Well, after having several friends make home visits to take our "food storage class and tour," and having many more ask about it, (not to mention teaching enrichment tonight) I've decided to write up an official post about how we do our family home food storage. And just be forewarned, if you're not into food storage, this post is not for you.
Now, where to start? I think I will begin at our beginning.
When Nick and I first got married, food storage was a big priority to me. My mom had an incredible food storage room, fondly referred to as the "McArthur Store" by all of my friends. While I knew it would be a long time before I could build my own customized food storage room, I still wanted to do something to get started. After some consideration, Nick and I each purchased the
One-Month Basic Food Supply For One Adult kit that the LDS cannery sold. This kit was comprised of 11 #10 cans, a bottle of cooking oil, and a canister of salt. The #10 cans were as follows:
3 wheat
1 white flour
2 white rice
1 quick oats
1 macaroni
1 Pinto beans
1 white sugar
1 powdered milk
Inside our kit came a little insert that has been my friend for many years. It reads:
"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. 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." (First Presidency letter, January 20, 2002)Suggested Amounts of Basic Foods For Home Storage(per adult for one year)
Grains 400lbs
(includes wheat, flour, rice, corn, oatmeal, and pasta)
Legumes 60lbs
(Includes dry beans, split peas, lentils, etc.)
Powdered Milk 16lbs
Sugar or Honey 60 lbs
Salt 8 lbs
Cooking Oil 10 quarts
Water (two weeks) 14 gallons
This was my original guide to collecting home food storage. And to be honest, when we first started collecting, we collected the things with the longest shelf life, like wheat and beans, mostly because we weren't prepared to start an efficient rotation system right away. While it is important to just get started, no matter where you start, this was not the most efficient means of getting our house in order. Nevertheless, my advice to anyone just starting out with food storage is to
simply start somewhere. Buy a box of wheat or rice or beans. Collecting those three items alone will give you some peace of mind and provide life-sustaining resources for you and your family. These are also fairly simple to obtain because the LDS cannery offers them pre-packed in #10 cans for super cheap:
Wheat $2.85 ($17.10 a case)
Rice $3.35 ($20.10 a case)
Beans $4.80 ($28.80 a case)
Almost any budget can accommodate one case a month. And you'd be amazed at how quickly these things add up over time.
Now, as I said, this is where we started with food storage. In February of 2007; however, the church came out with a more specific guideline for emergency preparedness and self reliance. This pamphlet, entitled "All is Safely Gathered In," had slightly different recommendations from my handy-dandy little food storage cue card. It reads:
Three-Month Supply Build a small supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet. One way to do this is to purchase a few extra items each week to build a one-week supply of food. Then you can gradually increase your supply until it is sufficient for three months. These items should be rotated regularly to avoid spoilage. Longer-Term Supply
For longer-term needs, and where permitted, gradually build a supply of food that will last a long time and that you can use to stay alive, such as wheat, white rice, and beans. These items can last 30 years or more when properly packaged and stored in a cool, dry place. A portion of these items may be rotated in your three-month supply. | |
The following suggested amounts are for an adult.
Quantity
for One Month | Recommended
Products | Long-Term
Storage Life |
| 25 lbs. | Wheat, white rice, corn, and other grains | 30+ years |
| 5 lbs. | Dry beans | 30+ years |
Now, if you're paying close attention, you would realize that this is a much simpler list then the aforementioned list. It includes only
300lbs of grains, instead of 400lbs, and dry beans. No mention of sugar, oil, milk, etc.
It also seems to switch the order of emphasis. Before we were told to store the essentials first, and then add things we use on a regular basis. Now it seems that the three month supply of things we use on a regular basis takes equal precedence as collecting our long-term supply. Why the change? I have my theories, general negligence of the members being top on the list, but I won't go into that here. Suffice it to say, I think the Lord is merciful and can lower his requirements to help us be obedient.
Anyhow, these new recommendations changed up the way that I did home food storage. I still continued to buy cases of the essentials, which I did not rotate, but my focus moved for a time to the three-month supply.
My Three-Month SupplyAh, the three-month supply. It took me a while to sort out how I would accomplish this; however, I think I have perfected the model. I was always a menu-maker, from our first days of married life. I wrote a two-week menu, then made a shopping list, and then proceeded from there. I was never just a go-to-the-store-and-see-what-was-there kind of girl. From this menu-making, shopping list habit, not to mention my general obsession with variety and my absolute tendency toward perfectionism, grew my plan for our three month supply. (If you thought I was crazy after the missionary muffins post, just brace yourself!) My plan was simple: If I wanted to know what to collect for my three month supply, I was going to need to make a three month menu. Now I could have made my life simple, and just made a few week menu that I used two or three times during the three month period; but, as most of you know, nothing in my life is simple. Instead, I thought it would be fun and satisfying to develop a full three month menu.
