Prophetic Statements

Prophets have given many statements about our temporal and spiritual welfare from our Lord, and God... but have many Saints thought to be bothered at all with actually obeying?

What excuse for not obeying such a simple commandment will you give when you stand before your Lord and Savior? Can you look your children and grandchildren in the eye when they are hungry and starving and tell them you were too busy to prepare for what you knew would happen? Can you tell them as they are crying out that the latest car, toy, home furnishing, boat, phone, vacation, etc. was more important to you than their lives? Do you just plan on going to your neighbor and stealing from them or worse killing them for what they sacrificed for? Are you planning on taking food from their mouths, or the mouths of their children? If you can not in good conscience say yes to that today, then how will you feel when you are faced with the situation in the future? 

What again did you say your excuse was? Have not Christ, and the scriptures been explicit enough for you?

"The revelation to produce and store food may be as essential to our temporal welfare as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah"
     President Ezra Taft Benson

Since I was just a young child growing up in California we were taught of course to obtain a minimum of two years supply of Food Storage. My parents were diligent in obtaining it within a very short time of my dad joining the church in the early 60's. My mom's side of the family had and were active members "forever", and she had married outside of the church. My dad had never heard of Food Storage, but once he heard of the principle he started right away to keep the commandment. 

"This is part of our religion ... to lay up stores and provide for ourselves and for the surrounding country; for the day is near when they will come by the thousands and by millions, with their fineries, to get a little bread."
     Heber C. Kimball

As a Primary child, a young woman in M.I.A., and in Seminary, we were taught that the day would come that we would have to leave our home and walk to Utah. It was talked of often, and everyone knew it. The members knew that one day it would be imperative for our survival, and we awaited the call from the prophet. 

When I was a teenager our M.I.A. which was about 70 youth from La Mirada First Ward traveled to Utah for the rededication of the St. George temple, the Manti pageant, a trip to Timpanogas Cave, and of course a visit to Lagoon. But, the part that I remember most of all, that has remained with me forever and impressed upon my soul deeply was a visit to the Church Office Building where we visited with N. Eldon Tanner. He sat us at the huge table where the President and the twelve sit around and spoke with us. As he stood at the head of the table, he pointed to me, and said that I was sitting in his chair. 

He reminded us that one day we would have to walk to Utah when times became unbearable, and when we were asked to leave would we. He asked for a show of hands, we all raised our hands and said we would. 

After I moved here in Oct 2004, and Carolyn Allan became my visiting teacher I asked her what had been taught all those years ago. She said, they were taught to prepare for the people who would be walking and coming with nothing.

Yes, people will be coming, coming from all over the nation, they will be walking, they will have nothing but the clothes they are wearing, and they will be grateful for what they receive. Grateful beyond anything you can imagine. They are walking to escape, but they are walking to safety. They are praying and begging God along the way that they will arrive in safety, that no roaming gangs will hurt them, but also that those who are in Utah will welcome them, aide them, nurse them back to health, bind up their wounds, clothe them, and feed them. 

How can you fulfill the needs of others, and be a Savior in Zion, if you refuse to obey the commands of God of prepare for yourselves and others? 

I know a lot Saints feel that God loves us so much that he won't let anything happen to them if they fail to prepare for themselves and others as commanded. But the Lord has given us a promise that he cannot break. "I, the Lord, and bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise" (D&C 82:10)

President Heber C. Kimball, said, " I will tell you a dream which Brother Kesler had lately. He dreamed that here was a sack of gold and a cat placed before him, and that he had the privilege of taking which he pleased, whereupon he took the cat, and walked off with her. Why did he take the cat in preference to the gold? Because he could eat the cat, but could not eat the gold. (Journal of Discourses, vol.3 p. 262)






Sunday, May 15, 2011




I like a quote by Neil H. Leash, " No one knows what the Lord has in mind for those who are thus prepared, nor do we know the specific price that will be paid by those who fail to prepare - all we know for certain is that we have been "repetitively" told to prepare". As for me and my house we choose to obey the Lord. We have many prophets in the scriptures who have dreamed dreams, gave us statements that are indisputable, unless.... unless you simply don't want to believe. We know a great deal of what will happen. When have scriptures that tell us in no uncertain terms that life will be unpleasant for even those who prepare. I can't imagine not heeding the words of the prophets and choosing to skip down what ever path we choose for the day, and believe God will save us, simply because we look so cute in this top, or because we have children, he wouldn't let them suffer.  Oh really? Then you don't know the scriptures very well.


Your preparedness is the same as the lambs blood on the door. Did you think the lambs blood was on the outside of the door so all could see? No ... it was inside the home so it was not visible to anyone just passing by. Your level of preparedness is not visible to those passing by your door either, but it is well known to the angels who do take note.


I would again like to quote Neil H. Leash. "The obvious and positive temporal aspects of the Food Storage Program are seldom misunderstood. But to the Lord, all things are spiritual, and it is in this area that the obvious becomes less clear. It is possible that when we reach the point in our preparation that we have a year's supply of food, that it is a key - a "moment in time" which the Lord clearly sees as reflective of each individuals commitment to obedience - another one of life's small but not-so-insignificant tests.


Often, when looking at ourselves and others, we assume that righteousness, and faithfulness are measured by attendance at ward meetings, the strength of expressed testimonies regarding the prophet, significant positions held in the Church, etc., seeing these as major indicators that define obedience. To some extent this may be true, but who can really say how the Lord will sum up our obedience in the end? He may very well use rather simple, straight-forward ways of communicating to us what our standing before Him really is, such as a major calamity which would require that we subsist on just our prepared resources. This would uniformly demonstrate our degree of obedience, no matter what our position in the Church or the world may be - regardless of whether we be one of his Saints, a Ward or Stake officer or leader, or a General Authority. When the need for use of our food storage comes, it will show us in no uncertain terms that before the Lord all His children are equal."


Remember that President Ezra Taft Benson said, "Should the Lord decide at this time to cleanse the Church - and the need for that cleansing seems to be increasing - a famine in this land of one year's duration could wipe out a large percentage of slothful members, including some ward and stake officers. Yet ye cannot say we have not been warned."


If you believe he is giving messages from God, then what he said is the truth, and you can know that is will happen. If the need was increasing when President Benson was living, then what must it be today?

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