God knows all things–including every single one of his starlings. Starlings are small garden birds that can be found throughout the world. Like many other species of birds, starlings gather to keep warm, protect each other from predators and exchange important information. Yet, there is something entirely unique and phenomenal about the way starlings move.

The symposium marked twenty years since the publication of Stewardship and the Creation: LDS Perspectives on the Environment, published by the Religious Studies Center and edited by George Handley, Terry Ball, and Steve Peck. That collection of essays explored earth-stewardship themes in light of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and was the first of its kind, helping catalyze a community of awareness around the doctrinal implications of earth stewardship.

On the fifth day, after every living, creeping, and growing thing is made—everything but us—Elohim asks Jehovah and Michael to command each cadre of remarkable creatures to “multiply in their respective elements, each after its kind, that every form of life may fill the measure of its creation, and have joy therein.”

The Steward of the Year Award is one of Latter-day Saint Earth Stewardship’s favorite traditions. Each year, we give this ward to someone who has demonstrated exceptional earth stewardship in their community. Meet this year’s winner—Carolina Allen!

Birds play a vital role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. They pollinate plants, control pests, disperse seeds, and much more. Sadly, habitat destruction threatens these winged friends. I remember a time when two friends of mine from UK visited Uganda. One of the things they wished to see was the Abyssinian Ground hornbill. I knew of a tree where a couple was breeding for over five years.

When Wilford Woodruff first arrived in Salt Lake Valley, piercing-blue eyes taking in mountains sharp as pyramids, freshwater streams criss-crossing the valley floor, and a vast inland sea so salty he could hold its crystals in his hands, he wrote in his journal: 

“We gazed with wonder and admiration upon… a large lake of salt water of miles in extent… creeks, brooks and rivers of various sizes all of which… wend[ed] their way into the great salt lake; our hearts were surely made glad…”