Psalm Explained

Psalm 23

The Lord is my Shepherd = That's Relationship! 

I shall not want = That's Supply!

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures = That's Rest! 

He leadeth me beside the still waters = That's Refreshment!

He restoreth my soul = That's Healing! 

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness = That's Guidance!

For His name sake = That's Purpose! 

Yea, though I walk through the valley 

of the shadow of death = That's Testing!

I will fear no evil = That's Protection! 

For Thou art with me = That's Faithfulness! 

Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me = That's Discipline! 

Thou preparest a table before me 

in the presence of mine enemies  = That's Hope!

Thou annointes t my head with oil = That's Consecration! 

My cup runneth over = That's Abundance! 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life = 

That's Blessing ! 

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord = That's Security! 

Forever = That's Eternity! 

Face it, the Lord is crazy about you. 

What is most valuable, 

is not what we have in our lives, but 

WHO we have in our lives! 

Do not ask the Lord to Guide your Footsteps 

if you are not willing to move your Feet

Even though you can't see Him, GOD is there for you

Forward January 2009

Be Not Afraid - 2009

This is really, really long.  Maybe print it up and read it here and there, it is well worth the read.
 

Be Not Afraid -  2009

In our meetings at the end of 2008 we had a discussion on the second coming. I took part in a lesson in Relief Society. In that lesson we talked about many things, one of which was that we are waiting for the prophecies of Joel to be fulfilled wherein the sun would be darkened and the moon turned to blood. We discussed what that might look like when it happens. I wasn’t sure, but I thought that I had learned something regarding that several years ago, so I went home and found President Hinckley’s talk entitled “Living in the Fullness of Times” which said that this prophecy, along with the prophecy of Malachi, has been fulfilled. Shortly after 9/11, President Hinckley said, “The vision of Joel has been fulfilled wherein he declared, “And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come… ”(Joel 2:28–32).”

I wonder if the twin towers were the pillars of smoke spoken of in Joel’s prophecy, or whether the Gulf War may have fulfilled these or other prophecies...I do not know. However, knowing that the signs mentioned in the Prophecies of Joel were fulfilled at least seven years ago, makes me wonder where we are in time and how much longer we will have in order to prepare for the further signs prophesied by His prophets.

Elder Eyring in conference in 1998 and again in the January 2009, Ensign said, “Because the Lord is kind, He calls servants to warn people of danger. That call to warn is made harder and more important by the fact that the warnings of most worth are about dangers that people don’t yet think are real…Here is the charge given to each of the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: “Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor…It’s easy to say, “The time isn’t right.” But there is danger in procrastination.” (D&C 88:81)

In that spirit, I would like to share with you (my neighbors) that I know that we are living in the fullness of times and that the Lord has “lovingly commanded us to prepare every needful thing.” (D&C 109)

Although we are told that we are in the times “when men’s hearts shall fail them,” I do not wish to cause fear with my remarks. I know that we can find comfort and hope for these times in the temple. Vaughn J. Featherstone said, “Before the Savior comes the world will darken. Then will come a period of time where even the elect will lose hope if they do not come to the temples…”

“Our garments worn as instructed will clothe us in a manner as protective as temple walls. The covenants and ordinances will fill us with faith as a living fire. In a day of desolating sickness, scorched earth, barren wastes, sickening plagues, disease, destruction, and death, we as a people will rest in the shade of trees, we will drink from the cooling fountains. We will abide in places of refuge from the storm…"

Pres. Kimball in his book, "The Miracle of Forgiveness" wrote, “Do we lose faith, do we lose patience, do we lose hope, do we get weary in waiting, because the day is long and the event delayed? It is difficult to be prepared for an event so long delayed. Many have found it too difficult and they slumber without due preparation. Hundreds of thousands of us today are in this position. Confidence has been dulled and patience worn thin. It is so hard to wait and be prepared always. But we cannot allow ourselves to slumber.”

“I believe that the Ten Virgins represent the people of the Church of Jesus Christ and not the rank and file of the world. All of the virgins, wise and foolish, had accepted the invitation to the wedding supper; they had knowledge of the program and had been warned of the important day to come. They were not the gentiles or the heathens or the pagans, nor were they necessarily corrupt and reprobate, but they were knowing people who were foolishly unprepared for the vital happenings that were to affect their eternal lives. They had the saving, exalting gospel, but it had not been made the center of their lives. They knew the way but gave only a small measure of loyalty and devotion. I ask you: What value is a car without an engine, a cup without water, a table without food, a lamp without oil? The foolish asked the others to share their oil, but spiritual and temporal preparedness cannot be shared in an instant. The wise had to go; else the bridegroom would have gone unwelcomed. They needed all their oil for themselves; they could not save the foolish. The responsibility was each for himself. This was not selfishness or unkindness.”

“The foolish virgins were not averse to buying oil. They knew they should have oil. They merely procrastinated, not knowing when the bridegroom would come. The day of the marriage feast approaches. The coming of the Lord is nigh. And there are many among us who are not ready for the great and glorious event.”

Recently I heard a stake president bear his testimony in his ward. He said that the most important message he was bringing back from regional conference was that we must "Get Our Houses in Order." He said that at the regional leadership conference a general authority referenced President Hinckley's talk from ten years ago regarding Pharoah's Dream and the stormy weather ahead, and the need to have our houses in order. Then the apostle asked them how many of the leadership in attendance now wished that they had hearkened to his message? Our various leaders are increasingly referencing this talk regarding Pharoah’s Dream, I believe because it may be prophetic for our day.

The first time President Hinckley mentioned Pharoah’s dream was in 1998 when he said, “I wish to speak to you about temporal matters. As a backdrop for what I wish to say, I read to you a few verses from the 41st chapter of Genesis where Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, dreamed dreams which greatly troubled him...‘And I saw in my dream…seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good: And, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them.’ Then Joseph’s interpretation, ’Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: And there shall arise after them seven years of famine. . . And God will shortly bring it to pass.’ (Gen. 41:20, 26, 30, 32). Now, brethren, I want to make it very clear that I am not prophesying, that I am not predicting years of famine in the future. But I am suggesting that the time has come to get our houses in order…There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed...That’s all I have to say about it, but I wish to say it with all the emphasis of which I am capable.” A portent means something of prophetic or ominous significance. President Hinckley also spoke of the fragile economy, how people are living off of their borrowings instead of earnings and how paying interest is financial bondage. He said that he hoped that there wouldn’t be a depression…twice, but then said he is concerned about all the debt our members are carrying. He talked about how Elder Faust paid off his mortgage quickly, and how happy that has made him.

