Why do we prepare? Because the prophets have warned us of things to come. Why have they warned us?

“All scripture given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction for righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16

In other words we are warned for instruction so we are ready. President Heber J. Grant declared, “Nothing destroys the individuality of a man, a woman, or a child as much as the failure to be self-reliant.”

Ready for what?

Matthew 24:6–7 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

Luke 21: 8-17 & 20,25,26

“And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.

But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. Then said he unto them, nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake. And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.”

2 Timothy 1-5

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unfaithful, unholy, Without natural affections, truth breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures, more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

“And there shall be a great hailstorm sent forth to destroy the crops of the earth”. Doctrine and Covenants 29:16

“Be prepared in all things against the day when tribulations and desolation’s are sent forth upon the wicked.”  Doctrine and Covenants 39:8

“And the love of men shall wax cold, and iniquity shall abound”. Doctrine and Covenants 45:27

“For after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that shall cause groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon the ground and shall not be able to stand. And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds. And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men’s hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people.”

Doctrine and Covenants 88:89–91

Now that we know, what are we to do?

“If you are without bread, how much wisdom can you boast, and of what real utility are your talents, if you cannot produce for yourselves and save against a day of scarcity those substances designed to sustain your natural lives?”

Brigham Young Journal of Discourses 8:68

“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. 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” Brigham Young Journal of Discourses, 1:, p.250.

President Kimball counseled us to become self-reliant because the prophecies of old are coming to pass. He said: “Now I think the time is coming when there will be more distresses, when there may be more tornadoes and more floods, … more earthquakes. … I think they will be increasing probably as we come nearer to the end, and so we must be prepared for this” Conference Report, April 1974

“We will see the day when we live on what we produce.” Marion G Romney

“We encourage you to grow all the food you feasibly can on your own property. Berry bushes, grape vines, fruit trees- plant them if your climate is right for their growth. Grow vegetables and eat them from your own yard”.  Spencer W. Kimball – April Conference 1976

“Now I would like to repeat what you have heard a thousand times, more or less, about taking care of yourselves. You ought to now, more than at any time since we have been in this welfare work, make sure that you are prepared to go through a period of stress on the resources you have provided for yourselves. The necessity to do this may come any day. I hope it doesn’t come too soon, in fact, I hope it doesn’t come in my lifetime. But it will come sooner or later”. Marion G. Romney – October Conference 1978

“Never forget, this matter of providing for yourselves, even though you don’t hear as much about it now as you did a few years ago. Remember that it is still a fundamental principle, one that has been taught the Saints ever since they came to these valleys of the mountains. We have always been urged to provide ourselves with enough supplies in the day of harvest to last us until the next harvest. Be sure that you do so. Do it in your own way but be prepared to take care of yourselves through a period of need”. Bruce R. McConkie – April Conference 1979

“I stand before the Church this day and raise the warning voice. It is a prophetic voice… it is a voice calling upon the Lord’s people to prepare for the troubles and desolations which are about to be poured out upon the world without measure. For the moment we live in a day of peace and prosperity, but it will not ever be thus. Great trials lie ahead. All of the sorrows and perils of the past are but a foretaste of what is to be. And we must prepare ourselves temporally and spiritually.”

“For over forty years, in the spirit of love, members of the Church have been counseled to be thrifty and self-reliant; to avoid debt; pay tithes and a generous fast offering; be industrious; and have sufficient food, clothing, and fuel on hand to last at least one year. Today there are compelling reason to reemphasize this counsel… the Lord has decreed global calamities for the future and has warned and forewarned us to be prepared.”

Too often we bask in our comfortable complacency and rationalize that the ravages of war, economic disaster, famine, and earthquake cannot happen here. Those who believe this are either not acquainted with the revelations of the Lord, or they do not believe them. Those who smugly think these calamities will not happen, that they will somehow be set aside because of the righteousness of the saints, are deceived and will rue the day they harbored such a delusion.

The Lord has warned and forewarned us against a day of great tribulation and given us counsel, through his servants, on how we can prepare for these difficult times.

