Emergency Preparedness, Food Storage and Monthly Assignment (March 2018)

We Need to Fortify Our Homes, Our Family  
          and Ourselves Both 
                 Temporally and Spiritually  . . .

How do we do that? 

The past few weeks I have been reading Alma and Third Nephi in the Book of Mormon. I got to the chapters were Captain Moroni and the Nephities are at war with the Lamanities (Alma 50). And in Third Nephi where the Nephities and Lamamities are at war with the Gadianton Robbers (Third Nephi 3). We are told to liken the scriptures to ourselves. I started thinking about these scriptures and how I can liken them to me. I realized we need to fortify our homes, our family and ourselves from the evils of the world both temporally and spiritually. We need to stand strong. How do we do this? Here is how Captain Moroni did it . .

Temporally  . . .
 
Each time Captain Moroni, along with the people, fortified their cities the Lamanities and Gadianton Robbers could not penetrate their cities. In Alma 50:1-4, 6 we read "And now it came to pass that Moroni did not stop making preparations for wary, or to defend his people against the Lamanities; ... , that they should commence in digging up heaps of earth round about all the cities, throughout all the land which was possessed by the Nephities. (v.1) And upon the top of these ridges of earth he caused that there should be timbers, yea, works of timbers built up to the height of a man, round about the cities. (v.2) And he caused that upon those works of timbers there should be a frame of pickets built upon the timbers round about; and they were strong and high. (v.3) And he caused towers to be erected that overlooked those works of pickets, and he caused places of security to be built upon those towers, that the tones and the arrows of the Lamanities could not hurt them. (v.4) Thus Moroni did prepare strongholds against the coming of their enemies, round about every city in all the land. (v6)" They gathered all the women, children and their provisions within the walls of the fortified cities.

In Third Nephi the Nephities and Lamanites once again fortified their cities by the same means (3 Nephi 3:14), "And he caused that fortifications should be built round about them, and the strength thereof should be exceedingly great. ....". And once again they brought all their provisions into the cities (3 Nephi 4: 4). Their cities were fortified against the robbers,  "..., for it was impossible for the robbers to lay siege sufficiently long to have any effect upon the Nephities, because of their much provision which they had laid up in store." (3 Nephi 4: 18). 

Spiritually  . . .

Captain Moroni knew they not only needed to fortify their cities temporally, but they also needed to fortify themselves spiritually against the evils of Satan. How did they do this? In 3 Nephi 3:25 we read, "..., they did repent of all their sins; and they put up their prayers unto the Lord their God, ....:  And throughout the scriptures is says they lived in righteousness and kept the commandments of God.

How can we fortify our homes and our lives?

Temporally . . . 

As the scriptures say, we need to fortify our homes with a firm foundation. How do we temporally fortify our homes? We need to be prepared in every way possible with extra food and water and other emergencies supplies we might need in times of disasters (natural or man made), civil unrest, sheltering in place, or what ever may come our way. We need to take good care of our homes as admonished by President Spencer W. Kimball. We cannot build motes or heaps of dirt with timbers around our home, but we be prepared as much as possible when the storms hit.

Spiritually  . . .

We need to fortify our home with the spirit of God. We need to make our home a haven from the temptations of the world, a home of righteousness, allowing the spirit to reside by the things we do and the things we allow into our home, television programs, the things we read, music, art, etc.. In Doctrine and Covenants 109:8, we read, "Organize yourselves; preparing every needful thing, and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God".  We can fortify our homes spiritually by having daily family prayer, daily family scripture reading, individual daily prayer and scripture reading, Family Hone Evenly weekly, Family Councils once a month or weekly, attending church every Sunday (all meetings), partaking of the Sacrament each week, attending the temple on a regular basis, and by staying close to the Holy Ghost and following his guidance.

The world and Satan are constantly trying to break through into our home, family and us. Our daughter recently posted on YouTube a personal experience of how they fortified their home and family spiritually. They are continually striving to make their home a Zion home, a Zion family and a Zion people. Please click here and watch their very touching and uplifting story.

Elder W. Don Ladd taught: “When it starts raining, it is too late to begin building the ark. … We … need to listen to the Lord’s spokesmen. We need to calmly continue to move ahead and prepare for what will surely come. We need not panic or fear, for if we are prepared, spiritually and temporally, we and our families will survive any flood. Our arks will float on a sea of faith if our works have been steadily and surely preparing for the future” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1994, 37; or Ensign, Nov. 1994, 29).

