The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints works to be a good steward of the earth — believing that caring for the earth is a sacred responsibility entrusted to all of God’s children.
Therefore, the Church makes an effort to prioritize environmental sustainability in many ways around the world, from increasing energy efficiency to conserving water and reducing waste.
Church News reporter Mary Richards hosts this episode of the Church News podcast, interviewing Jenica Sedgwick, the Church’s sustainability manager who operates under the direction of the Presiding Bishopric. They discuss the importance of integrating environmental stewardship into Church operations as well as in individual daily lives.
Listen to this episode of the Church News podcast on Apple Podcasts, Amazon, Spotify, bookshelf PLUS, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts.
Transcript:
Jenica Sedgwick: As you think about caring for the earth, it is a global challenge and one of the biggest challenges that impacts the well-being of God’s children around the world. And it is extremely overwhelming if not looked at through the lens of faith and with a lens of creativity and a really real willingness to be humble and learn along the way. But it is a worthy work to draw upon the strength that the Savior can give us, to love our neighbor, to care for our neighbor, and to put that love and that care into action in a meaningful way. And if we can do it together, focusing again on being peacemakers and being motivated by love and having this become a bit more of an integral component of our discipleship, we’re going to be on our way to helping bless God’s children in ways that will bring us joy. And it is a really important part of how we are stewards of God’s creations here on this earth.
1:04
Jon Ryan Jensen: This is Jon Ryan Jensen, editor of the Church News. Welcome to the Church News podcast. Today, we are taking you on a journey of connection as we discuss news and events of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
1:19
Mary Richards: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints works to be good stewards of the earth, believing that care of the earth is a sacred responsibility entrusted to God’s children, and Church leaders have taught that caring for the earth is closely tied to caring for those in need. Therefore, the Church makes an effort to prioritize environmental sustainability in many ways around the world.
I’m Mary Richards, a reporter for the Church News, and for this episode of the Church News podcast, I am joined by Jenica Sedgwick, the sustainability manager for the Church. Welcome, Jenica.
Jenica Sedgwick: Thank you. Great to be here.
1:53
Mary Richards: Tell me what your role entails. And what does environmental sustainability mean, especially from a gospel perspective?
Jenica Sedgwick: Well, my role as sustainability manager, I work under the direction of the Presiding Bishopric of the Church. And for those who aren’t familiar, the Presiding Bishopric, they manage all of the operations of the Church, so all of our meetinghouses, our temples, distribution, bishops’ storehouses, our welfare and self-reliance operations and humanitarian work, as well as the other investments of the Church. And so for sustainability, as we think about environmental sustainability, the way that we define that is: wise stewardship of natural resources today to ensure the vitality of the earth’s resources for future generations. So, taking that long-term view within our operations is a really important part of how we manage them.
And so as far as caring for the earth, the way we think about this from a gospel perspective is, I think, really beautiful. For example, our mission within our sustainability efforts, it comes from the First Presidency, and it is, as you stated, to care for the earth. And that comes from a teaching from President Russell M. Nelson, our Prophet, that was actually given over 20 years ago. And this is a statement that says: “As beneficiaries of the divine Creation, what shall we do? We should care for the earth, be wise stewards over it and preserve it for future generations. And we are to love and care for one another.” So, we could spend probably an hour going through that one statement, taking each of the lines that He’s given us and talking about what that means from a gospel lens. And it is really rich and beautiful.
Some of the things I might mention just right off the bat: I love that we’re taught that it’s a divine Creation. God has given us a beautiful earth to live on, and it’s a part of His plan of salvation for all of His children. And then we’re asked the question, “Well, what should we do as beneficiaries of that gift?” What should we do? We should care for the earth. And I love that President Nelson, he talks about not only caring for the earth but caring for one another.
I think the more and more we learn about environmental or climate issues, the link between our well-being and the earth’s well-being is inextricably linked. And so our love of the earth and our care of the earth really is a demonstration and a way to love our neighbor, love those in need. And again, he talks about stewardship in a way that really helps us to understand accountability to care for these gifts that God has given us and those around us.
