Obedience of Creation

"The earth is very good in and of itself, and has abided a celestial law, consequently we should not despise it, nor desire to leave it, but rather desire and strive to obey the same law that the earth abides.”

"The animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms abide the law of their Creator; the whole earth and all things pertaining to it, except man, abide the law of their creation."

"[T]he earth and its heaven shall, after passing away through death, be renewed again in immortality. This earth is living and must die, but since it keeps the law it shall be restored through the resurrection by which it shall become celestialized and the abode of celestial beings. The Lord intends to save, not only the earth and the heavens, not only man who dwells upon the earth, but all things which he has created. The animals, the fishes of the sea, the fowls of the air, as well as man, are to be recreated, or renewed, through the resurrection, for they too are living souls. The earth, as a living body, will have to die and be resurrected, for it, too, has been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ."

"Every creature on the earth, whether it be man, animal, fish, fowl, or other creature, that the Lord has created, is redeemed from death on the same terms that man is redeemed from death. These creatures are not responsible for death coming into the world any more than we were, and since they have been created by the Father, they are entitled to their redemption and eternal duration. The earth itself shall be changed from its mortal body, for it too is a living thing now, under the curse of death, and it, 'abideth the law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not the law—Wherefore, it shall be sanctified; yea, notwithstanding it shall die, it shall be quickened again, and shall abide the power by which it is quickened, and the righteous shall inherit it.'"

And I, God, said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind, and it was so;

And I, God, said: Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, the fruit tree yielding fruit, after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed should be in itself upon the earth, and it was so even as I spake.

And I, God, said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind, and it was so;

And the Gods organized the earth to bring forth the beasts after their kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after its kind; and the Gods saw they would obey.

And the Gods prepared the waters that they might bring forth great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters were to bring forth abundantly after their kind; and every winged fowl after their kind. And the Gods saw that they would be obeyed, and that their plan was good.

And the Gods watched those things which they had ordered until they obeyed.

And the Gods organized the earth to bring forth the beasts after their kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after its kind; and the Gods saw they would obey.

And the Gods said: Let us prepare the earth to bring forth grass; the herb yielding seed; the fruit tree yielding fruit, after his kind, whose seed in itself yieldeth its own likeness upon the earth; and it was so, even as they ordered.

"He [Orson Pratt] stated that there exists only 'small glimmerings of light' in the brute creation. He did admit, however, that animals 'have some degree of information and knowledge that man is not in possession of.' Though some of this was regarded as the instinct of animals, Pratt did point out that the behavior of animals during Noah's day and the Biblical account of the Flood was quite unusual in that the animals' behavior exhibited more than instinct. Pratt commented: 'The beasts of the field—that appeared to have more inspiration than the men and women of that age, began to come from the forests towards the ark, and finally the door was closed. They must have been prophetic beasts, beasts that had revelations, beasts that were able to judge far better than the world of mankind in that age.'"

"Why does nature have an impetus toward obedient goodness? Because (to echo the Psalmist and other biblical authors) the universe is 'full of the glory of God.' For ancient Hebrews, this statement was not a softly focused gloss on the beauty of the earth, but given the Lord's organization of the cosmos and his decision to dwell therein, literal fact."

"Just as we depend on this earth, the earth depends on us. We are intimately interrelated, and I'm concerned that she groans under our sins. The biological and physical worlds are pure. They fully obey the will of the Lord and are redeemed through their service to us, but they also suffer due to our disobedience. I believe we humans are the cause of much of the 'natural' chaos in the world. It is a reflection of who we are and of the choices we have made."

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

And again, verily I say unto you, he hath given a law unto all things, by which they move in their times and their seasons;

Behold, if he say unto this mountain—Be thou raised up, and come over and fall upon that city, that it be buried up—behold it is done.

And thus, according to his word the earth goeth back, and it appeareth unto man that the sun standeth still; yea, and behold, this is so; for surely it is the earth that moveth and not the sun.

Yea, if he say unto the earth—Thou shalt go back, that it lengthen out the day for many hours—it is done;

Yea, and if he say unto the earth—Move—it is moved.

Yea, by the power of his voice, do the foundations rock, even to the very center.

And by the power of his voice they are broken up, and become smooth, yea, even like unto a valley.

Yea, behold at his voice do the hills and the mountains tremble and quake.

For behold, the dust of the earth moveth hither and thither, to the dividing asunder, at the command of our great and everlasting God.