mirkwood

Thanks for posting this.  I think we are so much closer to needing to get ourselves prepared temporally then people realize.

How seriously do we take the words of counsel from our leaders?  This is in the September Ensign.  We need to pay attention to our temporal salvation along with our spiritual salvation.  All things are spiritual to the Lord.
 
 
https://www.lds.org/ensign/2014/09/are-we-prepared?lang=eng


Are We Prepared?                            
 By President Thomas S. Monson
 
 
In the vicinity where I once lived and served, the Church operated a poultry project, staffed primarily by volunteers from the local wards. Most of the time it was an efficiently operated project, supplying to the bishops’ storehouse thousands of fresh eggs and hundreds of pounds of dressed poultry. On a few occasions, however, being volunteer city farmers meant not only blisters on the hands but also frustration of heart and mind.
For instance, I shall ever remember the time we gathered the Aaronic Priesthood young men to give the project a spring-cleaning. Our enthusiastic and energetic throng assembled at the project and in a speedy fashion uprooted, gathered, and burned large quantities of weeds and debris. By the light of the glowing bonfires, we ate hot dogs and congratulated ourselves on a job well done.
However, there was just one disastrous problem. The noise and the fires so disturbed the fragile population of 5,000 laying hens that most of them went into a sudden molt and ceased laying. Thereafter we tolerated a few weeds so that we might produce more eggs.
No member of the Church who has helped provide for those in need ever forgets or regrets the experience. Industry, thrift, self-reliance, and sharing with others are not new to us.
We should remember that the best storehouse system would be for every family in the Church to have a supply of food, clothing, and, where possible, other necessities of life.
Of course there may be times when our members are in need of help from the Church. The Lord’s storehouse includes the time, talents, skills, compassion, consecrated material, and financial means of faithful Church members. These resources are available to the bishop in assisting those in need.
We urge all Latter-day Saints to be prudent in their planning, to be conservative in their living, and to avoid excessive or unnecessary debt. Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had a supply of food and clothing and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have a supply of debt and are food-free.
I repeat what the First Presidency declared a few years ago:
“Latter-day Saints have been counseled for many years to prepare for adversity by having a little money set aside. Doing so adds immeasurably to security and well-being. Every family has a responsibility to provide for its own needs to the extent possible.
“We encourage you wherever you may live in the world to prepare for adversity by looking to the condition of your finances. We urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt. Pay off debt as quickly as you can, and free yourselves from this bondage. Save a little money regularly to gradually build a financial reserve.”1
Are we prepared for the emergencies in our lives? Are our skills perfected? Do we live providently? Do we have our reserve supply on hand? Are we obedient to the commandments of God? Are we responsive to the teachings of prophets? Are we prepared to give of our substance to the poor, the needy? Are we square with the Lord?
We live in turbulent times. Often the future is unknown; therefore, it behooves us to prepare for uncertainties. When the time for decision arrives, the time for preparation is past.
 
  

How seriously do we take the words of counsel from our leaders?  This is in the September Ensign.  We need to pay attention to our temporal salvation along with our spiritual salvation.  All things are spiritual to the Lord.
 
 
https://www.lds.org/ensign/2014/09/are-we-prepared?lang=eng


Are We Prepared?                            
 By President Thomas S. Monson
 
 
In the vicinity where I once lived and served, the Church operated a poultry project, staffed primarily by volunteers from the local wards. Most of the time it was an efficiently operated project, supplying to the bishops’ storehouse thousands of fresh eggs and hundreds of pounds of dressed poultry. On a few occasions, however, being volunteer city farmers meant not only blisters on the hands but also frustration of heart and mind.
For instance, I shall ever remember the time we gathered the Aaronic Priesthood young men to give the project a spring-cleaning. Our enthusiastic and energetic throng assembled at the project and in a speedy fashion uprooted, gathered, and burned large quantities of weeds and debris. By the light of the glowing bonfires, we ate hot dogs and congratulated ourselves on a job well done.
However, there was just one disastrous problem. The noise and the fires so disturbed the fragile population of 5,000 laying hens that most of them went into a sudden molt and ceased laying. Thereafter we tolerated a few weeds so that we might produce more eggs.
No member of the Church who has helped provide for those in need ever forgets or regrets the experience. Industry, thrift, self-reliance, and sharing with others are not new to us.
We should remember that the best storehouse system would be for every family in the Church to have a supply of food, clothing, and, where possible, other necessities of life.
Of course there may be times when our members are in need of help from the Church. The Lord’s storehouse includes the time, talents, skills, compassion, consecrated material, and financial means of faithful Church members. These resources are available to the bishop in assisting those in need.
We urge all Latter-day Saints to be prudent in their planning, to be conservative in their living, and to avoid excessive or unnecessary debt. Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had a supply of food and clothing and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have a supply of debt and are food-free.
I repeat what the First Presidency declared a few years ago:
“Latter-day Saints have been counseled for many years to prepare for adversity by having a little money set aside. Doing so adds immeasurably to security and well-being. Every family has a responsibility to provide for its own needs to the extent possible.
“We encourage you wherever you may live in the world to prepare for adversity by looking to the condition of your finances. We urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt. Pay off debt as quickly as you can, and free yourselves from this bondage. Save a little money regularly to gradually build a financial reserve.”1
Are we prepared for the emergencies in our lives? Are our skills perfected? Do we live providently? Do we have our reserve supply on hand? Are we obedient to the commandments of God? Are we responsive to the teachings of prophets? Are we prepared to give of our substance to the poor, the needy? Are we square with the Lord?
We live in turbulent times. Often the future is unknown; therefore, it behooves us to prepare for uncertainties. When the time for decision arrives, the time for preparation is past.
 
