When Shall The Earth Rest?

D&C 136:27 Thou shalt be diligent in preserving what thou hast, that thou mayest be a wise steward; for it is the free gift of the Lord thy God, and thou art his steward.

Brigham Young – the Earth should be beautified. “There is a great work for the Saints to do. Progress, and improve upon, and make beautiful everything around you. Cultivate the earth and cultivate your minds. Build cities, adorn your habitations, make gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and render the earth so pleasant that when you look upon your labours you may do so with pleasure, and that angels may delight to come and visit your beautiful locations. In the meantime, continually seek to adorn your minds with all the graces of the Spirit of Christ.”[i]

Prof. George B. Handley (BYU) – significance of spiritual character of all life. “The notion that physical matter and all living things have some living spiritual character grants a sacred identity to the nonhuman realm, and this would seem to give us pause to consider the ethics of our use of such inspirited material.”[ii] “[T]the Mormon conception of our premortal life and its suggestion that we witnessed and may have participated in the very creation of the world under Christ’s direction [gives] a unique opportunity to always remember our intimate relationship with creation.”[iii]

Ezra Taft Benson – warning against greed and overconsumption. “[W]e are morally obligated to turn this land over to those who succeed us – not drained of its fertility, but improved in quality, in productivity, and in usefulness for future generations. I am sure our Heavenly Father expects us to use these precious natural resources wisely, unselfishly, and effectively – both our soil and our water….[iv]

Ezra Taft Benson: The Church has urged its members to be efficient users of our resources and to avoid waste and pollution, and to clean up their own immediate environment, or that over which they have control.”[v]

Gordon B. Hinckley – lament that we make the Earth ugly. “This earth is His creation. When we make it ugly, we offend him.”[vi]

Orson Pratt – we are to be tested as stewards. “This land, about which I have been speaking, is called in some places in the revelation of God to the Prophet Joseph, the land of our inheritance. . . . If we shall be unwise in the disposition of this trust, then it will be very doubtful, whether we get an inheritance in this world or in the world to come.”[vii]

Neal A. Maxwell – we have covenanted to take good care of the earth. “The instructions to Adam and Eve about the garden earth … have not been rescinded. They were, and we are, to dress it-not destroy it. They were to take good care of it instead of abusing it. Our increasing interdependence on this planet makes some forms of individual selfishness the equivalent of a runaway personal bulldozer. If we have no concern for the generations to follow, the means are at hand to tear up the terrain much more than was ever possible anciently.”[viii]

Joseph F. Smith: “As children of God, it is our duty to appreciate and worship Him in His creations. If we would associate all that is truly good and beautiful in life with thoughts of Him, we would be able to trace His handiwork throughout all nature.”[ix]

Gordon B. Hinckley: “Can any man who has walked beneath the stars at night, can anyone who has seen the touch of spring upon the land doubt the hand of divinity in creation?”[x]

M. Russell Ballard: “Think of what would happen if all of us took time to look carefully at the wonders of nature that surround us and devoted ourselves to learning more about this world that God created for us….”[xi]

“To truly reverence the Creator, we must appreciate his creations. We need to plan to take time to observe the marvels of nature. Today, we can easily become surrounded by brick buildings and asphalt surfaces that shelter us from real life around us.[xii]

“[T]hose who feel no reverence for the creations and the divine attributes of God likely will have little appreciation for other sacred things. Such a lack of veneration for God’s creations may diminish until a person becomes totally insensitive to the feelings of others.[xiii]

Douglas L. Callister: “It pleases our Father in Heaven when we, also, pause to note the beauty of our environment, which we will naturally do as we become more spiritually sensitive.”[xiv]

Alexander B. Morrison: “[O]ur current way of life is simply environmentally unsustainable. The immensely complex and still not fully understood systems that sustain life on earth are being destroyed by human activities.”[xv]

Neal A. Maxwell: “True disciples … would be consistent environmentalists – caring both about maintaining the spiritual health of a marriage and preserving a rain forest; caring about preserving the nutrient capacity of a family as well as providing a healthy supply of air and water…. Adam and Eve were to “dress the garden,” not exploit it. Like them, we are to keep the commandments, so that we can enjoy all the resources God has given us, resources described as “enough and to spare” (D&C 104:17), if we use and husband them wisely.[xvi]

First Presidency Message--We should conserve natural resources. During the “energy crisis” of the 1970s, the First Presidency issued the following statement: “We reaffirm our suggestion to the Church members a year ago to join car pools, observe prescribed speed limits, lower thermostats where feasible, and eliminate unnecessary consumption of electricity or fuel….”[xvii]

These quotes come from a lengthier study on the topic by my Dad. If you're interested I can send you the undiluted 14 page version.

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[i] Brigham Young, in Journal of Discourses, 8:83, June 12, 1860.
[ii] George B. Handley, “The Environmental Ethics of Mormon Belief,” BYU Studies, 40, no. 2 (2001): 187-211.
[iii] Handley, “The Environmental Ethics of Mormon Belief,” 195.
[iv] Ezra Taft Benson, Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, Inc. 1988), 645.
[v] Ezra Taft Benson, This Nation Shall Endure (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1977), 79.
[vi] New Genesis: A Mormon Reader on Land and Community at frontispiece (1998).
[vii] Orson Pratt, in Journal of Discourses, 21:151, November 1, 1879.
[viii] Neal A. Maxwell, That Ye May Believe (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1992), 75.
[ix] Joseph F. Smith, Juvenile Instructor, 39:627-28, October 15, 1904.
[x] Gordon B. Hinckley, “Be Not Faithless,” Ensign (May 1978), 59.
[xi] M. Russell Ballard, “God’s Love for His Children,” Ensign (May 1988), 57.
[xii] Ballard, Ensign, 59.
[xiii] Ballard, Ensign, 58.
[xiv] Douglas L. Callister, “Seeking the Spirit of God” Ensign (Nov. 2000).
[xv] Alexander B. Morrison, Visions of Zion (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1993), 77-78.
[xvi] Neal A. Maxwell, A Wonderful Flood of Light (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1990), 103.
[xvii] “Energy Crisis: First Presidency Encourages Conservation of Fuel; Reports From the Saints Around the World,” Ensign (February 1974): 67