“For many years, Church leaders have counseled members to prepare to care for themselves and their families in times of need. This includes, to the extent that local laws and personal circumstances allow, storing and saving a one-year supply of food.” (”Food Storage”, LDS.org)
This quote above comes from the main website for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons).
Elder L. Tom Perry (a church leader for the Mormon church) stated:
“Acquire and store a reserve of food and supplies that will sustain life ….As long as I can remember, we have been taught to prepare for the future and to obtain a year’s supply of necessities. I would guess that the years of plenty have almost universally caused us to set aside this counsel. I believe the time to disregard this counsel is over. With events in the world today, it must be considered with all seriousness” (“If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear,” Ensign, Nov 1995, 36).
Here is another quote from a church leader in the mid 1900s on the subject:
“There is something in the Doctrine and Covenants, which says, ‘And there shall be a great hailstorm sent forth to destroy the crops of the earth’ D&C 29:16….What are you going to do when that happens?
“Ah, brothers and sisters,…when that happens and if you have your year’s supply of food in your home, let the hails come, and the winds blow, and our storehouses in our homes…will be full just as they were in the days of Joseph, and we will be preserved….What good will be our greenbacks that we get from the government…when all the crops of the earth are destroyed by hail? (”Matthew Cowley Speaks,” Deseret Book, 1954)
I fear personally that we in general have had too many years of easy access to grocery stores and convenience stores. Unless we are old enough to remember the scarcity during the Depression in the 1930s, we might not truly comprehend the .
The prophets have foretold of a time when there will be a desolating scourge, there will be earthquakes, the seas heaving themselves beyond their bounds, etc. At what point does a society wake up and begin to prepare for that which has been prophesied?
I believe it begins with me. I believe it begins with you. I believe it begins as we join arms and begin aiding our loved ones to develop wise and prudent ways. It might not take a tsunami to wreak havoc in our lives like happened a few years back the day after Christmas near Sri Lanka. It might not take a Hurricane Katrina like a few years back near New Orleans.
But there are times which are coming which could become most bleak in our personal lives … if we are not prepared. Thus, as the new year 2008 begins let’s determine that by the end of 2008 we will have established wise and provident ways for our family. It starts by saving a little bit of money each month; it starts by setting aside a few extra food items every week. And before you know it, by the end of 2008 you will have heeded the words of the prophets by storing up and living a provident lifestyle. Your family will be so blessed by your wise actions!
