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The eland is quite tasty. Like very good beef.

Klaw will be eating me before I eat him. (ETA: You might say that I'm his emergency plan.)

Thank you, for your list. Much of that is done for me. If I could rely on the money in my various accounts still being viable for the next ten years, and supplies being purchasable, then I would be set (for that length of time). But I'm becoming concerned that in fewer years, our money will cease to be viable. Now, I'm not acting hastily. I'm learning and talking to people and increasing my knowledge so that I can take my concerns and plans to the Lord for further guidance. There are a few areas where I know I already need to increase my reserves to what the Church has already counseled: more food, more water. Alternative winter heating is also a concern, just in case. But I'm wondering about going further than that. This: ...sounds like a fabulous idea. Energy independence seriously appeals. I kinda doubt I could do it here in Salt Lake County for $100k. And it may well be over the top - I don't know, which is why I want to talk to other people, and I don't have many IRL people to talk to, hence you guys. (I'm assuming none of you are out to rip me off, so it's fairly safe to listen to your advice.) Even if I could do something like this, I'd have to go get a real job after paying for it... @estradling75's Tesla Powerwall also sounds appealing, though yeah, awfully expensive - probably ~4 years of money (I think of my money in terms of "buy this and I have n fewer years or months in the bank"). I shall ponder and do some reading. (Part of the difficulty for me is that this is one area of technology where I'm completely ignorant and all too many companies see a woman alone and think, "let's take all her money cuz she won't know whether we're lying.") Thus, moving forward with water storage and more food storage, learning about energy/power and other things. Thank you, everyone, for your contributions so far. I'm adding to my lists.

I wasn't thinking we only discuss my situation, but rather, all our various ideas. But my thought is that if I'm prepared for an economic collapse - which would likely result in long term (several months, possibly years) reliance on my own resources, and possibly bartering with others nearby (eventually) - I would also be prepared for anything that didn't drive me out of my home, which seems far less likely. And honestly, I really don't have anywhere better to go, so the only way I'm leaving home is if my home is destroyed. Yeah, this seems pretty impossible in the suburbs. Even without ordinances, storing it in the basement seems downright foolish. And the shed (exposed to temperature fluctuations) doesn't seem much better. So fuel storage would have to be short term, probably. But this adds an item to my to-do list: research fuel stability and safe storage requirements. So thank you for that. (I know I need to figure out how much electricity my various appliances use. I've already listed them out by priority.) I figured I'd get one of those 3-fuel generators (natural gas, gasoline, propane). As for "how long" - as long as possible. If the economy collapses, will utilities continue to run? How quickly might they come back? I've also considered looking into a wood-burning stove and filling the shed with firewood. This would probably be more expensive than a generator, and I would do it in addition, but I'm thinking something to heat one room in winter and possibly to cook some stuff on - this is a new idea and I need to research. The solar was for the Bluetti (or similar) power storage thing, to charge it back up. I've seen some guys on YouTube (a blacksmith and a wood turner) testing these out to see if they'll power their lathe and other power tools, and how long it takes the solar panels to charge them). Honestly, it looks pretty impressive. Not for long-term power supply, but good for mobile and shorter-term use. I'm thinking of it more as an "in addition to" - a variety of options to give the most flexibility and best possible coverage... Was sort of hoping someone here had experience with these and could say, "here's what's working for me". Yes, this is one of my recurring thoughts. I've pondered a manual wheat grinder. (Not as exciting as YouTube, but perhaps more wholesome.... ) Yes! New addition to my list - and a little difficult since that food will change once Klaw becomes an adult - and the quantity he eats is increasing monthly... I have an unfinished basement that's just begging for water storage tanks. I've already selected some, but need to look into how I get them home. I also have one of those bags made of food-safe plastic that you put in your tub and fill with as much water as your tub will hold. They're more for situations where you know you're going to have a need, not for long-term storage. But I'll be adding the filtration and sanitization options to my list. Thank you for adding to my list of things to do. I'll start some research. If anyone wants to recommend specific products, I'm all ears.

Welcome to Third Hour, @SCD!

Yes! Learned about that a couple years ago. "dogs" does something similar. The "Esc"ape key gets you out of it on Windows. I forget how to get out of it on a phone.

Welcome, @WJL! Glad you've joined and hope to see you more. I believe that people in certain callings can create circles - e.g. that your SS President could create circles for the classes. The average member can't do that (and probably not the SS Teacher, unless someone in the ward can grant them that right). FWIW, the Church has forums for all its apps - they aren't visited by the development teams, but there are tech users there who may be able to help more. Here's the one for the "Living" app. You can use your Church (website and Library / Tools app) login there, if you want to post.