4:06
Mary Richards: That is beautiful to think about. And for those looking for that, that was his remarks in the April 2000 general conference, I believe, a talk called “The Creation.” And it’s also in the Liahona online for people who want to find that.
So then, in the Presiding Bishopric’s office, where you work, can you tell me some of those priorities, those sustainability practices and things that are done? And this was recorded at the end of 2024 with the data available to us then.
4:32
Jenica Sedgwick: So, as I mentioned, our mission is to care for the earth. And to answer the question of “What is the Church doing? How do we care for the earth?” And within that operational, again, realm of what we’re managing here, there are strategic priorities that have been approved by the First Presidency for our environmental sustainability efforts.
And those include increasing energy efficiency, including the use of renewable energy; conserving water based on ecological needs and resources; reducing, reusing and recycling to avoid material waste; reducing emissions caused by transportation; practicing sustainable design, development and construction; and then practicing sustainable farming and ranching. So, quite a wide range of priorities and, again, are reflective of the many different types of operations and investments that the Church has.
The thing that we focus on is how to integrate the principle of environmental stewardship, or sustainability and our care of the earth, into the daily normal business operations of the Church. So it’s not a separate silo, it’s not something we think about on the side. This is really a priority that is being integrated into the way that the Church operates.
5:33
Mary Richards: Can you give us some examples? Should we go through those?
Jenica Sedgwick: Sure, yeah. There’s some really fun examples that we’ve become more aware of as we’re doing more data gathering with our area offices. For those who don’t know, the Church has 24 regional offices, which have operations managing meetinghouses, distribution and other operations of the Church. And so, for example, globally, there are over 600 meetinghouses that have solar panels installed. There are some other projects for Church-owned buildings, including certain temples or mission president homes, at the Mexico MTC, and some desalination plants in Kiribati, actually, that have solar on them.
And we’re really excited. Over the next few years, over 1,000 more projects we expect to come online. So, lots of growth, particularly in areas around the world where this helps to improve reliability of the grid or resiliency of the buildings themselves. Security, as well, in different areas. So it’s lots of different benefits, along with environmental as well as even cost savings in some of these areas.
6:29
Mary Richards: And what are some of the ways that the Church is working to save energy?
Jenica Sedgwick: Yes, so energy efficiency is an important part of our priorities as well, and it’s things that you’d expect best practices within the industry, such as LED lights, retrofits, transitioning gas boilers and heaters to electric water heaters and heat pumps, especially where local infrastructure allows or requires that. Other types of building optimizations, such as motion-sensor lights and remote HVAC control. In some areas where it makes sense, we’ve even had some operations following LEED or EDGE program principles that drive towards energy efficiency.
And what’s exciting is that there’s some really important results from all that. For example, at Church headquarters, they’ve saved more than $2 million in annual energy savings achieved through implementing these practices and just actively managing energy. And it’s really exciting. Again, with stewardship and care of the earth, it starts with understanding what we’re talking about in energy management. And as example, once you start to actually look at data, you start to investigate the systems and do the analytics to know what can be improved and really focus on data-driven decision-making. That’s amazing the kind of things that will show up and then that can be addressed, and the results are amazing.
7:35
Mary Richards: So, that’s energy efficiency and such. And then conserving water, now this is an interesting one, because, yes, it’s top of mind and very much of a concern in the Intermountain West, but there are other places in the world where that’s not an issue for them. They might have too much water.
Jenica Sedgwick: Yeah, absolutely.
7:51
Mary Richards: So, talk me through some of these things, though, in terms of where the Church does need to conserve water and what it does.
Jenica Sedgwick: Yeah. So, as I mentioned, the priority is to conserve water based on ecological needs and resources. So it’s not just conserving water for conservation’s sake. This is about being aware of our environment, aware of our water availability and aligning what we do to that ecological context, and that’s what makes it sustainable.
And just to back up a little bit, as you think about caring for the earth, well, how do you actually care for something? You care for something according to its needs, and you have to understand those needs in order to care for it effectively. That’s the same with people. It’s the same with our technology. It’s the same with anything that we have stewardship over. And so as you think about caring for the earth and with water, specifically, it’s most applicable in areas where there’s drought and areas where there’s higher water acuity.
