Caring for Creation: an LDS Perspective

Speaker 1

George Handley is Associate Dean and Professor of Interdisciplinary Humanities at Brigham Young University, where he focuses on the relationship between religion, literature, and the environment. His book, Home Waters: A Year of Recompenses on the Provo River, U of U Press, is a work of creative nonfiction that includes nature writing, personal and environmental history, and reflections on ecotheology. His novel American Fork is forthcoming this next year, and he’s currently working on a book From Chaos to Cosmos: Literature as Ecotheology, and a collection of essays on Mormonism and the environment. He serves on the board of LDS Earth Stewardship as well as on the boards of the Nature Conservancy and Utah Humanities. He and his wife Amy have four children and live in Provo. George.

George Handley

Thank you. I’m happy to be here. I’m not familiar with transhumanism, but I am a humanist because I’m a humanities professor, so I’m glad that you’re welcoming here and I’ll see if I can work on understanding the transition I can make. But I’m happy to learn and grow from listening to you, and I hope this is valuable to you.

George Handley

I’m just going to give you something I heard in the mission statement, I think it was, that Chris described about distinctive doctrines. I just want to focus on the distinctive doctrines of the LDS Church with regard to stewardship. And the reason I mention these is because I think I don’t need to convince you of how much of a problem we face into the future and I think that we have extraordinary resources in the LDS tradition to guide and assist us in trying to meet those challenges with regard to the environment. And I’m going to describe ten distinct doctrines that I think are related to this question of stewardship that should guide us.

George Handley

And I’m sorry for the coloring on that one. I think the other images will be a little better. But this is an image of the backyard of my home in Connecticut, and it’s apropos of almost nothing except to say that that you and I form early affections for the earth, I think when we’re children and with special locations that mean a great deal to you. And this was just a place where I spent a lot of time playing in a creek. Bed and catching trying to catch minnows and salamanders and so on, and understanding my own physical body in the process. And I think that affection that we develop early for a particular location is something that ought to be applied to the planet as a whole. I think in the same way that our affections for family should apply to the human family.

George Handley

So I want to start by pointing out the the unusual LDS doctrine that the earth is not a way station but is in fact our intended home. This quote from Brigham Young, the earth is very good in and of itself and has abided a celestial law. Consequently, we should not despise it nor have desire to leave it, but rather desire and strive to obey the same law. The earth abides. Our business is not merely to prepare to go to another planet. This is our home. So I think it’s. Kind of a beautiful concept to think about that we’re simply striving to live to be worthy to stay. on this planet and take care of it now and and forever. And again, these are these are kind of unusual doctrines in the Judeo Christian tradition that stand out to me.

George Handley

The other one is Second one is that the body and the experience of the senses are to be treasured and not things to be ashamed of. And this is most clearly evident, I think, in Doctrine and Covenants 59. Verses 18 through 20. Yea, all things which come of the earth and the season thereof are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart. And I like the fact that the first thing that’s mentioned is aesthetic pleasure rather than merely utilitarian purposes. Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell. To strengthen the body and to enliven the soul. And of course, there’s that beautiful interface between the body and the spirit that is described there. It pleaseth God. That he hath given all these things unto man, for unto this end were they made to be used with judgment not to excess, neither by extortion.

George Handley

There’s Nothing quite like that anywhere else in the Judeo-Christian tradition in terms of a clear description of the Importance of stewardship. This section, by the way, is in the context of a description about the Sabbath day, which, of course, was established to Remind us of the creation, right? It is actually symbolically in recognition of the day of rest the Lord had Himself after creating the earth. And so there is a Nice reminder here about using the Sabbath day to reflect on the creation, starting with respecting our own bodies. and showing restraint in consumption and gain. That’s implied throughout Section 59 as it talks also about the fast.

George Handley

A third point is simply that Mormonism, and there’s a lot to draw from to make this point, but Mormonism is very clearly embracing an understanding of science. The creation bears witness of God, as Alma teaches and as Brigham Young has taught, this is one reason we ought to be serious about scientific literacy. Teach students in their childhood the names and properties of every flower and plant when they are old enough. Place within their reach the advantages of a scientific education. Let them study the formations of the earth, the organization of the human system, and other sciences. It is the duty of the Latter-day Saints, according to Revelations, to give their children the best educations that can be procured both from the books of the world and the revelations of the Lord.

