You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

[Excerpted from “When, Earth…When Did We See You?” by Lu Mounenay, July 2013 Herald, p. 34]

The stewards said to the sacred Earth, “When did we hurt you?” Then the Earth said to the stewards, “I was gasping for breath, and you suffocated me—you contaminated my air and destroyed my protective shield. I was thirsty, and the waters that you did not imprison in plastic vessels, you consumed and polluted.

“I was whole, and you cut the snowy peaks off my mountains and laid them low. You filled my deep valleys with toxic sludge. My forests were green and full of life-giving oxygen, and you cleared away my trees, leaving barren stubble. The waves of my seas were high, mighty, and teeming with fish, and you left them stagnant, laden with mercury. You eroded my shores.

“I revealed traces of hidden things for your benefit, and you left me with intruding footprints of carbon and tetrachloride. I was free, and you imprisoned me with bars of apathy. I was creation itself, and your blinders of power would not let you see me for the living gift that I am.

“Some of my prophetic people sent warnings, but you laughed. Some of my inhabitants tried to protect me, but your laws and regulations were feeble. Some disciples offered solutions of green, but you said the cost was too high. I welcomed you to dwell with me, yet you made me a stranger.”

Then the stewards said, “Holy Earth, when was it that we did these things? When did we betray you?”

And the Earth said, “It was not only what you did, but what you failed to do.”

Then the stewards again asked, “Earth…Earth, when? When did we see you cry and not respond? When did we feel you shudder and not comfort you?”

And the Earth answered, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to me, you did it to yourselves…and your children’s children.”

Prayer Phrase

“In his hand is the life of every living thing” (Job 12:10).

Trees

Watch the trees outside your window for a few moments. Close your eyes and meditate on Alma’s words about seeds and trees. If you were to plant and grow the Word of God in your heart, what tree might symbolically represent this process? Imagine a seed as it grows into a tree of life and blessing. Ask God to show you how to begin (see Alma 16:152–173).

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.