MORE BAD SOLAR JUJU

Wow - this is interesting.  The solar plasma actually blew away and is headed our way.....

Maybe Snowden was not doing a snow job after all.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jkJ01fIChaM

PREDICTION FROM A MAORI PROPHETESS

I have bumped into some of this Maori woman's predictions before.  I think she most likely has a gift as do many descendants of Joseph (through Manasseh).  Just as Iohanni Wolfgramm said in his prophecies, that if the people of the islands became wicked (New Zealand just passed gay marriage measures), then they would be wiped out by a large tsunami - probably the same one that will wrack the west coast of the US for the same reasons.

This Maori prophetess gave some interesting warning signs for when it would happen.  This from Stan Deyo's site that drives alot of traffic to mine:

China Event to Signal Major Earth Changes
Says Maori Elder

In the last few days, Holly and I have received some intriguing email from New Zealand. We asked the sender, Karen Lyster, for her permission to share them with you as they transpire because of the potentially "explosive" nature of their warnings.... See what you think.... - Stan and Holly Deyo, 8 August 1998
Karen Lyster is a friend of ours living in New Zealand. We met her when Stan was lecturing in Auckland last year. She is a very level-headed, insightful woman, not one guided by sensationalism. She sent the following messages which are certainly eye-opening. Before you read them, let us share a little information about the Maori.
Every country has its "original people". For America it is the Native Americans, for Australia it is the Aboriginals, for New Zealand it is the Maori. What do these people all have in common? They are spiritually gifted, closely knit people who generally keep to themselves, share their tribal prophesies with very few outsiders and generally lead simpler lives closely tied to the Earth.
Due to the times in which we live, that being very close to major Earth changes, some have been willing to share their information. Regardless that these three groups of people are thousands of miles distant from each other, their prophesies are remarkably similar.
==================== first email =========================
Date: Wed, 05 Aug 1998 11:32:21 +1200
From: Karen Lyster
To: Stan Deyo
Subject: MAORI ELDER TELLS ME OF EARTH CHANGES TO NZ
Hi Stan,
Yesterday, I was visited by a lady who is an Elder of one of the Maori Tribes. Even though she's probably only about 45, she's a decendent from the Royal Bloodline of the Maori Queen. She has what is called, great "Mana", and although there isn't an english translation for the word, it really means that the person has to have great wisdom, earned INCREDIBLE respect, and has abilities like inner visions and intuition. So if you equate her to one the Hopi Elders, you can see what I mean about her presence.
Now, she told me that a few weeks ago she was "called" to go and visit Cape Riangi - which is the furthest most point of the North Island here in New Zealand. She tried getting there three times; but had car trouble and other obstacles "put" in her way; so she returned home back. But again, she was told to go there; and, this time, the "fire in her belly" (as she put it) was far too strong to ignore. She thought it best if she go by bus tour to make sure she got there!
Now, when the bus arrived, there was a lighthouse which most of the other tourists went to look at; but, she was drawn to go out to the farthest most point of the Cape... literally the "tip top" of the North Island. She said she stood on the cliff face and closed her eyes,... letting the cool breezes brush her face. Then, when she opened her eyes, she was looking at a totally different landscape. The sea was completely gone; and there was land as far as her eyes could see. She said it seemed to go on forever. She also felt as it the land itself had "lifted" much higher than it had been previously. After taking it all in, she once again closed her eyes; then opened them once again; and the scene was back to normal.
(Of course this fits in well with Scallion's map of the world as he says New Zealand will gain heaps of land and will be joined to Australia (after a good dunking of course..... :( guess the fish will be ok!!)
I asked her if the whole of New Zealand would go under the sea before coming back up again; and she held out her hand and made a rolling and twisting motion, saying that, unfortunately, most of the country would go under; but some areas would stay above water.
Now, before she left, she gave me a big hug and told me that tomorrow morning I would wake up to the news that a dike in China had collapsed killing 100's of people. I woke up this morning at 8am; turned on the radio; and that's exactly what was being said. But, I've tried to find it on the news wires here on the net, and can't find it anywhere!! Very preplexing to me, as I KNOW I heard it.
She was one very unique lady to say the least. And I knew you'd be interested in what she had to say.
Love to you both,
Karen
P.S. Have just found the news item on the Chinese disaster, it's at http://www.foxnews.com/js_index.sml
===================== second email==========================
Date: Fri, 07 Aug 1998 16:21:41 +1200
From: Karen Lyster
To: Stan Deyo
Subject: Re: MAORI ELDER TELLS ME OF EARTH CHANGES TO NZ
Hi Stan
Well, first of all, I was just visited again by that Maori Indian Elder Woman who wanted all the data printed out from both your website and Jim Berkland's,... including maps etc.....- so, she left here loaded up to the eyeballs with printed matter to take back to the other Elders for them to study.
I was amazed that she even knew of both of you; because the Maori keep VERY much to themselves; and where they live, they have no phone, no TV, no radio, no video etc etc etc... To be quite frank with you, Stan, I got the disinct impression that it was YOU that I was supposed to pass the information onto about what she'd seen and what would happen to New Zealand. It was quite a shock having someone of her stature turning up at my doorstep! That's why she gave me the prediction before she left about the dikes busting in China and killing 100's of people..... and of course it happened exactly as she had said,... - even her saying I'd be waking up and hearing it on the news at precisely 8am (I'm certain this was to prove what she'd told me on other things were true).
She said that she's been told that Lake Taupo would "blow" (her words); and, she added, she could take me to nearby places where there were valleys that would be filled with 100's and 100's of bodies just floating there after Taupo blows. Then, she went on with her other explanations of how the whole of New Zealand would be effected with all the twisting and turning it would have to endure (not a pretty thought!). Of course, I asked her when all this would happen and - just like the Hopis - she said "soon, very soon"... but she did go a little further than that. However, I was taking so much in from her, I only hope I can tell you correctly what was explained to me.
She said that there would be an event that was unrelated; but when this event happened, it would be a trigger for many major earth changes.... Again, this was to be in China; and it's a subject I know nothing about; so, please bear with me on this one. She said there was this "channel" there in China that they'd been working on for many years; and it was not yet complete. She said work had stopped on it for various reasons; then she told me that up above this "channel", there were 1000's of logs or timber that were perched at the top of this "channel"... Furthermore, over time, some had been stolen; but most were still there (she didn't say what they were to be used for, so it's a bit confusing for me). She said that soon these logs would come crashing down killing 1000's; and, when this happened, it would be a sign for her people that these Earth changes were about to happen with great intensity.
Does any of this make sense to you? Do you know of any such "channel" being built by the chinese? She said it had been started many years ago but never completed.
Anyway, I'm really glad you replied, Stan; because, as I said, I got the distinct impression that it was you that they really wanted this information to be passed onto.
Love to you both,
Karen
================== Stan's answer email ======================
Date: Wed, 06 Aug 1998 11:32:21 +1200
From: Stan Deyo
To: Karen Lyster
Subject: MAORI ELDER TELLS ME OF EARTH CHANGES TO NZ