George Handley

And one of my favorite scriptural texts related to our relationship to the creation is in the book of Job. Where the Lord, if you remember the story, I mean, this is after many chapters of sort of reflecting among his friends about why he’s had to undergo such suffering. And the Lord doesn’t actually, when he finally speaks to Job, answer his question, but he does give him a lecture about nature. And it goes on for quite a while, and he is sort of implying that Job’s. Understanding of his own individual life needs to be placed in this broader context of the cosmos and of the grandeur of God’s creations. And that, I think. Provides its own kind of strange healing. And that, I think, by the way, is probably what we feel and experience in the natural world, whether it’s those early childhood experiences or later in our lives when. Burdens can be eased by just being in nature, even when we don’t have answers to our questions. And I personally believe that’s because of Christ’s Atoning power that’s available to us through the beauty of His creation, since He is the Creator.

George Handley

But this is what the Lord tells Job: Ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee, and the fowls of the air, and they shall teach thee. Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee, and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing and the breath of mankind.

George Handley

Now, there’s lots more to say about this because, of course, this was a driving Force in much of the scientific revolution, seeking the book of nature as sort of the scripture, the additional scripture that we would have to understand God. And of course this has led to a bit of a crisis in religion because of some of the things that we’ve learned about. Some of the things that the files and the Fishes and the earth have been telling us about the age of the earth and the complexity of the emergence of life and the accidental and sometimes chaotic nature of evolution and so on and so forth. This is not a reason to either disparage science nor religion, but a challenge and an opportunity for us to think more carefully And more fruitfully about how we can meet the challenges that are ahead of us.

George Handley

And again, Neither neglecting religious principle nor reli scientific understanding and trying to address specific problems like climate change or air pollution or any other kind of environmental problem that we might be facing. And yet, as we’ve seen, sadly in our culture, the tendency is to sort of revert to one side or the other without bringing them together. So that may be something that’s particularly relevant to this To this organization, and I won’t spell out everything that we’re learning, right? But we have learned quite a bit not only about the diversity of the world, but now we’re learning quite a bit about our damage.

George Handley

That we’re causing to the Earth, so much so, as you may know, that geologists are currently debating whether or not to officially name our era the Anthropocene, which is because of humanity being the chief driver of life systems on the earth now as a result of the rise of carbon emissions. During the Industrial Revolution and subsequently. And so that does raise serious questions about how well we’re going to manage the future and how seriously we’re going to approach this problem with both values in place and proper empirical understanding of the problems that are surrounding us.

George Handley

There’s lots more to say about that as I engage in this issue very frequently and just sort of finding it difficult sometimes to agree on facts, right? And agree agree on an empirical reality. But I do think Again, our our theology points us in the direction of being responsible to scientific literacy.

George Handley

Fourth point, uh fourth doctrine is that the creation in the LDS account occurs not out of nothing or ex nihilo, but out of Unorganized matter. And this, as you may be aware, is one of the reasons why LDS theology, one of the many reasons why LDS theology is deemed heretical by most Christian traditions. Because of this position. Ex-Niolo-creation is a dogma of traditional Christianity But it has, I think, very important implications for stewardship.

George Handley

Those implications have been drawn out very, very well in an essay by Paul Cox. One of Mormonism’s most highly regarded scientists in the world today, who happens to also be a Provost citizen. And he gave a speech at BYU back in 2003 that Steve Peck and I, a symposium that he and I organized in a collected Book of essays that we edited called Stewardship in the Creation: LDS Perspectives on Nature. You can find it online. And this is what Paul, Paul draws out of an analysis, and basically.

George Handley

Makes the point that a creation ex nilo, one of the dangers of that idea is that it sort of implies God is a kind of magician, and therefore if the If the earth sort of just comes into being automatically, well, then if it gets messed up, it can get kind of fixed automatically. And and yet there seems to be a real respect for scientific law and process in this notion of an unorganized Pre-existing matter that is gathered together by God in the creative process. And that involves us, by the way, according to LDS teachings.