So, for example, other parts of the world — and, of course, in the western U.S., we focus quite a bit about that. And there’s some projects that were announced last year related to meetinghouse landscape retrofits. There was a donation made by the Church for the Great Salt Lake, 20,000 acre-feet of water that was helping, will continue to help benefit Farmington Bay, especially, and additional donations. An additional 1,000 acre-feet that has also been donated, and some ongoing assessment of water assets that the Church owns. But around the world, we have some specific landscape standard updates and retrofits in over six regions, including Brazil, South America and Chile and Argentina and Africa south, in Namibia, and in the Pacific, in Australia.
Mary Richards: Wow. This is a big, big earth. The Church is a worldwide Church.
Jenica Sedgwick: It is a worldwide Church. Yeah, absolutely.
9:26
Mary Richards: So, I love that you mentioned how we do have those areas where they each are going to look at their specific needs and then how all of this fits, not separately, but together in their work.
Jenica Sedgwick: Yeah. And, if I may, something that’s interesting is there’s some common practices in drought-prone areas. We’re looking at, in a lot of instances, turf removal or transitioning to more drought-tolerant turf species and plant species, smart controller installations, hydrometers, things that help us to be more precise with our watering. And it’s really cool to see some of the local designs. It doesn’t all look the same across the globe. It really takes on the character of the place that it is, with some of these similar principles installed.
10:02
Mary Richards: That leads to — and I’m jumping to that last priority — but sustainable farming and ranching practices.
Jenica Sedgwick: Yeah. So, for sustainable farming and ranching, the Church has some investment farms but also welfare farms that help benefit communities around the globe. Some of the best practices being utilized on those operations also include water-reduction methods, precise application nozzles and drip irrigation, drones that monitor and detect leaks to help improve efficiencies. But they’re also doing things like rotational grazing or crop rotations and using cover crops, no or reduced tillage. Those things help prevent soil erosion, they improve soil health, they help control weeds and pests and also increase biodiversity. So, lots of interesting things within the agricultural space that are going on, and that also relates to tracking waste and things through diversion to animal feed, recycling, composting and some sustainable material use.
Mary Richards: Yeah. Very scientific.
Jenica Sedgwick: Yes, very interesting.
10:57
Mary Richards: Yes. Air quality and reducing emissions is another priority?
Jenica Sedgwick: So, when we think about reducing emissions through transportation, there’s obviously a lot of different things that go into that. Right now, what we’ve done, there’s a 30-mile-per-gallon standard that has been implemented for our global fleet, and that continues to get evaluated so we can reduce fuel use. There’s also some EV electric vehicle and electric vehicle charging that’s happening for Church employees at our headquarters office in Salt Lake City, and there’s other charging that’s happening at temples in France, the Netherlands, California and different parts of the world, especially where it’s mandated by local regulations.
11:33
Mary Richards: Avoiding material waste is a priority through reduction, reuse, recycling, the packaging solutions and such that you talked about as a priority. For example, I’ve done stories with Deseret Industries, which is not just a thrift store owned by the Church in locations around the U.S., but also job training and donation center. So they do a lot of recycling there, too, people may not know about.
11:53
Jenica Sedgwick: They do, yeah. There’s a lot of recycling efforts within that. And their entire operation is to support the secondhand clothing market and to just help us as consumers to think a little bit about purchasing new clothes, fast fashion, some of these trends that we know are not sustainable. And so we love that operation.
And beyond Deseret Industries, there’s other things the Church is doing, too, related to waste that are pretty interesting. In general, the Church is moving towards digitization, using less paper, just trying to be more responsible. That way, we transition to 100% recycled plastic for our sacrament cups, the global production of that. And there was a study done that helped us to understand that that was actually, on many accounts, a more sustainable option than even paper cups, which I think people may find interesting, and these cups can be recycled. Again, we have some interesting stories of grassroots efforts from members who are collecting those and recycling those, which we love.
