Elder Harold B. Lee counseled,
You of small means put your money in foodstuffs and wearing apparel, not in stocks and bonds;......
“Perhaps if we think not in terms of a year’s supply of what we
ordinarily would use, and think more in terms of what it would take to
keep us alive in case we didn’t have anything else to eat, that last
would be very easy to put in storage for a year … just enough to keep us
alive if we didn’t have anything else to eat. We wouldn’t get fat on
it, but we would live; and if you think in terms of that kind of annual
storage rather than a whole year’s supply of everything that you are
accustomed to eat which, in most cases, is utterly impossible for the
average family, I think we will come nearer to what President J. Reuben
Clark, Jr., advised us way back in 1937.” (In Welfare Conference, 1
October 1966.)
There are blessings in being close to the soil, in
raising your own food even if it is only a garden in your yard and a
fruit tree or two. Those families will be fortunate who, in the last
days, have an adequate supply of food because of their foresight and
ability to produce their own.
The counsel from Church authorities has been consistent over the years and is well summarized in these words:
“First, and above and beyond everything else, let us live righteously. …
“Let us avoid debt as we would avoid a plague; where we are now in debt, let us get out of debt; if not today, then tomorrow.
“Let us straitly and strictly live within our incomes, and save a little.
“Let every head of every household see to it that he has on hand enough
food and clothing, and, where possible, fuel also, for at least a year
ahead.
You of small means put your money in foodstuffs and wearing apparel, not in stocks and bonds;
you of large means will think you know how to care for yourselves, but I
may venture to suggest that you do not speculate. Let every head of
every household aim to own his own home, free from mortgage. Let every
man who has a garden spot, garden it; every man who owns a farm, farm
it.” (President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., in Conference Report, Apr. 1937,
p. 26.)
You do not need to go into debt, may I add, to obtain a
year’s supply. Plan to build up your food supply just as you would a
savings account. Save a little for storage each pay-check. Can or bottle
fruit and vegetables from your gardens and orchards. Learn how to
preserve food through drying and possibly freezing. Make your storage a
part of your budget. Store seeds and have sufficient tools on hand to do
the job. If you are saving and planning for a second car or a TV set or
some item which merely adds to your comfort or pleasure, you may need
to change your priorities. We urge you to do this prayerfully and do it
now.
I speak with a feeling of great urgency. I have seen what
the days of tribulation can do to people. I have seen hunger stalk the
streets of Europe. I have witnessed the appalling, emaciated shadows of
human figures. I have seen women and children scavenge army garbage
dumps for scraps of food. Those scenes and nameless faces cannot be
erased from my memory.
I shall never forget the Saints of Hamburg
who appeared on the verge of collapse from starvation, or their small
children whom I invited to come to the stand as we emptied our pockets
of edibles. Most had never seen these items before because of the
wartime conditions. Nor can I forget the expectant and nursing mothers
whose eyes watered with tears when we gave them each an orange. We saw
the terrible physical and social side effects of hunger and
malnutrition. One sister walked over a thousand miles with four small
children, leaving her home in Poland. She lost all four to starvation
and the freezing conditions. Yet she stood before us in her emaciated
condition, her clothing shredded, and her feet wrapped in burlap, and
bore testimony of how blessed she was.
I cannot forget the French
Saints who, unable to obtain bread, used potato peelings for the
emblems of the sacrament. Nor will I ever forget the faith of the Dutch
Saints who accepted our suggestion to grow potatoes to alleviate their
own starving conditions, and then sent a portion of their first harvest
to the German people who had been their bitter enemies. The following
year they sent them the entire harvest. The annals of Church history
have seldom recorded a more Christlike act of love and compassion.
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 somehow will 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 be prepared for these
difficult times. Have we heeded His counsel?
I bear you my
testimony that President Heber J. Grant was inspired of the Lord in
establishing the Church Welfare program. The First Presidency was
inspired when they made the first public announcement in 1936 and
declared the prime purpose of Church welfare was “to help the people
help themselves” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1936, p. 3). I bear witness
to that inspired counsel from 1936 to the present day that the Saints
lay up a year’s supply of food. When President Spencer W. Kimball
persistently admonishes the members to plant gardens and fruit trees and
produce our own food, he is likewise inspired of the Lord.
Be
faithful, my brothers and sisters, to this counsel and you will be
blessed—yes, the most blessed people in all the earth. You are good
people. I know that. But all of us need to be better than we are. Let us
be in a position so we are able to not only feed ourselves through the
home production and storage, but others as well.
May God bless us
to be prepared for the days which lie ahead, which may be the most
severe yet. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
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