by Jason Robey

Why Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness?
By Jason Robey

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints First Presidency released the following letter:

January 20, 2002

To: General Authorities; Area Authority Seventies; Stake, Mission, and District Presidents; Bishops and Branch Presidents

Dear Brethren:
Home Storage and Financial Reserves

Priesthood and Relief Society leaders should teach the importance of home storage and securing a financial reserve. These principles may be taught in ward councils or on a fifth Sunday in priesthood and Relief Society meetings.

Church members can begin their home storage by storing the basic foods that would be required to keep them alive if they did not have anything else to eat. Depending on where members live, those basics might include water, wheat or other grains, legumes, salt, honey or sugar, powdered milk, and cooking oil. When members have stored enough of these essentials to meet the needs of their family for one year, they may decide to add other items that they are accustomed to using day to day.

Some members do not have the money or space for such storage, and some are prohibited by law from storing a year's supply of food. These members should store as much as their circumstances allow. Families who do not have the resources to acquire a year's supply can begin their storage by obtaining supplies to last for a few months. Members should be prudent and not panic or go to extremes in this effort. Through careful planning, most Church members can, over time, establish both a financial reserve and a year's supply of essentials.

Sincerely yours,

The First Presidency

The First Presidency felt that the gospel principle of self reliance and food storage was important enough that they released a written statement in 2002 to the body of the church. If it was important enough for them to send out a written statement, it is important enough for us to heed their counsel.

Spiritual Preparedness
All our temporal preparations will do us no good if we are not in tune with the guidance of the spirit. We need to listen to the promptings of the spirit as we make our preparations. All things are spiritual to the Lord, including our temporal preparations. If we listen to the spirit as we prepare, the Lord will guide us and help us make the right decisions in how and what we prepare. What may be right for one family may not be appropriate for another. The guidance of the spirit will make sure that we are properly preparing our family and for our personal needs.

Why Food Storage?
What are some of the reasons that you would want to have food storage? Several different reasons quickly come to mind. Those reasons include obedience to the counsel of our prophets and apostles, economic upheaval, job loss, famine, terrorism or war. Any of these by themselves are sufficient cause to follow the principle of food storage. Another reason, which is not thought of much, is the peace of mind that comes from having a reserve of food. The Lord has said, "If ye are prepared ye shall not fear" (D&C 38:30). In the October 2005 General Conference President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “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.”
Food storage is a gospel principle. Marion G. Romney stated this in the April 1979 General Conference, “Never forget this matter of providing for yourselves, even though you don't hear as much about it now as you did a few years ago. Remember that it is still a fundamental principle, one that has been taught the Saints ever since they came to these valleys of the mountains.”
We have been taught for many years to have a one year supply of food. The Church released a new pamphlet on family home storage called All Is Safely Gathered In (http://providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,7585-1-4081-1,00.html). The new pamphlet still teaches a one year supply, but has refocused our efforts to starting with a three month supply of food you would normally eat. Once this has been accomplished we can go to work on building a longer term one year supply. There is no statement as to whether your three months supply is to be considered a part of the year supply of food that you can store long term. My personal feeling is that you should store a year supply of long term food in addition to the three months of regular food.
I like to use the analogy of a checking and a savings account when I talk about food storage. Your checking account is the food you normally have stored in your pantry. I also call it your “pantry food”. The three months supply of food you would normally eat, that is talked about in the new pamphlet, is your checking account. Once you have built that up and are rotating through it, you can start building up your long term storage. Long term food storage is your savings account. The problem with trying to build up a year supply of the food you normally eat is storage space. One family would need a grocery store all to themselves in order to store that much regular food. It would also be difficult to rotate through all that food. This is why the three month supply of normal food is such a good idea, and then you can move into the long term food storage. In addition, if you find yourself living on the items in your long term storage it will take about three months to adjust to your new diet. That being the case your three month supply will help your body as you adjust to these changes.