May God bless us to be prepared for the days which lie ahead, which may be the most severe yet.” Ezra Taft Benson – October Conference 1980

“As long as I can remember, we have been taught to prepare for the future and to obtain a year’s supply of necessities.  I believe the time to disregard this counsel is over.  With the events in the world today, it must be considered with all seriousness.  Create a plan if you don’t already have one, or update your present plan.  We are not in a situation that requires panic buying, but we do need to be careful in purchasing and rotating the storage that we are putting away.”   L. Tom Perry

“The counsel to have a year’s supply of basic food, clothing, and commodities was given fifty years ago and has been repeated many times since. Every father and mother are the family’s storekeepers. They should store whatever their family would like to have in the case of an emergency.” James E. Faust – April Conference 1986

“Recent surveys of Church members have shown a serious erosion in the number of families who have a year’s supply of life’s necessities. Most members plan to do it. Too few have begun… it is our sacred duty to care for our families, including our extended families.” President Thomas S. Monson

“My brothers and sisters, throughout the history of the world, the Lord has been concerned for the eternal welfare of the souls of his children. Over the past fifty years, inspired leaders have taught welfare principles to help us plan ahead for difficult times that may come in our lives. The Church has grown and is now spread over many countries throughout the world. But the strength of the Church and the Lord’s real storehouse is in the homes and hearts of his people.” Robert D. Hales, “Welfare Principles to Guide Our Lives: An Eternal Plan for the Welfare of Men’s Souls,” Ensign, May 198

“Independence and self-reliance are critical to our spiritual and temporal growth. Whenever we get into situations which threaten our self-reliance, we will find our freedoms threatened as well. If we increase our dependence on anything or anyone except the Lord, we will find an immediate decrease in our freedom to act.” L Tom Perry

“I ask you earnestly, have you provided for your family a year’s supply of food, clothing, and, where possible, fuel?  The revelation to produce and store food may be as essential to our temporal welfare today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah.” Ezra Taft Benson – October Conference 1987

“We cannot provide against every contingency. But we can provide against many contingencies. Let the present situation (Attack on 9/11) remind us that this we should do.

As we have been continuously counseled for more than 60 years, let us have some food set aside that would sustain us for a time in case of need…. This is the crux of the entire matter—obedience to the commandments of God…. I do not know what the future holds. I do not wish to sound negative, but I wish to remind you of the warnings of scripture and the teachings of the prophets which we have had constantly before us.

I cannot forget the great lesson of Pharaoh’s dream of the fat and lean Kine and of the full and withered stalks of corn.

I cannot dismiss from my mind the grim warnings of the Lord as set forth in the 24th chapter of Matthew.

I am familiar, as are you, with the declarations of modern revelation that the time will come when the earth will be cleansed and there will be indescribable distress, with weeping and mourning and lamentation.”  President Gordon B. Hinckley October Conference 2001

President Hinckley suggested “that the time has come to get our houses in order. . . . There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed”

As we do our very best, we can be confident that “the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail.” We shall enjoy greater wisdom, security, peace of mind, and personal well-being. We shall be prepared, and because we are prepared, we “shall not fear.” Gordon B. Hinckley

President Thomas S. Monson: “Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had their year’s supply of food and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have at least a year’s supply of debt and are food-free.”

“Two basic principles can guide and strengthen us as we face proving and trying circumstances in our lives, whatever they may be: (1) the principle of preparation and (2) the principle of pressing forward with a steadfastness in Christ.

Some Church members opine that emergency plans and supplies, food storage, and 72-hour kits must not be important anymore because the Brethren have not spoken recently and extensively about these and related topics in general conference. But repeated admonitions to prepare have been proclaimed by leaders of the Church for decades. The consistency of prophetic counsel over time creates a powerful concert of clarity and a warning volume far louder than solo performances can ever produce.”

David A Bednar General conference Oct. 2020

“Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created. Doctrine and Covenants 29:34

“I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for themselves of God whether they are led by him. I am fearful they settle down in a state of blind self-security. Let every man and woman know, by the whispering of the Spirit of God to themselves, whether their leaders are walking in the path the Lord dictates, or not.” Brigham Young.

We have heard from prophets and Heavenly Father himself. Have we listened to a prophet’s voice and taken actions to obey?

For help in meeting your self-reliance goals join Carolyn at http://facebook.com/TotallyReady or her blog. Carolyn’s Totally Ready Emergency Binder is available to purchase and download at Totallyready.com and can be purchased complete or one section at a time.