Our Earthly Stewardship

As soon as Bishop Causse mentioned the little town of Giverny in France, I was hooked. I am not entirely sure where my deep love for the art of Claude Monet began, but I have loved it for as long as I remember. I hope to one day visit this beautiful landscape that inspired so much of his work.

This talk by Bishop Causse touched my heart and spirit so much. He spoke of STEWARDSHIP. He defined stewardship as “a sacred spiritual or temporal responsibility to take care of something that belongs to God for which we are accountable.”

I loved how he related that even those things that feel the most temporal in our lives are spiritual to the Lord. It is all intertwined. He gave three principles that are a part of our earthly stewardship.

First principle: The entire earth, including all life thereon, belongs to God.

This includes our families, our physical bodies, and our very lives.

Second principle: As stewards of God’s creations, we have a duty to honor and care of them.

This includes the care of the earth and natural environment and a love, care, and respect for all human beings.

Third principle: We are invited to participate in the work of creation.

No achievement can compare to cocreating with God in bringing life.

I have always felt such a peace and grounding of my spirit while being in nature. It fills me in a very unique way. I have felt the Spirit in very strong and profound ways while being in quiet, beautiful places in this world. And I loved the question posed by Bishop Causse:

“How can we honor and love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ without honoring and loving Their creations?“

This has so many applications (both to the temporal world and to how we treat one another), but it made me want to beautify the world. My own little corner of it – make it a place where I and others can feel the peace and beauty of our world. We are accountable to the Lord for how we have cared for His sacred creations and I want to do my part to beautify the earth and create with Him.

Highlights

“Our interactions with the beauties of nature around us can produce some of the most inspiring and delightful experiences in life. The emotions we feel kindle within us a deep sense of gratitude for our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, who created this magnificent earth – with its mountains and streams, plants and animals – and our first parents, Adam and Eve.

The work of creation…is to provide the setting in which men and women may be tested, exercise their agency, find joy, and learn and progress so that they may one day return to the presence of their Creator and inherit eternal life.

These wonderful creations were prepared entirely for our benefit and are living proof of the love the Creator has for His children.

The divine gift of the Creation does not come without duties and responsibilities. These duties are best described by the concept of stewardship. In gospel terms, the word stewardship designates a sacred spiritual or temporal responsibilities to take care of something that belongs to God for which we are accountable.

Our earthly stewardship includes the following principles:

First principle: The entire earth, including all life thereon, belongs to God.

The Creator has entrusted the earth’s resources and all forms of life to our care, but He retains full ownership…All that is on the earth belongs to God, including our families, our physical bodies, and even our very lives.

Second principle: As stewards of God’s creations, we have a duty to honor and care for them.

As God’s children, we have received the charge to be stewards, caretakers, and guardians of His divine creations.

The care of the earth and of our natural environment is a sacred responsibility entrusted to us by God, which should fill us with a deep sense of duty and humility. It is also an integral component of our discipleship.

There are many things that we can do – collectively and individually – to be good stewards…Each of us can use the bountiful resources of the earth more reverently and prudently. We can support community efforts to care for the earth. We can adopt personal lifestyles and behaviors that respect God’s creations and make our own living spaces tidier, more beautiful, and more inspirational.

Our stewardship over God’s creations also includes, at its pinnacle, a sacred duty to love, respect, and care for all human beings with whom we share the earth. They are sons and daughters of God, our sisters and our brothers, and their eternal happiness is the very purpose of the work of creation.

Jesus commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves…Neighbor…implies a proximity of the heart. It encompasses all the inhabitants of this planet.

As disciples of Christ, we have a solemn duty to work tirelessly for peace and harmony among all nations of the earth. We must do our very best to protect and bring solace and relief to the weak, the needy, and all those who suffer or who are oppressed. Above all, the greatest gift of love we can offer our fellow men is to share with them the joy of the gospel and invite them to come unto their Savior through sacred covenants and ordinances.

Third principle: We are invited to participate in the work of creation.

Every day, God’s creations continue to grow, expand, and multiply. A most wonderful thing is that our Heavenly Father extends to us an invitation to participate in HIs creative work.

We participate in the work of creation whenever we cultivate the earth or add our own constructions to this world.

Our role as stewards of earthly creations is not solely about conserving or preserving them. The Lord expects us to work diligently, as moved upon by His Holy Spirit, to grow, enhance, and improve upon the resources He has entrusted to us – not for our benefit only but to bless others.

Among all of man’s achievements, none can equal the experience of becoming cocreators with God in giving life or in helping a child learn, grow, and thrive…There is no stewardship more sacred, more fulfilling, and also more demanding than that of partnering with our Creator in providing physical bodies for His spirit children and then helping them reach their divine potential.

The responsibility of cocreation serves as a constant reminder that life and each person’s body are sacred, that they belong to none other than God, and that He has made us guardians to respect, protect, and care for them.

We should recognize that all is spiritual to the Lord – including the most temporal aspects of our lives. I testify that great spiritual blessings are promised to those who love and care for the earth and their fellow men and women. As you stay faithful in this sacred stewardship and honor your eternal covenants, you will grow in the knowledge of God and of His Son, Jesus Christ, and you will feel Their love and Their influence more abundantly in your life. All this will prepare you to dwell with Them and receive additional creative power in the life to come.

At the end of this mortal existence, the Master will ask us to give an account for our sacred stewardship, including how we have cared for His creations.”

FULL text and video of Bishop Gerald Causse’s talk can be found HERE.

Other messages from the October 2022 General Conference that I have found particularly impactful:

• Overcome the World and Find Rest by President Russell M. Nelson
• Jesus Christ Is the Strength of Youth by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
• The Doctrine of Belonging by Elder D. Todd Christofferson
• Are You Still Willing? by Elder Kevin W. Pearson
• That They Might Know Thee by Elder Jonathan S. Schmidt

In addition, if you click on the “FAITH” tab you will find all of the messages I have done throughout the years.