Tuesday, January 29th, 2008...6:59 pm
LDS Teachings on the Environment
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Years ago, I attended a memorial service for Morris Udall. One of the speakers was author and environmental activist Terry Tempest Williams. She pointed to Udall’s Mormon upbringing as a big part of why he became congress’s greatest conservationist. She read some passages that were quite beautiful calls to protect the earth. Many in the audience were suprised to hear who wrote these passages: Brigham Young.
Thanks to Andrew Sullivan, I’ve discovered a blog that addresses environmental issues from, as the blog states, “an LDS perspective.” It is called Latter-Day Sustainability and is worth checking out. Many of my liberal friends would be shocked about how much sustainability and stewardship is important to LDS beliefs.
5 Comments
January 30th, 2008 at 9:25 am
I’m curious to know why liberals would consider Mormons in particular to be rapacious devourers of the environment?
As a population Mormons are probably the most ecologically minded Americans this side of the Amish, and possibly the Mennonites.
That is assuming that ecological concerns aren’t exclusively limited to carbon offsets and cap and trade.
January 30th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Framer, have you ever been to Salt Lake City, the north west part of the valley???
Not pretty…
January 30th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
As an LDS liberal, I’ve clashed with others in my small LDS community about a great many things (standing up in a church class where the speaker was bashing gays and defending gay rights stands out as an interesting experience.)
But the environment was not one of the things we disagree on. Scouting is a big deal in the church, and most people spend a lot of time in the outdoors.
February 1st, 2008 at 10:27 am
Thanks for the shout-out. My latest post attempts to explain the Mormon environmental ethic for those unfamiliar with the concept…come check it out.
February 3rd, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Nice blog and very accurate. Mormons are for the most part aware and concerned about the environment. We believe the earth is a gift and should be treated as such. Nature is one of God’s greatest creations and deserves appreciation, respect, and nurturing. After all, wasn’t Adam commanded to tend to the garden?
Thank you for accurate blogging on Mormon beliefs…Very refreshing.