Helen Free VanderBeck of Idaho Falls, Idaho, said it best in her article in the March, 1983, issue of the Ensign, entitled The Reason for Toasters: “There was a time when it took a father and mother and all their children an entire spring, summer, and fall to provide food and shelter for the family until the next harvest. Then the Lord said, ‘Be a missionary. Store a year’s supply of food. Search out your genealogy and write…
Emergency Preparedness – We Have to Pay Taxes, . . . don’t we? “That which is taxed decreases, while that which is subsidized increases.” Legislators know this rule well. Governments need revenue, but will offer tax breaks to encourage things that promote self-sufficiency, valuable social and environmental policies, retirement, and charitable giving. If you knew that it only cost $.78 for every dollar you gave to charity, would you be more giving? In higher income brackets, $.65…
Emergency Preparedness – Things We Keep. I grew up in the late 40’s – baby boomer from practical, hard working parents. My mother washed aluminum foil and reused it before recycling was ever a word. Dad felt better in resoled shoes than new ones. Both were great at making do and fixing things – curtain rods, window screens, oven door, lawn mower, hem in a dress – things we’d keep. That was our way of life, and it…
Emergency Preparedness – Self-sufficient Servants Survive. There is nothing like an emergency to force people to make decisions. Immediately, by action or lack of, people decide whether they will be survivors or victims. Do nothing (that’s a decision) and you will probably die without outside help. The most lethal element to survival is giving up on your self. Survivors require a self-sufficient attitude from education and/or experience. People are willing to give up least what they have…
Emergency Preparedness – “Live From the Gulf Coast” (22 Sept ‘05) by Melba Cox Pensacola, Florida: “We are hangin’ in here! “Rita” is an SEH storm so far. “Somebody Else’s Hurricane.” I feel for the Louisiana and Texas people this weekend. (24 Sept ’05) Our wards have been sending out work parties (since 29 Aug ’05 to clean up Katrina) of 7+ each weekend until now. They don’t want us on the roads this time, due to so…
Emergency Preparedness – Chill Out. Wayne Dyer has long been a voice for simple planning and stress-free living. Here are a few thoughts: 1. Understand that you are the source of your stress. I have so many things to do that I can never get caught up. I can never get ahead in this job. I worry about my health problems. I feel uneasy about the economy, and have lost so much money already. My family members are…
Emergency Preparedness – “. . .that the church may stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial worlds.” (D&C 78:14) (From J. Thomas Fyans, of the Presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy, Gen Conf., April 3, ‘82.) “The Church can be no more independent than the collective independence of its individual members. We fear that some may misunderstand the intent of the resources of the welfare program of the Church and fall into a false sense…
Emergency Preparedness – Who Needs the PBGC? United Airlines employees are currently asking: “If my employer can’t afford my retirement benefits, who will take care of me?” The answer, of course, is the PBGC (Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation). Currently holding about $33.2 billion in assets, a little known arm of the US Government is ready to insure benefits for qualified retirees if their company goes under. The future appears secure until one recognizes that the…
72-Hour Emergency First Responder Kits – Conclusions A group is only as strong as the poorest prepared person in it. Individual skills, resources and tools are part of the intelligence we acquire through opportunities for learning. The Doctrine and Covenants says that intelligence is made up of light and truth. You can’t live by truth you don’t know, and “ . . . the time will come when you cannot live on borrowed light.” Individual preparedness is essential…
Emergency Preparedness – Support Our Troops. “To none is freedom more dear than to those who have bled and fought to preserve it.” The USO is a great organization few seem to know much about. “Isn’t it a government program from World War II to entertain the troops,” questioned a traveler who saw their sign in a major US airport? Like the Boy Scouts, the USO is chartered by Congress as a non-profit public funded organization…