Lt. Governor Spencer Cox will join Abby Cox as speakers at our annual Fall Forum will take place on October 25th at 7:00pm at Brigham Young University (exact location not yet determined). They will speak about their love of farming, their care for the earth, and their philosophies about the creations of God.

The following informational resources help us better understand our responsibility for earth stewardship. Please let us know of any books, articles, talks, or references that we should add to our library.

Church and General Authority Statements

• LDSES 2020 Fall Forum: brief addresses from Sister Sharon Eubank and her invited guest, Kira Smiley, followed by a panel discussion (November 2020).
• "That We May Be One," by Sister Sharon Eubank. LDSES Fall Forum (October 10, 2019).
• In Honoring Creation, We Honor the Creator, Newsroom (April 26, 2018).
• Environmental Stewardship and Conservation, Gospel Topics entry.
• Our Home, Latter-day Saints Channel Video.
• "The Moral Imperative of Environmental Stewardship," by Elder Steven E. Snow. Environmental Stewardship Symposium at Utah State University (October 10, 2018).
• "Righteous Dominion and Compassion for the Earth," by Elder Marcus B. Nash. 18th Annual Stegner Center Symposium at University of Utah (April 12, 2013).

Church Magazines

• Wendy Ellison and Marisa Dennis, "Caring For the Earth," Friend, Feb 2018
• Mark J. Nielsen, "The Wonder of the Creation," Ensign, Mar 2004
• Matthew Baker, "All Creatures Great and Small," New Era, October 2000
• Russell M. Nelson, "The Creation," Ensign, May 2000
• "Using Earth’s Resources Well," Ensign, Sep 1993
• Spencer Garvey, "What It Means to Be Green," New Era, Jul 1992
• G. Michael Alder, "Earth—A Gift of Gladness," Ensign, Jul 1991
• Sharon Dequer, "Discovering Nature," Ensign, Jun 1977
• Gerald Jones, "The Gospel and Animals," Ensign, Aug 1972
• Robert J. Matthews, "What the Scriptures Say About: Ecology," New Era, Mar 1972
• Richard Olsen, "Ecology, Pollution, and Consumerism," New Era, Sep 1971
• A. B. Morrison, "Our Deteriorating Environment," Ensign, Aug 1971

Other Publications

• "Caring for Nature, Caring for Ourselves: The Restored Gospel and Environmental Stewardship," by George Handley. Maxwell Institute lecture (26 Mar 2020).
• "The Environmental Ethics of Mormon Belief," by George Handley. BYU Studies, 40:2 (summer 2001): 187-211.
• Stewardship and the Creation: LDS Perspectives on the Environment, edited by George Handley, Terry Ball, and Steven Peck. Provo: Religious Studies Center.
• LDS Perspectives on Environmental Stewardship, compiled by Craig Galli.
• "Brigham Young on the Environment," by Hugh W. Nibley, from Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints. 
• The Earth Will Appear as the Garden of Eden: Essays on Mormon Environmental History, edited by by Jedediah S. Rogers and Matthew C. Godfrey. The essays in this volume—written by leading scholars in both environmental history and Mormon history—explore how nature has influenced Mormon beliefs and how these beliefs inform Latter-day Saints’ encounters with nature.
• "The Word of Wisdom, the Environment, and the Nature of Scripture," Kate Holbrook at the BYU Kennedy Center.
• Kindness to Animals and Caring for the Earth, compiled by Richard Stratton. A nice compilation of quotations from General Authorities and other saints on our responsibilities toward creation.
• New Genesis: A Mormon Reader on Land and Community, edited by Terry Tempest Williams, Willam B. Smart and Gibb Smith. The book consists of 40 essays by Latter-day Saint authors, ranging broadly around the general purpose of earth stewardship.
• "Early LDS prophets had some environmental consciousness," Deseret News (Mormon Times).
• "Being Green in the Land of the Saints," High Country News.
• "Sierra Club hails LDS Church for downtown Salt Lake makeover," Deseret News.
• "Church honored for green efforts," Salt Lake Tribune.

2008 LDS Environmental Survey Results

• Summary of results of November 2008 survey.

LDS Earth Stewardship Content

Audio recording of 2013 James Holtkamp talk discussing the connection of earth stewardship to taking care of the poor.