What To Store
Your savings account consists of foods that you store that have an extended shelf life. These can also be foods that you are rotating through, but do not necessarily have to be regularly rotated. These kinds of foods can be purchased at the church cannery and can also be purchased through some companies that market food storage with an extended shelf life. The church has suggested we store wheat, white rice, corn, and other grains. They also have suggested dry beans, rolled oats, pasta, fruits and vegetables, powdered milk, sugar, honey and salt. A few other miscellaneous items, such as TVP (texturized vegetable protein), cheese powder, gelatin and soup mixes (without bouillon) have also been suggested. Currently the church has focused on wheat, white rice, corn, and other grains and dry beans. The reason for this is that they wanted to focus on foods with a long shelf life. This is not to say that these items can not be stored for extended periods of time if properly packaged. I would suggest that you follow the church counsel and then add these other items for variety.
The advantage to the church cannery is the cost (http://providentliving.org/location/map/0,12566,2026-1-4,00.html). It is much less expensive to purchase food in the #10 cans at the cannery. They have a good shelf life too. The shelf life varies depending on the product. Products from the church cannery have a longer shelf life then originally thought. Wheat and white rice have a 30+ year shelf life. Pinto beans, apple slices, macaroni, rolled oats, and potato flakes have a 30 year shelf life, while powdered milk has a 20 year shelf life. This assumes proper packaging and storage conditions. The cooler you can store your food the longer the shelf life. Once opened the shelf life is typically one year. After you have opened a #10 can you will want to put a lid on to seal the can. The cannery provides plastic lids for the cans you purchase. The advantage to the church cannery is the lowered costs. The disadvantage is the lack of variety that is available. The products available at the church cannery can be found online or through your local cannery (http://providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,7977-1-4352-1,00.html). The church also now offers a starter kit that can be purchase at the cannery or online (http://www.ldscatalog.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10151&langId=-1).
There are two major companies that market freeze dried and dehydrated foods with a shelf life of 20+ years on their products. The two companies whose products I have tried are Mountain House (http://www.mountainhouse.com/index.cfm) and Perma Pak (http://www.permapak.net). Mountain House produces the Provident Pantry line of #10 canned freeze dried foods (http://www.beprepared.com). Perma Pak is packaged by Vacu-Dry and produces dehydrated foods. Mountain House/Provident Pantry is produced by Oregon Freeze Dry (http://www.ofd.com). Oregon Freeze Dry has held contracts with the United States military. They have also been providing freeze dried foods for campers and hikers for years. Both companies offer a 20+ year shelf life. Mountain House says their products have a 30+ year shelf life. Both companies have opened canned foods from 20 years ago without any problems.
The advantage to these two companies is the variety of foods available that have an extended shelf life. The disadvantage is the cost. Freeze dried and dehydrated foods are expensive. Both companies carry One Year Kits that come pre-built with food that is designed to feed one person for one year. The thing to note is that each kit contains different calorie/day counts. You need to be aware of what you are purchasing. Most of these kits contain less then your daily caloric intake. If you are aware of this you can plan accordingly to build these kits up or purchase extra ones to increase your calorie count. In spite of the lower calorie count I still like these kits due to the variety of foods, long shelf life and ease of storage. A typical One Year Kit takes about the same space as a refrigerator.
The other thing to be aware of is the difference in taste and texture. Freeze dried foods maintain their original taste and texture. Dehydrated foods maintain about 80% of their original taste and texture.
Another company that offers food storage supplies is Walton Feed (http://www.waltonfeed.com). I have never used their products, but my aunt who has been involved in preparedness for twenty years has used their products and likes them. She tells me that Walton Feed is reputable and would purchase their products again as needed.
Whatever choice you make in looking into canned, dehydrated and freeze dried food products, be sure to do some research on the company. There have been a lot of “fly by night” dehydrated and freeze dry companies that tried to make a quick buck off of Y2K type fears and do not make quality products. Remember, if you buy a five dollar sleeping bag at the discount or dollar store, you have purchased something that will not last. You get what you pay for.
One more option that you can look at is The Blue Chip Group (http://www.bluechipgroup.net) and Morning Moo (http://www.moosmilk.com). I do not know the shelf life of either product as they are newer to the food storage industry. They are owned by the same corporation. If nothing else they can be added as part of your short term food supply. I have tried some of their muffin and pancake mixes and they are quite good.
Another overlooked item in food storage is comfort food. Once you have established a good solid year supply of long term foods, you should think about things that you would like to have. If you are surviving on long term storage foods think of what a treat it would be to have some cookies, or brownies, or whatever food item is a treat for you. These may be items that have a short shelf life and would need to be a part of your “pantry food” but would be worth having. Some hard candies can last for years and still taste good. Keep this idea in mind as you make your preparations. There would be nothing like a good cup of hot chocolate in the middle of winter if all you have been drinking is water and powdered milk.