  

Now you need to watch the "How it should have ended" version on Youtube. Hilarious.
 
I enjoyed the movie. 

I think I would enjoy Stake Preparedness Specialist.

It is also to have long term non-food storage. Though not all LDS seem to do that. Back when I was in Mutual (what Young Men & Young Women were once called - 1965 when I was a teen) we were taught to store fabric, thread, buttons, snaps, etc. Patterns in sizes for all of our family for every day wear.
 
Grandma & Mom taught how to make an apron pattern, then make the apron to my Mutual class.( My parents were not LDS - us kids were. ) They also taught how to take a dress apart and make two different articles of clothing out of it. I wish I had paid closer attention and practiced more- sure could use that skill today!!
 
Emergency Preparedness is more than just 72 hours - you need to be prepared to go for weeks, months or even years. For myself and my husband, I have a strong feeling that we won't be without water or electricity completely, that we need to get barrels set up to collect rain water, and get alternative cooking - also I feel a great need to turn my side section of the lot, and the back into a raised, intensive food garden, complete with greenhouse. 
 
We both feel that we need to get some form of generators - to power our refrigerator and small freezer. I want to have professionals come in and set up my wood/coal burning parlor stove - to use to heat the entire house. It can also be a small cook stove. 
 
Some LDS are into guns and ammo - to be used to protect what they have. I am for guns and ammo to kill animals for food. BUT first I must learn how to dress out those animals - which in reality won't happen. I am 62, husband is 72 and the most I have ever in my life have done is gut and clean trout and salmon! BUT I know two young families (one of which is LDS) who do butcher livestock! The LDS family is willing to raise the livestock then butcher it for a fee and homemade bread from scratch! So - we can pay them   and with their grain that I will grind, make them bread to total up the $$ amount. 
 
My parents were raised during the Great Depression, their homes were mini mercantile stores. When they shopped for food that they didn't raise or grow themselves, they shopped for several months worth at a time, not by the week or meal.
 
We canned, preserved, pickled, jammed and jellied during the entire harvest season. We had wooden apple crates in the cellar filled with straw that held root vegetables for consumption during the winter and into spring - until the garden was ready to harvest. We had two apple trees in our yard, a neighbor had plums, and another had a different type of plums, still another had pears. We swapped fruits. Our two trees produced so much fruit that we, a family of 12, just could not consume, preserve, jam/jelly all of it. Same with our neighbors. 
 
Mom taught some of the young wive's how to can. The only thing Mom didn't can was meats. She did not have a pressure cooker - she cold canned everything. 
 
When I first separated from hubby #1 - I took the food and half of the cooking appliances. Money was tight- really tight. Every month I bought $5.00 worth of extra food. I also quit buying bread and bought flour and yeast so I could make my own bread. I also quit buying noodles and made my own. A year later I lost my job, and my unemployment benefits were not enough to pay all of my bills AND purchase food. I went on Food Stamps and got assistance from church. The assistance was personal hygiene items, laundry soap, necessary items that food stamps won't pay for. The food stamps was only $45.00 a month - thankfully I had enough food storage to make up for it. 
 
I worked odd jobs, and cleaned homes for money to pay for gas to go out on job interviews. I also turned my yard and neglected flower beds into vegetable gardens. One house I lived in had a *to die for* porch. It was protected from the worst of the storms and from the street and neighbors. The hardware store in town sold me six huge peat pots that were cracked down the side for $0.05 each and I cleaned three houses from top to bottom for the money to buy potting soil, veggie starts & some seeds. 
 
Three sisters in the branch gave me the turntables from their busted microwaves (they had three each) to use as plant saucers for those huge pots. I had fresh salad makings for three months! My HT/VT couple also gave me 1/3 of their greenhouse space to grow veggies - they helped me grow fall and winter vegetables!
 
I bartered my cleaning skills, and bread making skill with members of the church. One sister sewed church clothes for me. Another cut my hair and gave me manicures. One brother installed some light fixtures and helped me make screens for my windows and screen doors (I had 4 exterior doors) for loaves of bread. All he wanted was 4 loaves - I made him 8 loaves a month for a year. 
 
