Be Prepared

                Families, communities, and nations are strengthened when each of us practice preparedness.  When we practice preparedness, we prepare our homes and our families to be self-reliant in any emergency.  True self-reliance involves preparedness physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and financially.  We can prepare for emergencies – whether personal, community, or national.

                This site lists ten ways to be prepared for a total breakdown of society.  I am not sure I support all the suggestions but will list them.  1) Build a surplus of food that will sustain life and that you will rotate regularly; store at least enough food to last three months, preferably longer.  2) Build a support group of neighbors, church members, and other people in your neighborhood.  We are more apt to survive a disaster if we are surrounded by like-minded people.  3) Build an electric fence about fifteen feet tall around your property.  4) Learn to hunt by buying a gun, learning correct safety measures; learn how to shoot a moose (or whatever), gut it, skin it, and process the meat.  Having accompanied hunters on numerous hunting expeditions, I know that all this takes great skill in order not to waste the flesh.  5) Gain some life skills, such as gardening, sewing, carpentry, mechanical, etc.  These skills could be used to barter for items you do not have.  6) Make your own bio diesel.  7) Build a greenhouse.  A greenhouse is helpful in starting seeds and lengthening the growing season.  8) Learn how to garden and practice growing food on your own property – backyard garden, pots on a deck, etc.  I have a large raspberry patch but stopped gardening until last summer.  All of a sudden, I realized that I needed to know how to sprout seeds and grow plants.  I am particularly interested in having plants in my yard that will come back each spring such as raspberries and rhubarb, but I am also learning how to grow annual plants also.  I really enjoyed having fresh lettuce and tomatoes from my own “garden.”  9) Store some water.  We need to store one gallon of water per person per day.  It may be a good thing to prepare to collect rain water and purify it.  10) Get solar power panels for your roof.

                The items on the above list that I would prioritize are 1) food storage, including foods that do not need to be heated or cooked, 2) water storage, 3) skills of all types, and 4) tools for gardening, building, repairing, etc.  I would add a source of heat and cooking and an emergency supply of cash in smaller bills.

                I believe the above physical preparations are very important for survival, but I also believe that being prepared emotionally, mentally, and spiritually are also important.  Are you tough enough mentally or emotionally to go through hard times?  Are you spiritually strong enough to keep your spirits alive and maybe strengthening other people?  When the Mormon pioneers were crossing the plains to the Salt Lake Valley, particularly the Willie and Martin handcart companies, many people died along the way.  Some of the people that died simply gave up – quit.  Do you have the stamina to keep going when faced with hard things?

                With a little effort, we can practice preparedness and be prepared for whatever life throws at us.  By planning ahead and preparing for emergencies, we can strengthen our families, communities, and nations.