President Hinckley again referenced Pharoah’s dream just weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attack in his talk, “The Times In Which We Live.” Pres. Hinckley said, “The economy is particularly vulnerable. We have been counseled again and again concerning self-reliance, concerning debt, concerning thrift. So many of our people are heavily in debt for things that are not entirely necessary.” Then he talked about getting a modest home and paying it off as quickly as possible. He said, “We cannot provide against every contingency. But we can provide against many contingencies. Let the present situation remind us that this we should do. As we have been continuously counseled for more than 60 years, let us have some food set aside that would sustain us for a time in case of need…” He then referenced Pharoah’s dream when he said, “I do not know what the future holds. I do not wish to sound negative, but I wish to remind you of the warnings of scripture and the teachings of the prophets which we have had constantly before us. I cannot forget the great lesson of Pharaoh’s dream of the fat and lean kine and of the full and withered stalks of corn. I cannot dismiss from my mind the grim warnings of the Lord as set forth in the 24th chapter of Matthew. I am familiar, as are you, with the declarations of modern revelation that the time will come when the earth will be cleansed and there will be indescribable distress, with weeping and mourning and lamentation (see D&C 112:24). Now, I do not wish to be an alarmist. I do not wish to be a prophet of doom.”

Said President Hinckley in October Conference in 2005, “What (calamities) we have experienced in the past was all foretold, and the end is not yet. Just as there have been calamities in the past, we expect more in the future. What do we do? Someone has said it was not raining when Noah built the ark. But he built it, and the rains came…We can heed warnings…We are told by seismologists that the Salt Lake Valley is a potential earthquake zone…We have built grain storage and storehouses and stocked them with the necessities of life in the event of a disaster. But the best storehouse is the family storeroom. In words of revelation the Lord has said, “Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing” (D&C 109:8 ). Our people for three-quarters of a century have been counseled and encouraged to make such preparation as will assure survival should a calamity come. We can set aside some water, basic food, medicine, and clothing to keep us warm. We ought to have a little money laid aside in case of a rainy day…” This talk was given exactly seven years from the date that President Hinckley first gave (as I call it) his “seven years of plenty talk.” In it he again mentioned the dream of Pharaoh when he said, “Let us never lose sight of the dream of Pharaoh concerning the fat cattle and the lean, the full ears of corn and the blasted ears, the meaning of which was interpreted by Joseph to indicate years of plenty and years of scarcity.”

In last June’s Ensign, President Eyring said, “In our own time we have been warned with counsel on where to find safety...One of the keys to recognizing those warnings is that they are repeated.” President Hinckley has mentioned Pharoah’s dream three times in the past ten years.

If we started counting from 1998 and likened our day to what happened in Joseph's time, we would find ourselves in the fourth of the lean years. It is interesting to note what was happening in Egypt during that time. In Genesis 47:15 it says, “And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth.” As their money failed they then gave the government their remaining assets including their valuables, homes and lands in exchange for food and shelter. Around the end of the fourth year the people were gathered into cities and became slaves to the government.

We can see that financially we are in lean years and most agree that it will take years to come out of this recession…but could we experience an actual famine of food? I cannot say, although famines are prophesied for the last days and indeed they are currently happening all over the world, i.e. recently there have been record breaking droughts in California, Texas, Argentina and Australia, flooding in Indonesia, China, the Midwest and Myanmar, fires all over the Western United States, locusts in Kazahkstan, Australia and India, grain fungus in Africa and the Gulf Countries, declining bees and increasing rats all over the world, bird flu, pig flu, cow diseases, volcanic ash that has made some rich areas of the world sterile, salmonella and other disease outbreaks in our produce and other problems which effect our food supply such as food transportation, increased prices for animal feed, fertilizers and seed, etc. China, the Gulf countries and other wealthy countries are buying up prime farm land all over the world. With high prices for fertilizer and seed and current low prices for their farm produce, dwindling crop insurance availability, as well as tightening credit by banks, many farmers may be struggling to come up with the money to put in their crops come spring.

Even though we had an abundant harvest last year in the US, over the past few years the world has eaten more food than it has produced. The world food reserve became very low and the United States’ food reserve was completely gone for a time. According to the USDA global food projections for 2008 there was only a 2.6 percent margin between production and consumption of food last year. This means that the world food supply is very vulnerable going forward. Also, in 2008 the last of the US government owned grain was sold. The United States Government no longer has a supply of food in case of emergency.

Fortunately, that doesn’t matter to us in the church because the church has grains enough and to spare…at least that is what most of us are banking on. That is not what our leaders say however, from President Faust we hear: "Every father and mother are the family's storekeepers. They should store whatever their own family would like to have in the case of an emergency…[and] God will sustain us through our trials."

A friend in Northern Utah told me that he was recently called as the ward employment specialist in his ward. When he was called there were two chronically unemployed men in his ward, two weeks later there were 11 families without work. When I went visiting teaching a month or two ago a brother shared that he had just been let go that day, his neighbor said that his small construction company was letting go 11 workers the next day. They also talked about the dwindling state of their 401K funds and how it would no longer sustain them for long.

Can the church feed us all? During the 1980 recession Bishop Victor L. Brown told us, “Within the last twelve months, the distribution of fast offerings and commodities by the bishops has been alarming. At the present rate of demand, the Church resources will be almost expended in a short time...It would appear that in altogether too many cases the teachings about preparedness have been either misunderstood or knowingly rejected. Many of our members appear to feel that when difficulty comes, the Church will come to their aid, even when they could have prepared themselves had their priorities been appropriate…the welfare program rests on the basic principle of personal and family preparedness, not on Church preparedness. We are concerned that because the Church program includes production projects, canneries, bishops’ storehouses, Deseret Industries, and other visible activities, our people are mistakenly led to believe these things replace the need for them to provide for themselves. This simply is not so…It is the opinion of many that more difficult times lie ahead. We are deeply concerned about the welfare of our people and recognize the potential privation and suffering that will exist if each person and family does not accept the word of the Lord when he says, “Prepare every needful thing” (D&C 88:119) and “It must needs be done in mine own way” (D&C 104:16).” It is silly to believe that the church can provide for all of us…in order to feed the population of Utah survival rations for a year it could take close to a billion pounds of grains/beans.