Now, how was I going to organize this menu? The first thing I needed to do was set some goals. After giving it considerable thought, I outlined four goals for my menu, hereafter referred to as my 12 week menu rotation. These goals were: 1) variety in types of meat; 2) variety in types of sides; 3) variety in types of cuisine; and 4) variety in amount of time needed for meal preparation. With these goals in mind, I made a list of potential meals my family did and would eat. Let me discuss how it is I made this list a little bit further. (Just in case you don't think this is already long enough!)
First, goal 1: variety in types of meat. As I said above, I have an obsession with variety in my meal planning. We have to eat different things from day to day and week to week. And for me, its more than just dinner. For example, we can't have toast for breakfast, and then sandwiches for lunch. Or we can't have chicken nuggets for lunch, and then chicken for dinner. My list of cannots could go on and on. My 12 week menu rotation doesn't talk about breakfast and lunches though (we'll get to that later) so we'll just stick to variety in dinners here. So, since the meat is usually the main course of dinner, as I mapped out my menu, I looked specifically at what kinds of meat we would be using. I like all kinds of meat including: turkey, chicken, pork, beef and fish. I also wanted to include some vegetarian meals as well. When I wrote up my menu, I tried to use a different kind of meat almost every night. Now some weeks have to repeat a meat type, since I don't have enough recipes for turkey or fish, but heck, even I can live with chicken or beef twice in the same week.
Second, goal 2: variety in side dishes. I wanted to make better use of the many wonderful side dish recipes I have acquired over time, rather than just having green salad or green beans with every meal. By assigning side dishes to go with each main meat dish, I could make sure we ate all sorts of sides, not to mention ensure that fruits and vegetables and other food groups are all included with every meal, or over the course of several meals. This was no simple task, but after careful consideration of both variety, flavors, and getting the most out of fresh and perishable ingredients, i.e. incorporating fresh cilantro into more than one meal in a week so that it all gets used, I got my list of sides together.
With my meal list organized by main meat dish and sides, it was then time to start putting the meals into a weekly format. This incorporated both my third and fourth goals. Goal 3: variety in types of cuisine. And goal 4: variety in amount of time needed for meal preparation. I really wanted my children to be exposed to a wide variety of flavors and tastes, so as I menu planned, I tried to incorporate at least one Italian, one Mexican, and one Asian meal into each week's menu plan. Since I have small children and a busy lifestyle, I also tried to plan at least one crock-pot meal, 2 meals that take 30 minutes or less to make, at least one grilled meal (so her husband gets to help with the cooking), and one no-cook night where my family either eats leftovers or eats out. This was a lengthy process, but after putting in the investment of time, I came up with a beautiful 12 week menu rotation. (For a look at my original 12 week menu, here is a link to my sister-in-laws menu planning web sight where she did a write-up of my system: http://mealplanningmadesimple.blogspot.com) The menu rotation has had a few changes over time as I have switched out old recipes for new ones, but it is really much the same.
With the 12 week menu rotation in place, my next project was to create standardized shopping lists for each two week segment. This was also a lengthy process, and created the need for a little bit of tweaking of the menu--i.e. to get the most out of fresh ingredients etc, as discussed above. It also required a menu--though not as stringent, for breakfasts and lunches. For this menu, I simply made a list of what breakfasts and lunches we eat, and how many times we would need to eat each one to account for two weeks worth of days. My list looks like this:
BreakfastPancakes/ buttermilk pancakes (2)
Waffles/ buttermilk waffles (2)
French Toast/ German pancakes
Crepes
Muffins (2)
Yogurt parfaits (2)
Cereal
Eggs and Sausage/Omelets
Egg McMuffins
Fruit and Toast/ Smoothies and Toast in Summer
LunchGrilled Cheese
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches (2)
Pizza Bagels
Chicken Nuggets/ Chicken nugget wraps (2)
Hot Dogs
Macaroni and Cheese
Fettuccine Alfredo
Quesadillas
Bean Burritos
Leftovers (2)
Eat-out
After some consideration, I decided to make the two week shopping lists just for dinner items. Them I made a beginning of the month list to account for all of the breakfast and lunch items. Again, a lengthy process, but it did eventually get done. (My actual shopping lists are also available at the link above.) And now, with standardized shopping lists for each two weeks, as well as the beginning of each four week segment, I had within my grasp the key to my three month supply. I meshed my lists creating one master list and presto: everything I needed to have for my three month supply--literally!