Karen,
I will send more tomorrow.... Yes, the Maori Elder was aiming the message at me. The Chinese connection is a signal to me as well. I saw the doco on TV; and I know what she is talking about... It is the Three Gorges Dam Project in China which is to dam the Yangtze River. It will consume over 130,000 acres and stretch some 400 miles along the Yangtze. The trees are being cut and have been stockpiled for later uses including dikes.... The Green group, the US Gov't ... the World Bank - ALL have tried to stop this project as an environmental nightmare.... It has displaced 2 million Chinese from their homes...
In my dreamvision, I was shown the only thing I would need to have when the Taupo event was to happen was a small red alarm/calculator I had purchased from an Indian exporter named Dadlani in Hong Kong quite a few years ago. I imported several hundred of them for Myers Dept stores and other customers a few years ago. I remember the calculator well as it was with me daily and because it was flaming red in colour... but, I did not make the Chinese connection until just this second... Hong Kong is China now... Hmmm.....m..m.m.m.m
The alarm clock was a simple thing and yet what I saw in the dream had depth in my sub-conscious that I could not remember until now... good grief!.... good grief!... We have heaps of data on Three Gorges Dam project... maybe the Maori's info has been sent to tell us that the time is near because my chinese, red, alarm clock was the only thing I would need???


'Cracks' in China's Three Gorges Dam

April 12, 2002

A senior Chinese official says cracks have appeared in the controversial Three Gorges hydroelectric dam being built on the Yangtze river.

Qian Zhengying, the former minister of water resources who heads an expert group on the dam, returned from a week-long inspection of the project demanding that the cracks be "repaired fastidiously", according to the state-controlled China Daily.

There have been consistent rumours that the 185-metre high dam, which entails the removal of entire villages to higher ground, is being shoddily constructed, amid reports of endemic corruption in the project.

But the China Daily report represents an unusually frank admission that the dam has serious shortcomings and some leaders are now critical of the project.

"During the past three years, concrete placement in the project has not been first class, causing a variety of related accidents and drawbacks, though the concrete process has improved compared with previous years," Ms Qian was quoted as saying.

The cracks measure a maximum 1.25 millimetres across and 2.5 metres deep, according to China Daily.

The paper said cracks had also been found in the project's permanent ship-locks and ship-lifts.

Costly Project

The Chinese Government's prestige project is hugely costly - officially it is expected to cost at least US$24bn but unofficial estimates say it could cost at least three times that amount.

It has been bedeviled by corruption. In 2000, 97 officials were convicted of embezzlement from the dam fund.

Activists have criticised the enforced resettlement of those whose homes lay in the 600km-long (300 mile) area which will form the Three Gorges reservoir and the loss of many historic buildings and artefacts that will be drowned.

The dam is intended to control China's notorious flooding problem. But engineers have questioned whether the dam will be effective, citing problems with sedimentation and the construction itself.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_1925000/1925172.stm
http://www.irn.org/programs/threeg/index.asp?id=020412.3gcracks.html

EARTH PASSING THRU GIANT ENERGY CLOUD RIGHT NOW?

Hmmm......  Still trying to find more info on this problem with the Sun and see if there is anything out there to back up what Snowden was saying before I run off and drink the purple koolaid in the jungle....

Here is some interesting info that is actually pretty old stuff.  Again - take it with a grain of salt, as with anything on this blog.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lawrence-e-joseph/passing-into-the-energy-c_b_405086.html

WEATHER IS GOING CRAZY.....

I thought this was a nice synopsis of what is going on around the world as of late:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYmgWnBGNJk&feature=player_detailpage

WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE SUN

Here is something I thought interesting in light of my previous post on the Snowden prediction about Solar Kill Shots.  Could there be something to it?  I am not holding my breath, but will be watching SOHO a little more closely than I have in the past:

      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/28/coronal-hole-sun-north-pole-soho-spacecraft_n_3667894.html

THE BALANCING ACT OF THE ANTI-CHRIST......

