The Benefit and Use of Man

The Thanksgiving season is a good time to think about the great bounty that the Lord has given. It is also the optimal time to think about how we can best take care of this stewardship and show our gratitude for what we have been given, for D&C 59:21 states: "And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things and obey not his commandments".

As a vegetarian, I sometimes face mild persecution from those who believe that to not use animals for sustenance is to be ungrateful by refusing a gift that has been given. Latter-day Saints often will reference scriptures such as D&C 59 for proof of this:

16 ...inasmuch as ye do this, the fullness of the earth is yours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which climbeth upon the trees and walketh upon the earth;

17 Yea, and the herb, and the good things which come of the earth, whether for food or for raiment, or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards;

18 Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart;

19 Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul.

20 And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion.

There are many important points in these verses for this argument. The most important verse though, in my opinion, is verse 20: "for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion." This states that the reason for the existence of things on the earth is for our use, but there is a corollary attached, saying that we should use good judgment in the way we use the resources we have been given. It is clearly stated in the Doctrine and Covenants that one should not preach vegetarianism, but in an age when for most people, eating plenty of protein and vitamins without eating meat is easy to do, where foods don't really go out of season, do we eat meat "to excess"? It is a much more efficient use of both water and land to grow crops than to raise cows for food. While it is important to remember that the resources are put on the earth for our use, we must be careful to be wise in the way we use them.