But also the Church, at headquarters, we strive to divert 100% of our old electronics from landfills in the U.S. and Canada and their operations. And there’s been hundreds of computers that are donated each year to charities, and the rest are responsibly recycled through their partner organizations. One really cool thing to think about with that, in Africa, we’ve begun hearing some feedback from those operations, and they are investing heavily in renewable energy.
Actually, 60% of the Church-owned buildings at the Africa West Area have solar on them, and they are also investing in batteries. And what that does is it extends the hours of use of their buildings, and so more youth groups or community groups can use the building at night, which is really excellent as far as supporting education. And so we’ve gotten some feedback that they are using that for BYU–Pathway or even missionary discussions or other type of educational settings. And they’re also, in many instances, receiving computers that have been recycled.
And so it’s kind of a fun circle of how the operations are helping to bolster many of the priorities that the Church has, and some of these sustainable processes and technologies are helping to enable that.
13:46
Mary Richards: There’s some thoughtfulness behind this that many of us don’t think about.
Jenica Sedgwick: Yeah, and there’s many, many things that, before working for the Church, I just had no idea about. For example, of waste reduction, the Church’s flagship printing center in Salt Lake really carefully bundles all paper scraps and ships them back to suppliers for recycling. And really fun examples are from Latin America. There, the Church is transitioning to reusable bags in all of its distribution stores and retail stores. And in Peru, they’re using sustainably sourced wood. They’ve received an official PEFC certification; it’s kind of a specific manufacturing certification for that. And in Brazil, for their youth conference, they started to reuse recyclable T-shirts. So we’ve got youth who are now getting a souvenir home that’s an example of caring for the earth that we appreciate.
14:31
Mary Richards: And these kinds of topics are of interest to the youth. A lot of the rising generation is interested in caring for the earth.
Jenica Sedgwick: Absolutely. Yeah, there’s a lot of external studies that talk about the rising generation, Gen Z, and a lot of climate awareness and concern. And as we think about our membership and the youth and young adults, I think a lot about how our care of the earth can really draw us to the Savior and be a source of hope and be a source of empowerment and faith in our lives. It’s really hard to hear about big problems and things that really impact the daily lives of our communities and not be sure what to do about it or how we can help. And I think that sustainability, environmental stewardship, our care of the earth, however you want to phrase it, there’s a lot of ways that we can get really practical in our faith and benefiting the lives of other people and feel really uplifted by that effort.
15:18
Mary Richards: I love how you’re connecting this to the Savior, because what would you say to those young people who may, with any topic, might take this too far and be a little too worried or too anxious about what’s going on and what they’re being told about the earth and its future?
Jenica Sedgwick: Yeah. Well, one thing that I always come back to personally is my favorite scripture, and that’s 2 Timothy 1:7, and it is that “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” And in my personal life, if I had to distill down the tangible benefit that living the gospel of Jesus Christ gives to me, it is living in that space of power and of love and of a sound mind and being able to set aside the fears that can so easily creep into our lives and really be overwhelming and take us to dark places. And that is not what the Savior wants for us, and it’s an example to me of the power of our faith and the power of the Savior in helping to manage the things that are really beyond us as individuals.
And I love that for this kind of a challenge, global challenges, they require our hearts to be knit together in love and in unity and really work together. And it can be really stretching to work with people that you disagree with or people that you feel don’t understand you. But it is a worthy work to draw upon the strength that the Savior can give us, to love our neighbor, to care for our neighbor, and to put that love and that care into action in a meaningful way. And it’s transformative. It’s been transformative for me to really dive into this. And I really believe that for anyone who is willing to study this doctrine and sit with it and let the Spirit teach us about caring for the earth and why it matters, that can be a really powerful experience.
And one of the quotes that I really love that has stayed with me as well is from Bishop Caussé’s October 2022 general conference talk. And I have the privilege of working with the Presiding Bishopric, so I really love their leadership. I love them, and I’m grateful for them. So when Bishop Gérald Caussé gave a talk in October 2022 entitled “Our Earthly Stewardship,” that’s one of the kind of hallmark talks, I think, on this topic that people have looked to and been really informative. And one of the things that he said that has stayed with me and that I love very much on this point about our discipleship, he says, “Beyond being simply a scientific or political necessity, 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.”
