environmentalism and the stewardship of Latter-day Saints

One of my dad's oft-repeated sayings is "Life is a process of discovery and rediscovery." It's true. Of course, we hope that when we figure something out the second (or third, or sixteenth) time, it's in a deeper or somehow more significant way than it was before.

On that note, I try to be environmentally conscious, and I have always felt that my religious beliefs support that stance. I'm not great at it, but I try to do little things: I don't litter, I pick up other people's litter, I try to conserve paper, I walk to school and work, I turn lights off when I leave a room, I buy some things secondhand, I avoid plastic bottles, aluminum cans, batteries and disposable plates, etc.


It was interesting to see what an environmental lawyer had to say about our beliefs in relation to environmental  protection. I feel like I rediscovered my commitment as a Latter-day Saint to take good care of natural resources. I think most of what he said was right on. I also think it's good for people and families to patrol their own environmental habits and I am a bit skeptical about government regulation. That said, here's a short article I wrote about the lecture by Craig Galli, who has been in environmental law for over 20 years:
http://www.law2.byu.edu/news/item.php?num=633


President Brigham Young said, "Nature helps us to see and understand God. To all His creations we owe an allegiance of service and profound admiration."

This is a great source for LDS perspectives on law:
http://www.jrcls.org/publications/perspectives/


And this link is to a study guide on LDS environmental stewardship with lots of quotes from prophets and other leaders about the earth and our relation to it:
http://www.jrcls.org/publications/perspectives/Lesson%20on%20EnvironmentalStewardship%20by%20Craig%20Galli%20November%202009.pdf

Here's a thought: We believe that if we live worthily, we will some day be exalted and live in the presence of God with our families and others who were valiant in the testimony of Jesus, and so we try to harmonize our relationships with all mankind. We also believe the earth will be glorified and exalted and will be the residence of exalted beings who lived on this earth, and we ought to harmonize our relationship with the earth so she doesn't reject us in the hereafter.