Normal food for 72 hour kits

 I prefer to buy normal food from the grocery store for my emergency food supply.  Ready-to-eat meals like this one last a couple of years, and are more convenient for me to buy than ordering MRE's ("Meals Ready to Eat").



(Note: "72 hour kit" is a term that is  going out of style.  After Hurricane Katrina, people have realized that you need to be able to take care of yourself for much longer than 3 days.)

20-hour Experience without electricity last week

Our power was out for 20 hours on Thursday and Friday, because of a big storm that came through Thursday evening.  It was an awful feeling without my phone and computer, plus I couldn’t use water because the electric pump for our well wasn’t working. 

Luckily I had a few bottles of water so I didn’t have to filter any from the cistern, or go out to the manual pump.  I cooked a microwave dinner in the solar oven, it only took about 10 minutes to warm up.  We used solar yard lights inside that night and had quite a bit of light.

When I came home late Thursday night after working at the temple, my husband was in the house.  He said he was so bored because of nothing to do, he had fallen asleep.  Then we thought of our little  5” battery powered TV that we have for emergencies, and we laughed because he hadn’t even remembered we had a TV that didn’t need electricity.

Where to begin

January challenge:

One of the hardest things is "where to begin". I have found a great checklist of "Baby Steps" from FoodStorageMadeEasy.net http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/ which will help you as you start out your food storage/emergency preparedness journey.

Go to this web page http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/babystep-checklists/ and register, and they will email one checklist to you every other week for one year.

The checklists cover 72 hour kits, water storage, 3 month supply of normal foods, and your entire one year supply of long-term foods as well as some critical non-food items. Each list includes to-do tasks, items to purchase, recipes and more!

I think this is a great way to learn how to do food storage, with very little effort on your part.

High Wind warning

The weather bureau has issued high wind warnings for our area tonight, so my husband and I spent all evening bringing in all the items which could become projectiles in the wind.  Patio furniture, kids riding toys, firewood, garden tools, etc.   We are hoping the few things we left out are heavy enough that they won't fly around.

I had purchased some big spiral screws at Lowe's which can be screwed into the dirt.  We finally got around to screwing them into the ground under our trampoline, and tying the trampoline down to them with ropes.  Now my husband says we can sleep while the wind blows.

I am thankful that my house has no overhanging trees nearby, because there have been plenty of reports I have heard over the years of trees falling on houses and killing people.  

Our master bedroom is on the ground floor, but if your bedrooms are upstairs and you have trees around your house, you may want to sleep downstairs tonight, just in case.

Super Windstorm Experience, told by Karen G.

Karen and Doyle G. picked a terrible time to move from the Raleigh, North Carolina, area.  First, it was a record-breaking 107 degrees that day.  Next, Doyle, driving their U-haul truck, and Karen, driving their car, left Morrisville late in the evening, Friday June 29, 2012, to drive to the Washington D.C. area to visit two of their children before moving west.  Little did they know that they were heading straight into a devastating windstorm, the "Super Derecho of 2012".

Karen called me on Sunday from Washington D.C. and told me of their experience.  Since it was a phone call, I took notes as fast as I could, I hope I don’t make too many mistakes in retelling their story.

Karen said, “Amy, maybe you have been through disasters in your life, but this was the WORST DISASTER I have EVER lived through.  I have to tell you so that you can tell people on your blog.”

“We left Morrisville Friday night to get to D.C.  Our son and daughter-in-law had come to D.C. to go to the temple.  We have another son that lives in D.C., and he was moving to a new house nearby.”

“We had been busy packing, so had never heard any weather reports.  By the time we got to Richmond, gigantic trees were falling on the roads.  These trees were large, with huge branches and full of leaves, the fallen treetops were about the size of four cars in width.”

“We had left Morrisville so much later than we had planned, it was about 1:00 a.m. and there were all these trees on the roads.  Most cars were staying in the right hand land because the trees were in the left hand lane.  Cops kept going by us, and stopping and putting flares in front of the trees.”