And I thought about that phrase, “integral component of our discipleship.” And we’re integrating this in our operations. That’s kind of the name of the game. But “integral component of our discipleship” is really profound to me. And I think I would be curious if we could get the research behind this. If we were to survey the global membership of the Church and ask, “What are the integral components of our discipleship?” I wonder how many people would say, “Oh, care of the earth. Definitely that.” I don’t think that would be the answer, most likely.
And why would it be an integral component of our discipleship? It comes down to that love, the love that we have for one another and what President Nelson taught that our care of the earth and our care of one another are linked. And the more and more we reflect on that love that God has for His creations — not only this earth, of course, but all of us as His children — that we can really feel that love and that motivating love to serve and to be involved and to make a difference, to make different choices, to be willing to be unified with others, to make some good progress around really critical challenges that we face around the world.
18:50
Mary Richards: This really does, then, lead to this idea of how humanitarian work is a piece of all of this, that caring for others because we love God and want to keep the commandments and care for our neighbor in need, humanitarian efforts are a part of the sustainability efforts as well?
Jenica Sedgwick: They are, yeah. And it’s amazing; we’ve gotten more and more feedback, again, from our global areas about some of the challenges that they face, and they are very real. The intensity and frequency of natural disasters that really impact communities is devastating, air and water pollution, rising sea levels, food scarcity, decreased land productivity, loss of biodiversity, climate migration — all of these things are really, really tangible and really, really overwhelming and devastating. And as you think about what the Church is doing within its operations, a lot of that is to help with the broader macro issues around climate, around the environment and pollution, etc.
But it’s amazing to see also on the humanitarian side how responsiveness and resiliency, climate resiliency as a concept, are linked. We know that the Church spends over a billion dollars on welfare and self-reliance programs, including more than 4,000 humanitarian projects annually, and a significant portion of those projects are in response to natural disasters, which are occurring again with increased frequency and really intensifying.
And with that, there’s certain types of projects that we’ve become familiar with that help with that. So, for example, things like food security, so training farmers to manage crops in more volatile weather, helping to be more prepared and self-reliant. Energy independence, adding renewable power; water boreholes, for example, helping things to maintain themselves, even in the face of grid instability. Clean water access, so boosting access in the face of those disasters, again, so that communities have those critical resources.
There are some interesting projects. For example, projects relating to tree planting or mangrove tree planting to help with flood resiliency, the things that you might not think about until there’s a disaster and suddenly you wish that you had done it so that your house or your village or wherever, the things that you need are going to be maintained.
20:49
Mary Richards: And these are times when the Church really does work hand in hand with local organizations in those areas on what is specifically needed. We’ve covered some of those stories in the Church News about tree plantings in Africa, or those drilling water boreholes and things, or different efforts in the U.S. That’s where those area offices and working with them and those trusted local collaborations kind of come into play.
What are some of the fruits of this labor that you’re seeing?
21:17
Jenica Sedgwick: Yeah. Of course, there’s just the operational metrics that we’re tracking — being more energy efficient, being more water efficient, reducing carbon emissions, those kind of things that we’re tracking. But ultimately, again, this comes back to improving the well-being of God’s children on the earth. And so we’re really excited about the projects we just talked about. So these projects, again, not only have all these operational benefits, but they have all these benefits to the community that we started to talk about with those humanitarian examples. And I think what’s really exciting about that is it’s also a signal to our communities in many ways.
For example, we’ve heard in Brazil having solar panels on the building or sharing a little bit about some of these really operational projects and really practical projects has become a missionary tool for them. People are excited to talk about them, and that care of the earth is translating to a testimony of God’s love for His children and that we are disciples. Again, this can be an integral component of our discipleship as we view it as a manifestation of our love for our neighbor and our love of the Creation, God’s creations, and honoring God.
