In the pamphlet All is Safely Gathered In: Family Home Storage, The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tells us “With careful planning, you can, over time, establish a home storage supply and a financial reserve.”
In the April 2021 General Conference of the Church, Joy D. Jones, then General Primary President, made an important statement. “Accidental conversion is not a principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Becoming like our Savior will not happen randomly.”
Can you see a relationship between the statements by The First Presidency and Sis. Jones? Important things don’t happen accidentally or randomly. They happen with careful planning and are given careful attention.
Pondering the word “prepared” will help you understand that true preparedness results only from careful planning. It’s not accidental and it’s not random. These teachings from the October 2020 General Conference can assist in your pondering:
“…procrastinating preparation leads to unsuccessful proving.” “Effective and timely preparation precedes successful proving.” – David A. Bednar
“Choices have to be made. Not making a choice is a choice. Learn to choose now.”- Jeffrey R. Holland
“The Lord does not expect us to do more than we can do, but He does expect us to do what we can do, when we can do it.” – W. Christopher Waddell
“When considering the principle of preparedness, we can look back to Joseph in Egypt for inspiration. Knowing what would happen would not have been sufficient to carry them through the ‘lean’ years without a degree of sacrifice during the years of abundance…It was not enough to know that challenging times would come. They had to act, and because of their effort, ‘there was bread.’ “ – W. Christopher Waddell
“…aspects of a spiritual foundation for temporal preparedness include acting ‘in wisdom and order,’ which implies a gradual buildup of food storage and savings over time, as well as embracing ‘small and simple’ means, which is a demonstration of faith that the Lord will magnify our small but consistent efforts.” – W. Christopher Waddell
“As we embrace spiritual principles and seek inspiration from the Lord, we will be guided to know the Lord’s will for us, individually and as families, and how best to apply the important principles of temporal preparedness.” – W. Christopher Waddell
True preparedness takes careful planning. Take time to ponder what you need to do. Take time to seek counsel from the Lord. Listen to His counsel concerning your family’s preparedness needs. Ask questions of experienced and trusted individuals when you need help acting on the Lord’s counsel you receive. With careful planning and attention, you can, indeed, become more prepared.