“By the time we got to Richmond, the Spirit said to me, STOP.  So we stopped and got a hotel, even though we had already paid with our credit card to hold one farther along.”

“Doyle’s U-haul truck had been weaving all over the road because the wind was so bad.  At that time, we thought the storm was local.  We had no idea it was so widespread, (later found out it covered Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Washington D.C., New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania.)”

“We slept 4 hours, and got up early, still trying to get to D.C. to babysit so our son and his wife could go to the temple.  Our son finally left the kids with his wife and went to the temple by himself, and found that the temple was closed because of all the trees down.”

(Karen said they attended a D.C. ward on Sunday, and heard someone tell in his  testimony that several temple patrons had come from far away to do their own temple work or to be sealed or maybe married on Saturday, and that people in that ward had sacrificed much to get to the temple grounds and clear the limbs and trees so those people could go through the temple.  The temple had to use a generator to run that one session, and everything else on Saturday was cancelled.)

“When we finally got to the hotel we had originally planned to stay in, it was Saturday morning at 10 am.  We had reserved it with our credit card, but since we hadn’t gotten there they had given our room away.  We thought we could get it for Saturday night.  They said their hotel had power, so it was full.  They said that with a disaster this size, all the locals immediately fill up the hotels because they don’t want to stay in their homes without electricity.  So by Saturday morning at 10 am all the hotels were full.”

(Karen was telling me this on Sunday from D.C.) 

“The radio here says that there are 1.5 million without power in D.C.  They are telling them that some of them won’t have power until Friday July 6.  So many traffic lights are out.  You cannot believe how impossible it is for a 4-lane road to intersect with another 4-lane road without any stoplights.  There is no protocol, no one knows how to get through that.  Besides the traffic lights being out, there are many, many roadblocks, with yellow caution tape, because of trees across the road.  It took us an hour and a half to go what should have been 20 minutes.”

Karen called me later on Sunday night to tell me more.

“We went to sacrament meeting today, we just randomly picked an LDS church building to go to, and we were lucky because it was the only ward in the whole area that was having sacrament meeting.  After that, everyone went home because even though the building had electricity, they didn’t have air conditioning.

“I heard of so many problems with generators.  The radio is announcing that several families are hospitalized, these families almost died from carbon monoxide poisoning because of using their generators incorrectly.  One put their generator in the basement.  One put their generator on the front porch, but the exhaust came in through the door.  Another put their generator outside, but it was too close to the house and caught the house on fire and burned it down.  The radio announcer said to be sure to get a carbon monoxide monitor if you have a generator.”

“Today there are grocery stores rationing how much ice or water they will sell to you.  

“I just want to tell everyone that at first we thought everything was so awful, because our one son couldn’t go to the temple, and our other son couldn’t rent his U-haul to move, then we realized that our troubles were so small in comparison to everyone else’s.  We had no idea the storm was so large.”

“Everything worked out great for us.  We got a hotel room because someone else had reserved it and didn’t show up.  Our son who was moving just stayed in his old house for a few extra days, it had power and his new house didn’t.”

 (I can’t remember what Karen said about her other son’s family, I’m sure she had some news about them but I didn’t write it down.)

When she called me Sunday night, she was driving through West Virginia.

“In West Virginia some water treatment plants got messed up so they are ordering the people here to boil their water.”

“I thought of something else I wanted to tell you.  The cell phone situation was awful on Friday night and Saturday.  When we woke up in our hotel early Saturday morning, we still  had to drive four hours to D.C.  The cell phone kept cutting off.  I couldn’t phone my husband, who was driving the truck right in front of me.  I couldn’t tell my son he would have to be late to the temple.  It was terrible not being able to communicate.  You just can’t count on cell phones during an emergency.  We found out later all the cell phone towers were messed up from the windstorm, but at that time we didn’t know.”

“My daughter would call, and I would only hear a few words and then it would cut out.  But then she would send a text message and I would get it fine.  We learned that in bad situations, text messages will get through when phone calls won’t.”

One more message from Karen.  “The hotels are filled everywhere we go.  Cambridge all full, Zanesville all full, Columbus is all full.”

