Confession. Brigham Young never heard the term "permaculture", ... ever. Even so, I always think this quote works well in any discussion of permaculture. The quote is from 1862.
The Lord will not himself plough our grounds, sow our grain, and reap it when it is ripe....
Then let us go forth in faith and plant seed in the ground, and cultivate mother earth and pray over the earth and over our crops and over all we possess, and the curse will be removed, and God will restore geniality to the atmosphere and fertility to the soil.
-Brigham Young
The main thrust here is that we have to do work of improving our surroundings. It is our responsibility.
I also like the bit about restoring fertility to the soil. Much of the study of permaculture involves studying the creation of soil and fertility in sustainable ways.
