph F. Smith said “We cannot restore life when it is taken, and all creatures have the right to enjoy life and happiness on the earth where the Lord has placed them” 

• God will judge His children on how they exercise their stewardship over the earth

• Concept of the earth becoming cursed

Why don’t people take better care of the earth? Maybe it requires too much extra effort to recycle or plant a tree, maybe they think it’s too overwhelming of a problem that they don’t know where to start, or how they can ever make a difference, maybe they don’t know how serious the situation is, maybe they don’t want to get political, maybe they use natural resources for money, maybe they are indifferent. It was interesting reading this article after the first one, because there are so many direct quotes from church leaders that support our caring for and respect of the earth. In the previous article it said that mormons aren’t aware of a church stance on environmentalism and tend to stay away from the heat of the argument. This article cites word for word commands and warnings given about how we use our stewardship of the earth. Enoch ’s vision was one where the earth opened up and spoke to him, mourning the filth that has gone out of her. How LDS members interpret this varies between literal and metaphorical, leaving us at the same place we were before bringing up Enoch’s vision. How will we change the world when each person will interpret scripture or prophetic statement to match their previously conceived beliefs?