Practical Preparedness - So Evidently Helpful

Well over a decade ago (in December 2008!) I wrote here about practical preparedness.  At the time, the idea of great need striking huge chunk's of the population felt more hypothetical--something that we expected to see in the future, and perhaps the distant future.

In the last year, we've seen it quite a bit.  Just under a year ago, a global pandemic changed life for essentially everyone in the world.  It was fairly striking to see some of the grocery store shelves empty, such as those for things like canned goods and flour.  Certain high-demand items were rationed to a degree, with limits on purchases, including milk, eggs, and especially--of all things--toilet paper.

We've lived through several other moments with similar circumstances.  A country in a distant part of the world recently experienced a coup, causing great economic difficulty.  I saw a headline tonight about millions of people in Texas lacking drinking water somehow because of a recent heavy snowstorm.

But some of us are well-prepared for difficult times.  A local elders quorum president commented today about being comfortable if water became unavailable because he has 100 gallons stored in his home.

I've never felt any need to justify my actions to others when I'm following prophetic guidance.  But it is good when I am able to experience the blessing of faith turning to knowledge; it is perhaps comforting in a way to see the evidence that would readily justify the words of living prophets.

Last thoughts for now:
I'm grateful for the counsel of prophets in the Church of Jesus Christ.  I know that following them will always lead to greater peace.  I know that doing so brings very practical blessings.

Practical Preparedness

Some of these thoughts are very much inspired by other people's inspired thoughts.

This evening we've had heavy snow and a power outage in the neighborhood for several hours. It was a good opportunity to test some of our emergency equipment.

Some people complain about members of the Church having a supply of food and water, thinking that we're a bunch of nuts getting ready for "the end of the world". Well, should things get really bad, we'll be ready for that too, but in the meantime, there are a lot of more immediately practical uses. A family shared their thoughts on this matter stating that the father had been out of work for a year and during that time they lived off of their food storage.

It's that simple.

Our family is comfortable knowing that if roads are shut down and we can't get to the store, we have enough to last us for quite a while.

We probably should have a bit more firewood.

It's not even necessary to be a member of the Church to practice this kind of preparedness; a fellow lieutenant here at Ft. Lewis recognized a water pump for our 55-gallon barrel and told us that he has things of this nature at home, too.

Last thoughts for now:
Being prepared is being wise. Sure, people may think we're nuts. It doesn't matter. As with anything else, we'll take care of ourselves, and God will make up the difference if somehow we come up short.