Neil H. Leash tells us in his book, Prophetic Statements on Food Storage for Latter-day Saints,
The first atomic bomb was tested on July 16, 1945. On the eve of that day, millions of Japanese people finished their labors and retired quietly to their beds completely unaware that in about three weeks hundreds of thousands of them were going to die or be horribly scarred from a weapon they had never even heard of. Two atomic bombs were dropped, one on Hiroshima on August 6th and another on Nagasaki three days later, on August 9th (Neil H. Leash, Prophetic Statements on Food Storage for Latter-day Saints, p. 25).
Regardless of the appropriateness of the bomb, the point the author makes is that we do not know what tomorrow will bring. And we DO know that there are horrific instruments of brutality that mankind insists on making to hurt other people.
So what does this have to do with us? When we go to bed this evening, what are our thoughts? What kinds of lives have we lived? Have we served and blessed our neighbors, family, and friends? And most importantly, did we include God in our thoughts that day?
Emergencies are exactly that – emergencies. They are unexpected and unintended crises. The communities that are prepared survive more easily than those who are not.
Thus, what kind of discussions have you held with your neighbors about unexpected disasters? If you’ve not talked with your neighbors about these kinds of topics, it might feel awkward. But better to push past those awkward feelings, than let them contain you and keep you from organizing a triumphant organization that is ready to help each other during difficult times!
Here are a few thoughts to go about setting this up:
1. Homeowners’ Association?
Some families live in a neighborhood ruled by a homeowner’s association. This almost makes things easier. Approach an individual on the board and suggest that the association offer an emergency preparedness portion during the next board meeting. Even volunteer to head it up, if this will help make sure it happens. Then you simply need to speak to the local fire department or Red Cross agency to see if they will come speak or at least give you materials to help get your neighborhood ready.
2. No Homeowners’ Association?
If you do not live in a neighborhood governed by an association, simply band together with a few neighbors and offer a block party. Everyone can bring some munchies, the kids can play in the yards, while the adults organize a system of co-operation if an emergency were to occur. C.E.R.T. is a wonderful way to go for this – being a process that helps local neighborhoods band together with important skills should an emergency occur. The neighborhood C.E.R.T. team “saves the day” until the firefighters or other professionals can arrive. (You can find more information about C.E.R.T. by doing a search online.)
In summary, there are some easy steps to take to make sure your neighborhood is ready for emergencies. Remember, the Lord will help your preparations as you seek His help in all things and as you remember to reach out to others. A prepared community or neighborhood can do much good when everything else “bad” seems to be breaking out!
The apostle John said:
“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God….
“Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another” (1 John 4:7, 11).
As we seek to help our communities be prepared, we not only manifest the love of God to them, but we manifest our love to God!
[For other information on provident living in many different areas, feel free to visit the Provident Living website.]