Walking to Zion Materials

Secretary

Board Member

Vice Chair of Programs and Development

The forecast was for high temperatures, but that didn’t stop over a hundred volunteers from coming and helping in our Family Night on the Jordan River service project on Monday, June 19th.

Working with Erin Mounce of the Jordan River Commission, families and individuals joined teams in either picking up litter or helping to snip and dig the invasive Scotch Thistle. Armed with trash bags, snippers and shovels volunteers first snipped away the flowers, then dug out the tap roots of the thistles – an invasive species that can quickly take over an area if not stopped before it can spread. Our Service that night was in the Big Bend section of the Jordan River near the power station on 90th South in West Jordan UT. Two Young Single Adult Wards from the Salt Lake Pioneer YSA Stake joined us – our thanks to the LeGrand YSA Ward, and special thanks to Lauren Merkley and her Capitol Hill Ward crew who were given the Snipping Warriors Leadership Award for leading our Parking, Traffic, Registration and Refreshment teams.

2016 was pivotal for LDS Earth Stewardship. Years of volunteer efforts have laid the foundation for our organization to become much more professional and effective. A few high points of 2016 are recapped below.

Planning

In July, the LDSES board convened a retreat and engaged a consultant to develop a strategic plan. This plan will be an evolving document, and the initial version was completed in December. Supplementing the strategic plan, a communications strategy and a long-term fundraising plan will be completed in coming weeks.

Local Groups

Email and Facebook have a place, but are no substitute for the community that can grow through face-to-face interaction. Indeed, a recurring theme of the comments offered by members when they join LDS Earth Stewardship is that they are seeking fellowship with like-minded Latter-day Saints. 2016 saw the formation of our first local group, centered in the Washington, DC area, and reaching surrounding states. The BYU Earth Stewardship group has affiliated with LDS Earth Stewardship, and additional groups have formed in Salt Lake City, and Provo.

Service Projects

While long-term planning was appropriately a major focus for 2016, we did not neglect practical, hands-on, service. One high-point of the year was a series of cleanup projects at Sandy Beach, on the shore of Utah Lake. At the direction of Par Rasmussen, volunteers spent more than 250 hours collecting tires, nails, and other man-made detritus from the shoreline. 

Meanwhile, Earth Stewards in Maryland organized a similar project to remove trash from the banks of the Potomac River.

Pleasant View Project

Finally, members in the Maryland area worked through LDS Earth Stewardship to apply for – and receive – a major grant for a storm water management, native plant landscaping and public education project on the site of a historic African-American church. Much of the landscaping work for this project is planned for Earth Day 2017 (April 22). Additional information about this interfaith project – financially supported by the Chesapeake Bay Trust – is available here.

These service projects of 2016 and 2017 set a pattern of environmental cleanup, habitat restoration, and interfaith cooperation that we will strive to continue in future years. 

We invite our members and friends to attend our Fall Forum gathering on November 15, 2017, at 7:00 p.m. in room 205 of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University.

Our guest speaker this year is James R. Rasband. He is the Academic Vice President at Brigham Young University and one of the nation’s leading natural resource scholars, with much of his work devoted to addressing conflicts surrounding federal lands. His talk is entitled “Stewardship is Critical But So Is…Considering Religious Principles in Apparent Tension.”

Come listen to Vice President Rasband, enjoy light refreshments, and mingle with other members of LDS Earth Stewardship.

All are welcome.

We show love for Heavenly Father and for each other when we care for His lands, air, waters, and wildlife. We are accountable for how we treat God's creations.

LDS Earth Stewardship helps us join with fellow members of the Church and others of faith to fulfill our responsibility to care for the environment. You can help us promote the gospel message of caring for the environment with those who do not fully realize its importance. 

Join Us

LDS Earth Stewardship membership, and participation in LDSES groups and programs, are completely free. By becoming a member, you are joining a growing consensus of compassionate benefactors of the Creation.

You will be subscribed to our monthly e-newsletter and will be kept informed about: our work, programs we are developing, events we are hosting, projects needing volunteers, and messages on important church revelations. If you opt out of these communications you may always check up on us on our website or through our social media accounts: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

We invite you to help us expand our efforts. We have donation based membership levels beyond the complimentary membership and we hope you will choose to support us. 

We are hard at work continuing our programs and engaging new people. We’ve created local groups, monthly challenges, a book club, and an incredible creation-centered gospel Resource Library accessible through our website.