I finished this master list just as we were moving from our medical school home in St. Louis Missouri, to Whitehall Pennsylvania to complete our intern year. Since we just rented a small apartment there, and we knew we would have a move again within a year, I resisted the urge to purchase everything on my master list right away. Instead, I put aside some money every month and by the time we moved to Rochester Minnesota, I had saved enough to buy the entire three month supply in one shopping trip. (Save the perishable foods of course.) Now, for my three month supply, I work on a replacement system. I buy for each two and four week segment, but since I already have all of the things needed in stock, I never actually use up my supply. I simply replace it. And over time, I have even stored up a lot of the perishables in canned, freeze-dried, or frozen form so that I do have almost entirely what our family eats for three months. (I even found yogurt that can go on your shelf. It doesn't taste so great on it's own, but if you mix it with regular yogurt, you can't even tell.) And if there is soemthing I know I cannot store, take lettuce for instance, then I substitute something I can store for it (like a can of peas.)
My Long-Term SupplyWith my three-month supply securely in place, I decided it was time to work out my long-term supply with as much precision and also begin to rotate these items in the event that the end of the world doesn't arrive in the next five years. (I still think it will, but just in case!) My first job was to
assess what I had, and
determine what I needed to meet the new church guidelines. For my family of six--I actually figured my current storage on 4 adults since 4 of my family of 6 are children and there are no guidelines for children--I figured we would need 1200lbs of grains, and 240 lbs of beans. Since I buy my food storage in cases of #10 cans, each can weighing approximately 5 pounds, and each case holding six cans, (i. e. 30lbs a case) that equals 40 cases of grains and 8 cases of beans. With this as my goal, I set out buying a case or two a month. Collecting the beans was easy. Over time I bought up mostly pinto and black beans, and then added a case of mixed beans including navy beans and white beans. While I have the full weight of beans, as of yet, I have never cooked a dry bean. I have a goal to try cooking with dry beans and begin rotating beans at the end of residency. For now, they just remain in holding. This is also my policy with wheat. I bought 8 cases of wheat, both hard red and hard white. This accounts for 1/5 of my grain storage. Again, I would like to grind my own wheat so that I can begin to rotate it, but I have yet to enter this stage of food storage. This is due to both time, and space. (Space because once you begin rotating an item that you don't replace every month, you actually have to begin storing more of it, depending on how often you replace, so that you never at any time fall under your year supply.)
Now, what about the other 4/5 of my grains, you might ask? And what about the whole business of rotating your food storage. Well, this is where it starts to get a little more complicated for me. In addition to wheat, I also store white rice (8 cans)--I buy brown rice in boxes from the store and mix it with my white rice when I cook with it, but brown rice is actually too moist to store long term, pasta (8 cans)--3 cases of macaroni, 3 cases of spaghetti, and two cases of mixed noodles, and flour (8 cans) 4 white and 4 wheat--I mix them to use for cooking. Each one of these things accounts for another 1/5 of my grains storage, The final 1/5 of my grains come from cereals, oats, granola, and prepackaged mixes like pancake mix, waffle and biscuit mixes, and bread mixes, etc. This part of my long-term storage actually overlaps with my three month supply. (Not that we go through 8 cases of rice, flour, or pasta in three months, but we do use a little of each.)
In addition to the grains and beans, I also store and rotate--largely due to the original recommendations card that I hung onto-- sugar (6 cases) plus 8 lbs of powdered and 8 lbs of brown, powdered milk (6 cases), salt, oils (vegetable, olive, peanut and crisco), honey, karo syrup, baking powder, baking soda, corn starch, cornmeal, yeast, a variety of herbs and spices, popcorn, nuts, raisins and other dried fruits, and even hot cocoa, marshmallows, cake mix, nutella, and chocolate chips. (Occasionally you'll find some caramels and butterscotch's too!) As far as produce goes, I also can all my own jams, as well as bottle and freeze peaches, pears, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and tomatoes each summer for use throughout the year.
