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Fire, Fireworks, the Fourth, the Twenty-Fourth, and Prudence

Fire, Fireworks, the Fourth, the Twenty-Fourth, and Prudence

Last updated on: June 30, 2026 at 2:05 pm by Dan Peterson

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Fire, Fireworks, the Fourth, the Twenty-Fourth, and Prudence 2026-06-30T14:05:09-06:00 Dan Peterson

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The St. George Tabernacle, where we spent several hours filming last week (Wikimedia Commons public domain photo)

The latest installment of our Becoming Brigham series is now available online: “Becoming Brigham, Episode 23 — Brigham Young Was Sent Away from Leadership?” As always, it’s accessible at no charge. You are, though, entirely welcome to make a supporting donation to the Interpreter Foundation. It would be much appreciated, and it would be put to good and efficient use — as is the volunteer labor that is responsible for much of what we do. (Only seventy-eight percent of donations will go to my personal lavish, epicurean lifestyle of daily onion rings, French fries, pizza, chicken-fried steak, doughnuts, and milkshakes — as reported by the fabulists at the Peterson Obsession Board and as carefully documented by them in multiple AI-generated images of me actually tucking into vast quantities of those and other fast foods.)

Wikimedia Commons public domain image

Some of you are probably aware of this recent development in my adopted home state of Utah:

Deseret News: “Gov. Cox orders statewide firework restrictions amid dangerous conditions: ‘This year is different,’ Cox said. ‘It’s different than any other year that any of us have experienced’”

Deseret News: “Utah divided over July 4th fireworks ban as wildfires rage across the state: Utah officials clashed over the governor’s order prohibiting most private fireworks”

Deseret News Editorial Board: “Opinion: In a severe drought, Utah should suspend all private fireworks displays: With Utah in a persistent drought, and with active fires in many locations, this is not the time to play with matches”

Deseret News: “This Utah town is watching its mountain and way of life burn: In a week, the Cottonwood Fire has spread to over 94,000 acres in Utah”

I’m sympathetic to people who have bought fireworks and who, now, may not be permitted to use them for private family events. Fireworks aren’t cheap, and it will be disappointing not to be able to set them off for the delight of children and grandchildren. I feel strong sympathy, too, for those who have invested substantial funds in fireworks to sell as a private business venture or as a fundraiser for a non-profit organization. This is rough.

But current conditions in Utah are also rough. Prolonged drought, unusually high temperatures, and critically dry vegetation across the state have created a highly volatile environment, which means that even small stray sparks can rapidly grow into massive, uncontrollable conflagrations.

It’s estimated that approximately 85% to 90% of Utah’s current wildfires are human-caused. The overwhelming majority of the fires that are now raging from north to south have been caused by such things as vehicle sparks, dragged chains, campfires, and fireworks. And the cost has been very high, and not only in terms of expense and property destruction and diverted labor. Consider this article from the Deseret News: “3 firefighters killed in blazes along Colorado-Utah border are identified”

Wherever you are, I hope that you’ll be very careful in your celebrations for the Fourth of July and, on 24 July, for Pioneer Day. Obey local regulations. Make triple sure that any fire you might kindle or any firework that you might set off is thoroughly extinguished before you walk away from it. And this isn’t just solid common sense: We are divinely commanded to be good stewards of our environment and of our planet.

And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. (Genesis 2:15; compare stronger statements to be heard elsewhere)

Here are some additional reflections on the topic:

Elder Marcus B. Nash: “Becoming Better Stewards of the Earth God Created for Us”
Bishop Gérald Caussé (now a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles): “Our Earthly Stewardship“
“Yes, You Are a Steward of the Earth—but Don’t Panic!”
“Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability”
“Caring for the Earth”

And you might find this of interest: Latter-day Saint Earth Stewardship

The Ruth and Nathan Hale Theater (aka simply “The Ruth”), in Pleasant Grove, Utah, features, among other things, two stages. (Fair use, I hope)

My wife and I are just now returned from The Ruth and Nathan Hale Theater (aka “The Ruth”) in Pleasant Grove, where we took in a performance of Once on This Island. It’s a Caribbean- or Calypso-style musical that had its premiere on Broadway in 1990 and then won a Tony Award for its 2017 revival. The very energetic cast tonight was, so far as I could see, largely Black or perhaps Black and Polynesian, and every one of them sang and danced. Telling the story of Ti Moune, a peasant girl in the French Antilles who falls in love with a seemingly unreachable young man from the island’s wealthy class, Once on This Island is based on a novel by the Trinidad-born American writer Rosa Guy (1922-2012) entitled My Love, My Love; or, The Peasant Girl, which, in turn, seems to have been a re-envisioning of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid. We enjoyed it. It was nice to see something entirely new and unfamiliar.

The Caracas Venezuela Temple was the first to be constructed in the country. (LDS.org)

You would think — wouldn’t you? — that theists could simply leave innocent people alone when those people are engulfed in a humanitarian crisis. But no. As anybody who is familiar with the Christopher Hitchens Memorial “How Religion Poisons Everything” File™ already grimly understands, such zealots just can’t help themselves. They feel absolutely compelled to meddle. Here’s an example:

Deseret News: “Church of Jesus Christ launches humanitarian response following deadly Venezuela quakes: With the death toll surpassing 1,400 and approximately 12,000 displaced, the Church of Jesus Christ is mobilizing aid expected to benefit thousands”

But are theistic busybodies satisfied with inserting themselves into such a case? Plainly not. Here’s yet another example of such ongoing interference from a completely different continent: “First Lady of Liberia Joins Church Leaders to Break Ground on Maternity Hospital: Milestone moment comes during Strengthening Families Conference in Monrovia”

And such meddling isn’t restricted to large-scale troublemaking. No case seems to be so small that it won’t tempt a nosy religious fanatic to impose himself or herself upon unfortunate victims. See this instance, for example: “Latter-day Saint Family Finds Faith and Support After Losing Home in Upriver Fire: Tragedy in Spokane, Washington, strengthens unity among ward members as they work together to respond to urgent needs”

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