Joseph Smith’s first visionary experience with the Divine was occasioned by pondering the swirling stars, radiant sun, and powerful Earth. Early Mormonism was tied directly to the land, be it the banks of the Susquehanna, Nauvoo, or the Salt Lake Valley. Sacred Land is an idea rooted deeply within the Mormon psyche. But that connection seems to be waning in modern Mormonism. This panel will discuss and explore the idea of Sacred Land within Mormonism— including rumination on how Mormonism has lost this land-ethic and why Mormonism needs to reclaim that land-ethic to confront both, our individual role in anthropogenic climate change, and to create a faith worthy of a more sustainable future

Rachael Lauritzen, Madison Daniels, Søren Simonsen, Madison Daniels