The Restoration of the Earth

"The better we care for this world and all in it, the better it will sustain, inspire, strengthen, enliven, and gladden our hearts and spirits—and prepare us to dwell with our Heavenly Father with our families in a celestial sphere, which will be the very earth upon which we stand today, but in a glorified state."

“Not many generations will pass away before the days of man will again return. But it will take generations to entirely eradicate the influences of deleterious substances. This must be done before we can attain our paradisiacal state.”

"Together with the narrative of the transformation of King Lamoni and his people, Nephi’s hunting story suggests that 'nature,' whether human or nonhuman, is not as immutable as it was, and is, generally taken to be. If human wickedness could exacerbate the effects of the Fall, human righteousness—in our dealings with all living beings—could help undo them. Through 'the wisdom and power of God, and the wisdom, obedience and faith of man combined,' as Hyrum Smith put it in an 1842 address on the Word of Wisdom, the howling wilderness could in reality be transformed into the peaceable kingdom—not instantly, by divine fiat, but 'eventually' and collaboratively, perhaps in a process of reorganization and re-creation that would parallel the process, as revealed in the Book of Abraham, by which the earth was originally created."

"The principle behind Young's zoophilic tendencies are found in his sermons as being related to man's responsibility for bringing about peace with animals and preparing for the millennial reign pictured by Isaiah. For example, Young held that the people should be holy . . . and then all animal life would also be filled with peace. He taught that 'the more kind we are to our animals, the more will peace increase and the savage nature of the brute creation will vanish away.' Young claimed it was man's fault strife existed on the earth and it was therefore up to man to 'remove the foul blot.' In order to 'restore all things to their primeval purity and innocence' man must have the help of God and live His laws. Bringing it to a personal level, Young argued that 'each people belonging to the human family' has a responsibility in 'removing the curse' from all creatures on earth. As for himself, Brigham Young stated if he saw an animal in the mud he made it his business to stop and help get it out. Even the lowly grasshopper was not driven from the garden of Brigham Young, but rather he would say they were welcome, 'these creatures of God.'"

"We know that the earth was prepared with all the resources we need and that it was given to us to choose how and what to use: 'For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves' (D&C 104:17). While it is clear the Lord has given us a full bank account, it might not be clear to all of us that He did not intend for us to waste or to allow us to be selfish in our use."

"I suspect that the 'renewal' process will require as much careful, dedicated work as the original planting of the Garden of Eden."

"As I think about our tenth article of faith, it is hard for me even to begin to contemplate the amount of work that will be required to renew the entire earth . . . [I]t seems to me that Latter-day Saints, of all people, should be conservationists—protecting the world's wild places, animals, and plants, while doing everything we can to beautify our own homes and communities."

"We are the most dangerous species of life on the planet, and every other species, even the earth itself, has cause to fear our power to exterminate. But we are also the only species which, when it chooses to do so, will go to great effort to save what it might destroy."

"The image [of God] refers, above all, to the God-given commission to 'image' God on earth, that is, to be the agents who represent and realize God's benevolent and peaceful sway on earth."

"Our environment has been tragically exploited and abused. Although not yet irretrievably befouled, it has deteriorated in too many ways, and a great deal of hard work and effort is required to protect it and repair the damage done by neglect, indifference, and misplaced priorities. However, I am optimistic that man will in fact draw back from the edge of the pit, that he will recognize his vulnerability, and that he will work to reorganize his priorities and motivations."

“Who placed the dark stain of sin upon this fair creation? Man. Who but man shall remove the foul blot and restore all things to their primeval purity and innocence? But can he do this independent of heavenly aid? He cannot. To aid him in this work heavenly grace is here.”

“This earth, after wading through all the corruptions of men, being cursed for his sake, and not permitted to shed forth its full luster and glory, must yet take its proper place in God’s creations; be purified from that corruption under which it has groaned for ages, and become a fit place for redeemed men, angels, and God to dwell upon.”

"On June 4, 1864, Young blamed human beings for the 'savage and destructive nature' of animals, but also argued that humans, with the help of divine powers and through the 'law of the Holy Priesthood,' had the capacity to 'remove the curse and its consequences from earth,' to 'say to the raging and contending elements, ‘peace, be still’ and extract the poison from the reptile’s tooth.' Young described this effort as 'the great work of sanctifying [humankind] and the earth for final glorification in its paradisiacal state.' (Journal of Discourses 10:301–2.) He thus shifted the rhetorical (if not theological) focus of Joseph Smith’s Tenth Article of Faith ('We believe . . . that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory'), placing the emphasis as much on human effort as on Christ’s return and other forms of divine intervention."

"I believe that the world was created and approved by love, that it subsists, coheres, and endures by love, and that, insofar as it is redeemable, it can be redeemed only by love."