My thoughts about the Super Derecho Wind Storm

I thought I had better write about the huge human tragedy that is unfolding in the states just to our north.  

Many of the people here in Raleigh, North Carolina, might have slept through the high winds which whipped through our area on Friday night, June 29, 2012.  The heavy winds hitting my bedroom window woke me up at midnight, and I went downstairs to find my husband and son going in and out of the house, watching the trees blow, and rescuing our trash cans which were rolling into the neighbor’s yard.

On Saturday I saw a tree down at the Raleigh Temple, but other than that, it was a normal (but extremely hot) June day.

We were sad to turn on the internet on Saturday and find out what devastation had been wreaked all across approximately 7 states just north of us.  13 deaths were caused by this storm.  

The headlines say, “DC Grocery Stores out of food”, “Gas unavailable”, “Grid Down as Summer Heat Rages”, “Catastrophic Damage to Power Grid”, “Hell Commute: Thousands of Stoplights Dark”, 

Media is reporting that some residents of the affected states may not expect power back until Friday July 6, a full week after the storm.

I think it is strange that the meteorologists are using the new term “Super Derecho”, I wonder if they made up a new term because they have never seen a non-hurricane this bad before?

My husband gave his testimony in church on Sunday, and reminded the congregation that if that storm had only been a little stronger in our area, we wouldn’t have power either.  Sitting in our nice, cool, comfortably air conditioned chapel, I felt very grateful for the electricity.

Today, Monday July 2, there are still 3 million people without power.

And here I sit, with no disaster affecting me.  But I am feeling a little stunned, because we usually have the advantage of being warned a week ahead of disasters (when they are hurricanes.)  It makes me feel uneasy, seeing a pseudo-hurricane happen near us with absolutely no warning.  It opens my eyes to the fact that we need to be constantly vigilant for all weather events, not just when a hurricane is spotted.

I am thankful that I have shelf stable food, which will stay good without refrigeration.  I am thankful that I have gasoline in my cars.  I am thankful that I have ice already frozen in many sodapop bottles in my freezer.  I am thankful to have many types of alternative lighting methods, alternative cooking methods, and stored water.

It is vital that we prepare for events such as these.  

(Next, a report from a friend of mine, who called to tell me about her experiences in Washington DC during the windstorm.)

Look at what one stake did

Here is a great story about preparedness being pushed by a stake president.

Recently our Stake Presidency did something I would consider quite unprecedented…

One week before each ward conference in the Stake (on the preceding Sunday), under the direction of the Stake Presidency the Bishop selected 2-3 families from each ward, invited them into his office, and gave them this assignment:

Over the next 72 hours, we would like you to participate in an emergency preparedness exercise. You are to simulate that a large earthquake has just hit our neighborhood. You have no power at your house — please go home and shut it off — you have no central heat (this was in March in Utah — it was still snowing/freezing outside), there is no way to refuel your vehicles so you can only drive with the fuel you currently have on hand, and NO water, etc. and you are not allowed to buy anything. You must only use the supplies that you currently have on hand to survive over the next 3 days. Don’t tell anyone in the ward what you’re doing, but during Ward Conference on Sunday, we’d like you to share your experiences with the ward.

At least that was the gist of it; and the exercise began as soon as they left the Bishops office. No last minute shopping trips — this was supposed to be real.

Read the rest of the article:
http://ldsemergencyprep.org/2011/05/08/how-prepared-to-you-think-you-truly-are/

FEMA says "Resolve to be Ready in 2012"

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As 2011 – one of the most active years for disasters in recent history – comes to a close and Americans get ready to ring in a new year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is encouraging all Americans to Resolve to be Ready in the new year by making a resolution to be prepared for emergencies.

As a recent report by the National Climatic Data Center highlights, 2011 has seen more billion-dollar natural disasters than any year on record. This year alone, the U.S. experienced its first hurricane landfall since 2008, the most deadly series of tornadoes since the 1950s, significant earthquakes and severe flooding – hazards that impacted every region of the country. All of these events have served as important reminders that disasters can strike anytime, anywhere, and being prepared is one of the most effective things we can do to protect our homes, businesses and loved ones.