Calamities can happen to us all…even the saintliest of Latter Day Saints. President Ezra Taft Benson told of his experiences with the righteous saints in war torn Europe, “I shall never forget the Saints of Hamburg who appeared on the verge of collapse from starvation, or their small children whom I invited to come to the stand as we emptied our pockets of edibles. Most had never seen these items before because of the wartime conditions…We saw the terrible physical and social side effects of hunger and malnutrition…I cannot forget the French Saints who, unable to obtain bread, used potato peelings for the emblems of the sacrament…”

“Too often we bask in our comfortable complacency and rationalize that the ravages of war, economic disaster, famine, and earthquake cannot happen here. Those who believe this are either not acquainted with the revelations of the Lord, or they do not believe them. Those who smugly think these calamities will not happen, that they somehow will be set aside because of the righteousness of the Saints, are deceived and will rue the day they harbored such a delusion.”

The First Presidency told us in, “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”, “By divine design, fathers are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families.” Over the years we have been told repeatedly that personal and family preparedness is the responsibility of the members, not the church.

So what is expected of us? First is to gather a three-month supply of foods that we normally eat. Then we should gather a longer-term supply. What is meant by “longer-term” is left between us and the Lord. Brigham Young encouraged the saints in his time to store seven years worth of provisions, then it progressively declined over the decades to just one year of provisions. This counsel stayed the same for over 70 years. I have read that some Christian denominations plan on storing food to last the whole of the seven years of tribulation. Most in our church would agree that that is “overkill” but we need to be close enough to the spirit to discern how much long-term storage the Lord would have us store for our families and others.

According to the food calculator on provident living an LDS family of 6 needs 300 pounds of grains and 60 pounds of beans and other legumes per person to stay alive for one year...that means they would need 2,160 lbs. of food.

The church also recommends that, "You…add other items to your longer-term storage such as sugar, nonfat dry milk, salt, baking soda, and cooking oil…(and) foods containing Vitamin C and other essential nutrients."

A year's supply of food at the cannery costs $284 (for 12 “starter kits”…The starter kit is a one month supply of food for one person. Each box contains: 2 cans wheat, 2 cans rice, 1 can oatmeal and 1 can of beans.) For a family of six this year supply would have 72 cases and would cost $1,706 dollars.

A lot of people think if the government and church can’t feed their family they can turn to their neighbors for food. This scenario is unlikely because even if your neighbor has a year supply of food on hand, a meal’s ration of food is less than a cup per meal. (2/5 C Beans, 2 cups grains per day.) Since in many wards there are only a few families with such supplies it is unlikely that they will be able to feed their extended family members and their children…let alone their friends, ward members, neighbors, work associates and all of the many other people that say to them, “We know where to come when things get bad.” In other words, if your neighbor feeding you and your children is your plan, you need another plan!

Many believe that it is pointless to store food since it would be gone so quickly…to them it seems better to continue on and use their money to “eat, drink and be merry” as much as they can, while they can. The reason I would give for why we should prepare is probably different than what most others would say. I believe we should prepare because the Lord has lovingly commanded us to do so. Being obedient to the Lord may be more important than we think. This commandment to prepare may be one of those irrevocable laws upon which our future blessings are predicated. A few years ago, Elder McMullin told us to, “Be faithful. Unencumber your life. Lay up in store…As we do our very best (he said), we can be confident that "the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail." We shall enjoy greater wisdom, security, peace of mind, and personal well-being. We shall be prepared, and because we are prepared, we "shall not fear."” Those are blessings worth preparing for!

Some people buy fire, flood, theft, disaster, electronic, appliance, home warranty and car insurance every year. Food or as some people call it “famine insurance” may be an important insurance to add to your list. “Famine insurance” or food may not always be easily available. There is a saying that goes something like this, “I would rather prepare five years too early, than five minutes too late.” It only takes hours to clean out grocery store’s shelves when disasters are imminent. Most of us do not live near areas of many orchards, commercial gardens, milk farms, ranches with many thousands of cattle or food crops. Many must travel miles to get to the nearest grocery store. As communities we are very vulnerable if for any reason our food supply was stopped for more than a few days. If you are ready to start preparing it is important to make your cannery appointments now, since at times last year it was very difficult to get an appointment at most LDS canneries and in many areas at times there was little cannery food available to can.

Our prophet, President Thomas S. Monson has said, "Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had their year's supply of food…and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have at least a year's supply of debt and are food-free."

Heber C. Kimball in 1856 talking to the people of the mountain west said, "Yes, we think we are secure here in the chambers of these everlasting hills ... but I want to say to you, my brethren, the time is coming when we will be mixed up in these now peaceful valleys to that extent that it will be difficult to tell the face of a Saint from the face of an enemy against the people of God. Then is the time to look out for the great sieve, for there will be a great sifting time, and many will fall. For I say unto you there is a test, a test, a TEST coming."

In April 2004, Elder Dallin H. Oaks said, “Four matters are indisputable to Latter-day Saints: (1) The Savior will return to the earth in power and great glory to reign personally during a millennium of righteousness and peace. (2) At the time of His coming there will be a destruction of the wicked and a resurrection of the righteous. (3) No one knows the time of His coming, but (4) the faithful are taught to study the signs of it and to be prepared for it.” He goes on to say, “We are living in the prophesied time when peace shall be taken from the earth (D&C 1:35), when all things shall be in commotion and men’s hearts shall fail them (D&C 88:91).”

Elder Eyring spoke in 2005 and said, “The giant earthquake, and the tsunamis it sent crashing into the coasts around the Indian Ocean, is just the beginning and a part of what is to come, terrible as it was…and all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men’s hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people. (D&C 88: 88-91) As the challenges around us increase, we must commit to do more to qualify for the companionship of the Holy Ghost.”

Said Elder Boyd K. Packer in 2005, "If 9/11 was a wake-up call, then the earthquake and tsunami in Southeast Asia, was a kick out of bed. We need to pay attention to the signs of the times."

In the June 2008 Ensign, President Eyring told us, “Another fallacy is to believe that the choice to accept or not accept the counsel of prophets is no more than deciding whether to accept good advice and gain its benefits or to stay where we are. But the choice not to take prophetic counsel changes the very ground upon which we stand. That ground becomes more dangerous. The failure to take prophetic counsel lessens our power to take inspired counsel in the future. The best time to have decided to help Noah build the ark was the first time he asked. Each time he asked after that, each failure to respond would have lessened sensitivity to the Spirit. And so each time his request would have seemed more foolish, until the rain came. And then it was too late.”

How foolish do people who have stored a three-month supply of food and a longer-term supply for their families and others seem to you? Pres. Benson said “The revelation to produce and store food may be as essential to our temporal welfare today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah.”

