When I decided to write a little about the Atonement my thoughts did not go directly to the Garden of Gethsemane. Instead they trailed back a little in time to the Passover Feast that had occurred just a few hours before. Why?

Think about the last time you had a test. Did you merely start without studying beforehand? Well, I certainly hope not. The best course to help you succeed, to claim that perfect grade, is to prepare.

The Savior knew there was a big test, or trial, about to come upon Him. Did He know just how difficult it would be? I don’t know. I do know He realized how important it was for Him to prepare spiritually before the big test came. The Passover Feast was His way of preparing.

I don’t know a lot about the Passover as it is practiced today. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, nicknamed the Mormon Church, we don’t hold this feast. Our reasons for this will be discussed a little later.

For several months now Jesus had been trying to prepare His apostles for this day – the day when He would no longer reside with them on this earth in His mortal form. As these months passed rejection of Him as Savior grew steadily worse. Even members of His own family, James, Joses, Simon, and Judas (Matthew 13:55), denied Him as the Christ (John 7:2-4, 7).

“Neither did his brethren believe in him” (John 7:5).

And so He clung even more to the men who had stood by Him through His ministry, and chose to spend His last few hours in their company.

“During Jesus’ time, the Passover lambs used in the feast were killed on the fourteenth day of the month of Nissan, and the meal was eaten between sundown and midnight, in conformity with Exodus 12:6” (Skinner, Andrew C., Gethsemane, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2002, p.29).

In the next several days of the Apostles lives they will come to know, as do we, the true symbolism in the Passover meal. Andrew Skinner, quoted above, gives us a basic description of this symbolism.

First is the representation of Jesus, the Firstborn of the Father, and the firstborn lamb who would be sacrificed. This lamb had to be without blemish (Exodus 12:5), as was Christ. No bone of the lamb could be broken. Through all that Christ endured, no bone of His was broken.

No stranger was to eat of the Passover lamb. Those who have not come to know of Christ and become a member of His Church should not partake of the sacrament. Just as hyssop was used to put the blood of the lamb upon the doorframe (Exodus 12:22), it was also used to bring the vinegar, at that time used as a pain reliever, up to Christ as He hung on the cross (John 19:29). Lastly, the blood of the Passover lamb had been a symbol to the destroying angel of their belief in Christ. So now would the blood of the Lamb of God allow us, His believers, to be free from sin and spiritual death.

The day of the Passover Christ sent Peter and John to one of His believers, or a disciple, asking to use the upper room. The lamb was slaughtered at the temple, and roasted according to law. At the appropriate time he sat down with His Apostles, His friends, and said, “With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (Luke 22:15). It was at this time He began to teach them about the true meaning behind the Passover Feast, a feast He instituted over 1200 years before.

The order of events went according to custom until the traditional breaking of the unleavened bread. Instead of reciting the customary blessing Jesus “took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19).

I would imagine this breaking of tradition astounded the Apostles. Did they realize at that moment the new law Christ was instituting?

Yet another change occurred. “Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup in the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20).

Christ had shown His Apostles a new ordinance, that of the sacrament. This was to replace the sacrifice of the lamb, for He was the Lamb. It brought home the importance of individual commitment and interaction with God. Our sacrifice now should be a humble heart and a contrite spirit, represented through the bread (body of Christ) and wine (blood of Christ). This is why members of the Latter-day Saint Church no long practice the Passover Feast, but rather partake of the sacrament (though we use water instead of wine).

All of this was of vital importance in preparing the Lord for what was to come. Introducing the sacrament fortified Him spiritually and emotionally to face His future. The night was far from over. Christ offered up what is now known as the Intercessory Prayer (John 17). In one of His last lessons, Christ washed the feet of his friends. Then it was time to go.

As Christ and the Apostles left it was very late at night. Even without what was to come I’m certain they were all fairly exhausted. I love that one of His last acts before going into the mount of Olives was to sing a hymn (Mark 14:26), for music is one of the most powerful tools to keep the Holy Spirit close by.

At this point all had been done by the Savior to prepare Himself for the agony of Gethsemane.

The lesson we can gain from this is simple: we must spiritually prepare ourselves for whatever may come. None of us will ever be asked to endure what the Savior did, but we will have our own trials to bear. If we do not prepare ourselves now, it will be like heading into that classroom knowing there is a test and having not studied a word.

OK, I've been working on becoming prepared for a variety of contingencies. After all, the world we live in is not very stable. Unrest can happen at a moment's notice (think of Hurricane Katrina). Thus, as a wife and a mommy, I want to make sure I am a provident individual, intent on blessing the life of my family.