Water Storage
Water storage is difficult to find a good solution for any extended period of time. It is probably impossible to store a year supply of water in or around your home. Prior to the current changes on Provident Living (http://www.providentliving.org) the church recommendation was to have 1 gallon of water per person in the home for fourteen days. That equaled 14 gallons of water per person in the home for a two week supply. The suggestion was that half the water be used for culinary purposes and half for cleaning and other purposes. This would be the bare minimum I would suggest to anyone. Personally I think a two to three month supply would be better.
There are a couple of ways that I like to store water. I use some barrels (http://beprepared.com/search.asp?t=ss&ss=water+barrels) and some jerry can style containers (http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=340305) with treated water. There are many different sizes to the barrels and jugs. You just have to decide what is right for you. You can also use 2 liter soda bottles and the heavy grade plastic bottles that fruit juices come in. Of course all containers need to be cleaned out first, especially those that have had previous contents (http://www.rogmo.com/70.html). Do not use milk jugs. They break down quickly and your water will leak out.
I use treated water as my non culinary water supply. For culinary purposes I like to buy the cases of bottled water. My preference is the one pint bottles that come in 32 packs. Each bottle is a single serving without breaking the seal on larger bottles.
Whatever type of water storage method you choose to use, the water needs to be stored away from light and in a cool place. Heat and light promote bacteria growth. I also store chemicals that can be used to treat water.
Bleach is the most common chemical for water treatment. Bleach contains 5% chlorine which is what purifies the water. The problem with bleach if you plan on storing it to treat more water in the future is that the chlorine evaporates within about 9-12 months. Purchasing a can of pool chlorine and test strips would be a better way to store a chemical for water treatment. If you plan on storing chlorine and test kits be sure you know how to safely handle and store the chlorine. If you are unsure contact your local pool and spa supply store and they can educate you.
I also have some water purification tablets and I intend to buy a Katadyn filter (http://www.katadyn.com/brands-products/katadyn/tab/product-categories.html). Katadyn makes one which will filter out giardia and will also filter 13,000 gallons on a single filter (http://beprepared.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_WP+F600_A_name_E_KATADYN%AE+Combi%99+Water+Filter). Having a hand pump and a siphon to get the water out of large barrels is also necessary.

72 Hour Kits…Are They Really Necessary?
Why are they needed? Many people think that 72 hour kits are suggested by the church. This is inaccurate, although the church has never said not to have them either. I always ask people why they think a 72 hour kit would be needed. I am going to go through the various reasons people have given me for needing them and my thoughts on each. For the area of West Jordan we live in I do not think they are necessary. There are places that I think they would be a good idea, I just think for our neighborhood a kit that will get you home is a better idea. I call this a Get Home Kit and you store it in your car. This is basically the same concept as a 72 hour kit, but will get you home in the event there is a major disaster and you find yourself walking home. I will talk about them more later on. First I want to talk about the typical reasons people want 72 hour kits and why I do not think they will work in those scenarios.
Fire: If there is a fire in your home, you are not going to have time to grab a 72 hour kit. You will be busy evacuating your family. There is the possibility that you would have time to grab the 72 hour kit on your way out, but it should not be a priority. Your first responsibility will be to get your family to safety. If your house burns down, you will have friends, family and the ward that will help you out. Your insurance company will also be providing you with a place to stay.
Flood: There is not a water source in our area that would cause a flood which would create a need to evacuate. There is the possibility of your pipes breaking and flooding out part or your entire house. In that event, you will have friends, family and the ward to help out. Depending on your insurance coverage, they will be providing a place to stay. A 72 hour kit might be nice, but probably unnecessary.
Earthquake: The area we live in is assessed as a low damage area, particularly a section of our neighborhood (http://www.ugs.state.ut.us/online/pdf/pi-76.pdf). Looking at the map we can see our neighborhood falls into the pink/purple and blue color categories. Checking the color coding it shows our damage ratings from 0.2 – 0.6. The majority of our neighborhood appears to be in the 0.3-0.5 rating which shows low damage and does not include a collapse of structures. This information is based on a 7.0 earthquake. The information listed indicates that our damage will be low and leads me to believe that we will be able to stay in our homes in the aftermath of an earthquake. If you felt the need to leave you could grab a 72 hour kit, but you would also be able to load up on supplies from your storage.
Storms/power outages: If we face a storm that knocks out the power and other utilities, where would you evacuate to? If it is wintertime, would you rather stay in your home with your stores and warm clothing or pack up and leave? A county wide disaster will not leave you anywhere to go unless you have family nearby that you can reach. You would be better off staying home and riding out the storms. All your supplies and warm clothing will be in your home and anywhere else you evacuate too will probably have the same utility loss problems as your home. Unless there is some sort of hazard to your home you are likely to be better off staying home.
Terrorism: The Park Stake is a very unlikely target for terrorism. The most likely threat that we could face in a terrorist attack is a biological attack, dirty bombs or a car bomb. Terrorists would be looking for a target that would cause mass casualties like in the downtown area. Jordan Landing would be a large target, but not like the downtown area. Any attack of a terrorist nature in the downtown area is very unlikely to affect us. Radiation from a dirty bomb is unlikely to come anywhere near us, just as a biological attack is unlikely to reach us. Infected people from a biological attack would probably be quarantined before they could spread out of the initial attack area. If the contagion spread we could all quarantine ourselves in our homes. Car bombs in any area but our immediate vicinity will not affect us at all. Again for our area, the need for a 72 hour kit related to a terrorist attack would probably be unnecessary.
War: If an army was marching through Salt Lake County we would probably flee from our homes. In the unlikely event this happened, there would be forewarning and we would be taking far more then three days of supplies with us. I do not think this is a likely scenario.
The Prophet: If a call from the prophet came telling us we had a few minutes to grab some things and leave, a 72 hour kit would be good to have. However, any such announcement from the prophet would take time to circulate through the wards and stakes of the valley and you would have time to gather some things to take with you.