So really it comes down to, I think, being an example of keeping the first and second great commandments of loving God and loving our neighbor, which is really exciting. And that’s powerful. It’s powerful to see some of that change in action and being willing to do things a little bit differently than we did them before, because we know it’s important, and we’re willing to prioritize this kind of discipleship, if you will.
22:33
Mary Richards: That’s interesting to think that people would see this work, be curious about it, want to know more about it, and then they’re led themselves to the gospel, and they’re led to making covenants with the Savior. That’s kind of a beautiful way to think about how this is caring for the earth and then caring for people, too.
So, then, what can each person do? What can individuals do, then, to care for the earth?
22:55
Jenica Sedgwick: Well, I think the first thing that I would recommend is sort of laying that doctrinal foundation within our own hearts. We don’t do anything on topics that we don’t feel are important or we don’t understand. And so I think the first recommendation that I would have for anyone who’s really new to this topic and trying to understand why it matters and why the Church would be focusing on it would be to study some of the doctrine that we have related to stewardship of the earth and about the Creation and about what stewardship actually means.
As we think about reasons why we might not get engaged in caring for the earth or in this topic, it might be viewed as too political or too divisive, or it might be not important to us, because “What does it have to do with us here? We’re not impacted by certain disasters in ways that others around the globe are.” And so there’s some kind of soul-searching, I think, as a first stage to understand why God would ask us to be a steward of this earth and, again, what that accountability means. We live in the last days. We know that, and there’s a lot of calamities. The scriptures talk about calamities and all the things, and we’re really living that. And this is part of that, I think, just how much we are asked to manage the devastating impacts that happen and some of the things that could really make us afraid.
But I think as we trust in the Lord and as we study the scriptures and we listen especially to some of the recent comments that have been made. Elder Ulisses Soares has spoken on this recently at a G20 Interfaith Forum down in Brasília, Brazil. Elder Patrick Kearon spoke last year at a global faith leaders summit in Abu Dhabi. There’s not as much, maybe, if you’re searching in general conference, but there’s a lot of statements that have been made, particularly from the Presiding Bishopric, again, from their leadership, being involved in the operations of the Church, and this being such an important priority there. There’s a lot to really sit with that would be helpful.
Beyond, of course, understanding why it’s important, then it’s about finding ways to get involved. First one, I would say, if you think about how you shop, how you live your daily life, the things you spend your time working on doing, are there ways that you can minimize your environmental impact? Can we be a little bit less wasteful? Even the things that we’re doing in our operations can be done to some extent within our personal lives using reusable products, looking for things that we can do to minimize the waste that we’re generating. A lot of the work is probably just researching within a local area: “What is important? What are some of the challenges? And what are the things available to me that I could also put into practice?”
25:15
Mary Richards: Yeah. And I’ve been thinking, too, some different things that I could personally do is to volunteer.
Jenica Sedgwick: Yeah. Well, we’ve been working with JustServe, for example. There are specific projects that you could help with this, and they might be cleanup projects, beach cleanups, planting trees, riverbanks — the Jordan River, for example, here locally needs some cleanup — there’s restoration projects that are happening that you could be involved in. So there’s lots of different things that I think can be really small, maybe, but the more we get engaged and start to look for them, I think they become apparent pretty quickly.
The other thing that I would recommend to people is just to start talking about caring for the earth. So understanding it for ourselves, but also start talking about it. Dr. Katharine Hayhoe is a climate scientist for the The Nature Conservancy, and she recently gave a devotional at BYU, at Brigham Young University, on campus, where she talked about the importance of talking about these challenges. And she’s written a book about that. And I think ultimately, we know the power of talking about what we believe in. As a missionary Church, we understand the value of talking about our faith and sharing those beliefs.
And I think that for this topic as well, particularly where it can feel really politicized, can we talk about the doctrine? Can we talk about practical examples of what can be done? Can we decide that rather than spending our energy debating and being divisive about whether there’s a challenge that exists or not, actually put all of our energy and our emotion into finding solutions that can benefit God’s children; just redirecting some of the emotional and mental energy we spend disagreeing with people and put that into what President Nelson has asked us to be as peacemakers and to start to listen and to start to understand different perspectives and to start to, again, sit with that doctrine of being asked to care for the earth and be really willing to say, “Well, I don’t know about that, but what else could God teach me about this if I were to listen to my neighbor with a spirit of love and with a willingness to understand?” and then also seek inspiration, seek revelation for what we can do.