George Handley

So, Paul says this: I hope that you may experience the same whisperings of the Spirit that I have felt as you ponder. This artistic masterpiece, this beautiful earth that the Lord personally created, that great gift, a testimony of the Savior and his atoning mission, can come only through the administrations of the Holy Ghost. As we reverence the Savior. Let us treat his masterpiece with reverence and humility.

George Handley

He imagines that maybe in the millennium, restoration ecology will be an important component of Of the work we’ll be doing during that time.

George Handley

Number five is that the earth is created spiritually before it’s created physically. Another radical and very, very important and maybe. Underappreciated doctrine in the LDS tradition. When I’ve shared that with people who are not Mormons, who are very concerned about the environment, who are religious. It kind of knocks them out, and they feel a little jealous of that doctrine. And I’m a little embarrassed sometimes that we don’t talk about it more and think about it more.

George Handley

One of the things that it makes apparent, right, is that trees, plants, and animals are described as living souls, just as human beings are. Now that doesn’t mean they’re exactly the same as human beings. Human beings are created in the image of God. But the old distinction made in In most environmental thinking these days is that you know, Christianity, when it announced that human beings were so special because they were created in the image of God, that that’s why they disregard the rest of creation. They haven’t understood their kinship with the rest of creation. So there’s been a big push in the opposite. Direction to sort of emphasize that human beings are so much more alike the rest of creation than we have been willing to believe. This doctrine, I think, sort of balances that in some beautiful ways because it doesn’t take away the special nature of being created. The image of God and being children of heavenly parents, but it does connect us spiritually to the physical world in in a way that I think inspires reverence and regard and ethical care.

George Handley

Out of the ground made I the Lord God, this is in Moses 3:9, to grow every tree naturally that is pleasant to the sight of man. And again, I love that the tree is supposed to be pleasant to the sight of man. And man could behold it. So Adam and Eve staring at a tree is one of my favorite moments in all scripture. This idea that they were just kind of stunned by its beauty, and it became also a living soul. And I, God, blessed every living creature.

George Handley

Oh, sorry, this is the, I’m moving on to the next one. The next one is that every life of form, this is number six, every form of life. Is entitled to multiply and replenish the earth, to use the biblical language, for what we also understand to mean their entitlement to joy in their posterity. I mean, this is emphasized. I should mention, you know, Joseph Smith. Restored three accounts of the creation in the book of Moses, in the book of Abraham, and in the Temple Endowment Ceremony. And we learned through those restored accounts something that Builds on this idea.

George Handley

That’s not Moses 1. 22. That should say Genesis 1. 22. I apologize. I, God, blessed every living creature that moveth, be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the sea, and let fowl. Multiply in the earth. It’s a beautiful concept of biodiversity. God takes great pleasure in biodiversity. God’s glory is manifested in the diversity of life on the planet. And that’s made very clear in the creation accounts in the temple and in the book of Moses and in the book of Abraham. And it is reflected in the book of Genesis here.

George Handley

So there’s this sense that every living thing. has a purpose, a purpose or measure to fulfill in their being created, and they have the opportunity for joy in posterity. So that all those notions that we normally associate with just human beings and the idea of human families is connected to the entirety of the creation. So there’s a really powerful incentive here for the protection of biodiversity. And it certainly shouldn’t be a conundrum for us to wonder why protecting a particular species might be a worthwhile endeavor.

George Handley

Number seven is that in this account of the creation, especially in the book of Moses that Moses has, where he has this vision of the creation, he learns, unlike what was the understanding. Biblical understanding for many, many centuries in Christianity, he learns that this earth is not the only planet, that even this solar system is not the only. A planetary system where life might exist. In fact, he’s given a vision of a creation that goes well beyond Our limited understanding. And again, if knowing the history of science and religion as we do, this is pretty radical understanding.