HAD to share.  First 1260 days under the left shoe, a portion of the next 1260 under the right shoe until Ephraim loses her fortress and Syria finishes the deal.  Did you know that Assad's real name in Arabic means "the Beast"?.  Pretty interesting, huh?  Here is a writeup from Wiki:

Origin

The Assad family originates from Sulayman al-Wahhish, Hafez Assad's grandfather, who lived in the northern Syrian mountains in the village of Qardaha. The locals reportedly nicknamed him Wahhish, which means wild beast in Arabic, because he was physically strong and a good fighter. Al-Wahhish remained the family name until the 1920s when it was changed to al-Assad which means lion in Arabic. Because of Sulayman's reported strength and marksmanship, he was respected in his village. At the outbreak of the World War I, the Ottoman governor of the Aleppo Vilayet sent troops to the area to collect taxes and round up recruits. The troops reportedly were fought off by Sulayman and his friends who were only armed with sabres and old muskets.^[6] Because Sulayman was respected, he was a local mediator between quarreling families. He was also one of the local chieftains who were the de facto rulers of the area. The chieftains from the powerful families would provide protection to their neighbours and in return they gained loyalty and respect.^[7]

 

DIVINE INTERVENTION AND THE POSTERITY OF JOSEPH SMITH

I have asked this question a thousand times about Emma.  I finally have my answer - and I believe it to be true with all my heart.  You might say that I needed this about as much as Joseph's descendant did, because I have withheld my complete support (and my tongue) on Emma up until this point.  Now I can move forward singing her praises just a little more confidently than I did in the past.

Many people upon hearing something about polygamy or polyandry or some other difficult subject from history will pass immediate judgment and fall - maybe never to recover; and their salvation may be at stake in the end.  I assign two factors to everything so I do not err (as much) in judgment; and this includes much that is on this dog and pony blog.  I assign the "what it appears to be from my limited perspective" factor and then I assign the "what it really is after much study and contemplation" factor.  The first factor is very lightly weighted and usually bears little or no weight on how I really feel about something - you might say around 5% or less.  The second factor can be as high as 100% or any number down to 70-80% which is a pretty large confidence factor.  Each portion of my testimony is weighted along those parameters.  My testimony of the Savior, tithing, Joseph Smith, Book of Mormon and many other things fall in the 100% confidence factor.  All else that I have not tried and proven and received witnesses of, falls in the grey area in between - the long-suffering and patience area.  John 7:17 says, "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself."  We have to prove all things as Joseph said.  Our walk by faith on this earth really is line upon line and precept upon precept.

Anyway, I am so happy to present this to you and I thank one of the few remaining unsullied contributors to LDSFF for sourcing it for me.  When we moved our home to Montana, the timing was critical and the location was critical.  We had several "bizarre" non-coincidences which put us exactly where we needed to be, when we needed to be there.  One was a lightning strike on a transformer outside the realty office right before COB on a critical day for faxing final offer docs on a place we were not supposed to buy.  My guess is that the seller of a nice but "not right" place would have accepted the counter offer.  They were hungry to get out of the house, and it would not have been right for us.  Having a divine intervention at just the right time was crucial for our success as we were just walking completely by faith on this new adventure we were being sent on.  God truly is great and lovingly watches over each of His children that have their minds and desires in Him.

This story touches my heart and the only question I have is whether or not the radio began to work again after a divine intervention on this man's behalf.  Joseph's seed will be gathered as part of the final harvest on this side of the veil.  Of all people, having had his life cut short as well as most of his earthly posterity, Joseph will have a wonderful harvest and a glorious millennial throng who will come home in their glory when Joseph returns to raise those who were taken early so they would not have to pass thru earthly sorrows of the Kirkland and Nauvoo years.

Here it is:

A Letter from Joseph Smith's GGGrandson

by Bgood » Mon Jul 29, 2013 2:56 pm

For those of you who have not seen this yet.

This is a powerful letter to President Albright - Mission President in
the Washington DC mission. He is from Las Vegas.

