Disciples of Jesus Christ have a “sacred duty to keep the flame of God’s love burning” in their hearts and let its light shine within their communities, said Elder Gérald Caussé of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in his first public appearance as a Latter-day Saint apostle.
“The Lord asks us to be aware of the broader world around us — something more possible than ever in our connected age — while remaining grounded and actively engaged in the places where we live and serve,” said the recently ordained apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at a stewardship symposium held Friday at BYU.
For more than 13 years, Elder Caussé served in the church’s Presiding Bishopric, which oversees the church’s humanitarian aid, welfare programs, tithing and fast offerings, among other things. Speaking at the stewardship symposium just eight days after his call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Caussé testified that earth was created as part of God’s “divine plan to bless us eternally,” and discussed some of the church’s efforts to care for the earth and its inhabitants around the world.
“I invite each of you to think about how you personally can bless your family, your community, your nation and ultimately God’s children throughout the world,” Elder Caussé said, speaking to a crowd of students, scholars and professionals.
“Care for the earth and its resources. Choose daily habits and lifestyles that honor, preserve and add beauty to God’s creations. Show compassion by helping those affected by natural disasters, environmental challenges and other hardships. Prepare yourselves and your families for difficult times, … live the principles of provident living and preparedness taught by the church, … (and) pray for our Heavenly Father’s guidance and protection.”
How the church is caring for the earth and its inhabitants
The Church of Jesus Christ continually strives to be a “wise steward” of the earth’s natural resources through the “responsible management” of its global operations, Elder Caussé told listeners at the symposium.
“This stewardship extends to meetinghouses, temples, vehicle fleets, farms, and welfare and educational facilities,” he said, adding that the work is “no small undertaking.”
“Thousands of employees and volunteers work diligently to implement and support sustainable practices and technologies,” he explained. “Many of these efforts have been underway for decades, while others are more recent, reflecting the church’s commitment to learning and welcoming new opportunities to care for the natural environment.”
To guide the church’s sustainability efforts, church leadership has identified eight key priorities. Elder Caussé discussed a few of these in his remarks and highlighted how caring for the earth connects to caring for those in need.
Priority 1: Adopt renewable energy
Nearly 40 years after the church established its first meetinghouse with on-site solar panels, the church now has more than 800 facilities — including meetinghouses, temples and schools — that are producing on-site solar power, Elder Caussé explained.
These projects, spanning some 45 countries, with at least 100 additional projects approved for construction, are providing “reliable electricity” to members worldwide, he said, all while reducing the church’s environmental footprint and saving sacred tithing funds.
They are also improving access to education and healthy living for thousands of communities, he continued.
For instance, in many developing countries, the church’s use of solar power (combined with back-up battery banks and satellite internet) is enabling BYU–Pathway students to transform church meetinghouses into virtual classrooms throughout the week, he said.
And the church’s humanitarian aid and commitment to adopting renewable energy is also helping families at home, through the donation of items such as solar reading lights for children and solar batteries to power small kitchen appliances or laptops.
“These renewable energy devices are quieter than diesel generators, emit no fumes, are less expensive to purchase and install, require less maintenance and are less likely to be stolen,” Elder Caussé said. “How grateful we are for modern energy technology.”
Priority 2: Avoid material waste
The church’s efforts to avoid material waste can be seen anywhere from the church’s flagship print center in Salt Lake City to the individual efforts of members worldwide, Elder Caussé demonstrated through the examples he listed.
At the print center, where the church produces copies of scriptural texts and teaching materials, extensive paper recycling systems are in place to reduce paper waste.
Also, dozens of Deseret Industries thrift stores, operated by the church, enable individuals to donate and recycle used goods. And the sale of these goods creates “work training opportunities for thousands of people who face barriers to employment,” Elder Caussé explained.
“Throughout the U.S. and Canada,” Elder Caussé said, listing yet another example, “all electronic waste is diverted from landfills and either donated or disassembled and recycled.
“In fact, many used computers end up in the homes of BYU–Pathway students in Africa,” he continued, “thus helping remove barriers to gaining an education.”
As for parts of the world where recycling and waste collection are unavailable or ineffective, Elder Caussé said groups of Latter-day Saints have rolled up their sleeves and served their communities through beach cleanups and other activities.
“Perhaps we, as members and friends of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, can make a difference here by cultivating a stronger gospel culture of beautifying our communities, respecting our environments and helping one another through picking up trash,” the apostle said.
Priority 3: Conserve water
The church has made “great progress over the years regarding waterwise practices” for church meetinghouses and other church facilities in arid and semi-arid climates around the world, Elder Caussé said.
These practices have included updating landscapes with less turf grass, more drought-tolerant plants and smart irrigation systems. And the practices have been implemented in western states, including Utah, where the state continues to face a decades-long drought, Elder Caussé explained.
“Most recently, the church announced that by the end of this year, we will finish the installation of 1,800 smart controller systems at meetinghouses across the intermountain west region,” he said. These are estimated to save 500 million gallons of water annually.
Efforts to protect Utah’s Great Salt Lake have also been “especially pertinent” to the church, Elder Caussé explained.
“The declining levels of the Great Salt Lake pose significant risks to our community’s health, ecosystems and economy,” he said. “I reaffirm the church’s support for sustainable, long-term solutions to address this challenge.”
Priority 4: Adapt to climate risks
The Church of Jesus Christ participates in hundreds of humanitarian projects each year to respond to environmental challenges and prepare for future ones, Elder Caussé said.
These include teaching subsistence farmers to cultivate more drought-resistant crops, assisting communities in building seawalls to protect towns against rising sea levels, and other projects which improve food and water security, as well as energy independence.
“We believe these efforts will help preserve our planet for future generations and make the earth’s resources more readily available to those in need,” Elder Caussé said.
Another way the church is working to strengthen “climate resiliency” is by tree planting, he continued. In Haiti, for instance, church volunteers have planted more than 120,000 trees since 2012 to combat deforestation. And in the Philippines, the church and local partners have planted thousands of mangrove trees to help prevent flooding from frequent storm surges.
“Most of us are familiar with the many natural disasters that profoundly affect the well-being, livelihoods and daily lives of many populations across the world,” the apostle said. “In many nations, the church and its members are among the first to respond, offering vital assistance and comfort to those impacted by these events.”
For large disasters, he said, the church’s assistance typically includes thousands of pounds of food, hygiene kits, bottled water, emergency shelters, mobile medical clinics, and medical and emotional health support.
Why sustainability matters
The earth and all it contains was created for “one sacred purpose,” Elder Caussé taught, and that is to “provide the setting where God’s children could learn, choose righteousness and ultimately inherit immortality and exaltation within eternal families.”
Thus for Latter-day Saints, preserving and caring for God’s creations — the “mountains and caves; deserts and tundra” — is “far more than a civic duty or a political responsibility,” Elder Caussé explained.
“It is, at its heart, an expression of love for our creator and a reflection of our sincere gratitude to him. …
“As disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we each have a vital role to play, in our communities and across the world, in both caring for our brothers and sisters in need and preserving the temporal home that sustains us all.”