So What Would Be Better To Have?
A far more useful item for us in our area is what I call a Car Kit or Get Home Kit that stays in your car. The idea behind a car kit is having supplies that will help you get home in the event a disaster occurs while you are away from home. If you are at work or are out shopping when an earthquake or some other major disaster strikes it would be better to have a kit in your car that helps you get home. In the event of a major earthquake this county is going to be wrecked. An earthquake of disastrous magnitude will destroy the road system making it impossible to drive. If somehow the roads are still open, they will be so packed with traffic as to make vehicular traffic improbable. You would be better off by planning on walking home from wherever you are. I plan for a two day walk home. I believe a healthy adult, even in the event of a disaster, can walk anywhere in the county in two days or less. If you have small kids, you can plan on that taking even longer and should plan your kit(s) with that in mind.
The kinds of food items you want in your kit are things that can take extreme temperatures for an extended length of time without degrading their nutritional value. I have used MRE’s (http://beprepared.com/category.asp_Q_c_E_100) in the past, but over the course of a summer in the trunk they are cooking and cooling every single day. This quickly degrades the taste, texture and nutritional value of the food. The Coast Guard uses the Mainstay Calorie Bar (http://beprepared.com/search.asp?t=ss&ss=mainstay) as their emergency food storage on their ships. The biggest benefit to this item is the five year shelf life at any temperature between -40 deg F to 300 deg F. They are also non thirst promoting. They come in three sizes, but I recommend the 3600 calorie bar. They can be purchased at Emergency Essentials for $6.95. One of these would give you two days at 1800 calories. Personally I have two in my kit plus a few Power Bars (http://www.powerbar.com). I make sure that I rotate the Power Bars regularly to maintain their nutritional value because I store my kit in the trunk of my car. Roughly every six months I have new ones in my kit. I also keep four 1 pint water bottles.
I also suggest keeping a pair of durable pants, a t-shirt, a pair of shoes you are comfortable walking long distances in, a spare set of shoelaces, two pair of socks and a good fixed blade knife. I generally do not worry about winter gear because I will already have winter items with me if it is wintertime. If you do not normally have winter gloves and hat, I would suggest adding a pair of wool liner gloves which can be purchased at any grocery store for a couple dollars and a wool watch cap, which can be purchased at any department type store for around five dollars. These can be added into the kit and take little space. You could also add a woolen blanket to your kit. I like the fixed blade knife because it is a versatile tool which may come in handy. The knife needs to include a sheath to prevent accidental cuts.
I would also keep a small amount of cash inside the kit as well. A small zip lock baggie with $10-20 in one dollar bills would be a good idea. You could also use the mini M&M tubes to hold quarters. Each tube will hold about $14 in quarters. These are simple to store in the kit and provide some emergency cash. They are also water proof and have a lid that you can recluse if you use some of the quarters. If you use paper rolls they may become damaged by water or by the shifting movement of your pack. The plastic rolls will not be a problem with water, but once you start cutting them they are not as stable a container. For paper money small bills are a must so that you do not have to pay for a one dollar item with a twenty and not get any change back. Remember, if you are forced to use your car kit, there probably is not any power and your debit cards, credit cards and ATM card will not be working. It is also unlikely that a check would be accepted.
All these items should be stored in some kind of backpack. This keeps your hands free for any other activities you may have to perform. A school backpack is a poor choice but if that is your only option it is better then nothing. There are a great many options available that are highly durable. There are companies that manufacture packs for the military that are highly durable and have been tested in the field with good results. The companies that I like are Blackhawk (http://www.blackhawk.com/category1.asp?D=D0064&S=&C=&N=1&pricestart=&priceend=), Tactical Assault Gear (http://tacticalassaultgearstore.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=10), and Camelback (http://www.camelbak.com/index.cfm). All three companies have quality products with good reputations. There are many other options out there, these just happen to be my personal preferences. There are also companies that manufacture packs for hiking and camping, again with good reputations. These are highly durable packs and will withstand the wear and tear of riding in the trunk of your vehicle. This may not sound like a big deal, but a school type backpack will be worn after a year or so of riding around in the trunk. This can result in dumping out the contents of your kit when you go to put it on. If you buy a $10 backpack that is what you will get. It is better to pay a little more for an item that will hold up in the event you need it. There are also a few less expensive options in packs that will serve you well, but lack some of the extra features in the more expensive packs. My choice of less expensive packs are the German Mountain Rucksack (http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0026022516442a&type=product&cmCat=search&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&QueryText=german&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=german&noImage=0) and the US Army ALICE Pack (http://www.actiongear.com/cgi-bin/tame.exe/agcatalog/level4s.tam?xax=1534&M5COPY%2Ectx=7056&M5%2Ectx=3008&M2%5FDESC%2Ectx=Field%20Packs%20%2D%20Army%20ALICE%2C%20Tactical%2C%20LBE%20%2D%20Load%20Bearing%20Gear%2C%20Accessories&level3%2Ectx=results%2Etam&query%2Ectx=alice%20pack&backto=%2Fagcatalog%2Fresults%2Etam).
After you build your kit you need to try it on and walk around with if for a little while. This will give you an idea on the weight and balance of the pack. You need to make sure your pack will work for you. If it is too heavy you will need to make some adjustments so that you can actually carry your supplies.
Let me also add these final thoughts on 72 hour kits. I am not opposed to the idea of 72 hour kits I just feel for our neighborhood a Car Kit is a better idea. Personally I also have 72 hour kits in my home and I believe there are areas that a 72 hour kit in addition to a Car Kit is a good idea. You can find some good information on 72 hour kits on my website (http://www.rogmo.com/72_hr_kits.html), including how I built my personal kits (http://www.rogmo.com/100.html). Personally I prefer to build my own kits, but some people would rather go out and buy one. I have seen two sites where I thought the pre-made kits were any good. They can be found at Totally Ready (http://www.totallyready.com) and Emergency Essentials (http://beprepared.com/category.asp_Q_c_E_120_A_name_E_EmergencyKits). I like what I see of the contents a bit better at Totally Ready though I would still add the Mainstay Calorie Bar. The only thing I am unsure with both companies is the backpack because it does not list who makes them. If I had to pick between the two I would go with Totally Ready and add a Mainstay Calorie Bar or two.

