Akita

Its not so much that gold and silver are rising, it is that the real value of the dollar is dropping. You are seeing the same thing in other commodities as well (eg, oil). I know our government assures us that that there is no appreciable inflation, but the marketplace says differently. Precious metals tend to hold their buying power over time (with flucuations of course), but since all they do is hold their own, they make lousy investments. (tho they can help you sleep well in tough economic times).

I'm not sure what you mean by 'bretheren', Revelationtoo. (I'm not LDS) Even if the water is poisoned by some means(eg overturned RR tanker), it can be cleaned up via filters and/or boiling/distilling. Certainly I would never tell anyone NOT to store water. When a water pipe breaks, the well pump fails, or whatever short term outage it may be, trekking down to the crik is tougher than tapping the storage supply even in good weather! Backups to Backups to Backups!

I also find that a very interesting way to look at this. Personally, I think good folks of all religions spend too much time concentrating on the differences between this or that doctrine instead of looking at our commonalities and our objectives (which seem to be almost universal).

Depending on where you live, it may be more important to store a means of purifying water than storing it. eg, in the east, you are rarely very far from a stream. In the west, water storage becomes a Great deal more important.

LM, I think you have pretty well categorized the entire population, not just LDS. (and I didnt know Sousken was a Mormon) I think the one of best reasons for preparing is so that we will be in a better position to help others in a time of need. In a crisis, its hard to help anyone else if you are struggling to get your own family squared away.

You can get these at your local Bishop's Storehouse (cannery). They work. I think they are about $2 each. If the plastic is heavy enough (like the pack they come in), it will keep the 02 out.

Water never EVER "goes bad". But bad things can get into water or grow in it. Use normal preparation methods(boiling, fiiltering, chem additives:yuck:, steri-pen, etc) for any suspect water before consuming. Aerating the water by shaking a partial container helps with the 'taste'. We dont store more water than we need to flush with when the county main (regularly) breaks as we live about 100yds from a major river, but we do have many filters and ways to procure and sterilize river and rain water.

I have no idea about your climate zone, but tomatos, green beans, various squashes, and potatos grow like weeds for me with a minimum of care. Ask at your local garden center for the best varieties of these. And always experiment each year with different crops and varieties of old favorites. You may just suprise yourself. I'm a pretty picky eater but I've found that I LOVE some veggies straight out of the garden that I wouldnt consider eating otherwise. Fresh homegrown can really make a difference! And dont let your failures get you down. Every gardener that I know can grow cukes like they are dandelion weeds but i absolutely cannot get more than 1 cuke per plant regardless of what I do. This is after decades of gardening of all types. Some things just arent explainable. PS: compost and earthworms are a garderner's best friends. And the best fertilizer you can put on your garden is your shadow.

As a general rule, anything that tastes bad is good for you.

Thank You for the kind welcome, farmer. & I'm always happy to open my mouth and show folks how much I dont know. "When seconds count, the police are only minutes away" Unfortunately thats usually true. What you will do in those minutes is something you should decide now while you are not under life-threatening stress. Will you choose to fight, be it with a firearm, fists, golfclub, baseball bat, or whatever is at hand? Or will you try to run away? Perhaps you have a 'safe' room or storm shelter you can hide or barricade yourself in. None of the options are very appealing when evil stalks you, and all of them have their drawbacks. This is a very personal decision that should not be taken lightly. Whatever your decision, think about it Now before the crisis hits. Not to choose a path of action makes it a certainty that you have chosen to be a victim. Placing your trust in God is one thing; placing your trust in a criminal is entirely different. Truely Evil people walk this earth. I have met one; only one in my career. A killer without remorse, a torturer for the entertainment of it. And he is up for parole in about 8 years. I'm sure there's more. Please dont choose to be a victim. I still recall my first SWAT callout vividly. Felony drug house, meth cookers/users/dealers known to carry firearms. Now I had years and years of law enforcement experience before this and umpteen hours of training, including pretty much everything you see on COPS (which is very realistic btw). I have drawn my weapons on many felons (but i never discharged a round in my career), and been in my share of chases and fights, but I still remember that feeling on the ride to the house. 'This is it. I could die today. Concentrate. Do Your Job. Remember your training. Do Your Job. Concentrate'. I was excited, I could feel the adrenaline flowing and things did seem to happen in slow motion(just a little) as we took down the house and occupants with no incident. Post raid, I was pretty 'bouncy' from the adrenaline for a couple of hours. As I have never actually been in a gun battle, I can only relate what friends who have been there/done that have told me. Things slow down, you get tunnel vision, your hearing goes away, you fire, you wonder why he isnt going down immediately, you dont think, you revert to your training. That last one is very important. I have found this to be true in many endeavors. When under stress, you Will fall back on your training. I dont remember my first fight with a criminal but I was far from an inexperienced fighter from my ice hockey days. The difference when you are fighting 'for real' instead of 'for fun' (did i just say that? i sure didnt mean it that way!) is a mindset that you KNOW you must win. When in a life threatening confrontation, all the rules are off and you should do whatever it takes to protect your life and the lives of your loved ones. Did I answer your question? I just reread my post and it seemed kind of rambling. Hope it helps.

I would like to add that I would be happy to chime in and assist anyone on firearms and related questions. I am a retired police officer and former SWAT for a small-medium sized southern county. I am somewhat new to this Preparedness thing, but have found some excellent posts here on the subject. My prepping education is also coming from some wonderful ladies at my local Bishop's Storehouse/Cannery(i help out there but am not a LDS member) who have opened my eyes to the need to prepare more.