The Desert Shall Rejoice: LDS Relational Values and Multispecies Justice in the Intermountain West

In the American West, climate change is shifting weather and climate patterns in ways that may dramatically change lands, livelihoods, and communities. In the face of these threats, conservationists and local communities must work collaboratively to ensure that environmental and human communities are healthy enough to weather approaching shifts. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint (LDS) values, practices, and histories strongly influence the Intermountain West, yet there is little research on LDS environmental values and perceptions. This study seeks to answer questions that work in this gap. It documents the knowledge and values of communities in the Intermountain West in two LDS-dominated contexts: 1) in a small, collaborative, rural conservation project led by the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation in a watershed dominated by white, LDS producers, and 2) among LDS individuals residing in mostly urban and suburban areas across the Great Salt Lake Watershed. This research describes the values that link LDS communities to land and water, identifying tools and frameworks that might support ecological well-being in these communities during a time of dramatic climatic change in the West. I build on existing work to share an “Agricultural Transformation Typology” that can be used by extension agents and others working with rural producers to contribute to climate adaptation on private lands in the face of projected ecological shifts. I also describe LDS perspectives on rights- and justice-based approaches to environmental problems in the watershed, especially related to the declining Great Salt Lake. I examine LDS doctrines, histories, and current perceptions in the Great Salt Lake Watershed to do this. I then explore a “Mormon multispecies ethic” to increase understanding and potential areas for collaboration between conservationists and LDS communities in the Intermountain West.