The Relationships Between Man
 and the Earth

There is a strong movement among environmentalists and politicians to consider the earth as supreme and man as just one of the animals that inhabit the earth. I've heard reports of school teachers teaching their students that the earth is supreme by having their students hug trees as shows of affection to "mother earth".

As a religious person, I use God's scriptures as the basis for forming my views about things. In this essay, I'd like to give my opinions about our relationships with the earth. I hope the understanding we gain from the scriptures will help us evaluate the positions of those who worship "mother earth".

Why God Creates Worlds

Moses saw in vision the earth and all of its inhabitants. He then asked God, "Tell me, I pray thee, why these things are so, and by what thou madest them? The Lord answered and explained that he created them through his Only Begotten Son and that he had created "worlds without number". He went on to say that the "first man of all men have I called Adam, which is many". The Lord explained further that "there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand". (Moses 1:30-35)

Moses then asked the Lord to "tell me concerning this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, and also the heavens". The Lord responded by saying there are many heavens or worlds. Then he gave the following significant statement.

And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words. For behold, this is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. (Moses 1:38-39)

That is, God creates worlds to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, his children! Thus, the first relationship between man and the earth is that the earth was created to assist in man's becoming immortal and having Eternal Life.

Man Has Dominion

After creating the earth and populating it with plants and animals, the Lord said it was time to populate it with people.

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:26)

Man is to have dominion over all the earth. The word dominion, as used in that verse, comes from the Hebrew word râdâh that means to subjugate, to reign or to rule over. We thus understand the second relationship between man and the earth, that man is to reign over the earth.

Earth to Provide Food

After stating that man was to have dominion over the earth, the Lord said the earth was to provide food for man.

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. (Genesis 1:29)

The Hebrew word that was translated meat is oklâh and means food. That verse said the plants of the earth are to be food for man. Through revelation to his prophet, Joseph Smith, the Lord revealed that the flesh of animals and fowl are to also be used as food but are to be used sparingly, primarily during winter and during famine. (D&C 89:12-13). From these verses we learn the third relationship between man and the earth: plants and animals are to be man's food.

Man To Take Care of the Earth

We have seen that man is to rule over the earth. Does this give man the right to abuse the earth? The Lord answered this question when he "took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it". (Genesis 2:15)  The Hebrew word that was translated dress is âbad, and it means to work with, to serve, to till. The Hebrew word for keep is shâmar, and it means to guard it, to protect it, preserve it. When understood in the context of the Hebrew language, this verse gives us the fourth relationship between man and the earth: to till, protect, and preserve the earth.

Man and the Earth in the 21st Century

As we hear people discuss our relationships with the earth, we need to see if their statements fit within the relationships defined by the scriptures. Environmentalists make a good point when they say man is abusing the earth, but I think they are wrong when they say we are just another species of animal living on the earth and that we are to hold the earth as supreme above all things.

The earth is a creation of God and is not supreme. God is supreme, and, as the Apostle Paul said, we are the offspring of God (Acts 17:28). Compared to the earth, we are "supreme". The earth was given to us to be a benefit to us, and we are charged by God to use the earth wisely and to protect and preserve it. Yes, man has in many ways abused the earth through pollution, and I hope that we will wake up and end our extreme pollution of the earth (there will always be some pollution). I hope we will reduce pollution without going to extreme measures as many environmentalists would have us do.

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