Question: How can the LDS religion justify their tendency to have many children when overpopulation depletes our natural resources, damages our beautiful earth and destroys other creatures and their habitats?
Response: Just to clarify, I would like to set the record straight that the LDS religion has never set out to "justify" their "tendencies" to have many children. In my life here on earth, there has never been one presentation by any of our general authorities that encourage people to have more children and there is nothing in our doctrine that encourages people to have more children. On the other hand, LDS families tend to have generally somewhat larger families, but that is because we believe we are spirit children of our Heavenly Father and that He sent us here, not only to gain a physical body, but to learn His doctrine and to keep His commandments so that we might prove ourselves worthy to return to Him at the end of our lives. Consequently, as a people, we love the opportunity to provide physical bodies that our Heavenly Father needs for His spirit children to come to the earth.
Additionally, if you would do your homework, you will find that the size of the average LDS family is about the same average size as a Catholic family. To stress the point, the average size of the Islamic family is just a little larger than both of these groups, and the average size of a Jewish family is just a little smaller. Large families is not something that is indigenous to LDS people only.
As to your claim that the earth is being overpopulated and consequently our natural resources are being depleted and our beautiful earth is being damaged, I beg to differ. The damage to our earth and atmosphere is not done by people because there are too many of them. In my opinion, it is done because there are companies out there that are not willing to produce vehicles that can run efficiently on something other than fossil fuel. Too many vehicles are polluting our earth’s atmosphere, not too many children. Factories worldwide that dump toxic chemicals into rivers and streams are diminishing the beauty of our earth. Laziness and greed, not too many children create these problems. Although, after all of these centuries, it is true that there still are people starving in so many parts of the world. Isn't it interesting that in the United States of America the population has doubled in the past 40 years and we don’t have any less food and water now then we did then. In fact you will have to agree that governments around the world are even paying farmers to "dump" milk, potatoes, corn and other foods because of the tremendous over supply for the market. I wonder if there is a way that governments could give send their excess crops to the poor and starving countries in the world, like Ethiopia, Somalia, Albania, and Serbia and so many others. It’s a crime that even in our own country of America, with the plentiful resources of food that we have, people go hungry!
In a revelation given to a prophet in these last days, the Lord said "For the earth is full and there is enough and to spare it. Yea, I have prepared all things for the children of men."
What we need in the world today is not fewer children. What we need is less greed, more compassion, more charity, more concern about the well being of others and those that can actually make a difference. What we need are honest individuals who can provide us with legislation requiring cars and factories, to burn cleaner fuel or by using alternate sources of energy.
Look around and see what I have seen as I have traveled this beautiful world of ours. There are plenty of natural resources, plenty of space and plenty of food. Even in the world's most densely populated country, China, there are vast wildernesses and their pristine mountains and forest are something to behold. We definitely don't need fewer children. We need more common sense and more compassion from those who can make a difference.
