The Value of Gold

[lds2]

"Were I to ask the question, how much wheat or anything else a man must have to justify him in letting it go to waste...if the question were asked them if they considered their grain a burden and a drudge to them, when they had plenty last year and the year before, (they) would answer in the affirmative, and were ready to part with it for next to nothing.How do they feel now, when their granaries are empty? If they had a few thousand bushels to spare now, would they not consider it a blessing? They would. Why? Because it would bring the gold and silver."

"But pause for a moment, and suppose you had millions of bushels to sell, and could sell it for twenty dollars per bushel, or for a million dollars per bushel, no matter what amount, so that you sell all your wheat,and transport it out of the country, and you are left with nothing more than a pile of gold, what good would it do you? You could not eat it, drink it, wear it, or carry it off where you could have something to eat." "THE TIME WILL COME that gold will hold no comparison in value to a bushel of wheat. Gold is not to be compared with it in value. Why would it be precious to you now? Simply because you could get gold for it? Gold is good for nothing, only as men value it. It is no better than a piece of iron, a piece of limestone,or a piece of sandstone, and it is not half so good as the soil from which we raise our wheat, and other necessaries of life. The children of men love it, they lust after it, are greedy for it, and are ready to destroy themselves,and those around them, over whom they have any influence, to gain it."

"When this people are blessed so much that they consider their blessings a burden and a drudge to them, you may always calculate on a cricket war,a grasshopper war, a drought, too much rain, or something else to make the scales preponderate the other way. This people have been blessed too much, so that they have not known what to do with their blessings."

Brigham Young, "The Use and Abuse of Blessings"

Journal of Discourses 1 pg 250, June 5th 1853

..

Edited March 21, 2012 by lds2

[lds2]

I have friends in 3,000+ square foot homes with full basements that tell me that they have no place to store food...seriously! As wheat/grains are so plentiful they consider it a "burden and a drudge" to buy it (and other "needful" things) and particularly to store it.

We have indeed been blessed a lot!...for so long in fact that we cannot fathom having our lives any other way. We have had generations of prosperity. In fact many get angry and abusive at anyone that would suggest that "change" may not be so good in the future and call names like "gloom and doomers," "hoarders," "molly mormons," "unrighteous FEARers," etc.

But history does not support endless growth in a wicked society. Those that close their eyes and hum and believe that things will continue to improve throughout their lifetime need to look at how few P and PG films are now available at Redbox...

It is not my intent to be a "downer," just to wake people up. I do not know when it will be "too late" but I would encourage all my friends to be 10 years "too early" than five minutes "too late."

The prophets have said that when we are prepared (self-reliant) we should do all we can to help our neighbors become prepared (self-reliant.) So...if you feel over-whelmed and don't know where to start I would be happy to message with you and give suggestions on how to get started! or even all done in a day!!!

.

Edited March 21, 2012 by lds2

[lds2]

I live in the country. Dozens of people have told my family that they are coming to our house when things get bad...and that doesn't include my extended family who confidently sit on their 72 hour kits feeling prepared for any eventuality, because they can always come to my house if things go South.

The bishop's of the suburbs nearby (without even a major grocery store) with two stakes worth of people and many more non-members tell our small community of a few hundred that they are coming here when things get bad for food because they know, "the good people of (my town) would never let the members of our stake go hungry." The funny thing is that almost no one here even has a garden or animals and because they have unused land they feel even more confident in not having food storage in their homes than most. The soil here takes years to make produce...you can't walk outside and plant a seed and get a harvest (if you know what I mean) without expensive soil preparers/fertilizers, farm equipment and farm irrigation systems withpower to run them, and special seeds that no one has...although if you fortunate and it is the right season, and if you don't mind eating grass, and if he is willing to let his animals go hungry, you might survive for a short time when alfalfa is harvestable as one man in town grows a few acres worth for his beloved horses...

Even my best friend has told me that she won't store food but she would, "beg borrow or steal before she would let HER children go hungry." Since that talk she has put in an in-ground swimming pool in her backyard because her children "need" it...

We have all been blessed and I am truly grateful for those blessings. I hope for my children's (and hopefully grandchildren someday's) sake things will be well for us. But I hope we don't count on that so much that we look to others to provide for us in every circumstance...because our neighbors, our Church and our government won't be able to in the case of a widespread calamity.