George Handley

There are more creations than this earth, so much so that Moses is completely decentered for a moment after that vision. Your memory collapses, and then he says, Now for this cause I know that man is nothing, which I never had supposed. I don’t think he’s saying here that man, human beings, are insignificant because he’s just been told by God that he was created in his image and he is a son of God. And this is what he tells Satan when Satan appears and says, you know, I’m. I don’t know who you are, but I know who I am. And I know what my relationship to this creation is. And my relationship to this creation is one of awe and respect and wonder. It’s not one of exploitation and control. He knows he’s too small to have that kind of power. But because of the grandeur of the creation, he feels this, he’s given a sense of proper humility that I think is really powerful. I think Satan’s purpose is to distort that relationship at that moment.

George Handley

And one of my favorite books on The Bible and Science is a book called The Seven Pillars of Creation by William Brown. And he argues that maybe we have misnamed the human species Homo sapiens and that we should have named it Homo admirands, which means wondering man. Because what really makes us distinct in the creation is our capacity for wonder. So even though he is able to see his nothingness, that’s precisely his human privilege. I think that’s a really profound concept. He greatly marveled and wondered at what he saw.

George Handley

This great quote from Joseph F. Smith: We have eyes and see not for that which we cannot apprehend. Appreciate or admire, we are largely blind to, no matter how beautiful or inspiring it may be. As children of God, it is our duty to appreciate and worship Him in His creations. And by the way, you know, sometimes I hear people who are skeptical, they say, I’m not a nature worshiper, I worship God. Joseph F. Smith says, you need to worship God 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.

George Handley

Number eight, word of wisdom. I can see my clock ticking, so I’m going to move a little more quickly here. Word of wisdom: eat meat sparingly, eat fruits and vegetables in season. There’s lots of science to back this up, that this is really crucial. Eating locally and eating lower on the food chain is very, very important to the environment. One of the greatest emitters of carbon is food and food transportation. So, if we eat more locally and support local agriculture and we eat lower on the food chain, we’re doing a lot to reduce our impact on the planet. An aspect of the word of wisdom we don’t talk enough about.

George Handley

Number nine, law of consecration. We often hear there’s enough and to spare, so why bother? Well, the Lord has some pretty strong wording about that. Only if it’s done in His way, and His way is that we are answerable for how we use earthly resources. We are strictly commanded not to use more than we need and to redistribute those resources to the poor and the needy. Otherwise, he says. We’re going to be in hell in torment. It’s a pretty strong, strongly worded set of verses here that Is often pulled out of context when we hear enough and despair. That sounds very comforting, but DNC 104 and the law of consecration is a mandate to radically Reduce our impact on the earth and share the resources of the earth with those who are less fortunate. And again, there’s much more to say about all of this.

George Handley

I’ll just end on this tenth Point, and that is that the hearts of the fathers are supposed to be turned to the children. That’s the second half of Malachi’s prophecy. The hearts of the children are turned to the fathers. We know what that means in terms of genealogy work, but we don’t think enough, I don’t think, about What it means to have the hearts of the fathers and mothers turned to their posterity. I think it means living an ethical life for the future. And I think as most millennial religions, we struggle with this idea of the end of the earth being so close to us that maybe it doesn’t really matter what we do to the earth because it’s going to die anyway and it’s going to die soon. But there is a strong sense of the need for ethical care for future generations that’s implied in this verse that I think behooves all of us to be considerate of.

George Handley

I’m just going to jump ahead to this image. I think it behooves all of us to be considerate of what we’re passing on to our children. Those are my two youngest children on the top of Squaw Peak, looking down on Provo Temple. My daughter in that picture is now a missionary in Uruguay, and my son is a 16-year-old who drives and dates. And they’re growing very quickly, and the future is really moving very quickly. towards us and towards me. And I feel a tremendous obligation and concern about what it is that I’ve lived for. For them, and what it is that I pass on to their children and to their children’s children.

George Handley

I mean, just hearing Chris’s brief account of what’s happened just in the last 10 years in technology. And there’s sort of a, you know, there’s a progressive narrative about technology and there’s a declensionist narrative, we might call it, about what we’re doing to the earth. And I’m not a disbeliever in technology. I believe technology can help us a great deal. but I believe that some of our most fundamental human values are at stake here and we need to invigorate them and think creatively and innovatively. and openly to what is happening to us so that we’re adequate to the res respond adequate to the problem that is presented to us. And I’m grateful to share these thoughts with you. Look forward to hearing some more from others. Thank you.