27:19
Mary Richards: I love that you brought up President Nelson’s peacemaker talk and doing that, and it makes me think about having balance in our lives as well.
Jenica Sedgwick: Well, this is all about balance. The gospel, in many ways, we’re taking — our journey through life, I think, is absorbing information that can feel contradictory and holding that kind of paradox and being willing to wrestle with the Spirit and seek divine truth through the struggles, through the mists of darkness, just the things that we don’t understand, and that’s what faith actually is. We know that faith is what drives us through all that uncertainty. And finding a foundation on the Savior and gospel principles, and hoping and trusting and believing that good things are to come and that through the Savior, we can overcome all things, that’s a really important step for us to stand on as we go through all of this.
And balance is a really important part of stewardship as well. For example, another scripture that I think is really applicable here is in Doctrine and Covenants 59, where it says, “Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart” (verse 18). So, one teaching here is we are meant to use this earth, these resources we’ve been given and these creations. And then it continues, “And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used,” and then He adds the balance, “with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion.”
And so, on the pendulum, if we are saying, “Well, hey, God said that we could use all this. Well, let’s use it,” and we just drive, and we use, and we use, and we use, and we can consume, but we’ve forgotten the other side of the pendulum that’s really critical to the right balance around stewardship, which is it’s meant to be done “with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion.” And so if we’re not being thoughtful about long-term impacts, if we’re not stepping back to say, “Well, here’s the cost of this project” or “Here’s the environmental impact of this, and here’s how it’s going to benefit or hurt the community that I live in” and “Here’s how all of this kind of comes together,” then we’re probably going to be missing something important when it comes to finding the right solution that is balanced and living these principles that are also balanced.
29:23
Mary Richards: Let’s dive into a couple of specific examples. A lot of people are interested in what’s happening on Temple Square, for example.
Jenica Sedgwick: Yeah, yeah. So, Bishop W. Christopher Waddell spoke on the topic of water conservation last year at a Stegner symposium held at the University of Utah, and he talked a lot about what the Church is doing for water. And one of the examples he gave was about Temple Square and the waterwise landscape retrofits that are happening. And he mentioned you’d be able to notice a few differences in the changes that have happened. There are 30% more trees, part of the landscape; 50% less annuals and more perennials, so a little bit more water efficient; and 35% less turf grass. And that turf grass is going to receive 35-40% less water during the summer months to be more water efficient.
And what’s exciting is that these changes, these are significant changes to landscaping, but just like all of our efforts, these little changes, they add up over time. So for example, with that one project, there’s 8 to 10 million gallons expected to be saved annually for the first five years after its installation, and 15 to 20 million gallons saved annually onward from that point. And so if we’re ever depressed or sad about what impacts we can have on such a global challenge, we could think back to just one drip irrigation system doing its job with the others to save millions of gallons on one block, street block, in Salt Lake City.
30:43
Mary Richards: And to still be beautiful.
Jenica Sedgwick: And to still be beautiful and to still be providing a really beautiful and spiritual experience for those who are coming to Temple Square. I think sometimes when we’ve done something the same way for a long time, we can get a little rigid in our creativity. Well, we really love green lawns, for example, and “It’s got to be Kentucky bluegrass. That’s the only way to have a beautiful landscape.” And I don’t know; that’s a preference. There’s a lot of different things that can be done to save more water, which we need to do here in the state, but also not sacrifice having an environment that we can really enjoy and that can be uplifting. And I think, again, when we’re open to creativity and inspiration around these things and balancing multiple priorities, that’s where good ideas can come. And I think the Temple Square landscaping project is a really great example of all those things coming together.
