Letter to the Governor of Utah

Here is a letter I recently wrote to Governor Gary Herbert
President Gordon B Hinkley said, “Here is declared the Creator of all that is good and beautiful. I have looked at majestic mountains rising against a blue sky and though of Jesus, the creator of heaven and earth. I have stood on a spit of sand in the Pacific and watched the dawn rise like thunder-a ball of gold surrounded by clouds of pink and white and purple-and though of Jesus, the Word by whom all things were made...what then shall you do with Jesus that is called Christ? This earth is his creation. When we make it ugly, we offend him.”

Please Governor Herbert I implore you to understand that as Bob Dylan said, “times they are a changin.” A new generation of citizens is beginning to take their place in the great state of Utah. Previous to this new generation members of the LDS faith carried on the traditions of their pioneer parents. For these parents the land was a hostile place that they always fought against for survival, they believed that the land needed to be subdued. This ideology of dominion is often why the older generation has such harsh attitudes towards today s environmental issues. On the other hand a new generation has begun to emerge. This new generation I refer to, of which I am a part, no longer believes in the practices of old. The land to us is nearly as holy as any temple or church, for many of us it is our temple and we agree with the writer of the Psalm who said “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.” For us, just like Moses, Jesus, Enos and Joseph Smith, we need the wilderness to escape from the distractions of daily life in order to pray, and meditate. To end I pose a question if the Redeemer of the world, Jesus Christ created the earth including its natural temples, and cathedrals shouldn’t we protect them from destruction just as we would the human made temples and churches?

Please protect God’s handiwork so that future generations can see the Creators creation.

Matt Anderson