Every prophet (until President Monson) over the last 70 years has talked about having the Church members get a bare minimum of at least one year’s supply of basic food items. It is interesting that this has recently changed…the church now has put particular emphasis on gaining a three-month supply of foods your family normally eats. This is interesting to me because twelve weeks is generally the accepted amount of time experts say most families will need to “shelter-in-place” in case of pandemic in their area. At the government pandemic flu site it says, “In an affected community, at least two pandemic disease waves (about 6-8 weeks each) are likely over several months.” Experts agree that it is only a matter of time before the next pandemic hits.

The 1918 flu took one week to spread across the country. With today’s travel it will be a matter of hours. It would be well if we were prepared enough to be able to go directly home when the next pandemic hits. Quarantine conditions will quickly prevent further distribution of food to communities and stores for perhaps months at a time. My grandparents were children when the 1918 pandemic hit. During that pandemic many children including some of my ancestors were sent to live with their grandparents in the country.

This major change in what we should store occurred last year when a new pamphlet entitled, “All Is Safely Gathered In” was distributed. This pamphlet was first talked about by the Presiding Bishopric, then was handed out in February 2007 to the bishop’s to distribute to all the families in their wards, and later was included in the August 2007 Ensign. It would seem that they wanted all of us to read it.

The following letter is from this pamphlet…

Message from the First Presidency

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

Our Heavenly Father created this beautiful earth, with all its abundance, for our benefit and use. His purpose is to provide for our needs as we walk in faith and obedience. He has lovingly commanded us to "prepare every needful thing" (see D&C 109) so that, should adversity come, we may care for ourselves and our neighbors and support bishops as they care for others.

We encourage Church members worldwide to prepare for adversity in life by having a basic supply of food and water and some money in savings.

We ask that you be wise as you store food and water and build your savings. Do not go to extremes; it is not prudent, for example, to go into debt to establish your food storage all at once. With careful planning, you can, over time, establish a home storage supply and a financial reserve.

We realize that some of you may not have financial resources or space for such storage. Some of you may be prohibited by law from storing large amounts of food. We encourage you to store as much as circumstances allow.

May the Lord bless you in your home storage efforts.

Brother and Sisters, the Lord sent us down in this difficult dispensation for a purpose. President Benson told us, “For nearly 6,000 years, God has held you, most of you, in reserve to make your appearance in the final days before the second coming of the Lord.” He also said, “Make no mistake about it, you are a marked generation…There has never been more expected of the faithful in such a short period of time than there is of us.” “Never before on the face of this earth have the forces of evil and the forces of good been so well organized”…“The final outcome is certain—the forces of righteousness will finally win. But what remains to be seen is where each of us personally, now and in the future, will stand in this battle—and how tall will we stand?”…”While our generation will be comparable in wickedness to the days of Noah, when the Lord cleansed the earth by flood, there is a major difference this time: God has saved for the final inning some of His stronger and most valiant children, who will help bear off the kingdom triumphantly. … You are the generation that must be prepared to meet your God”…

I would like to read Bishop McMullin’s promises one last time, “As we do our very best, we can be confident that "the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail." We shall enjoy greater wisdom, security, peace of mind, and personal well-being. We shall be prepared, and because we are prepared, we "shall not fear.”

The Lord has lovingly commanded us to prepare every needful thing. May the Lord watch over us, direct us, guide us and bless us with His miracles as we do our very best to do so…



President Gordon B. Hinckley, “Living in the Fullness of Times”, Saturday Morning Session, October 2001.

President Henry B. Eyring, “A Voice of Warning”, November 1998, January 2009.

Vaughn J. Featherstone “Prophecy About Temples”, Temple Statement for Utah South April 1987 (given in Solemn Assembly in Manti Temple 7:00 am Sunday).

“Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball”, pg. 174, Pres. Kimball, “Faith Precedes the Miracle”, pg. 253.

President Gordon B. Hinckley, “To the Boys and Men”, Priesthood Session October Conference, 1998.

President Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Times in Which We Live”, October Conference, 2001.

President Gordon B. Hinckley, “If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear”, October Conference, 2005.

President James E. Faust, “The Responsibility for Welfare Rests with Me and My Family,” Ensign, May 1986, 22.

Bishop Keith B. McMullin, Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, “Lay Up In Store”, Priesthood Session, April 2007.

President Thomas S. Monson, “That Noble Gift—Love at Home,” Church News, May 12, 2001, 7.

Heber C. Kimball, 1856. Quoted by J. Golden Kimball, Conference Report, October 1930, pp. 59-60.; quoted by Apostle Ezra Taft Benson, General Conference, October 1963; quoted by Apostle Harold B. Lee, General Conference, October 1965.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “Preparation for the Second Coming”, April Conference, 2004.

Elder Henry B. Eyring, “Raise the Bar”, Brigham Young University–Idaho Devotional, January 25, 2005.

Elder Boyd K. Packer, meeting of the Twelve and the Seventy, January 11, 2005.

President Henry B. Eyring, “Safety in Counsel”, Ensign, June 2008.

Chicago Tribune, “Global grain rush under way as rich nations snap up farmland overseas Wealthy countries try to fend off food shortages,” By Laurie Goering and Alex Rodriguez, December 14, 2008.

“The Famine of 2009”, by Stranded Wind, www.silverbearcafe.com/private/12.08/famine.html, November 2007.

"US Government Wheat Stocks Collapse", www.touchthesoil.com.

Victor L. Brown, “‘Prepare Every Needful Thing’,” Ensign, Nov 1980, 79.

Brigham Young Quoted by Victor L. Brown in, “‘Prepare Every Needful Thing’,” Ensign, Nov 1980, 79 and DBY, 291–92.

Ezra Taft Benson, “Prepare for the Days of Tribulation,” Ensign, Nov 1980, 32.

http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/scho...checklist.html <http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/scho...checklist.html>
“School District (K-12) Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist”.

President Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign, November, 1987, pg. 49 and President Thomas S. Monson Quoting President Benson in General Conference, October 1980.

President Ezra Taft Benson, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqaesQ2EE8w <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqaesQ2EE8w>

President Ezra Taft Benson, “‘You Are a Marked Generation,’ President Benson Tells Students,” Ensign, Apr. 1987, 73–74

Counsel From An Apostle

Elder Neal A. Maxwell's Counsel, Referencing Today

Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and year ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency.  Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions. President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago,
that he had 'never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional or political life.

"This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked.  In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ .  . . . Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted . . . . This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions.

Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive.  Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened ....

Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost.  Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel.  Ther will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will
step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do.  We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself.  Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves, 'summer is nigh.
Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat."