I'm wondering if anyone is interested in discussing details of preparing for [whatever] as things currently stand I'm game for discussing both the sorts of things we might expect to go wrong (what we're preparing to survive) and details of how to prepare. Personally, I'd like to discuss more details than usually occur in these sorts of discussions. For example: Power: I'd like to get a generator. I'm also wondering about those backup power things like Bluetti (thinking the solar panels option might be good). But, I'm pretty ignorant in this area - I don't know how "big" of a generator I'd need. What I could realistically expect to run on the generator or not. Ditto for how "big" a backup power thing. Would I even need that? When would one or the other be better? Or are they redundant? Technically, I could go for one of those Generac whole-house generators, but I'm not so sure that would be good for anything other than your typical short-term power-outage. Food seems the least difficult for me, but experiences or recommendations of good brands would probably help all of us. I'm currently most actively looking into water storage - like, lots of water. At least 320 gallons. The dang things (storage options) are expensive, but it's beginning to look like my money will be worthless before I run out of it, so why not spend some on something I'll need (should said money become useless)? Clothing, toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc. all seem pretty straight forward. I'm sure there are things I'm missing - like last night I realized it would be really smart to get a second pair of glasses and keep them somewhere safe, since I'm all but useless without my glasses. A discussion of this sort of thing would be welcome, too. As far as what to prepare for, it's looking more and more like the thing to worry about is economic collapse (where money becomes worthless, or there are significant shortages of stuff (making the money useless if not worthless), or the whole CBDC thing becomes a reality). It seems like things one can use or trade are the best things to get in preparation for [whatever]... Anywho, short question: is anyone else interested in discussing these things? I'm kinda hoping the collective wisdom will help many or even all of us...

Klaw is my male kitten. So yes, "he". Yes. They're slip-on. I leave them lying around for when I need to slip into some shoes quickly (e.g. to go outside, to the garage, etc.). I'm usually barefoot in summer indoors (sometimes outdoors, too, but not usually). Nope. Me, kitty, and shoes he likes to play with. Life is perfect.

The other day, Klaw got one of his claws stuck deep inside my slip-on sneakers (for some reason, he loves to play with these). He couldn't get it out (was hooked awkwardly). He was clomping around like a toddler in Dad's shoes (except he was up to his armpit in my shoe). I laughed the whole time I was extricating his claw from the shoe. It wasn't easy. One could say we both had a problem with footwear.

This is an excellent answer, @clbent04. Hymns are powerful teachers. I would recommend that you do some hymn-study similar to what I described here in the second comment of this thread (the link should take you to that comment): ...in essence, start with prayer. Then listen to the hymn (many can be found on YouTube by the Tabernacle Choir). At least read the associated scriptures, but better to summarize them and write what they teach you (not what they say, what the Spirit teaches you as you read them). Then write out each verse of the hymn (the chorus only once), and for each, write your spiritual impressions. Do this for all the sacrament hymns. You might be surprised how much you learn - or at least how much your faith is strengthened.

For me, whether I feel this depends on details I don't know (that is, I'm not sure what you mean, so I can't be sure whether I'm feeling the same thing). So my answer may differ from those already given... 1. The Atonement is something Christ experienced / did. It is not a separate entity to which Christ relates in some way - it is what he went through. By virtue of carrying out the Atonement, Christ gains the right, authority, power to be our mediator with the Father and our judge in the resurrection. It also gives him the right to suspend judgement (as he chooses), extend mercy, forgive, heal, etc. Obviously, the fact that he is the Son of God and also God gives him those same rights and abilities, but the Atonement was required to extend all that to us. 2. We have no clue how that works. Prophets - people I believe interacted face-to-face with Christ - say that we cannot understand it. While one can pursue increasing understanding, one should not be discouraged or let their faith be shaken by the fact that they don't understand how the Atonement works. 3. The scriptures (when viewed in total and through the lens of the restored gospel) tell us an awful lot about God's power, his laws, our relationship to him, why we are here, and why we need a Savior. I strongly recommend you turn to the topical guide, starting with "Jesus Christ, Atonement through" and study every link - read not just to see what it says, but what you personally learn, what the Spirit teaches you, how you can act in faith, etc. Don't worry about how long it takes - if it takes a lifetime, so be it. From there, study the "See also" topics. You might also like the "Topics and Questions" entry for "Atonement of Jesus Christ" - there are actually two, but I only linked the first as the second can be found from there. The scriptures are the words of Christ - studying them, with him in mind (asking "What does this teach me about Christ?") can be enlightening and strengthen your faith in and relationship with him. Acting on what you learn is required. Repentance and prayer guided by the Spirit (as in, "What should I pray for?" and waiting for the Spirit to guide your prayer) should also help. If the Spirit tells you to study something else - study something else. I think your friend gave you good advice, and contentment is good - as long as you aren't content with your sins. Don't give up trying to learn. Don't give up on trying to improve and increase in spiritual strength. Be content with God's will and blessings, not content with your own weakness. You're not alone in knowing very little - none of us knows a fraction's fraction of what's out there to know. And yes, God may be trying to teach you and even try you by making you work harder to gain understanding. We all have our trials, and I have become convinced that the primary thing we are to learn through them is to choose God first, no matter what. And that's a lot harder than it sounds, so don't give up.