What do you need to do to fortify your home, your family and yourself?



A Lesson Learned  . . .

A few days ago I needed some pure vanilla extract and the regular grocery store wanted to much money. We have a local community grocery store I have gotten it from before. On our way home we stopped by to purchase some. As we entered the store we discovered their lights were out, the cashier said their electricity was out, they had no way to take my payment thinking I was using a debt  or credit card and could not make change. I explained I was paying cash and I could give her the exact amount, would that work? We made our way back to the shelf were it was in the dark with a small flash light I keep in my purse and paid the cashier the exact amount. This experience confirmed to me the importance of keeping small bills and change with you at all times in your purse/wallet, car glove box or 72 Hour Emergency Backpack (which we keep in our car). Because I had the exact amount of money I was able to pay for it and leave while others stood in line and along the sides waiting for the electricity to come back on. There are going to be times when there is no electricity due to disasters, etc. and stores cannot sell you what you need because their cash registers do not work and they cannot scan the items or except debt or credit cards or make change for large bills. This is where the extract amount of cash helps.

  March Monthly Assignment
3-Month Food Storage

3-Month Food Storage  . . . 

This year we are working towards a 3-Month Food Storage supply. Each families will be unique in that not one family eats the same things. You will tailor your food storage according to what your family will eat. Do not purchase items just because they are sale, your family will not eat foods they do not like, and you have just wasted valuable money that could be put towards foods they will eat.

A 3-Month Food Storage supply consists of commercially canned and packaged food and home canning foods. You can also include frozen foods.

In January we worked on keeping track of what your family eats in a month. Go back to January 2018 posting to see the details and a printable chart to keep track. Now that you have figured out what your family eats in a month you can set up an inventory notebook.

In February I showed you how to set up your Food Storage and Emergency Supply Inventory Notebook. Go back to the February 2018 positing to see how to do this.

This month, March, continue to add commercially canned and packaged foods, frozen foods, and home canned foods to your 3-Month Food Storage. Watch sales, allowing to purchase more. Keep track in your inventory notebook. Rotate as needed.

Big box stores vs regular grocery stores: Recently I purchased a case of Kirkland brand, 12 cans of green beans (14.5 oz each) at Costco for $5.99. That works out to 50 cents a can, a great price. At the regular grocery store like Safeway, Ralph's or Albertsons in Southern California, USA they run, on sale, about $.70-$1.00. And of course, at the discounts stores they are $1 each, but watch the expiration dates. So clearly in this case the big box store is less expensive, but it depends on the item. Do the math and watch your local grocery stores for the best price. Watch for case lot sales too.

  March Monthly Assignment

Emergency Preparedness Supplies

This month add some type of shelter to your emergency supplies. If you already have a tent or other items to make a shelter inspect them for any damages or ones that might need replacing or update. After a disaster shelter will become very important to survival. You may not be able to stay in your home, you will need to provide some type of shelter from the elements. Check out the posting on the right under "Postings", then "Shelter" for more information.

Emergency Preparedness Ideas

High salt content in dehydrated food products  . . . 

Food storage entree meals/pouches: I recently had a friend ask if there are any dehydrated entree meal products that have less salt content. Her husband has to watch his salt intake as many of us do. After checking with all the major emergency preparedness food storage companies I discovered they all have a high salt content. The reason for the high salt content is salt is a preservative. They do not use other preservatives, only salt.

One way to get around the high salt content is when you add water to rehydrate the entree meals, add a whole potato or some pasta to the food while boiling it. The potato or pasta will help absorb some of the salt as it cooks. I prefer a potato because it is easily removed if you do not want to eat it.

Separate food storage #10 cans: Another way to get around the high salt content in your long term food storage is to purchase food items separate, like vegetables, meats, fruits, etc. Because they are mostly freeze-dried, some are dehydrated, there is no need for the salt. Yes, it will take up more room and you will need to spend time preparing your food,  but it will help with your  issue of the high salt content.

Top Ten Food Storage Companies Comparison Cart . . .

In my research to ask the question above I came across this great food storage company comparison chart. Click here to view the chart. It may help you when deciding what companies to purchase your long term food storage from.