Righteous Dominion Over the Earth

I was thinking about in Genesis 1 where God tells Adam and Eve that they are to subdue and have dominion over all the Earth, including all plant and animal life. Now, it can be easy to take words like subdue and dominion and assume that they have very negative connotations, and that God intended us to subjugate or dominate and be cruel tyrants over all living things. But this is not the pattern the Lord has outlined for the use of power or authority. "We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion. Hence many are called, but few are chosen. No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile" (D&C 121:39-42). The key part is exercising righteous dominion instead of unrighteous dominion. Look at the first thing that Adam did with this dominion or new responsibility. He named all the living things. He wasn't assembling a menu or a hit list. He was identifying all of the subjects under his dominion so that he could be a proper and righteous steward. It is only in the very most recent history of our species that we have taken upon ourselves the responsibility to identify or "name" those species that are in danger of going extinct. We do this not just for useful or adorable species, but because deep down in our innermost being we have this unshakeable urge to follow one of the very first commandments to have dominion or responsibility over all living things. We might disagree over the methods or the terminology, but if we want to live up to one of the first three or four commandments ever given, then we have a responsibility to exercise righteous dominion over this planet, and everything in it.