I submit that what it really says is that there is a law law says: "All blessings are predicated on obedience to laws." Given this law, we understand that "whenever we obtain any blessing, it is through obedience to the law upon which said blessing was predicated". (My interpretation.) Of course, there's also the more general law of obedience, so perhaps it really is one law - when we obtain blessings, it is because we obeyed. (But "upon that law" implies "as opposed to some other law", so, yeah, back where we started. ) It occurs to me that this debate could be solved through perfect obedience... Then the question of which laws or how many laws or whatever would become academic... I recently heard (and have yet to try to confirm it) that a 2-day fast will cause the body to produce HGH (which is good for you), so, yeah, maybe longer fasts ought to be more common (assuming this or other benefits will result).

I also don't disagree. From my perspective, the usefulness in recognizing that one's understanding may be inaccurate or incomplete is in being patient when you don't perceive blessings and in continuing to study, ponder, and pray for further understanding (rather than assuming you've already got all the understanding you need).

It's also possible that we (mortals as a whole) tend to be too literal or precise in these things, wanting to strictly delineate what exactly is law and what exactly is blessing and so our perception differs from reality - not that the Lord doesn't set specific bounds, but his bounds may not match our bounds...

The other possibility is that there are blessings predicated on the law of the fast, but there is some other law upon which those same blessings are predicated. Thus, you can get them by obeying the law of the fast, or by obeying [some other law]. The wording of the verse makes this a little bit of a stretch, but I don't think we can entirely rule it out. I think more likely there are overlapping sets of blessings and some of the blessings which come from fasting also come from other laws, but I doubt that you can get the entire set any other way. PS: I've been breaking the law of feline-induced paralysis and Klaw is not pleased. I shall now repent.

Yes, it doesn't work for everyone - having multiple people in the house changes everything. I'd say you're more likely heaven-bound than hell-bound. I'm sure you, your family, and Strider will figure out something that works eventually.

Sorry, but this wording clearly supports @Vort's interpretation. However, it's imprecise enough that we can theorize the following relationships between blessings and laws (where "M" is "Many"): 1:1 (One law offers one blessing) 1:M (One law offers many specific blessings) M:1 (Many specific laws offer this same blessing) M:M (Many specific laws offer these many specific blessings) I expect that @Vort is considering the fact that there are natural physical consequences to fasting. These consequences are at least some of the blessings. Therefore, if you don't fast, you cannot get those blessings (unless God interferes and triggers whatever physiological things would have happened had you fasted). Presumably, there are other blessings beyond the physical side-effects, otherwise we wouldn't distinguish between starving oneself and fasting. Whether fasting is the only "trigger" for these other blessings, I won't venture to guess.

I removed, re-routed, and otherwise protected all the cords I could before and just after bringing Klaw home. I'm here almost all the time, so I can make the "don't do that" noise to train him out of chewing the cords - he doesn't do it anymore. I also got him some chew toys - turns out 3+ months is when they start losing their kitten teeth and having something soft to chew on during that time helps. The puppies were worse, but we had more electrical cables back then. Sounds like Strider might have done better with a buddy - two kittens often keep each other out of trouble because they play with each other rather than looking for things to play with. Or a barn cat - which might be more what you wanted anyway. They seem to have genetic memory or something that makes them only want to be outside.

Welcome, @Diana Hone! Glad you've joined us. Hope to hear more from you.

Nap time with mom (he lies on a towel on the desk between me and the keyboard, between my arms. Klaw's first tree climbing (he successfully got into and back out of the (dead) tree without injury - but didn't get the bird).

Cleverly enough, this week's Come, Follow Me chapter includes Acts 10, which is the story of Cornelius, who was fasting - v30 (and praying, thank you, @Traveler), whose fast resulted in Simon Peter having a vision and opening the way for the gospel to be preached to all nations. You might could argue that the gospel would have gone to all whether Cornelius fasted or not, but I don't think you could argue that Cornelius would have been central to that event had he not been the sort given to fasting and prayer.

I know. She doesn't eat such foods - she's gonna outlive us all. That was just an example. Her point was that where you matured and your genetics impact how your body processes foods and you may not have the right [whatever they were] in your digestive system to process certain foods. The other arm is free...

Welcome, @Ldsjones! I can't remember what I was told in the temple either (though I remember the room we sat in as one of the female temple workers talked to us, and who else was there with me - 4 of us). I've always just assumed it was basically what that letter said, and what @Carborendum said. I don't think it would hurt a thing to talk to your bishop or stake president about it, either. While "the Atonement of Jesus Christ" could be included in either of those (in a sense), I would add it as a third bullet point.

My aunt claims that people who grew up in the US (for example) lack certain [somethings - amino acids? proteins? I forget] to allow them to digest, for example, soy. So maybe it is genetic. Meanwhile, Klaw would like me to abstain from typing while he's using my arm as a pillow...