 --- Elder Neal A. Maxwell, Feb 1979 Ensign, “A More Determined Discipleship”

Forwarded November 2008

Ezra Taft Benson Quote

This email had an itunes attached to it, that I cannot add to this web page.  It was 1:35 long. 

I found this youtube that has the same message, but a bit longer at 3:35.  

Please take a moment to listen to this and then read the following:

Ezra Taft Benson was the Secretary of Agriculture under the Eisenhower Administration.
Later he became the Pres. of the LDS Church. 
His granddaughter sent this out (unfortunately, her name is not included in this). 
The incident happened during the time he was serving as Sec. of Agriculture. 
________________________________

This is very powerful and insightful. Maybe we ought to heed the message at this time in our Country. 
This is an amazing sound bite – what Grandpa Benson said about communism and socialism creeping into America.
I also found this great quote from Grandpa, too. I thought it was so applicable right now!

He said:
In 1787 Edward Gibbon completed his noble work, “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”.

Here is the way he accounted for the fall: 
        1. The undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home, which is the basis of human society. 
        2. Higher and higher taxes and the spending of public monies for free bread and circuses for the populace. 
        3. The mad craze for pleasure, sports becoming every year more and more exciting and brutal. 
        4. The building of gigantic armaments when the real enemy was within the decadence of the people. 
        5. The decay of religion—faith fading into mere form, losing touch with life, and becoming impotent to warn and guide the people. 
Is there a parallel for us in America today? Could the same reasons that destroyed Rome destroy America?  The lessons of history, many of them very sobering, ought to be turned to during this hour of our great achievements, because during the hour of our success is of greatest danger. Even during the hour of our great prosperity, a nation may sow the seeds of its own destruction. History reveals that rarely is a great civilization conquered from without unless it has weakened or destroyed itself within. 

-- Ezra Taft Benson (God, Family, Country, pp. 363-364)

Forwarded November 2008

Who Are the Gadiantons Today?

The Ancient America Foundation (AAF) is pleased to present AAF Notes: a series of research articles by scholars of Book of Mormon culture and history and reviewed by AAF editors. Visit our Web Site

Who Are the Gadiantons Today?
An excerpt from W. Cleon Skousen’s Treasures from the Book of Mormon, Vol. 3, pp. 3271-3272. Edited by Alan C. Miner in Step by Step Through the Book of Mormon unpublished.

Helaman 2.13  Ye Shall See That This Gadianton [Band] Did Prove the Overthrow, Yea, Almost the Entire Destruction of the People of Nephi:

According to Cleon Skousen, since the Book of Mormon prophets warn us that the same type of conspiracy would exist in our own day (see 2 Nephi 26.20-22), let us briefly summarize the characteristics of this movement and the criminal tactics which it employed.

            1.  It often turned out that their leaders rose to power by murdering their former friends and associates (Ether 8.13-17; 9.4-12).
            2.  The leaders made flattering promises to any who would join in the subversive conspiracy which was designed to use criminal tactics in acquiring wealth and                                          then seizing control of the government (Helaman 2.5; Ether 8.17)

            3.  They did not come out in the open and allow the people to know of their intentions or tactics, but operated as an illegal, underground apparatus (Helaman 6.21-22).
            4.  They had their own secret code of discipline and their own secret police to bring in dissenters or defectors for punishment (Helaman 6.24)  The penalty for revealing their secrets was death (Moses 5.50).
            5.  They demanded all their "rights" under the Constitution until they came into power, then they destroyed the liberties of the people and claimed "rights" exclusively for themselves (Helaman 7.4; 3 Nephi 6.30; 7.6).

            6.  As soon as they came into power they discharged those who occupied key positions and appointed their own hard-core members to all positions of trust (Helaman 7.4).
            7.  All who tried to defend the Constitution and preserve traditional order and justice were prosecuted as though they were the offenders (Helaman 7.5).
            8.  However, the leaders ignored or deliberately covered up the crimes of their own members (Helaman 7.5)
            9.  They created a privileged, bureaucratic class of criminal aristocrats to govern the people (Helaman 7.5).

            10.  They radically altered the provisions of the law so they could claim to be operating "legally" (3 Nephi 7.6).
            11.  They employed propaganda to obscure the weaknesses of their own administration and used the voice of prominent people to spread their propaganda line (Helaman 8.1, 7-8).
            12.  They waged continuous ideological warfare to break down the moral and political independence of the people.  As part of this campaign they killed religious leaders (3 Nephi 7.6-7).

            13.  Then they turned the whole society toward moral debauchery similar to their own profligate lives (Helaman 6.23; Ether 8.16).
            14.  They tried to replace revealed religion by encouraging the people to practice primitive, heathen rites with emphasis on the collection of gold and silver to contribute to their idolatrous priestcraft (Helaman 6.31).
            15.  They would not tolerate any kind of resistance or public discussion of the issues.  They called their own kind of criminal dictatorship the only "good" government and demanded that every citizen support them or be exterminated (3 Nephi 3.7-8).

            16.  In attacking the legitimate government and seeking to overthrow it they claimed they were waging war to recover "their" rights and restore "their" government which had been wrongfully taken away from them (3 Nephi 3.10).
            17.  They used Communist-type peace propaganda, claiming they did not want war.  They merely wanted their opposition to accept the inevitable and surrender "peacefully" (3 Nephi 3.4-7).
            18.  They promised that if the opposition would surrender, its people would not be placed in slavery but would become partners and brethren in the great new order.  They neglected to mention that under their police state all their partners and brethren were subject to the most rigorous death-penalty oaths, and were therefore under a system of criminal slavery (3 Nephi 3.7).

            19.  Their administrations were always characterized by assassinations, immorality and revolution.  They waged total war of such wholesale proportions that established government broke down completely and entire kingdoms were literally wiped out (Ether 9.11-12; 11.6-7).
            20.  If the people did succeed in overthrowing the Gadianton movement and burying their secret oaths and plans of operations, Satan revealed them to the next generation and the whole terrible cycle began all over again (Alma 37.29,32; Helaman 6.26-27).

