Moses 2:26-28; Ezek. 34:18; Num. 35:33-34; D&C 49:19-21; 59:18-20; 84:59; 103:13-14; Journal of Discourses 15:227
“The soil, the air, the water are all pure and healthy. Do not suffer them to become polluted with wickedness. Strive to preserve the elements from being contaminated by … those who pervert the intelligence God has bestowed upon the human family… . Keep your valley pure, keep your towns as pure as you possibly can, keep your hearts pure… .” (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 8:79-80)
“We will … build up Zion on the earth and purify it and cleanse it from all pollutions. Let there be an hallowed influence go from us over all things over which we have any power; over the soil we cultivate, over the houses we build, and over everything we possess… . We are the lords of the earth.” (Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 443)
“A sex saturated society cannot feel the needs of its suffering members because instead of developing the love that looks outward, it turns man selfishly inward. Imperviousness to the promptings of the still small voice of God will also mean that we have ears, but cannot hear, not only the promptings of God but also the pleas of men … we shut out people, nature, and God.” Neal A. Maxwell (A Time to Choose, p. 59-60, 71) [Continuing that same reasoning in General Conference Bro. Maxwell stated] “Without hope, [in this world] why forego now in order to preserve precious resources for future generations? The loss of hope sends selfishness surging, as many turn, even more intensively, to pleasing themselves.” ((Ensign, Nov. 1994, p. 34)
“The people are striving with all their might to learn the things of God; but if I could only get them to understand the work and the worth of their present life, I should feel well satisfied… . The time we now occupy is in eternity; it is a portion of eternity. Our present life is just as much a life in eternity as the life of any being can possibly be. Could we all live so as to honour the life that we now possess … ? The very object of our existence here is to handle the temporal elements of this world and subdue the earth, multiplying those organisms of plants and animals God has designed shall dwell upon it. When we have learned to live according to the full value of the life we now possess, we are prepared for further advancement in the scale of eternal progression—for a more glorious and exalted sphere… . Our Father in heaven wishes us to preserve that which he gives to us… . If we could only learn enough … we should then have learned what the Gods have learned before us, and what we must eventually learn before we can be exalted… . We have also been greatly blessed, but we have treated lightly our blessings in neglecting to properly and frugally use them… . The Lord has poured out his blessings on the atmosphere, on the water, and on the soil of this country… . If we abuse these choice blessings, the Lord will blast the … elements with his withering touch, and leave us desolate… . We have often heard it said by our Elders that all the heaven we shall ever have is the one we make for ourselves.” (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 9:168-170)
“In the name of ‘progress’ and growth,’ we have plundered our planet and despoiled our environment… . Many of our environmental problems arise from the fact that our society has become obsessed with materialism. Paul spoke an eternal truth when he said that ‘the love of money is the root of all evil.’ … Yet a never-ending search for more material prosperity cannot be the major factor in our lives. The society that looks no further than its gross national product is doomed to ultimate decay and destruction. Man’s true purposes are spiritual, not material… . The reason we are in trouble ecologically is because of our inability to see ourselves as a part of nature… . We have behaved as though we have some sort of divinely provided right to despoil the physical world. In a very real sense I believe this reflects a misinterpretation … of God’s injunction to Adam about subduing the earth.” [Moses 2:28] (A. B. Morrison, Ensign, Aug. 1971, pp. 64, 69)
“When I … fly over the vast and beautiful expanses of our globe, … I have the feeling that the good earth can hardly bear our presence upon it… . The Brethren constantly cry out against that which is intolerable in the sight of the Lord: against pollution of mind, body, and our surroundings… .” (Spencer W. Kimball, Ensign, June 1976, p. 4)
“One of the best-known teachings of the Jews is that when man (Israel in particular) falls away from God, all nature becomes his enemy… . In the end, as the wise rabbis saw, it is pollution that makes the earth uninhabitable: ‘When you completely defile the land,’ Israel is told, ‘then I will no longer dwell in it; and then before long you can no longer dwell in it!’” (Hugh Nibley, Brigham Young Challenges the Saints, pp. 16, 50)
“The world is after riches. Riches is the god they worship… . What constitutes health, wealth, joy, and peace? In the first place, good pure air is the greatest sustainer of … life.” (Brigham Young, Millennial Star, 22:738)
“The air is precious to the red man, for all things share the same breath - the beast, the tree, the man, they all share the same breath. The white man does not seem to notice the air he breathes. Like a man dying for many days, he is numb to the stench. But if we sell you our land, you must remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports. The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also receives his last sigh. And if we sell you our land, you must keep it apart and sacred, as a place where even the white man can go to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadow’s flowers… . For we do not understand when the buffalo are all slaughtered, the wild horses are tamed, the secret corners of the forest heavy with scent of many men, and the view of the ripe hills blotted by talking wires. Where is the thicket? Gone. Where is the eagle? Gone. The end of living and the beginning of survival.” (A letter from Chief Seattle to the President of the United States in 1854)
“America from first to last had been frontier! … In record time the face of the continent was completely changed. But the finished product was not ‘America the Beautiful.’ … [In second-grade] we sang a lot about the alabaster cities where nobody ever cries, but that is not what came out of the frontier.” (Hugh Nibley, Approaching Zion, p. 413)
“The worst thing about the ‘filthy air’ is that it turns out to be a smoke-screen… . It is a smooth, white-collar scam … oftentimes, to win us to our harm… . Such pleasant bits as those pacifying public relations assurances, ‘We are not monsters or ogres, we are people just like you. We love our families just like you, we go to church too!’ Or to quote the scriptures, ‘I am no devil’ (2 Nephi 28:22)… . When getting gain entails the destruction and degrading of life, what should we do? The great fortunes that made America a world-class power were paid for by mill towns in which life was very near to hell. But the owners lived far away, and starving immigrants desperately competing for jobs were willing to submit to anything. No more vivid description of that world can be found than one written in 1855 by a prominent Latter-day Saint living in England. I thought of his essay last fall. Looking toward Provo, … I paused to behold the dense, murky, brown fog jammed against the mountains right behind the Brigham Young University by the prevailing winds, and I remembered the opening lines of the composition,
‘… Over the valley before you rests an awful, impenetrable, dark, black cloud… . You walk down the hillside, and, as you enter the thick, dark cloud… . A sense of oppressiveness falls upon you, and you realize, to your unmistakable discomfort, that the darkness around [you] can not only be seen, but felt and tasted. Suddenly, to your great astonishment, you discover that this dreary spot is inhabited by human beings!’” (Millennial Star, 17:337)
Our Latter-day Saint philosopher of the 1850s tells us what he found when he entered the factory town: … Who would ever have thought 135 years ago that this would be an accurate description of our inner cities today?” (Hugh Nibley, Brigham Young Challenges the Saints, pp. 61-63)