mormon preparedness

Natural Disasters—We Don’t Have to Be Afraid

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As we seek Heavenly Father’s guidance, the Holy Ghost will help us prepare for, endure, and recover from natural disasters.

The last days will be marked by many calamities and the rise of evil in the world. Against these threats the Lord and His prophets have given us counsel on how to be righteous and avoid spiritual pitfalls and evil. However, calamities—such as tornadoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis—seem to strike randomly and devastate the just as well as the unjust. These calamities terrify many of us. But I have learned that we don’t have to be afraid of disasters. When we are grounded in the gospel and when we are prepared, we can weather any storm.

Before the Storm: Make Preparation a Family Priority

In September 2005, I was an Area Seventy serving in the North America Southwest Area, which included parts of the United States such as Houston, Texas. We learned that Hurricane Rita—the most intense cyclone in recorded history that had ever been observed in the Gulf of Mexico—was headed straight for us. Continue reading →

Family Home Storage – A New Message

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Check the expiration date on

 your ideas about home storage.

You may need to throw some of them out.

As a single mother working for a law firm in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, Evelyn Jeffries struggled to find the time and the space necessary for home storage. Although she attended activities and meetings about food storage and tried to be obedient to prophetic counsel, like many Church members, she found it difficult to imagine what she could ever do with the hundreds of pounds of wheat she was told she needed to have for her and her daughter.

 When a sister in her ward suggested a different approach, Sister Jeffries discovered the key to successful home storage: Continue reading →

Self Reliance

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xymonau (sxc.hu)

Provide for Self and Family

 

Church members are respon­sible for their own spiritual and temporal well-being.  Blessed with the gift of agency, they have the privilege of setting their own course, solving their own prob­lems, and striving to become self-reliant.  Members do this under the inspiration of the Lord and with the labor of their own hands.

Elements of Self Reliance

Self-reliance is the ability, com­mitment, and effort to provide the necessities of life for self and family.  As members become self-reliant, they are also better able to serve and care for others.

Some of the areas in which members should become self-reliant are: Continue reading →

Long Term Food Storage

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Long  term storage means a supply of food that will last a long time, and that you can survive on.   Of  course, they must be properly packaged and stored in a cool dry place.  Some recommended containers are #10 cans, foil pouches, or PETE bottles.  Sometimes plastics buckets can be used.

For more information talk to your Relief Society, Self Reliance/Emergency Preparedness Specialist, Cannery Coordinator, visit providentliving.org, or just ask me. Continue reading →

Domestic Terrorism

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Never Forget

DOMESTIC TERRORISM PREPAREDNESS

Images of airliners used as missiles in terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon as well as bombing attacks on the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City and the Olympic Centennial Park in Atlanta are hard to forget.  These terrorist events caused thousands of deaths and injuries and billions of dollars in property losses. They have also inflicted a huge emotional toll within the impacted communities as well as throughout the world.  The FBI defines terrorism as “the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.” A significant terrorism threat we face today is that of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and these consist of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) weapons.

Although bombing has been the most popular method used in terrorist incidents in the United States, Continue reading →

Water is the Most Important Item to Store

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Kriss Szkurlatowski

Loss of safe drinking water can be deadly. Most people, with few exceptions, will be feeling the effects if they do without water for more than 36 hours. Dehydration occurs much quicker than starvation. Our bodies can tolerate the loss of food much better.

With an ample water supply, starvation is delayed many days, even weeks.

The City water supply is vulnerable to the effects of a large earthquake. Contaminants can get into the drinking water supply through ruptures in the pipes, through the mixing up of sediments, through the adulteration of filtering systems, etc. Now, we take our water for granted. That will be dangerous after a big quake.

HOW MUCH SHOULD I STORE? Continue reading →

Guidelines for Ward and Stake Emergency Plans

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Wards and stakes should have a plan in the event of an emergency.  Plans are prepared by ward and stake welfare committees under the direction of the bishop or stake president.  Plans should be updated periodically.  The following should be included:

  • Disasters likely to occur and response actions needed.
  • Assignment of responsibilities to priesthood and Relief Society.
  • Maps, addresses, and contact information of members.
  • Procedure to account for missionaries and members following a disaster.
  • A list of members with special needs.
  • Procedures to assist members who may experience emotional trauma.
  • A list of members with available resources such as medical training or the ability to operate heavy equipment.
  • How stake leaders will contact the area office (outside the United States and Canada) or Church headquarters (United States and Canada) following a disaster.
  • Contact information for the local government, the Red Cross, and other emergency response agencies.
© 2008 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. English approval: 1/08

Wild Fires and Evacuation

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Garrison Photography

Number of Fires and Acres Burned in California:

NUMBER OF FIRES AND ACRES:

INTERVAL FIRES ACRES
January 1, 2019 through July 7, 2019 2,108 19,144
January 1, 2018 through July 7, 2018 2,893 149,059
5-Year Average (same interval) 2,757 58,925
2019 Combined YTD (CALFIRE & US Forest Service) 2,451 23,911
Interval Fires  Acres
January 1, 2009 through September 26, 2009 7,198   54,109
January 1, 2008 through September 26, 2008 5,007 357,903
5 year average (same interval) 6,689 172,848
(All statistics are for CDF jurisdiction fires only and are subject to change until final fire season reports are completed and tabulated.)

Evacuations save lives and allow responding personnel to focus on the Continue reading →