How Will You Cook and Stay Warm?
In the event of a large scale disaster you need to think about alternative ways to cook and heat. Salt Lake County is long overdue for a major earthquake. Some of the studies I have looked at have said that the county will break into several areas that will not be able to physically interact. I do not know what was meant, but I assumed that fault line shifts and damage would cut areas of the county off from foot and vehicle traffic. In any event, the damage to this county will be extensive to the point we will probably be without utilities for an extended period of time. If there is no power or gas for six months how will you cook?
Most of us have propane grills, but that is a very inefficient way of using your fuel for cooking. If you have a side burner on your grill that will improve the efficiency of the propane you have on hand. Most people only have one propane tank and it will not take long to use it up if that is your only source of cooking. It would be a good idea to have a couple of extra tanks of propane. It would also be wise to find some other way to cook.
Camping stoves are another good option. Coleman (http://www.coleman.com/coleman/ColemanCom/category_main.asp?CategoryID=2000) makes a good line of stoves that run on small fuel tanks and you can buy adaptors that allow for use with propane tanks. This would be a good option to have available.
Another option is to learn to cook with Dutch Ovens (http://secure.lodgemfg.com/storefront/products1.asp?idDept=1413&menu=logic). Cooking with a Volcano Stove (http://www.volcanostoves.com/Volcano_Stove) with your Dutch Ovens would be very efficient. With a Volcano Stove and 300 lbs. of charcoal briquettes a family of six can cook for approximately one year. The Volcano Stove can also be used to cook with pots and pans. There are printouts that list how many briquettes are required to create different temperatures. Never cook indoors using charcoal briquettes as they release carbon monoxide which can endanger the safety of your family.
A wood burning stove would be another good option. This would provide both the ability to cook and to heat. The downside to a wood burning stove is the cost. They are expensive and you have to pay for installation, which will include the cost of a chimney if you do not already have one. This is the only option that would allow for both cooking and heating for an extended period of time.
Another heating option would be to use a kerosene heater. There are kerosene heaters that can be used safely inside your home. I have never used one and am not familiar with them, though I am looking into them. I know people who have used them without problem. I was told that you can get through a Utah winter with 100 gallons of kerosene and a heater. If this is an option you wish to pursue you will need to speak with the manufacturer of the heater to find out if it is one that can be safely used in your home.