Dear President Albright,
I was the 108th direct descendant of the Prophet Joseph Smith to be
baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the
Mormons). I was the 2nd direct descendant of Joseph to be endowed in
the new Nauvoo Temple. I think it is time to share my story with a
larger audience.
I was raised in the Reorganized LDS church, now known as the Community
of Christ. All of my life I had been taught to distrust and fear the
Mormon church which is headquartered in Utah. My journey to become a
Mormon started in the summer of 2005 when I ran across a web
site:JosephSmithJr.com hours reading what was there. I e-mailed the site and explained who I
was. I was contacted the next day and was invited to visit Utah in
August for a Joseph Smith Family Reunion. I was fearful to go, and was
actually concerned for my safety and well being. I left thinking I was
like a sheep being led to the slaughter and I might be going out on a
nice plane, but I was coming back in a pine box! But contrary to my
beliefs, it actually was a delightful experience. My niece Kim Larson
and I were picked up at the airport by John and Gwen Smith, the
great-grandson of Hyrum Smith, Joseph’s brother. They were our hosts
for the next 3 days.
Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve, a Smith cousin as
a descendant of Joseph's brother Hyrum, addressed us. About 200
descendants attended the gathering. Most, like me, were not members of
the Mormon church. We were also hosted by descendants of Samuel Smith,
another of Joseph's brothers. Our reception was totally awesome. The
warmth shared will last a lifetime.
The last night we went to a play at the Marriott Center at BYU
celebrating Joseph's 200th birthday. I will never again in my life have
the feeling of total emotion I felt as I stood in the middle of the
stadium with my family as we received a standing ovation from 23,000
people. We were also guests of honor at the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's
weekly broadcast, during which music director Craig Jessop welcomed us
and paid tribute to Joseph's wife, Emma, for her collection of hymns.
The choir sang hymns centered on Joseph, "Oh, How Lovely Was the
Morning," and "Praise to the Man." When they sang “Joseph’s First
Prayer,” I wept openly for the first time in 50 years. This had never
happened to me before, not even at the deaths of my parents, wife or
son. We were also shown displays of Joseph and Emma Smith in the Joseph
Smith Memorial Building as the Church celebrated the 200th anniversary
of Joseph’s birth. Under the direction of descendants Michael Kennedy
and his wife, Darcy, and Gracia Jones — the first Smith descendant to
join the Church — we held a family dinner in the Joseph Smith Memorial
Building in Salt Lake City. The art department at BYU presented me with
a beautiful book about my Great Great Grandfather Joseph Smith. I was
also presented with an LDS Hymn Book in memory of Emma’s contributions
to Church music. After I returned home to Nebraska, I placed both of
these new books in my living room. At this point I was a total
emotional wreck, but I knew what I needed to do. For the next few
months I did much research and soul searching. I looked back to the
Reorganized church only to find out they had changed the church name,
denounced the Book of Mormon, and denounced Joseph Smith as the
prophet--all of which I was very opposed to. I felt that the original
Church was the one to pursue.
In January of 2006, two young Mormon Missionaries came knocking on my
door, Elder Batin and Elder Williams. When I invited the elders to come
inside, they immediately noticed the LDS hymnal and the art book about
Joseph Smith on my table. Needless to say, when the missionaries
discovered I was NOT a Mormon, they stayed in my living room teaching
me for most of that day. Our discussion was fascinating for them and
for me because I already knew so much about their church history which
intertwined with RLDS history; however, many of the gospel principles
were different. Over the following weeks I took all the missionary
lessons and struggled with the huge disparity between what the elders
were teaching me and what my RLDS friends and family had taught me my
entire life.
The conflict within my heart and soul grew to the point that I finally
told the missionaries that even though I believed their message and all
their LDS doctrines, I could not join the Mormon Church until I could
find out for myself why Brigham Young had left Emma behind in Nauvoo
with five children to raise. I was conflicted and could not come to a
resolution that would comfort me. It did not make sense to me that Emma
had been left to fend for herself, after being so instrumental in the
Restoration. I also spent several evenings in the home of David and
Jodi Edwards who were LDS friends of mine, and where Elder Sandhu and
Elder Johnson taught me further doctrines.
In April of 2006, I was driving down the highway to work and singing
along loudly to a Southern gospel radio station. I still remember the
song I was listening to was titled: “Joy, Joy Wonderful Joy” by the
gospel group Bill and Gloria Gaithers. Suddenly, to my dismay, the
radio went completely silent. I was a bit irritated at this since the
car I was driving was almost new. How could the radio break so soon? I
hit the dash and fiddled with the radio dials, but finally gave up and
just drove along the road alone and in complete silence. In the quiet I
started to ponder about my dilemma. Should I join the Mormon church as
I wanted and enjoy fellowship with the Saints? Would this upset my
family and the many generations of Smiths who were angry that Emma had
not been taken West along with the Saints? Suddenly, to my surprise, I
clearly and distinctly heard a women’s voice speaking to me. It was as
clear as if it had come through the radio speakers. The voice said:
“Robert, Follow your heart. I stayed in Nauvoo because I was tired and
could travel no further.”
I knew instantly that the voice belonged to Emma Smith, my Great, Great
Grandmother. It was made clear to me at that moment that Emma had just
given me her permission to be baptized into the Mormon Church! My
ancestors would not be angry with my decision to join my new found
faith. My last remaining concern and stumbling block had just been
miraculously removed. I was baptized on May 13th by my cousin Michael
Kennedy, the President of the Joseph Smith Family organization, and the
first descendant of Joseph to receive the Melchezedic Priesthood. I was
confirmed by my good friend and stake president David Edwards . Also
baptized at the same baptismal service by Michael was Caleb, the son my
good friends David and Rebecca Denning. David is the son of my second
cousin Gracia Jones and is stationed here in Omaha. I was overwhelmed
with emotion that the great-great grandson and the
great-great-great-great grandson of Joseph were to be baptized during
the same service! It was a joyful occasion. Caleb’s and my baptism was
the first time that a descendant of Joseph and Hyrum had worked
together in the baptism of a family member. I could only imagine the
rejoicing and tears that were shed by the two brothers on the other
side of the veil. Their families were being united again after 150
years. The beautiful dedicatory prayer at the Kirtland Temple offered
by Joseph, especially D&C 109:70, is continuing to unfold, that the
prejudices of Joseph’s posterity“may be broken up and swept away as
with a flood." Among Joseph and Emma’s posterity are now some 125
living adult descendants who are members of the Church, and of them, at
least seven have served full-time missions. Our prejudices have indeed
been swept away as if by a flood! Thanks for your efforts to spread the
light of truth!
Warm Regards,
Bob Smith
Omaha, Nebraska

A Letter from Joseph Smith's GGGrandson

by Bgood » Mon Jul 29, 2013 2:56 pm

For those of you who have not seen this yet.

This is a powerful letter to President Albright - Mission President in
the Washington DC mission. He is from Las Vegas.