Today, FEMA kicked off its annual campaign, Resolve to be Ready in 2012, which urges Americans to make preparedness a priority during the holiday season by making a new year’s resolution to be ready for disasters or by thinking about preparedness tools for last minute gift ideas.

“One of the most important lessons we can take away from this year is that disasters can impact all of us, no matter what part of the country we live in,” said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate.  “While we can’t control where or when they might hit, we can take steps in advance to prepare for them – efforts that can go a long way toward protecting our families, homes and business. Resolving to be Ready in 2012 could be the most important pledge you make this year.”

By making a resolution to take a few simple steps in advance, Americans can minimize the impact of an emergency on their families, homes or businesses.  To take the pledge, visit www.ready.gov/resolve or www.listo.gov, which includes free information, checklists, and guidelines about how to put together a kit, make a plan, and stay informed.

Resolve to be Ready in 2012 is a nationwide effort to increase awareness and encourage individuals, families, businesses, and communities to take action and prepare for emergencies in the New Year.  This effort is led by FEMA’s Ready Campaign in partnership with Citizen Corps and The Advertising Council.  For more information, visit Ready.gov and CitizenCorps.gov or follow the campaign on Twitter using the hashtags #ready2012 and #resolve.

2011- The Year of the Billion Dollar Weather Disasters

From www.weather.com:


"It has been a volatile year of weather across the United States and the tally of weather-related disasters exceeding a billion dollars keeps rising. 

Earlier this year, 2011 set a record for the most billion-dollar weather disasters in a single year and now the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) has tacked on another two events to list. 

This brings the total number of disasters of this magnitude to a total of 12 with a combined cost exceeding $50 billion this year! The previous record for one year, since records began in 1980, was nine in 2008."



Go to:
http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/2011-year-of-billion-dollar-weather-disasters_2011-12-07
and watch the 2 minute video to hear about the twelve different disasters that happened this year in the U.S.A. which each cost at least 1 billion dollars.


Just think, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, and other disasters which happened in other countries, aren't even being counted in this number.


To me, these disasters are signs that the Second Coming is getting closer.  Do you have your food storage, fuel, and warm clothing?

Why to Prepare

Here is a great pdf article to read about "Why to Prepare".

http://peaceofpreparedness.com/LDS%20Resources/17%20Why%20Prepare-FINAL.pdf

The Book of Gomer: A Parable

(This is a cute parable by an unknown author.)

These are the generations of Gomer, son of Homer, son of Omer. And in the days of Gomer, Noah, the Prophet, went unto the people saying, "Prepare ye for the flood which is to come, yea, build yourselves a boat, that ye may not perish."

Now, Gomer was a member of the Church, and taught Sunday School and played ball, yea, even on the ward softball team. And Gomer's wife said unto him, "Come, let us build unto ourselves a boat as the Prophet Noah hath commanded, that we may not perish in the flood." 

But behold, Gomer saith unto his wife, "Worry not, dear wife, for if the flood comes the government will provide boats for us." 

And Gomer did not build a boat. 

And Gomer's wife went unto Noah and she returned saying, "Behold, Honey, the Prophet saith unto us, "Build a boat, that we may preserve ourselves, for the government pays men not to grow trees, wherefore the government hath not the lumber to build for you a boat." 

And Gomer answered saying, "Fear not, oh wife, for am I not the star pitcher on the ward softball team? Wherefore, the Church will provide for us a boat, that we will perish not." 

And Gomer's wife went again unto Noah, and she returned unto Gomer, saying, "Behold, mine husband, the Prophet saith that the Church hath not enough lumber to build a boat for everyone, wherefore, mine husband, build for us a boat that we might not perish in the flood." 

And Gomer answered her saying, "Behold, if we build a boat, when the flood cometh, will not our neighbors overpower us and take from us our boat; wherefore, what doth it profit a man to build a boat?"

