The Earth Will Appear as the Garden of Eden: Essays on Mormon Environmental History

Although scholars have increasingly investigated the impact of religion and religious movements on nature, studies of the interactions between Mormons and the natural environment are few. This volume applies the perspectives of environmental history to Mormonism, providing both a scholarly introduction to Mormon environmental history and a spur for historians to consider the role of nature in the Mormon past.

Mormons have interacted with nature in significant ways-whether perceiving in it a place to find God, wildness needing domestication and control, uncorrupted spaces in which to build communities to usher in the Second Coming, or a world brimming with natural resources to ensure economic well-being. The essays in this volume-written by leading scholars in both environmental and Mormon history-explore how nature has influenced Mormon beliefs and how these beliefs inform Mormons’ encounters with nature. Introducing overarching environmental ideas, contributors examine specific aspects of nature and Mormon theology to glean new insights into the Mormon experience.