Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Maxwell.
Hi Mike, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I became involved with LDS Earth Stewardship in 2020, with the interest of finding ways to amplify the significant pro-environment teachings in LDS scripture and theology, particularly in the Salt Lake area.
While LDSES is a global non-profit with chapters in North America, Africa, Europe, and Southeast Asia, the group did not have an active chapter in the Salt Lake City area where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is headquartered with some of the highest concentration of Latter-Day Saints in the world.
In 2022, I volunteered to lead a Salt Lake Chapter of LDS Earth Stewardship. Our goal is to educate our Salt Lake area membership on the theological and scriptural calls for earth stewardship, as well as to create service opportunities to execute these principles.
In the past few months, we have supported education events and service projects across the Salt Lake Valley. You can see an example on our website calendar at https://slc-earthstewardship.org/events/list/. I also tried to put my own money where my mouth is, embarking on a home “lawn kill” project that was included in a Washington Post article in June 2023 https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/06/25/great-salt-lake-mormons-water/.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The average Salt Lake Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. members sitting in the pews on Sunday have many demands on their time.
These are wonderful people who are generous with their time and resources in support of many activities in their church as well as in the broader community. However, while earth stewardship is a significant topic in LDS theology and scripture, it often takes a back seat to other priorities for rank-and-file LDS members.
Another challenge is the political conservatism common of these members often leaves them feeling skeptical of or even hostile to environmental causes that are promoted by left-leaning political interests. A big part of our work is to persuade those member that it’s okay to take action to promote sustainable environmental practices and it’s even part of their religious faith, theology, and tradition.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
LDS Earth Stewardship is a non-profit organization united by the belief that earth stewardship is a gospel principle and gathered to explore and promote that principle.
Global LDSES Site: https://ldsearthstewardship.org/
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc.?
I just finished reading An Immense World by Ed Yong. It was a book we discussed in one of our LDSES Zoom Book Clubs It shares the radically different ways that animals perceive the world.
It’s a wonderful and perspective-changing work by Pulitzer Prize–winning science journalist Ed Yong. Currently reading Evolving Faith by Dr. Stephen Peck. Peck is a BYU evolutionary biologist with some wonderful insights on balancing scientific truths with religious faith and practice.
I’m a big Podcast fan with favorites that include the Theory of Everything Podcast, Lex Friedman Podcast, Faith Matters, BYU Maxwell Institute, Making Sense with Sam Harris, The Veritas Forum, FiveThirtyEight, and many more.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ldsearthstewardship.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ldsearthstewardship
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LDSEarthStewardship
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lds-earth-stewardship/about/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/LDSEarthSteward
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LDSEarthSteward