And if we’re thinking about creativity, it reminds me of a really beautiful quote from President M. Russell Ballard that he gave at a BYU devotional in 2020. And in speaking to the students, he said, “I would hope you will continue to find creative solutions to help protect the future for all of God’s children.” And then he said, “We are inhabitants of the same planet, and we are dependent upon each other for our mutual survival, happiness and peace.” I just love that he’s talking about creativity, because with great problem-solving, you need good information, and you need a lot of creativity, and you need inspiration. And we know that revelation is scattered among us and that good information leads to revelation.
And so, putting on our thinking caps, getting creative, being willing to think outside the box, being willing to talk to people who have a different perspective than us and bring all that together, I think, is what President Ballard is encouraging us to do.
32:17
Mary Richards: He gave that talk at BYU. And BYU students have been doing something, speaking of what you can do individually, right?
Jenica Sedgwick: Yeah, absolutely. All the BYU campuses have had some focus on this, and there’re some really interesting and creative projects happening, and some really cool creativity in the student-led projects that are happening on campus, student groups that are helping raise awareness, giving great, simple ideas for others to consider, such as buying local, spreading the word, joining a club, getting educated on these topics, learning to garden, learning to take care of plants, using reusable products and other sustainable products, just things that we can do.
32:52
Mary Richards: Well, it is time for our last question, which at the Church News podcast is: What do you know now? And so I’d love to ask you, with your role as the Church’s sustainability manager and with all that the Church is doing around the world, what do you know now about care for the earth and for God’s children?
33:09
Jenica Sedgwick: Thank you. Well, one of the things that I know for certain is that God is leading us along, and He can use all of us to make an impact in this work. I just think about even my journey into this role, something that was very unexpected. In 2020, I had been living in New York City, working as a management consultant, and I had no idea that a move to Utah, because of the global pandemic, would have brought me to work for the Presiding Bishopric and then ultimately led to the creation of a sustainability office and a sustainability manager role that I would be asked to do.
And what’s amazing about, I think, our journey here on earth is that it’s unexpected, but it is blessed, and it is beautiful, and God does lead us along through all of our earnest efforts to follow Him and to do the right thing. And if anybody’s listening who thinks, “Well, this has nothing to do with me” or “I don’t know anything about this; how could I ever be involved?” I would just say it’s one step at a time. It’s line upon line. And that is the great opportunity that we all have.
As you think about caring for the earth, it is a global challenge and one of the biggest challenges that impacts the well-being of God’s children around the world. And it is extremely overwhelming if not looked at through the lens of faith and with a lens of creativity and a really real willingness to be humble and learn along the way, be willing to do the analysis, do the research, listen to the voices that we need to listen to, bring the many stakeholders involved. Great challenges such as this require all of us, and it requires that unity.
And one of the things that Elder Kearon said last year that I really loved is he said, “The earth, a sacred creation, is entrusted to us and is meant to bless humankind.” He said, “A unified effort — where governments, faith and community leaders, media, industry, scholars and families work together — is the way to achieve the noble goal of revitalizing the earth and the greater human family. May we accept this as a sacred charge.”
And he talked about the importance of the family. He talked about the importance of all of us in our families caring for the earth, caring for this sacred creation. And so I think what I know now is that it’s a journey, but it’s a journey for all of us to go on, and it is a really important part of how we are stewards of God’s creations here on this earth. And if we can do it together, focusing again on being peacemakers and being motivated by love and having this become a bit more of an integral component of our discipleship, we’re going to be on our way to helping bless God’s children in ways that will bring us joy.
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Jon Ryan Jensen: Thank you for listening to the Church News podcast. I’m your host, Church News editor Jon Ryan Jensen. I hope you learned something today about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had your faith in the Savior increase by looking through the Church News window as a living record of the Restoration. Please subscribe, rate and review this podcast so it can be accessible to more people. And if you enjoyed the messages we shared today, please share the podcast with others. Thanks to our guests; to my producer, KellieAnn Halvorsen; and to others who make this podcast possible. Join us every week for a new episode. Find us on your favorite podcasting channels or with other news and updates about the Church on TheChurchNews.com or on the Church News app.
