I was arguing recently about politics with a non-Mormon friend who complained that Latter-day Saints were anti-science, anti-evolution, anti-vaccination, anti-environment, and a collection of other unfair labels.
I argued back strenuously, saying that I’d always felt that my Mormon religion and family valued education, sometimes to the exclusion of any other achievement. And just because we believe in God doesn’t mean that we can’t also hold other ideas — like evolution and, yes, even global warming — in our heads at the same time.
Being a Latter-day Saint doesn’t mean hiding your head in the sand. In fact, there’s a strong argument to be made that Mormon theology demands a deeply engaged, pro-environment attitude, not only because we believe this earth will eventually become heaven, but also because God has called us to be “stewards” of many of the divine gifts to us, including all the gifts of the earth.