Helaman 2.13  Ye Shall See That This Gadianton [Band] Did Prove the Overthrow, Yea, Almost the Entire Destruction of the People of Nephi:

Copyright © 1999-2002 Ancient America Foundation. This message may be forwarded with identifying information. For more information or to subscribe or unsubscribe to AAF Notes or utilize the AAF order form, visit Our Web Site
 
Forwarded August 2008
Ancient America  Foundation | 1090 N 300 E | American Fork | UT | 84003

Why To Keep Your Temple Recommend

The Mormons Meet the Metro Narcotics Unit
By Daryl Zadok Budd - Clearfield , Utah

The Elders Quorum President and I were visiting some lost souls, when they were found by the long arm of the law. As we were preparing to say the closing prayer at the conclusion of our visit we heard someone pounding on the door and yelling, 'It's the police! Open the door!' I thought, 'Oh, that old joke.' Then there was more pounding, 'It's the police! We have a search warrant!' Before this lady's boyfriend made it to the door to open it the police opened the door for him. Into the house stormed ten police officers dressed from head to toe in black body armor. Each gentleman had a submachine gun. When I saw the door burst open, read the word POLICE across the first officers Kevlar vest and saw the large gun that he had I thought, 'This is going to make a great story.'

The Officer barely got through 'Get on the...' and I was face down on the carpet with my hands above my head in full view. 'Get down on the ground!' The friendly officer again shouted at the President. The only trouble the President had was that the room was very small and had a coffee table in the center of it. There was no available space remaining on the floor, as the rest of us had already 'hit the deck.' There was no room left in the Inn, if you know what I mean. The Elders Quorum President therefore made the mistake of standing up from where he was sitting on the couch and trying to explain who we were. The kind officers did not seem to like this action and one very large officer stepped toward the President who then found himself looking directly into the muzzle of the gun with a bright light shining in his eyes. As the officer placed his finger over the trigger and shouted, 'I said get on the ground!!' The president decided to do so. As there was nowhere else to go, he laid on top of me, his first councilor. I never thought I would need to 'support the President' like that I assure you. I really felt the 'weight of my calling.'

We were instructed not to move or speak which was difficult to say the least as I had eaten a little too much for supper and the President is not exactly a small man. After a time the President whispered, 'Are you O.K. down there?' I didn't dare answer. But a few seconds later the humor of the whole situation hit me full force and I started laughing, silently mind you, which made my body shake and the President being on top of me was well aware that I was laughing and thought, 'What in the world could he possibly be laughing at?' After they got one of them handcuffed, the two officers closest to us turned toward us, they were ready for us now. 'Stand up and keep your hands above your head!' We arose and the officers searched us for weapons. The heroic officers did a much more extensive search of the Presidents person due to his earlier, 'Non-compliance'

'Who are you?!' asked the large officer who had gently persuaded the President to get down on the floor. 'We are the Elders Quorum Presidency from a local Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.' Replied the President in one breath. The officers looked at each other and lowered their weapons a little bit. 'Do you have any church I.D.?' One officer asked. They gave us back our wallets and we showed them our Temple Recommends and Drivers licenses. Big smiles came onto their faces and they soon escorted us out to our car, wished us a good night and allowed us to drive away with a great story to tell.

I knew that my Temple Recommend could help me get into the Lord's house but I never dreamed it could help me avoid going to the 'Big house.' This time the lost sheep that we were hoping to bring back to the fold sadly ended up going to a different pen.

Sincerely,
Daryl Zadok Budd

P.S. Feel free to forward this story on to anyone that you'd like. It's too funny not to share it because it's a true experience that really happened to me

Forwarded August 2008

Preparedness Kits

by Debbie Osmond . . . Donny Osmond’s wife:


24 HOUR KITS
Since Donny and I were married we have always had our 72 hour kits on hand in case of an emergency. For as long as I can remember we have received counsel from the president of our church to "be prepared". In most emergency situations it takes the government and local authorities, up to 72 hours to give assistance to those affected by a disaster. We have a backpack or small duffle bag for each member of the family. We each pack a change of clothes plus some of the items I have suggested below. Be sure to rotate the items every 6 months. We have General Conference every October and April and this is the time when we do our rotating. In October we pack for the winter months, and in April we pack for the warmer climate. We also eat the snacks we leave in there and replenish them each time we rotate. As the kids have grown, we have needed to make changes in their clothes too. As we have recently witnessed with the hurricanes and fires, we know that the counsel we have received about preparedness is very important.

Suggested Items to pack. Find which ones are suitable for your family. Remember to pack the smaller kids backpacks so that they can carry their own. Heavier items need to be put in the adult's backpacks. You want to make sure you aren't overpacked and unable to carry your 72 hour kits easily.

I will sleep better knowing my family is ready and prepared. I hope you will find the same comfort as I do.

Debbie

72 HOUR KIT SUGGESTIONS:
Poly canteens, 1 quart
Water purification tablets
Water bag, nylon
Water bag liners, plastic


Food
Personal daily rations
Energy bars, tablets, peanut butter
Trail snacks
Medications

Clothing
Shoes
Socks
Underclothing
Thermal underwear (seasonal)
Shirts, short sleeve
Shirts, long sleeve
Shorts, hiking
Trousers, long
Sweater
Poncho
Gloves, leather
Hat

Shelter (if possible)
Tent
Ground cloth

Bedding
Sleeping bag
Air pillow

Personal Hygiene & Sanitation
Toilet tissue, biodegradable
Feminine hygiene items
Shampoo
Comb and brush
Eye drops
Tooth brush & tooth paste
Deodorant
Soap
Bath towel



Preventative Aid
Moleskins
Mosquito repellent
Lip balm
Sun block
Hand lotion


First Aid
Personal First Aid Kit
Family First Aid Kit


Emergency Gear
Signal flares, night
Whistle
Space blanket
Hand warmers


Light, Heat, Fire making
Flash light/Batteries
Candle - lantern
Glow sticks
Match safe & matches
Lighter


Communication
Pocket radio, battery/solar power
Cell phone


Personal Items
Camera, lenses, flash and film
Binoculars
Swiss Pocket knife
Extra house and car keys
Copy of important papers such as titles etc.
Change for pay phones
Handkerchief
Watch
Sun & prescription glasses
Pencil and note pad
Scriptures/Games for kids/activity books etc


Forwarded August 2008

This page is no longer available
http://www.donny.com/info/debbie_recommends

Time Is Far Spent

Talk given by Marti G. Jan 20, 2008
Some think preparedness as either overwhelming or boring but it is neither.  I am here to tell you that I have never had as many spiritual experiences as I have had over the last year and it all has to do with preparedness.  I KNOW I was led by the hand of God and what I have learned has changed my life.