In June, Husband and I gave a 5th Sunday presentation on Emergency Preparedness - Food Storage. We emphasized that it is more than 72 hours, 3 or 6 months, that it is more than just food. 
 
It was like discussing my Mother's shopping habits, and what was in her pantry. It was also about the bolts of fabric, tins of thread spools, upteen tins of buttons, zippers, etc. removed from garments too worn to wear anymore and that had been *re-purposed* into rag rugs, rag hot pads, etc. 
 
Spirit Dragon said: 
 
To me, the Lord will provide by giving me the skills, knowledge and siblings in Zion who have the skill sets I do not have that I can barter and trade with. By living a spiritual life, I will then be in-tune with the Holy Spirit to receive all of this. 

I've always found this to be the best explanation of who will be involved and what will happen
https://www.lds.org/manual/old-testament-student-manual-kings-malachi/enrichment-i?lang=eng

People, especially people who are facing their mortality, want to know that they are cared for and thought of by others. Too often we back away when someone we know is facing the end of their life, when instead we should be coming closer. You don't need to do anything grand or exciting, just be there for them, and talk to them. Provide needed service, Help take the load and stress off the surviving caregiver(s).

I spent five years making far more then normal visits with one of my best friends as he died.  His wife told me as I was leaving one of those visits that he really enjoyed when I would come by and talk.

I spent five years making far more then normal visits with one of my best friends as he died.  His wife told me as I was leaving one of those visits that he really enjoyed when I would come by and talk.

Awww...crap...

I think I should put him in charge of all the old dead threads.  I think he would fit in well there.

Thanks...we should celebrate by listening to some Rush!  (oops wrong thread)
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRw9wlOZ9Lg

You should have held out for more pay.......Lol!!!

Please welcome mirkwood and classylady as new members of our moderating staff.
 
They will both be wonderful additions to our moderating staff.

R.E.M.
 
or
 
 
RUSH of coarse  

Nightwish 

He volunteered, let him do it.  I offer to help people all the time, whether or not I HT them.  I would wonder how I had ticked off my HT family if I offered to do something for them and they declined.

I agree with this however, if they volunteer to do a specific task and ask if they can do it for you I say let them do it if you feel that they can do it well and correctly.
 
Many want the chance to do service and should we deny them the opportunity if they ask if they can help?

Yes they are safe. They have reduced both officer and suspect injuries.
Would I tase a kid? Depends on the circumstances. I would not be inclined to tase a 7 year old, or even an 11 year old, but they could do something to change that picture. Hard to say.
Same with a pregnant woman. I'd be disinclined, but they could do something to change that.
I fought a 17 heard old football player once. He wore me and my partner out...literally, there was nothing left with open handed techniques. So I tased him. Twice. It did not have the desired effect, so I pepper sprayed him. That worked.
I went on a suicidal male with a knife. He turned towards us with a knife. He got tased multiple times. He did not get shot because of the tasing.
Another guy lunged for a knife during a welfare check. He got tased multiple times. Without the taser he got shot instead.
Three of us and three or four firefighters brawled with a coke head. He tried to grab my gun during the fight. The use of the taser got him in handcuffs.
Four of us were breaking up a drunken party. My partner and I were in the backyard dealing with about 20 drunks. One decided he needed to go to jail and got handcuffed. The other 19 drunks didn't like that and started advancing on us with mayhem in mind. My taser pointed at them scared them into backing away and gave us time to get more help on scene.
My partner arrived on a domestic with a knife. Husband is in the driveway threatening his wife with a butcher knife. My partner snuck up behind him and tased him before he even knew he was there. Without a taser, that likely becomes a shooting instead.
A guy answers the door with a knife in his hand. Taser to the chest and we did not have to shoot him as he threatened us.
The list goes on and on.

Or, another way to put it, pride --- *bum bum bum* -- Beware of Pride - from a Prophet's mouth. :)
 
Edit: What a great article by President Benson!

I think another problem is often the meaning of these phrases are twisted into something else.

Tolerance becomes endorsement of all of their sins, and don't even dare call their sins what they are.

Love you neighbor becomes this odd condemnation for the church not putting every last penny into charity, or condemnation for investing in local economies instead of donating every last penny.

Equality becomes sameness, instead of equality of value.  Especially our different roles as genders are seen as sexist.

Just read this article and found it highly fascinating and quite insightful:
 
http://www.millennialstar.org/the-mormon-intellectuals-trojan-horses/
 
Not sure how much discussion it will generate, but, from my perspective at least, it's fairly spot on.
 
For those who don't wish to read through it, the Trojan horses it lists that intellectuals use to undermine the church are:
 
Overemphasizing the importance of personal revelation. Overemphasizing the importance of “thus saith the Lord”. Overemphasizing the importance of church history. Overemphasizing the fallibility of prophets.  
As I've seen a significant amount of just these issues, constantly repeated even here in this forum, I thought there might be some interesting discussion (or debate) to come of it. 

Heart
 

Awww...crap...