Doctrine and Covenants section 136 is a revelation given to Brigham Young as he was preparing the saints to emigrate from Winter Quarters, Nebraska to the Salt Lake Valley in Utah. It is full of instructions to him and to the saints on how to organize and prepare for their 1300 mile trek west.
Verse 27, of section 136, instructs “Thou shalt be diligent in preserving what thou hast, that thou mayest be a wise steward…” Isn’t that also sound advice for today?
In 1976, Pres. Spencer W. Kimball said, “In the National Geographic magazine last month, we clipped a picture of a woman bringing bottled and canned fruit to her storage room, which was full of the products of her labors and was neat and tidy. That’s the way the Lord planned that we should prepare and eat our vegetables.”
A few years later, Elder Ezra Taft Benson, former Secretary of Agriculture, encouraged members to “Can or bottle fruit and vegetables from your gardens and orchards. Learn how to preserve food through drying and possibly freezing.”
I invite you to make a 2026 goal to preserve something new or in a new way – canning, freezing, dehydrating, freeze drying, pickling, fermenting, or curing. Good resources are:
The USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning
The National Center for Home Food Preservation
The University of Georgia So Easy to Preserve