Miscellaneous Items
There are many more things that should be considered when making preparations. If you have pets you should plan on how you will take care of them. Nobody else will take care of your pets for you, but with a little planning, you will be able to take care of them (http://www.rogmo.com/82.html). I like my cats and so I have prepared for them to be able to eat as well.
Medical issues should be examined as well. If there are members of your family who take prescription medications you need to plan on how to get through an extended period of time without the ability to get more medicine. Most prescriptions are for three months, so in the case of a short term disaster this may not be an issue. If you intend to acquire more then three months of your medications you need to consult with your doctor to see if this is feasible and legal.
Non prescription medications should also be stored. Over the counter pain relievers and various antacid and anti-diarrhea medications would be a wise choice. If you find you are living for an extended period of time on food storage items you are likely to find some stomach and intestinal discomfort during the transition time as you become used to the dietary changes.
After these items you may consider the various non food items that you regularly use in your home. Soap, toothpaste, contact lens solutions, feminine products and toilet paper are among the most common items. You also may consider storing paper plates and plastic silverware for the convenience of not having to wash items. This would also help reduce consumption of your water supplies.
Candles and some good quality flashlights with extra batteries is another good item. I am not a fan of the “shaking” flashlights. They do not provide a good amount of light for any length of time. I believe you would be better off investing in a couple of good flashlights and some extra batteries. I would make sure one of the flashlights runs on lithium batteries which have a ten year shelf life. I carry Surefire lights at work (http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/max_segment_listing/disp/strfnbr/6/sesent/00) and have been quite happy with their quality. You might also consider an LED (http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/common/search/search-results1.jsp?QueryText=LED+flashlights&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=LED+flashlights&noImage=0) as one of your flashlights. These tend to have extended battery life. They run on either lithium or regular batteries. You also need to realize that a flashlight is a tool designed to help you see something, or accomplish a task and then shut it back off. Flashlights are not for sitting around and reading with or playing games. If you intend to use a flashlight in that manner you had better stock up on a lot of batteries. If you use your flashlights in this manner you will quickly use up your battery supply.
Take some time to go through your home and see what sorts of non food items you use regularly and then stock up on them. Also consider what you would not be able to use if the utilities were out for an extended period of time and see if there is something you could purchase as a replacement to use if the utilities were out.
You also should have some cash in the home. The amount you decide on should be no more than you can reasonably afford to not have in the bank earning interest for you. Any cash in the home should be stored in a good safe if you have one or very well hidden. This money should be in small bills for the same reasons you would have small bills in a Car Kit.

Self Defense
Anyone who has spent much time with me knows I am a big advocate of self defense. I have always felt this way and my profession has solidified this feeling. For those of you who do not know me I am a Deputy Sheriff and have been in the profession for over a decade. I generally do not talk much about self defense unless asked to or it comes up naturally during this lesson. If you want to see my thoughts on self defense you can go to my website and read The Controversial Item (http://www.rogmo.com/controversial.html).
No matter what you decide you feel about this topic you need to have actually taken some time to think about it and make sure you can live with the consequences for the choice you make. Both sides of the self defense issue have consequences and you need to be sure you can live with the ones that go with your decision.