Imagine my shock a week ago when our city issued an emergency "boil water alert". To my chagrin, I did not have water stored, for all my other preparations! Of course, a convenience store was near by, but that thought apparently was in the minds of many city folk. My friends next door found only three jugs left when they went to buy water. They promptly snatched those up.

As grateful as I was for the boil water alert (who wants to brush your teeth with fecal contaminated water), it soon becomes a bit tedious to boil water, and boil water, and boil water. And that was then the thought occurred to me ... what if the electricity were out? There would be no power to boil water. What then? What would my small children do without water to drink? for us to cook with?

Hopefully you are better prepared than I was. After all, a person can only live four or five days without drinking water. And water is, of course, "free." (Ok, we do have to pay our water bills. But you know what I mean!)

So here's the Emergency Preparedness Tip for the day. Store water! Don't be like me and be caught without it when that unexpected emergency occurs. In fact, a good way to help your family be prepared for the unexpected is to remember the famous psychologist Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

In other words, begin your emergency preparations from the perspective of: what do you most urgently need first? then next? and next?

You absolutely need water, shelter, clothing, and food. There are other essentials also (i.e. love). But these are some good facets to start. The government now recommends two weeks of supplies as opposed to 72-hours (as was swiftly learned when Hurricane Katrina devastated miles upon miles of territory, not just one city. People in multiple states were without live saving necessities, not just those in the televised cities. It takes time for government agencies to respond.).

Start today. Put some water aside. Whether you are recycling jugs for storage or buying bottles of water or tablets to purify water from a local stream. Take care of it today. Now. Before your city experiences a sudden emergency like mine did a week ago. You'll sure be glad you did!

To learn more about emergency preparedness, go to the website Provident Living for free tips, sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (casually referred to as the Mormon church). You'll find tons of great ideas, including words from the Lord's living prophets on how to help your family in many troubling situations.

With all the turmoil in the world today, a parent might well ask, "Where is safety for my children? For my family? For me?"

Our generation can now obtain news at any hour of the day (it used to be just the "evening news" that people would check). And most news that comes across the wire or across the internet or on TV contains bleary and dreary information. Shooters at a school. Freedoms being lost. Corrupt individuals. Wheat shortages. Wars in distant (or close) lands. And on and on.

Then there are the societal trends which seem to slide ever faster down the slippery slope of sin. What used to be underwear thirty years ago (camisoles to shield women's blouses from being too sheer) is now blatantly worn as if shirts. Without going into too much detail, so much of what used to be only worn under clothing now is boldly worn as daily wear.

The traditional family is under attack on many fronts. Alternative lifestyles are being taught in the schools. Children's play things, technology and such, now feature abilities to carry pornography. According to researchers, in fact, porn companies newest targeted audiences are children 7 to 11 years of age.

What is a parent to do? Again, where can we go for safety? Here is what one church leader for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (casually called the Mormon church) has said. Harold B. Lee served as the prophet and President of the Mormon church a number of decades ago. This is what he said in 1943:

"I was down in Kelsey, Texas, last November, and I heard a group of anxious people asking, 'Is now the day for us to come up to Zion, where we can come to the mountain of the Lord, where we can be protected from our enemies?'

"I pondered that question. I prayed about it. What should we say to those people who are in their anxiety? I have studied it a bit, I have learned something of what the Spirit has taught, and I know now that the place of safety in this world is not in any given place; it doesn't make so much difference where we live; but the all-important thing is how we live, and I have found that ... security can come to Israel only when they keep the commandments, when they live so that they can enjoy the companionship, the direction, the comfort, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit of the Lord, when they are willing to listen to these men whom God has set here to preside as His mouthpieces, and when we obey the counsels of the Church" (Conference Report, April 1943, p 129, emphasis added)."

The day of danger is coming of course, according to the scriptures, when individuals will need flee to Zion or face taking up weapons against their neighbors (see D&C 45:66-68, Zechariah 14:13, and Isaiah 10:3). But apparently that day has not arrived. When it does, the Lord's prophet at that time will sound the warning. But until then, the answer to the question, "Where is Safety?", lies within the hearts and lives of the people. When we are...

• keeping the commandments
• living so that the Spirit of God is present
• and following the Lord's annointed/counsels of the Church

...we will be guided into paths of safety, both for ourselves and our little ones. Thus, how do we know the counsels of the Lord so that we may have those promised blessings of safety? By reading the scriptures and by studying the words of the living prophets. What a blessing to know this and to do it!