Mormons Enter Religious Ecology Movement

EARTHKEEPING NEWS
A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY

Volume Eight, Number Two
January/February 1999

Like spiritually minded people the world over, many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon) are exploring anew the connections between our faith and God's creation.

Despite our optimism, it is important to note that Latter-day Saints have had to express their opinions mostly outside of official Church channels. But our effectiveness at doing so is increasing rapidly. In 1997, I founded the first organization dedicated to LDS perspectives on nature, The Olive Tree Society.

The torch is being carried by a growing body of Latter-day Saints whose spiritual appreciation for the earth is profound and life-altering. A recently published ground-breaking collection of essays, New Genesis: A Mormon Reader on Land and Community, edited by Terry Tempest Williams, William B. Smart, and Gibbs M. Smith, is a moving review of thoughts that have long been neglected in our faith's official programs.

After reading several essays, with tears in my eyes I wrote, " My soul quivers out of the sheer joy of discovering that I am not alone!" Indeed, it appears that many Latter-day Saints are prepared to assume a leadership role among our people in furthering the religious ecology movement.

Regarding the creation, this is a time of metamorphosis within the LDS Church, just as it appears to be in many other religions. The Divine Creation is one of the pillars of our faith, with the Atonement of Christ and the Fall of Adam, but it has clearly been neglected.

Our efforts to be more involved in the religious ecology movement have been hampered by a few challenges. One is that we belong to a highly structured organization that prizes internal unity. To safeguard that unity, our leaders encourage us to join with secular conservation organizations rather than to form our own.

The unfortunate result of this approach is that our spiritual perspectives are often distorted by the political or cultural rhetoric we are forced to use. An increasing number of Latter-day Saints want to untangle faith from politics and culture in order to give it the preeminence it deserves.

Our efforts have also been hampered by the more than twenty-year acerbic debate over Bureau of Land Management wilderness in Utah. Trust between people on opposing sides of the debate is nearly non-existent. As a result, when religious opinions are voiced in the wilderness debate the motives are immediately suspect. Our people need a chance to examine what our faith teaches about the creation apart from the pressure of a heated political battle. Those of us who feel compelled to lead know that we need to proceed gently with genuine respect for the opinions of those we hope to reach.

Latter-day Saints look forward to being more involved in the developing connection between Biblical religions and perceptions of the natural world. We want to thank those not of our faith who have been leading the way. We have been quietly learning from them for some time. We are optimistic that we will soon be able to participate fully in this most important cause, and we look forward to the associations that will result.

MORMONS ENTER THE RELIGIOUS ECOLOGY MOVEMENT