Now, the reason these items are more complicated to have in your food storage is because many of them are commonly used items, thus requiring a rotation system to stay stocked up, and others have a shorter shelf life (excepting rice, oats, sugar, milk, and pasta--they are still 30 years) and therefore necessitate rotation to avoid spoliation. So, what are we all to do? Well, learn to rotate. And so, I actually
do rotate all of these items. (Yes, even dry milk. My kids drink it no problem!) If rotating seems overwhelming, the best way to start is to actually document what you use. Store bought items are fairly simple to do this with, and equally simple to replace. For example, the cereals, oats, prepackaged mixes, and assorted pastas I replace as I use. The rice, flour, macaroni, and spaghetti are a little more tricky, mostly because I buy them in bulk from the LDS cannery or from Walton Feed for cheaper prices. Therefore, I don't have access to weekly replacement. So, I had a decision to make with these items. How often was I going to be able to replace them? In other words, how often was I going to make cannery trips to buy what I needed to bring my food stores back up to full capacity. For me, the answer was motivated by my families time constraints. I can't get up to the cannery very often, and so I currently replace these non-store-bought items just once a year. By only replacing once a year; however, I set myself up to have to store a little bit above the 1200 lbs of grains so that I always have the full year supply. (O
r, if you're not as OCD as I am, you can just store the required amounts and trust you'll be okay even if you only re-stock once a year!) But how did I know how much extra to store? Well, in order to figure out what I needed to store of these items, I simply logged three months worth of regular usage. (This was as simple as putting a piece of paper in my pantry and using tally marks to show when I took out a container.) After three months of documenting, I had a rough estimate of what our family would use within a typical year. Therefore, I could get the recommended amounts for a year supply of each product, plus what
I use in a year. For example, I store 8 cases of white rice as part of my 12oo lbs of grains, but since our family doesn't regularly go through a lot of rice, (only 6 #10 cans in a year), then I simply store 9 cases. That way if the emergency happens on the last day of my food storage year, I still have the 8 required cases to meet my families needs. Now this is not a big deal with rice, but with items like flour or pasta that I go through a lot more of on a regular basis, it's kind of a pain. Consequently, I hope to begin doing quarterly replacement so that I don't have to store as much extra to always keep me at the full year supply. And with the canneries recent addition of many new items to their pre-packed list, this might actually be feasible.
"But how do you rotate them when you don't regularly use them", my mom always asks? After all, making cookies a few times a year is hardly going to go through enough flour that it can be rotated before it goes bad, even with a 10 year shelf life. Well, there's only one answer: You have to cook with them. That means making most everything from scratch. (Well almost everything. For instance, I make pancakes and waffles during the first half of the month from scratch. Then the second half of the month I make them from prepackaged mixes. That way it is not quite as time consuming, and I rotate both my regular flour, sugar, and baking supplies, as well as my mixes. The same goes for my syrups--homemade buttermilk on homemade buttermilk pancakes and waffles, store bought maple on pancake and waffle mixes. And for my handling of fresh fruit--store bought fruit the first two weeks, home canned produce the second two weeks. (You'll soon figure out we eat much better at the beginning of the month than at the end! That's always when you want to visit us.) I also work out systems like my muffin/sweet bread rotation so that I don't have to always spend my whole life in baking. And hey, even I don't make all my own breads yet. It is on my list as soon as I can save up enough for a Bosch mixer, but not a reality yet. These things take time. We all have to set goals and work toward them. ) Now I know that cooking from scratch, or cooking at all is a tall order for many people, but it's one I think the church leaders are asking us to make. For example, in a recent article written by Julie B. Beck, General Relief Society President, she wrote:
“I asked several bishops what self-reliance skills the sisters in their wards needed most, and they said, first, budgeting. Women need to understand the implications of buying on credit and not living within a budget. The second skill bishops listed was cooking. Meals prepared and eaten at home generally cost less, are healthier, and contribute to stronger family relationships.” Meals prepared and eaten at home also, in my opinion, rotate our food storage. So, I make the sacrifice of time and energy and do an awfully lot of cooking. (Plus we make enough cookies at our house that it wouldn't surprise me if that alone would get through our flour!)