And Gomer's wife went again unto Noah and she returned, saying, "Behold, the Prophet saith, build unto yourselves a boat, and have faith, for if ye do the Lord's bidding, He will preserve your boat for you." But Gomer answered his wife, saying, "Behold, with this inflation, the price of wood has gone sky high, and if we wait awhile, perhaps the price will go down again. And then I will build for us a boat." 

And Gomer's wife went again unto Noah, and she returned saying, "Thus saith the Prophet, build for yourselves a boat RIGHT NOW, for the price of wood will not go down, but will continue to go up. Wherefore, oh husband, build for us a boat, that we may perish not." 

But Gomer answered his wife, saying, "Behold, for 120 years Noah hath told us to build a boat, to preserve us from the flood, but hath the flood come? Yea, I say, nay. Wherefore, perhaps the flood will not come for another hundred and twenty years.” 

And Gomer's wife went again unto Noah and returned saying, "The Prophet saith, he knows it has been 120 years, but nevertheless, the flood will come, wherefore, build unto yourselves a boat." 

And Gomer answered her saying, "Wherewith shall we get the money to build ourselves a boat, for are we not now making monthly payments on our snazzy new four horsepower chariot? Wherefore, when our payments end, perhaps we shall build ourselves a boat." 

And Gomer's wife went again unto Noah and returned saying, "Behold, the Prophet saith that we should cut down on our recreation, and our vacations, and even give each other lumber for Christmas, that we might thereby get enough lumber to build a boat."

But Gomer saith unto her, "What a drag! Are we to cease enjoying life, just because we must build a boat?" 

Wherefore, Gomer built not a boat. But behold, one day Gomer heard thunder in the sky, and he feared exceedingly and he ran, yea, even to the lumberyard to buy lumber. But behold, the lumber store was crowded with great multitudes, all seeking to buy lumber, and there was not enough lumber to be found for the multitudes. 

And on the same day were all the fountains of the deep opened, and the windows of heaven were broken up, and the floods came - and behold, Gomer had no boat. And as the water rose above Gomer's waist, his wife saith unto him, 

"Behold, Honey, I told thee so!"

(end of parable)

Note from Amy:

Here is what President Ezra Taft Benson said in 1974:

 "The revelation to store food may be as essential to our temporal salvation today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah."  (Jan. 1974 Ensign)

He said it again in 1980:

" 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." (Nov. 1980 Ensign)

How to Turn off Your Water at the Road

http://www.3steps.org/Site_3steps.org/Water_turn-off.html

Don't Rely on Your Memory

Pick a room or closet in your house.  Write down from memory every single thing in that space.  Then go look.

You will be astounded how many things you forgot were in there.

Now consider what would happen after a tornado or fire.  The insurance company tells you that it will only cover the items you list on their forms.  You might list everything you can remember, then get the insurance settlement.

The sad truth is that later you will remember many other things, and be mad that you didn't get the reimbursements that should have been yours.

Whats the solution?

One possibility:  Take your digital camera and empty each closet and room in your house and systematically take photos of every item you own.

Second possibility:  Empty each closet and room in your house and systematically write down a list of everything.

Or combine the two.

Then store the digital photos or list somewhere else:  mail them on a thumb drive to your sister or your friend.

(NOTE TO SELF:  I NEED TO DO THIS.)

National Geo TV show about preparedness tomorrow

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/doomsday-preppers-6202/Videos/10607_00#tab-Overview%23ixzz1QJKYgoAu/10607_00

"Doomsday Preppers"  airing Monday June 27, 10 pm on the National Geographic channel.

Has the Time for Preparation Passed?

An article written by Carolyn Nicolaysen in Meridian Magazine:

http://www.ldsmag.com/article/8143?ac=1

Church History teaches lessons Part 10

From "Sturdy Shoes and a Waterproof Tent" by William G. Hartley, Ensign Oct. 2001

Church history teaches many lessons about personal preparedness.

Lessons from the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, continued

Lesson 7: Be prepared to leave cherished belongings.

