I was recently told that earth stewardship is not a doctrine nor a principle of the gospel; rather, it is a heritage. I was shocked. Injunctions to exercise stewardship and the related idea of accountability for our stewardship abound in the scriptures. From the command to keep and care for the garden of Eden to exercising righteous dominion, the Mosaic laws regarding harvest and gleaning and allowing the land to lie fallow, the order of jubilee, to the laws of tithing and consecration and the parables of fields, vineyards, and talents, we are told, over and over, in many ways, that the earth and all things created thereon are God\u2019s, that we are to both enjoy it and use it well, for our benefit and the benefit of others.<\/p>\n
I was raised in Primary on the Plan of Salvation where I learned that we have come to live on this earth to become like our Heavenly Father. In Young Women I learned about the values of choice and accountability, good works, and integrity follow faith, divine nature, individual worth, and knowledge. Once we know who we are in relationship to our Heavenly Father, we have the obligation to learn what is best to do, and to make our actions consistent with our knowledge of right and wrong. The idea of stewardship fits seamlessly into this worldview.<\/p>\n
I did a quick dictionary (WordBook app) search of the words \u201cdoctrine,\u201d \u201cprinciple,\u201d and \u201cheritage.\u201d When I was told that stewardship of the earth is not a doctrine, I asked what a doctrine was. The definition I received was that doctrines are things save souls, and I was then referred to conference talks and Ensign articles. The key point in my dictionary definition is that a doctrine is a belief that is accepted as authoritative. With those two sources, I have to conclude that the idea of stewardship for the earth lacks authoritative support within our church, and our church respects authority. In our hierarchy of authority, we give precedence to the words of the current prophet, the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and then to the other general authorities and general auxiliary leaders. The words of current leaders weigh more than those of past leaders, especially if that past leader never became prophet. If these leaders are not speaking about this concept, then it lacks doctrinal weight, despite the attention that latter-day prophets paid to it in the past. (On the other hand I appreciate the narrowing of the the definition of doctrine in this post-McConkie age.) The talk by Elder Nash<\/a> made many people, latter-day saints and gentiles alike, hopeful that earth stewardship was being given the authoritative attention necessary to raise it to the level of doctrine in the collective awareness of church members. Being told it is not doctrinal is a step back.<\/p>\n