Replenishing the Earth

A while back I was struck by a particular phrase in the first commandment God ever gave: "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." (Genesis 1:28--identical except for minor punctuation in Moses 2:28)

The word "replenish" sounds odd there.  A bit of online research should show anyone that "fill" would be a more proper translation of the word, rather than something that usually means "refill".  This means that "multiply" and "replenish the earth" are a bit redundant.  Even so, the fact that some translators happened to choose that word (for unknown reasons) makes me think of something.  I think of what it would mean to actually replenish the earth in relation to bearing more children, because as we live on the Earth, and have more children who also live on the Earth, thus using natural resources and making a mess.

For decade now there have been some people who argue that the Earth is overpopulated, and some are even proponents of laws that would limit child-bearing.  This would be directly in opposition to God's first commandment.  If anyone were to confront me about my large family and accuse me of wrongdoing, I would tell them that I do not believe at all that the Earth is over-populated, and that the real problem is that we're not managing the Earth and its resources well.  Yes, some people on the Earth are hungry, but if we all managed the land well we could easily produce enough food for everyone currently on the Earth and more.  I would tell them that the important thing is to teach children to be good stewards of the Earth, to avoid waste, and to contribute by helping others in need.  There's not a lot of direct instruction from Church leaders about how to care for the Earth, and I would always want to avoid getting political (particularly as I don't trust people in government much at all in most cases but also when it comes to environmentalism), but I do believe in managing resources well and cleaning up messes.  So on a personal level, I believe in picking up trash and recycling, among other things.

The other aspect to stewardship of the Earth is that it seems to be one of those topics that some Church members easily ignore.  I feel that the attitude of not examining ourselves and considering ways that we should change is on of the most spiritually inhibiting factors that can be present in a person's life.

Last thoughts for now:
Granted, "replenish" in Genesis 1:28 would be better translated as "fill".  That being said, as I do my part to fill the Earth with God's children, I want to teach them to care for it also, by both word and example.

Incorrect Teachings Among the Saints

There have been times in my past where I missed the mark a bit when trying to help others to be righteous. I think it has tended to be when I was reaching beyond the scope of my stewardship, and that I was being overzealous. There have been other times when I have heard others share incorrect of skewed doctrines. It feels a bit strange when this happens; if we're listening to the Holy Ghost, He tells us very clearly that something isn't right, just as He testifies to us when we hear and speak truth.

It can be uncomfortable though when someone misses the mark, particularly when we know that the person is genuinely trying to be a true disciple of Christ. However, in simple terms this is really just another mistake, of which we make many.

We read in 3 Nephi 1:24 that after Christ was born, some Nephites attempted "to prove by the scriptures that it was no more expedient to observe the law of Moses." Note that they were using the scriptures; that much is to their credit. As we read further in the same verse and also verse 25, "Now in this thing they did err, having not understood the scriptures. But it came to pass that they soon became converted, and were convinced of the error which they were in...therefore in this same year were they brought to a knowledge of their error and did confess their faults." Put simply, they misunderstood something, tried to teach something false, and were corrected.

Having made and witnessed mistakes, I have gained a desire to not repeat them. In this case, I try to be careful to only state truth when state something as if it were truth. When I state something about which I'm uncertain, I say as much. Sometimes it's a very good thing to share good ideas that are unverifiable, as long as it's clear that the ideas are not purported to be verified doctrine.

When people do teach something incorrect, it's important to simply love them and help them, just like in any other circumstance. Here, that means correcting them with as little awkwardness or embarrassment as possible.

Last thoughts for now:
Truth is a joy to those who seek to be righteous. We all make mistakes sometimes. We can all learn and get past those mistakes, and we can all help others to do the same.