About 4 months ago I was called to be in preparedness at the ward level . but before I was actually sustained I went again to the Lord and asked Him how I could motivate my ward members. He very softly but strongly said testify. I thought - they are not going to want to hear why I'm into preparedness, and I heard - no testify of the Christ. And I thought - I can do that so I started reciting the different titles of Christ - Jehovah, the Savior, The Good Shepherd, the Redeemer, the Lawgiver, the Word, The Great I Am, and by the time I got to the Messiah, the Anointed One, tears were streaming down my cheeks and then I had what I call a remembrance. It wasn't a vision, but more like remembering when we were in the Great Council and witnessed our Father in Heaven place his hands on the head of Christ, anointing him to be the Savior of all mankind . and then I knew exactly what I was to testify of. Bros. And Sisters, the church is preparing to receive our King for His Millenial Reign. The earth is preparing to receive her creator. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is coming . that before he comes the world will experience more trials and tribulations than ever before - it is prophesied, it is in the scriptures and the Brethren have been warning us very strongly lately. In order for Our King, Our Master to come there will be many calamaties that we need to go through in order to refine us and to make us a Zion people. We are not a Zion people . he will refine us and test us. He wants each of us there to greet Him but if we aren't obedient we may not survive the coming events. We cannot rely upon the Church or our neighbors to save us. Christ will save us through our obedience and part of that obedience is having our food storage.

Paraphrasing Vaughn J. Featherstone Prophecy About Temples - Temple Statement for Utah South April 1987 Vaughn J. Featherstone (given in Solemn Assembly in Manti Temple 7:00 am Sunday)
Before the Savior comes the world will darken. Then will come a period of time where even the elect will lose hope if they do not come to the temples. .

Our garments worn as instructed will clothe us in a manner as protective as temple walls. The covenants and ordinances will fill us with faith as a living fire. In a day of desolating sickness, scorched earth, barren wastes, sickening plagues, disease, destruction, and death, we as a people will rest in the shade of trees, we will drink from the cooling fountains. We will abide in places of refuge from the storm.

They will bathe His feet with tears and He will weep and bless them for having suffered through the greatest trials ever known to man. His bowels will be filled with compassion and His heart will swell wide as eternity and He will love them. He will bring peace that will last a thousand years and they will receive their reward with Him.
I pose this question, are you prepared to take care of yourself and your family? Is it a priority for you to be obedient to the commandment to have food storage? Pres. Kimball made it very clear that food storage is a commandment.

He was very aware of the fact that we have been told since the restoration to store food for preparation of the Second Coming and we sometimes get impatient. In his book, The Miracle of Forgiveness he stated:
"Do we lose faith, do we lose patience, do we lose hope, do we get weary in waiting, because the day is long and the event delayed? It is difficult to be prepared for an event so long delayed. Many have found it too difficult and then slumber without due preparation. Hundreds of thousands of us today are in this position. Confidence has been dulled and patience worn thin. It is so hard to wait and be prepared always.
BUT WE CANNOT ALLOW OURSELVES TO SLUMBER.

Pres Kimball continues . "I believe that the Ten Virgins represent the people of the Church of Jesus Christ and not the rank and file of the world. All of the virgins, wise and foolish, had accepted the invitation to the wedding supper; they had knowledge of the program and had been warned of the important day to come. They were not the gentiles or the heathens or the pagans, nor were they necessarily corrupt and reprobate, but they were knowing people who were foolishly unprepared for the vital happenings that were to affect their eternal lives. They had the saving, exalting gospel, but it had not been made the center of their lives. They knew the way but gave only a small measure of loyalty and devotion. I ask you: What value is a car without an engine, a cup without water, a table without food, a lamp without oil? The foolish asked the others to share their oil, but spiritual and temporal preparedness cannot be shared in an instant. The wise had to go, else the bridegroom wou ld have gone unwelcomed. They needed all their oil for themselves; they could not save the foolish. The responsibility was each for himself. THIS WAS NOT SELFISHNESS OR UNKINDNESS. The kind of oil that is needed to illuminate the way and light up the darkness is not shareable. Each must obtain that kind of oil for himself..

The foolish virgins were not averse to buying oil. They knew they should have oil. They merely procrastinated, not knowing when the bridegroom would come. The day of the marriage feast approaches. The coming of the Lord is nigh. And there are many among us who are not ready for the great and glorious event." (Pres. Kimball - Miracle of Forgiveness).

Many in the church believe that those who have stored a year supply will share with those who have not. Though that is a nice thought, this is what Pres. Packer has said to dispel that notion: "When people are able but unwilling to take care of themselves we are responsible to employ the dictum of the Lord that the idler shall not eat the bread of the laborer". In other words, do not expect your neighbor to feed you. For if he has obeyed the counsel to store up for his family, and you have had the resources to but instead procrastinated, which one of his children should he let starve in order to feed you? If it is not a priority for you to save yourself and your family, why should another family have to take on that responsibility? The Law of Mercy and Justice also apply to food storage ... Some confuse the commandments of sharing and taking care of the poor and needy with sharing their food with the rebellious. There is a huge difference in sharing with the poor and needy and sharing with the rebellious - those who could afford to get their food storage, but don't because other things, buying big screens, vacations, the latest fashions, take precedence over obeying the commandment to store food.

If you are spiritually prepared you will be temporally prepared. You cannot obtain a testimony of tithing unless you pay tithing, you cannot obtain a testimony of prayer unless you pray. It's the doing that brings forth the blessings of heaven and the testimony.

Now let's look at what our current prophet, Pres. Hinckley has said recently.
Oct. 1998-7 years of Plenty begin
"I wish to speak to you about temporal matters. As a backdrop for what I wish to say, I read to you a few verses from the 41st chapter of Genesis. Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, dreamed dreams which greatly troubled him. . . . 'And I saw in my dream . . . seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good: And, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them: . . . (Joseph's interpretation) Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: And there shall arise after them seven years of famine. . . And god will shortly bring it to pass.' (Gen. 41:20, 26, 30, 32) .. I am suggesting that the time has come to get our houses in order. . . . There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed.That's all I have to say about it, but I wish to say it with all the emphasis of which I am capable" (President Hinckley, Conference 1998, Priesthood Session.) What does portent mean - it means something momentous or calamitous is about to occur - an evil omen, prophetic or threatening significance. And then 9/11 happened.

It is noteworthy that in General Conference following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack Pres. Hinckley quoted this scripture from the D&C:

Behold, vegenance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth, a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth saith the Lord. And upon my house shall it begin and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord. First among those among you, saith the Lord, who have professed to know my name and have not known me, and have blasphemed against me in the midst of my house, saith the Lord.

And then he said this:
Occasions such 9/11 pull us up sharply to a realization that
"Life is fragile, peace is fragile, civilization itself is fragile. The economy is particularly vulnerable. We have been counseled again and again concerning self-reliance. We cannot provide against every contingency. But we can provide against many contingencies. Let the present situation remind us that this we should do."