Dear President Albright,
I was the 108th direct descendant of the Prophet Joseph Smith to be
baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the
Mormons). I was the 2nd direct descendant of Joseph to be endowed in
the new Nauvoo Temple. I think it is time to share my story with a
larger audience.
I was raised in the Reorganized LDS church, now known as the Community
of Christ. All of my life I had been taught to distrust and fear the
Mormon church which is headquartered in Utah. My journey to become a
Mormon started in the summer of 2005 when I ran across a web
site:JosephSmithJr.com hours reading what was there. I e-mailed the site and explained who I
was. I was contacted the next day and was invited to visit Utah in
August for a Joseph Smith Family Reunion. I was fearful to go, and was
actually concerned for my safety and well being. I left thinking I was
like a sheep being led to the slaughter and I might be going out on a
nice plane, but I was coming back in a pine box! But contrary to my
beliefs, it actually was a delightful experience. My niece Kim Larson
and I were picked up at the airport by John and Gwen Smith, the
great-grandson of Hyrum Smith, Joseph’s brother. They were our hosts
for the next 3 days.
Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve, a Smith cousin as
a descendant of Joseph's brother Hyrum, addressed us. About 200
descendants attended the gathering. Most, like me, were not members of
the Mormon church. We were also hosted by descendants of Samuel Smith,
another of Joseph's brothers. Our reception was totally awesome. The
warmth shared will last a lifetime.
The last night we went to a play at the Marriott Center at BYU
celebrating Joseph's 200th birthday. I will never again in my life have
the feeling of total emotion I felt as I stood in the middle of the
stadium with my family as we received a standing ovation from 23,000
people. We were also guests of honor at the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's
weekly broadcast, during which music director Craig Jessop welcomed us
and paid tribute to Joseph's wife, Emma, for her collection of hymns.
The choir sang hymns centered on Joseph, "Oh, How Lovely Was the
Morning," and "Praise to the Man." When they sang “Joseph’s First
Prayer,” I wept openly for the first time in 50 years. This had never
happened to me before, not even at the deaths of my parents, wife or
son. We were also shown displays of Joseph and Emma Smith in the Joseph
Smith Memorial Building as the Church celebrated the 200th anniversary
of Joseph’s birth. Under the direction of descendants Michael Kennedy
and his wife, Darcy, and Gracia Jones — the first Smith descendant to
join the Church — we held a family dinner in the Joseph Smith Memorial
Building in Salt Lake City. The art department at BYU presented me with
a beautiful book about my Great Great Grandfather Joseph Smith. I was
also presented with an LDS Hymn Book in memory of Emma’s contributions
to Church music. After I returned home to Nebraska, I placed both of
these new books in my living room. At this point I was a total
emotional wreck, but I knew what I needed to do. For the next few
months I did much research and soul searching. I looked back to the
Reorganized church only to find out they had changed the church name,
denounced the Book of Mormon, and denounced Joseph Smith as the
prophet--all of which I was very opposed to. I felt that the original
Church was the one to pursue.
In January of 2006, two young Mormon Missionaries came knocking on my
door, Elder Batin and Elder Williams. When I invited the elders to come
inside, they immediately noticed the LDS hymnal and the art book about
Joseph Smith on my table. Needless to say, when the missionaries
discovered I was NOT a Mormon, they stayed in my living room teaching
me for most of that day. Our discussion was fascinating for them and
for me because I already knew so much about their church history which
intertwined with RLDS history; however, many of the gospel principles
were different. Over the following weeks I took all the missionary
lessons and struggled with the huge disparity between what the elders
were teaching me and what my RLDS friends and family had taught me my
entire life.
The conflict within my heart and soul grew to the point that I finally
told the missionaries that even though I believed their message and all
their LDS doctrines, I could not join the Mormon Church until I could
find out for myself why Brigham Young had left Emma behind in Nauvoo
with five children to raise. I was conflicted and could not come to a
resolution that would comfort me. It did not make sense to me that Emma
had been left to fend for herself, after being so instrumental in the
Restoration. I also spent several evenings in the home of David and
Jodi Edwards who were LDS friends of mine, and where Elder Sandhu and
Elder Johnson taught me further doctrines.
In April of 2006, I was driving down the highway to work and singing
along loudly to a Southern gospel radio station. I still remember the
song I was listening to was titled: “Joy, Joy Wonderful Joy” by the
gospel group Bill and Gloria Gaithers. Suddenly, to my dismay, the
radio went completely silent. I was a bit irritated at this since the
car I was driving was almost new. How could the radio break so soon? I
hit the dash and fiddled with the radio dials, but finally gave up and
just drove along the road alone and in complete silence. In the quiet I
started to ponder about my dilemma. Should I join the Mormon church as
I wanted and enjoy fellowship with the Saints? Would this upset my
family and the many generations of Smiths who were angry that Emma had
not been taken West along with the Saints? Suddenly, to my surprise, I
clearly and distinctly heard a women’s voice speaking to me. It was as
clear as if it had come through the radio speakers. The voice said:
“Robert, Follow your heart. I stayed in Nauvoo because I was tired and
could travel no further.”
I knew instantly that the voice belonged to Emma Smith, my Great, Great
Grandmother. It was made clear to me at that moment that Emma had just
given me her permission to be baptized into the Mormon Church! My
ancestors would not be angry with my decision to join my new found
faith. My last remaining concern and stumbling block had just been
miraculously removed. I was baptized on May 13th by my cousin Michael
Kennedy, the President of the Joseph Smith Family organization, and the
first descendant of Joseph to receive the Melchezedic Priesthood. I was
confirmed by my good friend and stake president David Edwards . Also
baptized at the same baptismal service by Michael was Caleb, the son my
good friends David and Rebecca Denning. David is the son of my second
cousin Gracia Jones and is stationed here in Omaha. I was overwhelmed
with emotion that the great-great grandson and the
great-great-great-great grandson of Joseph were to be baptized during
the same service! It was a joyful occasion. Caleb’s and my baptism was
the first time that a descendant of Joseph and Hyrum had worked
together in the baptism of a family member. I could only imagine the
rejoicing and tears that were shed by the two brothers on the other
side of the veil. Their families were being united again after 150
years. The beautiful dedicatory prayer at the Kirtland Temple offered
by Joseph, especially D&C 109:70, is continuing to unfold, that the
prejudices of Joseph’s posterity“may be broken up and swept away as
with a flood." Among Joseph and Emma’s posterity are now some 125
living adult descendants who are members of the Church, and of them, at
least seven have served full-time missions. Our prejudices have indeed
been swept away as if by a flood! Thanks for your efforts to spread the
light of truth!
Warm Regards,
Bob Smith
Omaha, Nebraska

And, further information on how that birthday bash went.  How envious I am of those who got to partake.  I would have LOVED it - and to have felt Joseph and Emma's presences there - and there is no doubt they were there as their descendants were gathered in:

http://www.josephsmithsr.org/node/195


Thousands of Hands Brought Joseph Smith’s Descendants Together

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 04/06/2011 - 00:00
http://www.ldsmag.com/index.php?option= ... =7767&ac=1

By Darcy A. Kennedy

This is the story of how a large gathering of the descendants of Joseph Smith were brought together for the first time.

Towards the end of 2004 our stake president, Conrad Gottfredson, came to our home to visit. My husband, Michael Kennedy, Sr., and I knew our stake president was a very inspired man and heard how he would call someone or visit with them in their home, day or night following promptings that he was needed.