Fleeing the fires, many families grabbed belongings and tried to haul them on foot. One trunk “weighed a ton,” as Harold Jenson described it in his diary. 13 One family member pushed a wheeled sewing machine. Harold strapped family belongings to his bicycle. Too burdened, the family eventually left some of their belongings on the roadside.

Lesson 8: Ignore wild rumors that spread in panics and don’t pass them on.

The earthquake severed the city’s communications with the outside world, so rumors spread that Los Angeles was destroyed, New York was no more, and that the Great Salt Lake had inundated Salt Lake City!

One Final Lesson

Along with all of the practical lessons history teaches, one more lesson comes through: maintain good attitudes during troubled times. A sense of humor is like salve on a wound.

On 6 April 1846 about 2,000 Saints with about 400 covered wagons were bogging down in Iowa rains and mud, trying to reach campsites beside Locust Creek. “I was in the rain all day,” President Young noted in his diary, “arranging the wagons, pitching tents, chopping wood until all were comfortable.” That dreary day most members had good excuses to feel miserable. However, Patty Sessions noted in her diary that “[Brother] Brigham came up with his company driving his team in the rain and mud up to his kne[e]s as happy as a king.” 14

We would do well to follow Brother Brigham’s example, as well as that set by other Latter-day Saints who have had to deal with disasters and crises. By learning from the lessons of the past, we better prepare ourselves for the future.

Self-reliance

“The responsibility for each person’s social, emotional, spiritual, physical, or economic well-being rests first upon himself, second upon his family, and third upon the Church if he is a faithful member thereof. 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.” President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985), Ensign, Nov. 1977, 77.

Be Prepared

“While it is sincerely hoped that members do not get caught up in any hysteria or obsessive preparations for disasters, the Church continues its long-standing practice of encouraging members to be self-reliant and reasonably prepared.” Bishop H. David Burton, Presiding Bishop, “Conversation,” Ensign, Sept. 1999, 78.

Church History teaches lessons Part 9

From "Sturdy Shoes and a Waterproof Tent" by William G. Hartley, Ensign Oct. 2001

Church history teaches many lessons about personal preparedness.

Lessons from the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, continued

Lesson 4: Have minimal cleaning items, such as moist towelettes, toothpaste, deodorant, face towels, and even small bags of detergent.

“It was a real trial,” said missionary Elder Leo Gardner, bound for the Pacific islands, “to endure our thirst and to go without washing our faces and hands which were getting blacker with the dust and smoke.” 12

Lesson 5: Have emergency food as we have been taught.

San Franciscans rushed to local markets to buy up bread, creating panic buying. By noon, as fires spread through the city, martial law was declared, and anyone trying to enter stores, even store owners, were shot on sight as looters. Within a day or two the city provided bread for people who stood in breadlines that were four people wide and blocks long.

Lesson 6: It is important to have two or three meeting places where family members can find each other in case disaster strikes and the family is scattered.

President Robinson’s toughest task for about a week was reuniting families separated during the disaster. Evacuations had become necessary. With homes damaged and the Church’s mission home dynamited to create a firebreak, members scattered. President Robinson tried to let members know where other members were camped out by posting in the mission home ashes a sign indicating where the main Latter-day Saint camp was located.

Church History teaches lessons Part 8

From "Sturdy Shoes and a Waterproof Tent" by William G. Hartley, Ensign Oct. 2001

Church history teaches many lessons about personal preparedness.

Lessons from the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire

The U.S. earthquake against which all earthquakes are still measured is the San Francisco earthquake of 18 April 1906. The great quake caused terrible damage to buildings, roads, water systems, law enforcement, communications, and transportation. Fires broke out and caused more damage than the quake. Separations were common. Food, water, and sanitation became terrible problems.

Some 120 Church members—branch members, missionaries, and city visitors—were in the city at the time. Some wrote about how they survived the quake. 11 Their accounts identify several problems we could face if caught in a major earthquake or other catastrophes, such as hurricanes, cyclones, tornadoes, or fires, and they provide several preparedness ideas.