EXACTLY 7 YEARS FROM THE DATE THAT PRES. HINCKLEY GAVE HIS 7 YEARS OF PLENTY TALK HE AGAIN MENTIONS THE DREAM OF PHAROH in Oct. 2005-7 years of Lean

"Let us never lose sight of the dream of Pharaoh concerning the fat cattle and the lean, the full ears of corn and the blasted ears, the meaning of which was interpreted by Joseph to indicate years of plenty and years of scarcity." (President Hinckley, October Conference, 2005.)
I do not think there is any coincidence to his giving the talk of famine 7 years apart from each other . I testify that it was a warning to us .

In April 2004 General Conference Elder Dallin H. Oaks said: "We are living in the prophesied time when peace shall be taken from the earth (D&C 1:35), when all things shall be in commotion and men's hearts shall fail them (D&C 88:91). These signs of the Second Coming are all around us and seem to be increasing in frequency and intensity...the accelerating pattern of natural disasters in the last few decades is ominous. While we are powerless to alter the fact of the Second Coming and unable to know its exact time, we can accelerate our own preparation and try to influence the preparation of those around us.. Are we preparing?...We need to make both TEMPORAL and spiritual preparation for the events prophesied at the time of the Second Coming."

Elder Eyring in 2005 said: "The giant earthquake, and the tsunamis it sent crashing into the coasts around the Indian Ocean, is just the beginning and a part of what is to come, terrible as it was. You remember the words from the Doctrine and Covenants which now seems so accurate: (Doctrine and Covenants 88: 88-91) As the challenges around us increase, we must commit to do more to qualify for the companionship of the Holy Ghost.
Casual prayer won't be enough. Reading a few verses of the scripture won't be enough. Doing the minimum of what the Lord asks of us won't be enough. Hoping that we will have the Atonement work in our lives and that we will perhaps sometimes feel the influence of the Holy Ghost won't be enough. And one great burst of effort won't be enough."

Now I want to turn to the story of Noah. Remember Noah preached repentance for hundreds of years while he was building the ark. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark. The world was beautiful, the sun was shining, life seemed "normal". It is important to note that the people who didn't get on the ark suffered and died by the very calamity that for 300 years had been prophesied would come. Noah pleaded with the people to repent of their disobedience so that Mercy would claim them instead of Justice. All they had to do was repent and begin being obedient. This is a story for our time . The ramnifications of disobedience may be the same as in Noah's time. It's our human nature that we think terrible things will not happen to us, but if you believe in the scriptures and our prophet it is undeniable that calamaties are here and they are beginning to touch our lives and they will increase.
Pres. Benson said: The revelation to produce and store food may be as essential to our temporal welfare today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah.

(Marion G. Romney (Quoting Brigham Young) - April Conference, 1976)
"...If we are to be saved in an ark, as Noah and his family were, it will be because we build it. My faith does not lead me to think the Lord will provide us with roast pigs, bread already buttered, etc., He will give us the ability to raise the grain, to obtain the fruits of the earth, to make habitations, to procure a few boards to make a box, and when harvest comes, giving us the grain, it is for us to preserve it--to save the wheat until we have one, two, five or seven years' provisions on hand, until there is enough of the staff of life saved by the people to bread themselves and those who will come here seeking for safety."

Can you imagine how hard it must have been for Noah, his wife and sons and their wives to listen to the wailing and pounding on the ark as the rains fell. I'm sure when the rains began falling the people began repenting, but it was too late at that point. They had been warned and forewarned to repent of their disobedience so that mercy could claim them but now justice had to be employed. Noah had daughters that married wicked men and I cannot imagine how his heart must have ached when the doors were shut, the rains came and the wailings began. How hard it must have been for Noah, not to extend mercy to his daughters. But he could not, the Lord would not allow him to because even the Lord is governed by the Law of Mercy and the Law of Justice. Did the Lord put Noah and his sons' families at risk by opening the ark for the disobedient who were suddenly repenting? No. If a terrible disaster happens and we do not have services for weeks, would the disobedient be putting the obedient at risk of starving. Obedience brothers and sisters is so very important. Those who are disobedient to the law receive the consequences of their disobedience or rebellious actions. I for one do not want to listen to the cries of my children because I had been disobedient and did not have food for them to eat .

Every prophet over the last 60 years has talked about having the Church members get a bare minimum of at least one year's supply of basic food items, and now has suggested 3 months. Does that mean they have rescinded the one year food storage? NO.

On Sept. 1, 2006, Presiding Bishop David H. Burton - South Jordan Leadership Meeting said:

"Keep your eye on the Prophet. Being self-reliant has always been part of the church. Statistics show that no matter what the Church does, no higher than 15% have storage. We are not going to say any more, but our people are going to need to be prepared. For example, what if somebody released a virus? What if it caused a pandemic? What if that led to a quarantine? What if the quarantine was enforced? (emphasis added) The office of the presiding bishopric has tried to come up with a plan, but we don't know what we could do. The responsibility lies with the head of each family."

It's hard to understand why or how so many good and wonderful people can discount what the prophets have said again and again and again concerning what will suddenly happen to the world in the near future. Are we listening to their voices of warning, to their plea for our repentance?

Brothers and sisters, I promise you, as I have been told I could, that if you begin making preparations and begin your food storage, that the Lord will draw close to you because you are demonstrating that you are drawing close to Him. You will not only be secure in knowing that you are able to feed your family, but you will have spiritual experiences, and you will have a deeper love for Him and for your family.

Preparedness is like a treasure hunt, a beautiful and wonderful path of seeking and receiving further light and knowledge. We as a Stake want you to be prepared, but you must first take the step of asking God to give you a witness as to the importance of being obedient to the command of having food storage and then ask Him to help you in this endeavor. When you receive that witness then you are not left alone.

Let me quote once again Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone. They will bathe His feet with tears and He will weep and bless them for having suffered through the greatest trials ever known to man. His bowels will be filled with compassion and His heart will swell wide as eternity and He will love them. He will bring peace that will last a thousand years and they will receive their reward with Him. I bear my humble witness to you that the great God of heaven will open doors and means in a way we never would have supposed, to help all those who truly want a years supply. All we have to do is to decide, commit to it, and then keep the commitment. Miracles will take place."
I leave you with my witness that I know Jesus is the Christ. I know that he is the Redeemer of all mankind, that our King and Master will reign supreme. I hope that I am worthy to be here when he comes, so that I can be among those who fulfill the prophesy that "every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is the Christ". May we all have that witness. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.


Forwarded June 2008