During this visit my husband, confided in him that he was a third great-grandson of Emma and Joseph, the first of Joseph’s posterity to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood, and had been the President of the Joseph Smith Jr. family since the mid 1980’s. He explained further that he had received a charge from President Gordon B. Hinckley to create opportunities for the posterity of Joseph Smith to be receptive to the teachings of the gospel.

The first impression Michael felt guiding him towards accomplishing this charge was, “If you do not have very many members of your family on this side of the veil who are members of the Church, it is because you do not have very many members of your family on the other side of the veil who are members of the Church; for it is those whose temple work has been completed who can impact the lives of their living posterity so they become receptive to the teachings of the gospel.”

Shortly after this meeting with President Gottfredson, we had a Joseph Smith Jr. family meeting that consisted of Gracia and Ivor Jones (second great granddaughter of Joseph and Emma), Michael and me. The main topic in this meeting was the request the Church had made to the members of the church, wherever they were, to celebrate Joseph Smith’s 200th birthday. We talked about how, we of all people, Joseph’s own descendants, certainly needed to be contributing to this celebration.

We sadly came to the conclusion that we did not have the resources necessary to accomplish what our hearts desired, to have Joseph’s family gather for a birthday celebration. Yet I remember feeling peaceful as Mike told us we would table our ideas for now and see what the Lord would open up. He was confident the Lord would provide a way. We never realized then what lay before us and the miracles that would shortly begin to take place.

About six months later, our Stake President, President Gottfedson asked us to meet with him. During this meeting, he informed us that he felt the Lord wanted the stake to help us gather the Prophet’s posterity. He asked us to see if they would participate and be part of the upcoming Bicentennial Celebration of Joseph’s 200th Birthday.

We found our hearts beating powerfully in our chests as we were told that members of the stake would like to assist in gathering all the children of Joseph and Emma to the Provo and Salt Lake area. Shocked, Mike asked, “Do you know how extensive this is? We have descendants scattered across the United States and almost a third of Joseph’s posterity live in Australia.

Many of these descendants have hard and trying lives and are so limited in resources they will need assistance to get here.” President Gottfredson simply remarked, “That being the case, the Lord will provide and there will be many who are able and will want to help.” Tears of joy came to our eyes and we had complete faith in our priesthood leader’s inspiration. We realized the Lord had heard our prayers pleading to find a way for the posterity of Joseph to gather and celebrate his birth. It reminded me of the scripture “...and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.” (1 Nephi 21:22)

Every time I read of the children of Israel, I cannot help but see parallels with our cousins, the children of Joseph and Emma. Nephi says, “Are we not broken off from the house of Israel, and are we not a branch of the house of Israel? And now, the thing which our father meaneth concerning the grafting in of the natural branches through the fullness of the Gentiles, is, that in the latter days, when our seed shall have dwindled in unbelief, yea, for the space of many years, and many generations...and then shall they know and come to the knowledge of their forefathers, and also to the knowledge of the gospel of their Redeemer, which was ministered unto their fathers by him; wherefore, they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that they may know how to come unto him and be saved. And then at that day will they not rejoice and give praise unto their everlasting God, their rock and their salvation? Yea, at that day, will they not receive the strength and nourishment from the true vine? Yea, will they not come unto the true fold of God? Behold, I say unto you, Yea; they shall be remembered again among the house of Israel; they shall be grafted in, being a natural branch of the olive tree, into the true olive tree.” (1 Nephi 15:12-16)

Men and women of great faith filled the stake president’s office Sunday after Sunday, week after week as plans and preparations were made that would become the beginning of gathering the Prophet’s family. These preparations were performed under the umbrella of the priesthood. Incredible sacrifices of time and means were given. Even to this day we do not know the magnitude of all that took place.

Like Brother William Berrett‘s observations on the building of the Kirtland Temple, “But courageous as the undertaking was, the remarkable thing was its accomplishment and the manner in which that accomplishment was brought about. No miracle was performed to produce funds. No millionaire endowed it...a monument to cooperation--to the power of a people imbued with a common objective and inspired with a common faith.” (Berrett, The Restored Church, pp.125) And I must add, inspired with a common love of Joseph and Emma and a desire for them to have their children.

Knowing our family to be, for the most part, people who prefer to remain in obscurity, who did not know Joseph at all, who had been taught he was often in prison, who had been through so much pain and felt it was safer to remain unknown; a specially designed invitation was made that its reader would not be able to ignore.

Over 500 of these colorful invitations to Joseph’s 200th Birthday Celebration were made and laid inside the cover of a personally autographed book by Matthew Brown, “Joseph Smith: The Man, The Mission, The Message.” The book with the invitation was mailed to each descendant with faith that all the temple work we performed over the last two decades for the deceased families of the Prophet would enable them to impact the lives of their living posterity, and there would be a great desire to accept the invitation and come to this celebration. And they came, many testifying of impressions and feelings they could not explain but knowing they had to come.

On 5 August 2005 Joseph’s descendants came from all over the United States and even a few from Australia.

We gathered as a big wonderful family in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City to enjoy Emma’s oatmeal cookies, using the recipe our cousin, Gracia Jones, found in Emma’s recipes. A fine dinner was served and, state by state, cousins were introduced to each other and identified themselves as descendants of Joseph III, Alexander or of David. (Only these three of Emma’s eleven children have posterity living today).

Cousins who lived a short drive from each other met for the first time, laughing and pointing at each other with disbelief that they live so close yet never knew of one another. A brother and sister who had drifted apart from each other for over ten years came together in a powerful embrace and old wounds began to heal. Most were meeting for the first time ever, “I will gather them from the North, the South, the East, the West and from the Isles of the Seas.” (A dream documented by Emma’s granddaughter, Emma Belle Smith that there would be a gathering of the Joseph’s family who had scattered.)