With your support we can expand our impactful programs, host additional events, welcome more amazing speakers, expand volunteer and staff resources, and share our message widely. Together, we can make a difference - in local communities and around the world.

Click here to join now 

Membership levels

Earth Steward - FREE

Comes with:

• Monthly e-newsletter subscription
• Access to the Resource Library on our website
• You may join or create an LDSES group
• You may attend live “In the Company of Stewards” monthly programs
• You may participate in our programs and events

Impact:

• Contributing to the conversation through our programs and social media
• Contributing to on-the-ground stewardship and conservation
• Strengthening faith by being part of a gosepl centered movement

Earth Friend - $60 (can opt for $5 per month payment)

Comes with:

• All benefits of Earth Steward membership, plus...
• Recognition on LDSES website and in our annual report

Impact:

• Helps cover basic costs of education programs
• Helpss covers costs of hosting projects
• Helps pay for staff to grow organization

Earth Partner - $120  (can opt for $10 per month payment)

Comes with:

• All benefits of Earth Friend membership, plus...
• Priority registration at events (like the Fall Forum)

Impact:

• Double that of previous level (nice family contribution option)

Earth Shepherd - $500

Comes with:

• All benefits of Earth Partner membership, plus...
• VIP seating at events (like the Fall Forum)
• Invitation for two to our annual board dinner

Impact:

• Support social media engagement for a month, or
• Sponsor one $500 mini grant for a local group stewardship project, or
• Help with miscellaneous operational expenses

Earth Sustainer - $2,500

Comes with:

• All benefits of Earth Shepherd membership, plus...
• Enhanced recognition or program sponsorship (customizable)

Impact:

• Sponsor the "In the Company of Stewards" program for one year, or
• Sponsor the recruitment, training, and fostering of 5 new Local Groups, or
• Contribute to operational overhead costs

Earth Benefactor - $5,000

Comes with:

• All benefits of Earth Sustainer membership, plus...
• Enhanced recognition or program sponsorship (customizable)

Impact:

• Create digital content that disseminates up to 25 communications, or
• Sponsor up to 5 mini grants for stewardship projects, or
• Provide part-time staff support for up to 3 months

Earth Ambassador - $10,000

Comes with:

• All benefits of Earth Benefactor membership, plus...
• Enhanced recognition or program sponsorship (customizable)

Impact

• Professionally produce/broadcast speakers and media events, like the Fall Forum, or
• Sponsor up to 10 mini grants for stewardship projects, or
• Provide part-time staff support for up to 6 months

Click here to join now

Would you like to connect with a local LDS Earth Stewardship group?

Groups are forming across the United States and in other countries. Connect with a group near you, or contact us to start your own LDSES affiliated group.

Click here to find out about Local Groups

Would you like to volunteer to work directly with LDS Earth Stewardship?

We keep our costs down by recruiting volunteers to help us carry out the mission.

Click here to find out about organizational volunteer opportunities

“For the beauty of the earth,
For the beauty of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.”
Hymn 92

As members and friends of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we celebrate and sustain the Church’s April 2018 statement on honoring Creation and the Creator.

The principle of earth stewardship was taught to our first parents, Adam and Eve, and is applicable to us in latter days. “We should care for the earth, be wise stewards over it, and preserve it for future generations. And we are to love and care for one another" (Russell M. Nelson, “The Creation,” Apr. 2000 General Conference). The scriptures and testimonies of our prophets and apostles throughout time have exhorted us to care for Creation.

We believe that as members of the Church we can make a difference for good in the world. Individually we can do small things, and as wards, stakes, and a worldwide Church we can do incredible things. We have the ability and the responsibility to act. “The earth is vulnerable, and we are accountable to God for how we treat and use it” (Mormon Newsroom Commentary, “In Honoring Creation, We Honor the Creator, April 26, 2018). “It is our moral obligation to use “prudent principles of preservation” (See Marcus B. Nash, “Righteous Dominion and Compassion for the Earth” (address given at the 18th Annual Stegner Center Symposium, Apr. 12, 2013), MormonNewsroom.org).

We rise in full support of the Church’s call to be better stewards. We are grateful for the blessings given to us by Heavenly Parents and remember that the Creator of this Earth is our Savior.

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