Please take a survey

As you can read in my previous post, I have been working on a survey that aims to learn about LDS attitudes towards the environment. As of 9 am (Eastern Time) the survey was not yet live. But I am told that it will go live today.

Please take a few minutes and participate in the survey.

Here is the link: http://tinyurl.com/environmentsurvey

If you click on the envelope icon at the bottom of this post you can also invite others to participate.

I'm not allowing comments until after the survey is finished. If you have questions about the survey, e-mail ldssurvey at gmail dot com.

Why not put together a survey?

Last Summer I participated in J Nielson-Seawright's survey Experiences of the Book of Mormon. After taking the survey, I asked myself why not put together a survey to learn about LDS attitudes towards the environment? I answered my question with two good reasons why I shouldn't take on a survey project:

1. I'm lazy. Surveys take a lot of work.
2. As a Mormon/Environment blogger, I have a distinct point of view that limits both my ability and credibility for conducting an unbiased survey.

Not too long after taking the JNS survey, Bryce Hammond published this post on the Millennial Star blog. I summarize Bryce's post in a sentence: The Pixar movie Wall-E is part of a Satan-inspired scheme to trick people into sin by baiting them with calls to save the planet. Before you think harshly of Bryce, read on...

Bryce's post led me to an AHH-HAH moment: I should ask Bryce to team up on the survey! His involvement would solve both of my problems. Bryce could share the workload, and his "opposing" point of view would add balance and credibility to the survey. I sent an email to Bryce, and he agreed to join the project.

Wanting some additional help, I also petitioned the LDS Earth Stewardship group for assistance. Peter Ashcraft, a member of the group, agreed to be the third member of the survey team.

Bryce, Peter and I have been working for the past few months to create what we hope is an unbiased and meaningful survey. My main contribution to the survey was putting the team together. Peter and Bryce provided the brains and brawn behind the project. My next post will give a link survey. Stay tuned.

The survey writing process wasn't always smooth, but it did provide ample learning opportunities. For example, I learned that Bryce Hammond is a nice person who is great to work with. Another important lesson: Different points of view can be a great blessing if they are viewed as such.

Just don't get me started on the Gospel Principals that are affirmed by Wall-E. ;)

Thanks Bryce. Thanks Peter.

Resource: Perry Quote

I don't read too much into this quote. But it is post-worthy when an Apostle mentions sustainable energy, if only in passing.

Quote from Let Him Do It with Simplicity, General Conference 10/08, L. Tom Perry:

"We have been hearing a lot about fuel and energy—about their high cost and limited supply, our unsafe and unpredictable dependence on their suppliers, and the need for new and sustainable sources of energy. I leave the discussion of these complicated issues to leaders of government and industry. The fuel I want to discuss is spiritual fuel." (italics added)

He certainly wasn't antagonistic towards sustainable energy. Your thoughts?

Commentary: Time, Postponement, Teaser.

Time flies. Nuf' said. To the kind few who actually read my blog, sorry I've been absent. Moving across the country will do that.

To borrow a phrase from the world of political candidates, I may be "postponing" my involvement in this blog for a little while. My new job is demanding a lot of me. Also, my new job is more fulfilling than my previous one, so I don't have such a need to blog.

Finally, I'm working on a big project that will surely be of interest to anyone reading this blog. The project is the result of lots of work from an super-orthodox Mormon, a super smart Mormon, and a lazy blogging Mormon (me). The project will give you all a chance to be heard!

More later.

Resource: Materialism Quotes from Providentliving.org

Providentliving.org is a website from the LDS Church that provides self-reliance and welfare resources. Among theses resources is a list of quotes dealing with materialism.

Just one of the many quotes:

"Of course, none of us ever has enough. At least that is what we think. No matter our circumstances, we want to improve them. This, too, is good if it is not carried to an extreme. I am satisfied that the Father of us all does not wish His children to walk in poverty. He wants the best for them. He wants them to have comforts and some of the good things of the earth. . . . It is when greed takes over, when we covet that which others have, that our affliction begins. And it can be a very sore and painful affliction."

(Gordon B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [1997], 252).

Commentary: Praise from the Sierra Club? WWJD?

If you haven’t heard, the Sierra Club has praised the LDS Church for the Church’s role in developing the City Creek Center in Salt Lake City. You can read about the Sierra Club’s praise for City Creek in this Deseret News Article, or in this post at the Green Mormon Architect blog.

GMA has done a great job highlighting these exciting developments. Rather than rehashing what has already been written, I’ll just refer you to GMA’s blog –highly recommended.

After studying the reader comments to the Deseret News article, I am a little shocked at the responses to the Sierra Club. In my shocked state I came up with a few questions:

What is an appropriate response to the Sierra Club’s praise for the Church and the City Creek Center?

What would Jesus do if he were praised by the Sierra Club?

-This is the part where I jump into controversy by suggesting how our Lord would respond.-

I believe that Jesus would humbly acknowledge the praise then continue to quietly watch over His stewardship. Jesus knows that His disciples include those who in good faith love the Sierra Club and those who in good faith loathe the Sierra Club. (His discilpes also include great many, including your's truely, who fall somewhere in between.) Because one’s attitude to the Sierra Club is not a litmus test for discipleship, Jesus would continue to embrace those on all sides of this issue. Just like His Church is doing, Jesus would continue to build buildings that are spiritually, fiscally, and environmentally responsible.

Don’t believe me? Check out this release from the Church’s newsroom. Oh, and be sure to listen to the audio files in the press release. I guess the Mormon Church is "green".

Commentary: EXPENSIVE GAS, what is the cost of convenience?

Today I drove to a nearby town to do a little work. My drive was great. The sun was shining bright, and the grass and trees were green and beautiful. I wasn’t in a big hurry so I just turned on a little talk radio and enjoyed the drive.

The talking heads on the radio were all concerned about the high gas prices. I too like to complain about high gas prices, so I enjoyed the ranting. One of the radio voices suggested a return to the 55 MPH speed limit as a way of conserving gas. Liking the idea of saving gas (money), I slowed down to a more energy efficient speed. It made me feel very much like my grandmother -she always seems to be going a speed very different from everyone else on the road (at least I stayed in the right hand lane).

So there I was, in the right lane, driving slow, and listening to the radio go on-and-on about gas prices. In my mind I was imagining the other drivers on the road were also complaining about gas prices. Then I asked myself the obvious question: If these other drivers are also mad about high gas prices, why don’t they slow down too?

That is when it hit me…

Complaining about the high cost of gas is really just complaining about the high cost of convenience. I want to drive fast, but I don’t want to be burdened by the additional cost of fuel associated with that convenience. I want to a drive big comfortable car, but I get annoyed by the cost of that convenience too.

My rants about the price at the pump are just rants about the cost of the convenient and comfortable lifestyle that I have chosen. I am blessed that rising fuel costs are only an annoyance for me.