Our Hyrum cousin, Vivian Adams, presented the ancestry of Joseph Smith starting with his birth then going back to the American Revolution and further to the pilgrims who came across the ocean on the Mayflower. Special arrangements were made to ensure children had a great time with pioneer dances, games and puppet skits about Emma and Joseph’s courtship. Buses took the descendants through the beautiful Wasatch Mountains, pausing in the mountains to have a picnic where many volunteers had prepared lunches ready with joyful greetings.

BYU hosted the family gathering and was the site of our venues. As part of our first program, Hyrum’s second great grandson and Patriarch to the Church, Eldred G. Smith, Patriarch Emeritus, and his wife Hortense shared the restoration story. They displayed Hyrum’s clothing from the martyrdom, Alvin’s toolbox that housed the gold plates for a short time and many other artifacts. I watched as one teenage young man put his hand inside the wooden box that had held the gold plates and turned to his mother in emotional awe saying quietly, “Mom, my hands just touched where the plates were.”

With great love, joy and much prayer, another Hyrum cousin, Jackie Smith Cook, arranged for each descendant of Joseph to be housed during their stay in the homes of a Hyrum, Samuel, or Joseph cousin living in the Salt Lake area. I will never forget standing at the registration table and having two beaming ladies come to the table where a seventeen foot long genealogical chart of Joseph and Emma’s posterity was displayed. She circled her name on the chart showing the Hyrum cousin her family lineage and proudly introduced her to us as the person with whom she was staying. They looked at each other marveling out loud to us what they had learned about each other in just one night sharing their family stories. Standing there looking alike in face and small-framed build, the words tumbled out excitedly from both of them of all their similarities, “We even like the same brand of lotion.” In one of these prayerfully matched up homes our Omaha cousin Bob Smith met his Hyrum cousins John and Gwen Smith. This home nurtured the beginnings of Bob’s testimony.

Artifacts provided by the Church History Department through the efforts of Sharalyn Howcroft (Joseph Smith Papers Project) were on display. Copies of Joseph Smith’s First Vision experience, the Kirtland Temple dedicatory prayer (especially noting what is now D&C 109:68-70) and many other firsthand accounts in Joseph’s own handwriting were placed in a beautifully prepared packet provided by Scott Harmon and Scott Stebbing of Austin, Texas.

After receiving inspiration to design and develop these packets, the duplication and sorting took longer than anticipated so they drove all night to get them to Salt Lake on time. Sharalyn gathered many early photos of Joseph’s family from the archives of the Church and copies were placed in the packets for the family members. Sharalyn shared with us her spiritual experiences as she worked in collecting these pictures feeling distinct impressions that Joseph and Emma wanted their children to have these pictures of the family.

The next day, August 6, we were served breakfast at ‘This is the Place’ park by the descendants of Joseph’s brother, Samuel H. Smith, and serenaded with music of the first vision written and performed by Patti Lynn Jensen. Elder Ballard also greeted the family and stayed close with them throughout the morning. Elder Ballard is our cousin, a 2nd great grandson of Hyrum.

After a tour of the park we were bused to the BYU campus where we heard Heidi Swinton, Matthew Brown and Ugo Perego speak of their love of Joseph, the respect scholars all around the world have for him, and of his many accomplishments from the First Vision account, the translation of the Gold Plates to the Book of Mormon, how Joseph developed one of the nations largest cities and that he was one of America’s highest ranking military officers.

They also learned of the partnering effort between the Joseph Smith Family Organization and the Sorenson Molecular Genealogical Foundation into the DNA research of Joseph Smith which later concluded that Joseph Smith’s only posterity comes through Emma.

Dinner was provided along with a gigantic cake in which the room swelled with the singing of “Happy Birthday” to Joseph. All were guided around BYU campus to see thousands of beautifully displayed art exhibits by the youth of the Church. These exhibits were done in every medium possible as the youth personalized their celebration of Joseph’s birthday. All along the walkways silken banners showed Emma’s life in beautiful waving color.

As the sun began to go down we were ushered into the Marriott Center filled with 23,000 people and given the best seats in the house to watch the “Spectacular”. Before the show began, the announcer asked all of the descendants to stand. As they did so the audience gave a standing ovation. Mike and I looked around with great emotion as we watched tears in the eyes of our descendants as they looked on in great disbelief and awe as they comprehended how deeply loved and revered Joseph Smith is, something they never witnessed before. Those few moments became sacred moments impacting each of us, cherished to this day in our hearts.

The lights dimmed and a choir of a thousand youth sang as the stage filled with young men and women who through music and dance depicted the entire life of Joseph from his birth surrounded by his loving family, the painful surgery on his leg at seven, his vision of Jesus Christ and the Father. In a continuous flow of music and dance, Joseph was shown placing a stick under the rock that would expose the golden record of the ancient people in America and then to eventual coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and finally, reverently, the martyrdom was depicted.

As this slowly faded out, all of a sudden the stage was alive again in music with the beginning of a masterful finale of costumes of the most brilliant and grand colors depicting every country in the world as one by one, a seamless flow on stage with music representing their culture singing praises ‘to the man who communed with Jehovah’ testifying of their love to Joseph and the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The “Spectacular” was the title of the evening and no other title could have enveloped what we experienced there. We knew none of us would ever be the same again and we felt there would now be a turning point for the family towards their father, Joseph Smith.

The next morning, on our final day, we were honored to be with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir as they welcomed the Smith family into the Conference Center. The choir sang hymns that were dear to our hearts from the collection of hymns Emma gathered for the first hymn book. Elder Ballard bore his testimony of his love of the Prophet Joseph Smith and of his appreciation for the sacrifice Joseph made serving the Lord Jesus Christ by restoring the fullness of the gospel. My husband, Michael Kennedy, bore his testimony of Joseph Smith, a Prophet of Jesus Christ then he asked the descendants if they would be interested in future family gatherings. We were amazed, as unanimously they expressed their desire that these family gatherings continue and requested that they do so every other year.

