Despite the scriptures and heritage of the restored gospel, Mormons are not generally considered by themselves or others to be environmentalists. Part of this has to do with American politics and the unfortunate association of environmental concerns with liberal politics. I would prefer to think that conservatives can value conservation, that prudent use and preservation for future generations can overcome the desire for current production and profit.<\/p>\n
Despite this political polarization of the proper use the earth and her resources, the Church has begun to quietly reassert its moral position on environmental stewardship.<\/p>\n
Not long after Elder Marcus B. Nash of the Seventy spoke at the Stegner Symposium on Religion and the Environment about “Righteous Dominion and Compassion for the Earth<\/a>,\u201d the Church Newsroom created a webpage devoted to Environmental Stewardship and Conservation<\/a>. The page continues to be updated with more content.<\/p>\n The newsroom page is also becoming more accessible to members. When it was first launched, in order to find the page, the searcher had to go the the Newsroom and search through the topic pages. Now, a search<\/a> on lds.org for \u201cenvironment\u201d gives the Environmental Stewardship and Conservation page in the top results.<\/p>\n The latest move on the environmental front is the production of a beautiful, 94 second spot on the Mormon Channel. In this short piece, the LDS Church moves the discussion of care for the environment away from a partisan, divisive debate and into the space where we all live, the common realm of experience for progress, growth, and importantly, beauty and joy.<\/p>\n