And, just for the record, I'll list a few other odds and ends that are in my long-term storage that I
do not rotate, but keep on hand to spice up our long-term storage. They include freeze dried cheeses (1 case) and an assortment of powdered products like powdered eggs, butter, buttermilk, and soon even whipped topping and sour cream. At some point I am going to have to deal with the question of rotation with these items, but since their shelf life is fairly long, I'm not going to figure out how to incorporate them into my system quite yet. (Or maybe I'll just get a goat and learn how to make my own cheese, sour cream, etc.! Then I don't have to store it at all anymore! If only I could...) And oh yes, I almost forgot to list one of the most important items: Seeds! We also store heirloom quality pre-packed seeds of every kind. These can be bought at any emergency essentials store, and can be stored in a freezer for maximum storage life. I figure that seeds will be a crucial part of any extensive food storage, and unless the lost ten tribes raid the Scandinavian "doomsday" seed vault on their way from the "North Country" to Zion, which I'm not entirely ruling out, ( don't get me started on all of this crazy stuff!) then I figure we're all going to need some seeds.
But where do you store all of this food? Is another common question/excuse for not having food storage. Well, just like cooking, storing food requires some sacrifices. We are very fortunate to have a large storage room in our basement where can have tons of boxes and shelves, as well as our deep freeze.
Here are some photos just to give you an idea.
When we move, I will be sure to be mindful of the space needed to store food when we choose a new home. We also, now don't laugh, keep food storage under our beds. With a two inch stilt (under $10 at Walmart) my cases of wheat and beans fit perfectly under our beds. (And that way lots of other strange things don't get stored under our bed or our kids beds!)
Here's another photo, just so you can see it doesn't look totally ridiculous. Really, it's not that noticeable at all.
"Whatever you have to do" is my motto. We find plenty of room to store toys, Christmas decorations, and crafting supplies; but, we somehow have no room for food storage?? Well, you can't eat your kids play food in an emergency. If it's a big enough priority to you, you can make it work.
Well, its been fun talking food storage. I admit, it has been a work in progress for us, requiring hours of planning and years of collecting, but one that I am pleased is almost complete. (though with rotating it is never really complete.) With my last cannery visit, I officially obtained our year supply, according to new church guidelines, for 4 adults. Now I just have to keep up on replacement. And when we move, I intend to bump it up to eight adults, as well as do away with the overlap between my long-term and three month supply. That way I will have a three-month supply of everything my family eats regularly, plus a full year supply of the essentials, creating in essence a 15 month supply of food. (Plus, as you noticed, I intend to store a little extra--so the two of you who get to my house first in a crisis will be lucky folks indeed!) Maybe when we move I'll even talk Nick into a goat and a few chickens. That would really be food storage! But as I said, Maybe!
In accordance with the All is Safely Gathered In pamphlet, we also store a year supply of clothing (I shop a year in advance for all the kids), a year supply of toiletries, dish and laundry soaps, and cleaning supplies, a six month supply of toilet paper and paper towels, and a two month supply of diapers and wipes. (We don't have room right now for a full year supply of paper products and heck, if there is a crisis, we will have approximately two months to potty train!) We are also working on a year supply of income, though I admit, this one is going to take a while to sort out on our current budget. For now we do have a three month supply, as well as work a full year ahead on all of our account categories. (You'll have to convince Nick to write up his budgeting and finances class--one he has also been asked to teach on a number of occasions.) And I have pipe dreams of having a year supply of fuel, with multiple generators, and yes, even guns. Both hunting and personal safety. And for those of you who know me well, this alone says a lot about my love of food storage!
All in all, I feel great peace of mind from following these guidelines. I know they say that all of these things can come in handy for a personal crisis like loss of a job or death of a spouse; but, I also believe in a more general crisis that is yet to come. One that will simultaneously leave everyone in need of these preparations. One that will proceed the event of all events: the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I long for His return, and for the end to wickedness and the ushering in of a thousand years of peace and rest. I pray for it to come in my lifetime, the sooner the better. And consequently, I feel obligated to be prepared for His coming.
