The Earth is under increasing stress. There is more crime, poverty, and suffering than ever before. There are more fires and fewer glaciers. Desperate people continue to take up arms to steal from other desperate people. Air and water quality continue to degrade. Democracy is on the decline and authoritarianism is spreading.
I often hear bemoaning in the Church about how the world is “growing exponentially more evil,” but I never hear anyone put that comment into the context of population growth. Perhaps there are more “bad” people because there are many more people. Here are the numbers:
World Population – 3.5 billion in 1968, 7.6 billion in 2018 = 117.1 % growth.
US Population – 200.7 million in 1968, 326.7 million in 2018 = 62.7% growth.
Utah Population – 1.029 million in 1968, 3.159 million in 2018 = 206.9% growth.
It is easy to become pessimistic about our current situation, but it is important to also recognize that the ultimate solution to the world’s problems, the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, is also spreading exponentially.
Latter-day Saints (worldwide) – 2.6 million in 1968, 16.1 million in 2018 = 519.2% growth.
LDS Temples (worldwide) – 13 in 1968, 159 in 2018 (this does not include the 11 under construction and 19 more announced) = 1,123% growth.
So I, for one, remain optimistic. The early Church had many trials and difficulties but the Lord told them “Fear not, little children, for you are mine, and I have overcome the world.” (Doctrine and Covenants 50:41).
And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. (Daniel 2:44)
I am optimistic AND pessimistic regarding this issue because the Lord has made it clear through revelation that the “earth is full, and there is enough and to spare,” however, as is always the case, that is a conditional promise contingent on us doing our part and keeping our covenants with Him. He has described very clearly what our responsibilities are in Doctrine & Covenants 104 if we want to continue having “enough and to spare.” If we do things His way, we will prevail. If we do things our way without being obedient to His guidance and His plan, then we have no promise. For example, this earth will provide sufficient to meet our needs because the good things of the earth have been “made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart” until we decide to go contrary to the “plan” and start to use these things without using good judgment, in excess, and by extortion (D&C 59). When we use more than we need and we start extorting from the earth to “get gain” and to feed our need to worship Mammon, then we can expect to have His part of that promise not work for us very well. One cannot use fossil fuels willy nilly, whether directly or indirectly through consumption/transportation of goods, and be wasteful and expect global warming to not occur. If we plop ourselves down in Salt Lake County and allow 250,000,000 pounds of toxic chemicals to be released into the environment (ranking us second only to one other county in the United States in release of toxic chemicals into the environment) (Source: Forbes, The Most (And Least) Toxic Places in America, Nov. 7, 2017), then I think we can safely say we are well in the area of exploitation and have lost sight of our part of a covenant where we can enjoy the good things of the earth. I’m not sure why we (the “Lord’s People”) are some of the worst offenders and think it’s okay to let businesses not factor clean disposal into their business models or let individuals drive around with pretty low octane ratings and not promote mass transit to the point where we no longer can drink clean water, breathe clean air, or be able to have our kids play in dirt without being poisoned by heavy metals, but that’s where we find ourselves. When we see that we are extorting beyond what the earth can handle, we ought to be wise enough to stop doing what we’re doing and do something different, but we tend to be foolish creatures and use our free agency unwisely.
Thank you for this optimistic post!
It is a helpful reminder that our perceptions are not the exclusive measure of reality.
We are headed for a constitutional crisis like we have never seen. What will be consequences? Does anybody besides me worry about this?