By Phil Shapley (White Wolf)
Before we honour Mother Earth, we must remember everything starts with our Creator:
1) He created our beautiful Mother Earth and everything on it, including us;
2) He suffered greatly so that our transgressions can be forgiven;
3) He has given us teachings so that we can be happy, self-confident, and obtain the best possible life in the post earth spirit world.
Thus, we must honour and respect the Creator more than anyone else.
But we should not forget Mother Earth. She provides us with beauty, food, forests, our weather including rain, minerals, water, etc. When she is hurt, biological productivity declines, weather can become extreme, etc.
Man is hurting Mother Earth! We partly do this by over-harvesting, pollution and being careless in how we do things. But the greatest harm comes by ignoring the Creator and failing to live as He advocates. The effect of Mans disobedience on our Mother was witnessed by the ancient prophet Enoch. From LDS scripture in The Pearl of Great Price, Book of Moses 7: 48-9, we read: 'And it came to pass that Enoch looked upon the earth; (in a Vision) and he heard a voice from the bowels thereof, saying: Wo, wo is me, the mother of men: I am pained, I am weary, because of the wickedness of my children. When shall I rest, and be cleansed from the filthinesses which is gone forth out of me? When will my Creator sanctify me, that I may rest, and righteousness for a season abide upon my face?' And when Enoch heard the earth mourn, he wept, and cried unto the Lord, saying: 'O Lord, wilt thou not have compassion upon the earth? Wilt thou not bless the children of Noah?' The Lord comforted Enoch by promising that he would bring forth teachings to help Man live righteously, that some men would do such, and that He, the Lord, would suffer for Mans transgressions so that Mother Earth could be cleansed.
How can we best honour Mother Earth? We can best honour Her by honouring our Creator and His teachings. He created Mother Earth and She loves Him. Not polluting, not over-harvesting, etc. though important, are not as significant as honouring our Creator and His ways. Honouring our Creator, includes being responsible stewards of the environment.
To summarize, we can honour Mother Earth by:
1) Most importantly, by honouring our Creator and living as He advocates so we do not generate negative energy that greatlyt hurts Mother Earth;
2) Express gratitude in our prayers for all Mother Earth does for us, such as providing our needs, and for Her being obedient to the Creator;
3) Express sorrow for Man's disobedience that has hurt our Mother;
4) Perform ceremonies, such as Native ceremonies, to honour Her;
5) Live in a respectful way, such as living the Creator's commandments, polluting as little as possible, recycling, clean up the environment, plant tress and flowers, etc.
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