Useful Reading Materials
The best book I have found on the topic of emergency preparedness and food storage is called Prophetic Statements on Food Storage for Latter Day Saints by Neil Leash. The best book on the events of the last days is The Coming of the Lord by Gerald Lund. Both of these books are available through the Salt Lake County Library. Arlene Butler wrote a set of three books containing quotes from prophets, apostles and scripture on topics relating to preparedness and last days. They are Volume One Preparing and Protecting the Saints in the Last Days; Volume Two Desolation and Destruction in the Last Days; and Volume Three Zion Established, The Second Coming and Millennium.
Some of you may be wondering why I have included books on the topic of the Last Days. Elder Packer recently said, “If 9/11 (September 11, 2001) was a wake-up call, then the earthquake and tsunami in Southeast Asia (on December 26, 2004), was a kick out of bed. We need to pay attention to the signs of the times.” (Boyd K. Packer in a meeting of the Twelve and the Seventy, January 11, 2005).
We are living in the Last Days and some of the events that precede the Second Coming will require food storage and emergency preparedness. These books contain information on those events and it is worth knowing the prophecies about these events that are to come.

Who Is Responsible For My Well Being?
Some people think that the church will take care of us and we do not need to worry about this counsel. A Regional Welfare Specialist informed me that the Church has enough food stored to feed one family in each ward in the world one meal and then the Church is out of stored food. In the 1986 April General Conference Elder James E. Faust had this to say on the topic, “The Church cannot be expected to provide for every one of its millions of members in case of public or personal disaster.” In the October 2001 General Conference President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “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.” President Spencer W. Kimball said, “No true Latter-day Saint, while physically or emotionally able will voluntarily shift the burden of his own or his family’s well-being to someone else. So long as he can, under the inspiration of the Lord and with his own labors, he will supply himself and his family with the spiritual and temporal necessities of life” (Welfare Services: The Gospel in Action, “Ensign, Nov. 1977).
Others think that we will all pool our food together in some twisted version of the Law of Consecration and there is no need for them to store food. This is one of the most absurd concepts I have ever heard of. This mentality says that a person can choose to be willfully disobedient and expect to be taken care of by someone else. This is in direct contradiction to the Lord’s promise: “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say: but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise” (D&C 82:10). Those who believe in this concept are those who believe that someone else should put up a year supply of food for them to eat. They have placed the burden of responsibility on someone other then themselves. I fail to see how the family that chooses to ignore this principle and spend their money on other things can expect another family to feed them when they have refused to follow the prophet. That would be like me expecting to gain the blessings from someone else paying tithing on their income and my not paying my own tithing.
The problem with this philosophy is that people confuse the idea of charity for the truly needy and less fortunate and helping those who willfully rebel against God. There is a vast difference between the inability to prepare and the refusal to prepare. President Spencer W. Kimball taught us that the Parable of the Ten Virgins was about the active members of the church. In Matthew 25: 8-9 it says, “And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves”. As we all know five of the virgins were prepared with their oil in their lamps and five were not. When the bridegroom arrived the five unprepared virgins asked the five who were prepared to share their oil. The five prepared virgins were not able to help because they would have been unable to keep their own lamps lit. The five unprepared virgins suffered the consequences of their actions, or rather their inactions in preparing. The same concept applies to emergency preparedness and food storage. We are each responsible to take care of our families and can not be expected to be responsible for providing for someone else. The head of each household has a responsibility to care for their immediate family. If there is food to spare then charity can begin, but for someone to expect another to allow their own family to suffer because of the choice to ignore the counsel of the prophets is inappropriate and selfish.

Charity
Charity and helping the needy has always been a gospel principle. Who you help and how you go about it is something that only you can determine. If we are in tune with the spirit we will know if and when we should help others. The prophet could also come out with a statement on how we are to act which would supersede anything else that has been said. I have put away a little extra food that I intend to use for charity. The spirit will dictate who receives that help. As I said at the start, being spiritually prepared will be the key to all our decision making processes.
I would like to close with two quotes from President Ezra Taft Benson’s talk, Prepare For The Days Of Tribulation which was printed in the November 1980 Ensign. President 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…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 Lord has warned and forewarned us against a day of great tribulation and given us counsel, through His servants, on how we can be prepared for these difficult times. Have we heeded His counsel?"

Are we listening? Are we heeding the counsel of the Lord’s prophets?


© Jason Robey 2007, 2008