"'God planted the seeds of all the trees,' continued Hetty, after a moment's pause, 'and you see to what a height and shade they have grown! So it is with the Bible. You may read a verse this year, and forget it, and it will come back to you a year hence, when you least expect to remember it."'
Hetty is a simple-minded person. She sees the world as black and white, in plain terms. Through her main sphere of knowledge, specifically nature, she explains her faith. Just as trees grow tall from little seeds, so can a person's understanding of the Bible develop over time. She believes knowledge, untouched for a while, can turn into something new and more complex.
"And where then, is your sweetheart, Deerslayer?"
"She's in the forest, Judith -- hanging from the boughs of the trees, in a soft rain -- in the dew on the open grass -- the clouds that float about in the blue heavens -- the birds that sing in the woods -- the sweet springs where I slake my thirst -- and in all the other glorious gifts that come from God's Providence!"
When Judith's romantic advances to him are repulsed, Judith teases Deerslayer about not having a girlfriend. He responds by saying he is fulfilled by the world around him and has no need for a woman. His lover is the earth, in all its mysterious beauty, for God created all of it for him.
"Then as to churches, they are good, I suppose, else wouldn't good men uphold 'em. But they are not altogether necessary. They call 'em the temples of the Lord; but, Judith, the whole 'arth is a temple of the Lord to such as have the right mind. Neither forts nor churches make people happier of themselves."
Deerslayer believes that churches hold no inherent value without the people in them. Since God created all of the earth, He intends for people to use all of it to worship Him. If people set their minds upon God, then they will worship Him wherever they are, regardless of whether or not they're inside of a church. Deerslayer doubts that the simple act of going to a church will make a person righteous or even happy.
"I suppose a woman is a woman, leter her color be white or red; and your chiefs know little of a woman's heart, Deerslayer, if they think it can ever forgive when wronged, or ever forget when it fairly loves."
Judith laments the fate of Wah-ta-Wah. She believes that women, regardless of race, all women, are misunderstood by men. Men assume that women will easily succumb to their charms and forget any abuse or wrongdoing in the process. Obviously, no women in Judith's world is exempt from the brutal ignorance of the male species.
"A furlough is a sacred thing among warriors, and men that carry their lives in their hands, as we of the forests do; and what a grievous disapp'intment would it be to old Tamenund, and to Uncas, the father of the Sarpent, and to my other fr'inds in the tribe, if I was so to disgrace myself on my very first warpath?
When Deerslayer rendezvous with Judith at the end of the book, he explains why he must return to the Mingos. Despite the bloodshed between the white men and the natives, he still believes he belongs with the people of his own heritage. They released him on oath, so he will return lest he dishonor his name and disgrace any future endeavors of his to become a noble warrior. He wants to make a name for himself in the tribe, so he must impress the elders.