I cannot say why I suddenly feel such urgency...perhaps I am one of the only ones feeling this uneasiness...?

or perhaps it's because my time of "preparing" is at an end as my husband's job was eliminated as the company he worked for was sold.

So if you still have the ability to "prepare" I would be happy to help with any advice I can give...and if I can't answer your questions I may know someone who can.

I would be happy (more like thrilled) to help if I can...

..

Edited January 12, 2014 by lds2

[JudoMinja]

I didn't know Brigham Young gave a talk about this. :) I've felt much the same about the topic myself. When you really think about the practical sense of things, money has absolutely no value. It is merely a symbolic representation of how much worth we ascribe to different items and makes it easier to exchange valuable goods in a growing economy. However, it is those goods that really hold the value- not the money.

[mrmarklin]

Certainly it's a mistake to put all one's confidence in gold. You can't eat it and you can't wear it. It doesn't pay out an income!

It's a commodity that has a certain value in people's minds, but due to circumstances that can change in an instant, and has.

I think it can be part of an investment portfolio, but certainly needs to be monitored like any other investment, particularly considering the carrying costs.

[Traveler]

The value of gold and silver is changing as a usable commodity. As it turns out both gold and silver are excellent conductors. In the field of electronics gold and silver are being used more frequently to reduce resistance in low voltage technical circuits. And the recovery of these elements from used circuits is cost prohibitive.

Bottom line - from supply and demand the cost of gold should increase with the increased use of sophisticated electronics like cell phones and IPads. I personally think the so-called prophesies that predict gold and silver becoming worthless in favor of food are a little farfetched at best.

As cheap as carbon is - carbon fiber is very expensive and with the soon introduction of carbon nanotubes and possible uses - carbon nanotubes could become the most expensive commodity by weight on the planet worth much more that their weight in gold, silver, platinum, titanium, or diamonds.

The Traveler

[annewandering]

The value of gold and silver is changing as a usable commodity. As it turns out both gold and silver are excellent conductors. In the field of electronics gold and silver are being used more frequently to reduce resistance in low voltage technical circuits. And the recovery of these elements from used circuits is cost prohibitive.

Bottom line - from supply and demand the cost of gold should increase with the increased use of sophisticated electronics like cell phones and IPads. I personally think the so-called prophesies that predict gold and silver becoming worthless in favor of food are a little farfetched at best.

As cheap as carbon is - carbon fiber is very expensive and with the soon introduction of carbon nanotubes and possible uses - carbon nanotubes could become the most expensive commodity by weight on the planet worth much more that their weight in gold, silver, platinum, titanium, or diamonds.

The Traveler

wow i need to grow some fast growing trees so I can burn them for cash! Is that the same as burning money? lol. j/k

[Guest]

[quote=Traveler;659759Bottom line - from supply and demand the cost of gold should increase with the increased use of sophisticated electronics like cell phones and IPads. I personally think the so-called prophesies that predict gold and silver becoming worthless in favor of food are a little farfetched at best.

The Traveler

Not far-fetched at all... but a distinct possibility. In the advent of a post-modern era, it is not beyond the scope of possibility that electronics will not continue to be in demand. Nuclear war continues to be a real threat.

Will it happen in our lifetime or even our kids'? Maybe, maybe not.

But one thing is certain. Man will always need food. Ipads... not so much.

[Guest]

This is like the 100th thread on gold and doom...

Why can't we just talk about gold and the economy in a single thread?

[Traveler]

This is like the 100th thread on gold and doom...

Why can't we just talk about gold and the economy in a single thread?

Well with conference coming up - I am optimistic I think we live in the very best of times. There are things to worry about - And I find worrying a very effective thing to do. 95% of the things I worry about never happen.

the Traveler

[NeuroTypical]

Just in case anyone was wondering what our church leaders are currently saying about such things:

Self-Reliance and Family Well-Being - Finances

What I take away from this counsel, is that if one has debt, the discussion about gold vs food vs silk vs whatever is sort of missing the point. Sort of like thinking about whether a new car with crumple zones and side airbags is better than an old 1977 Oldsmobile steel tank, and discussing it while you're standing in the middle of a busy freeway.