Lesson 1: Have sturdy shoes and durable clothing nearby in case of a sudden nighttime emergency, whether at home or away from home.

The 1906 quake struck before morning while people were sleeping. Frightened people ran into the streets in nightclothes and barefoot. Mission president Joseph Robinson hiked all over San Francisco trying to locate and help Church members. Broken bricks and glass quickly shredded his shoes.

Lesson 2: Have fire extinguishers in our homes.

Less than four blocks away from the Church’s mission home, a woman cooking breakfast accidentally started a fire. Firemen were too busy to respond to this “ham and eggs” fire. By the early afternoon, in order to keep the fire from spreading, firemen had to dynamite the area where the mission home stood.

Lesson 3: Have emergency water on hand in sturdy, non-glass containers.

Faucets went dry when the water mains broke. Thirsty people broke into stores and bars to find liquid. Thirsty members, who flocked to the mission home, were glad to be offered bottled fruit (fortunately the bottles had not broken).

Church History teaches lessons Part 7

From "Sturdy Shoes and a Waterproof Tent" by William G. Hartley, Ensign Oct. 2001

Church history teaches many lessons about personal preparedness.

Lessons from the Pioneer Famine of 1856, continued

Lesson 2: During times of famine we might choose to fast more often to provide for the needy.

In 1856 fasting made more food available for others. In April, President Brigham Young said that his family saved a considerable amount “by frequent fastings,” which they gave to the poor. One bishop whose ward was “very poor” said he “had nothing to begin with, but he immediately called a fast and the brethren have done pretty liberally.” 9

Lesson 3: When the course of our normal life is disrupted, it helps to fill free time with constructive activities.

A history about circumstances in Spanish Fork, Utah, in 1856 includes this description: “Having no crops to gather, the settlers built bridges, made fences, opened a road up the canyon for the purpose of getting out wood poles and all the men turned out for weeks on these public works, donating their labor.” 10

Church History teaches lessons Part 6

From "Sturdy Shoes and a Waterproof Tent" by William G. Hartley, Ensign Oct. 2001

Church history teaches many lessons about personal preparedness.


Lessons from the "Saluda" Disaster, continued

Lesson 2: Up-to-date rosters of people are important, and parents need wills that specify who should have their children.

To this day, no one knows for certain how many members were aboard the Saluda, how many were lost, or how many reached Utah. Lexington townspeople, with charitable instincts but who also wanted to save children from Mormonism, took a number of Latter-day Saint orphans into their homes and raised them. Leaders had no list to check off to see how many children they needed to locate and claim.

Lessons from the Pioneer Famine of 1856

Members in Utah suffered through a harsh famine in early 1856 caused by a drought, grasshopper plague, and severe winter. From April to October 1855 no rains fell. Grasshoppers cleaned county after county of grain and fruit. Dry forests burned that fall. Deep winter snows and cold killed thousands of cattle. By January 1856 the pioneers faced starvation. Their efforts to survive suggest lessons about food storage, food shortages, and food rationing.

Lesson 1: In times of dire food shortages, we should be willing to share our personal food storage with others.

By mid-March 1856, wards were taking inventories to determine how much food was left in the community. It became clear that everyone would need to share what they had. Presidents Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball of the First Presidency, as well as many others who had supplies, reduced rations in their own families and helped those who were suffering. “I sell none for money,” President Kimball wrote, “but let it go where people are truly destitute. Dollars and cents do not count now.” 5

By July 1856 the Church’s tithing office and the people were running short of supplies. One city bishop “found 5 lbs of flour on three blocks and no meat.” 6

One sister recalled that during the famine she gave away flour. As her supply dwindled, she gave away a loaf of bread. Finally, with little flour left, she gave away slices of bread. People picked up crumbs when she cut the slices. “Women would offer me their jewelry, fine clothing, anything they had for bread,” she remembered. 7 Some people paid speculators $24 per hundred pounds of flour, when the normal price was $6. Bishop Aaron Johnson of Springville, Utah, sold flour at the going price of $6 and refused to raise his rates, even though people would pay four times that price. 8