I'll just end this eternally long post with a few of my favorite food storage quotes:
The Prophet Joseph Smith: "Satan will rage, and the spirit of the devil is now enraged. I know not how soon these things will take place; but with a view of them, shall I cry peace? No! I will lift up my voice and testify of them. How long you will have good crops, and the famine be kept off, I do not know; when the fig tree leaves, know then that the summer is nigh at hand. July 1, 1839
Elder Heber C. Kimball: "Will you be slack, brethren, and let the evil come upon us, when we forewarn you of the future events that are coming;... We are telling of what the prophets have said-of what the Lord has said to Joseph. Wake up now, wake up, O Israel, and lay up your grain and your stores. I tell you that there is trouble coming upon the world..." Journal of Discourses, vol. 4, p. 336-9
President Brigham Young: "A great many have taken this counsel, and they are prepared...Who is deserving of praise? The persons who take care of themselves, or the ones who always trust in the great mercies of the Lord to take care of them? It is just as consistent to expect that the Lord will supply us with fruit when we do not plant the trees; or that, when we do not plow and sow and are saved the labor of harvesting, we should cry to the Lord to save us from want, as to ask Him to save us from the consequences of our own folly, disobedience and waste..."The Lord has said, 'Gather and save the produce I put within your reach, and prepare against a day of want." Journal of Discourses, vol. 12, p. 24
Elder Ezra Taft Benson: "Should the Lord decide at this time to cleanse the Church ... a famine in this land of one year's duration could wipe out a large percentage of sloughful members, including some ward and stake officers. Yet we cannot say we have not been warned." General Conference, April 1965.
President Spencer W. Kimball: "The little gardens and a few trees are very valuable. I remember when the sisters used to say, `well, but we could buy it at the store a lot cheaper than we could put it up.' But that isn't quite the answer, is it, Sister Spafford? Because there will become a time when there isn't a store." General Conference April 1974.
President Spencer W. Kimball: "We encourage families to have on hand this year's supply and we say it over and over and over, and repeat over and over the scripture of the Lord where He says, `Why call ye me, Lord, and do not as I say?'... We also hope that you are maintaining your year's supply of food, clothing, and where possible, some fuel and cash savings." General Conference April 1976.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie: "I stand before the Church this day and raise the warning voice. It is a prophetic voice, for I shall say only what the apostles and the prophets have spoken concerning our day. ...It is a voice calling upon the Lord's people to prepare for the troubles and desolations which are about to be poured upon the world without measure. For the moment, we live in a day of peace and prosperity but it shall not ever be thus. Great trials lie ahead. All of the sorrows and perils of the past are but a foretaste of what is yet to be. And we must prepare ourselves temporally and spiritually." General Conference April 1979.
President Ezra Taft Benson: "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 will somehow 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?" General Conference October 1980.
Elder James E. Faust: "The counsel to have a year's supply of basic food, clothing, and commodities was given fifty years ago and has been repeated many times since. Every father and mother are the family's store keepers. They should store whatever their own family would like to have in the case of an emergency...store a year's supply...that might keep us form starving in case of emergency." General Conference April 1986.
Elder Thomas S. Monson: "Recent surveys of the Church members have shown a serious erosion in the number of families who have a year's supply of life's necessities. Most members plan to do it. Too few have begun." Ensign , Sept. 1986, p.4.
President Ezra Taft Benson: "I ask you earnestly, have you provided for your family a year's supply of food, clothing, and where possible, fuel? 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." General Conference October 1987.
President Gordon B. Hinckley, "The kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God on the earth will be combined together at Christ's coming - and that time is not far distant. How I wish we could get the vision of this work, the genius of it, and realize the nearness of that great event. I am sure it would have a sobering effect upon us if we realized what is before us." General Conference, October 1992.
President Gordon B. Hinckley, ". . . I am suggesting that the time has come to get our houses in order." October 1998
And an excerpt from a more recent article:
Lay Up in Store
Bishop Keith B. McMullin
Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric
May 2007
“Hearken, O ye people of my church. … Hearken ye people from afar; and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together. …
“Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh.” D&C 1:1, 12.
The doctrine of the Second Coming of the Messiah provides one of the great incentives to prepare and live right. Heavenly Father knows that promised rewards encourage His children to do works of righteousness and promised penalties create a dread of doing evil. Such are the revelations pertaining to the Second Coming of our Lord. See Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. (1966–73), 1:677–78.
These revelations speak of signs and wonders on earth and in the heavens. They point to troublesome times and pending events vast in scope and duration. And most important, we receive these supernal promises:
“The Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst.” D&C 1:36.
“Through my providence, notwithstanding the tribulation which shall descend upon you, … the church may stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world.” D&C 78:14.
And “if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.” D&C 38:30.
For those who will not prepare, remember these words from Paul: “If any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” 1 Timothy 5:8
Also remember President Hinckley's words: "We [should] so live that we can call upon the Lord for His protection and guidance.. We cannot expect His help if we are unwilling to keep His commandments." If We are Prepared, We Shall Not Fear. Nov, 2005
As I recently told some of the relief society sisters in my ward in an e-mail about food storage, "It will save your life someday!" I really do believe that it will.