Many of these descendants also rose and bore emotional testimony of how these last few days impacted them, of the love they felt and of a feeling in their heart they could not quite explain but desired to continue. Later pictures of all of these events were painstakingly compiled and carefully arranged on DVDs so each descendant would have memories of all that took place. It was an emotional parting but we looked forward to that day we would gather again. (The family gathered again 2 years later and family came in even greater numbers that will be published later here).

Inspiration came that these events should be repeated for the many descendants living in Australia. Australia’s Father’s Day, September 2005, we were blessed to have hands across the ocean in Australia help us create a birthday celebration for the almost one third of Joseph and Emma’s posterity living “down under”. John Bailey, now temple president of the Sydney Temple, our cousin, Robyn Mah, and amazing members of the Church serving and living there gave hours and days of their time that the descendants living amongst them would come to know more of their heritage, the legacy left them, and join with us as we continued to celebrate Joseph Smith’s birthday.

These events were held on the grounds and facilities adjacent to the Sydney Temple. Australia is a country whose land mass is almost as large as the United States and descendants came from great distances feeling a great desire to participate and be part of the celebration. The same packets provided to the descendants in Salt Lake were also given to the families in Australia. It was very moving as they studied and reviewed its contents. Most were seeing some of Joseph Smith’s writings and pictures for the first time.

The film of the First Vision was shown to them and they wondered “who those angels were” that stood above the young Prophet. Assistance was provided as they were shown how to do their own genealogy research in the Sydney Temple Annex. Emma’s cookies were also shared with them and later that evening, a wonderful Asian meal was provided at the restaurant owned by Robyn Mah, 3rd great-granddaughter of Joseph. A large birthday cake was also brought forth where all sang happy birthday to Joseph. The love of family flowed freely and powerfully around everyone.

On Saturday afternoon, Matthew Brown who came with us under his own expense shared his in-depth research that showed the many negative accusations against Joseph by comparing those accusations to the actual events that occurred.

Matthew gave overwhelming evidence against the falsehoods that had been circulated about Joseph throughout his life and that has been perpetuated even until today. Many of the families admitted that what they had heard most about Joseph was that he had spent a lot of time in jail, now they understood and proudly had their pictures taken in front of the life size banners of Joseph and Emma.

A memorable and unexpected surprise came from David Clark of the New South Wales Australian parliament. He related to us a report he gave a few months before, at a worldwide symposium held in New Zealand, “The Life and Legacy of Joseph Smith.” He made a preliminary statement, “I want you to know that I am not a Mormon and what I have to say comes from no bias. I am a Catholic and happy to be a Catholic.” With our attention greatly piqued, he continued:

The LDS Church makes such a contribution to our area. Joseph is interesting, controversial and complex. I have a great affection, regard and admiration for the LDS church and the enormous contributions and good the church does today. All of this was started by Joseph. The reason Joseph Smith is remembered worldwide is because of the legacy he left.

He was a builder of cities; the mayor of Nauvoo was the largest city in Illinois at that time. It was planned out and was a beautiful city...The historians recognize it as being restored now. Joseph settled other settlements. He was an American pioneer as he led others to new parts due to persecution. He had immigrants from the British Isles, Scandinavia and hundreds of thousands of other ethnic back grounds. He was a political leader, civic leader, a mayor; he ran for president of the United States and was a contributor of national affairs.

He was the founder of the LDS Church. He was well known, had unique ways. Distinct by vision, he was the first President, Prophet, Seer and Revelator. The LDS church was unique to Christendom; the Book of Mormon was the source of inspiration, set apart from other teachings, a unique teaching. It is the only other religion, except for the Catholic’s belief of their Pope, to believe in continuing revelation; he was prophetic concerning the United States. Joseph prophesied the United States would become a world leader; he saw the United States would become a pivotal point of nations.

He saw the future of mankind and saw the battle between God and Satan. He saw America in world affairs-- the defeat of Communism that was against freedom of all mankind. Joseph regarded the United States as defender of freedom and it has been so.

Present activity: Joseph taught by their fruits you shall know them. He started the use of genealogical records; the church has the biggest collection of genealogical records in the world.

It is a great service to mankind. A record of the human race has been kept and is great. The church has a legacy of welfare; not a handout—work and receive. During the depression there were no members of the church on the dole. The principle of the LDS church is to teach how to feed themselves.

Joseph Smith taught the fundamental divine purpose of families; temples for time and eternity, [vicarious] baptism for the dead, lost relatives [and families may] continue in heaven as in earth. It is important to the world because the world is realizing the family is the pivotal point to the nation-- a break down in family leads [to many social problems].

Joseph Smith instituted educational programs. In third world countries the Church helps students to be educated in universities, and then when the student pays the loan back, other students are in turn funded.

Joseph left a legacy in the way the Christian message is spread in a two-year program with 60,000 missionaries. A doctor reported that he and a group from Asia had caught a boat to a remote village. As they were going, they saw a canoe of two missionaries rowing down this river. He thought how the parents of those boys would be proud of them.

Summary of Joseph: Joseph Smith brings up controversy. He was a pioneer in religion, a pioneer in programs that have a foot in the world that help mankind. Many gather to learn from Joseph. You should be proud to be a descendant of Joseph Smith.

We could not have spoken better ourselves. Sunday, the last day of the reunion in Australia, we gathered at the visitor’s center and were able to show a DVD of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s musical dedication to the descendants given in Salt Lake. I watched as the family relaxed back in their chairs and allowed the music to flow around them in the darkened room. Tears glistened as the spirit caressed every soul. As we were saying our good-byes, a dear cousin whispered in my ear, “You don’t have to preach your religion, your example says it all.” Another whispered, “My daughter needs what you have here.”

There is a prophecy that Michael and I were made aware of shortly after we joined the LDS church. This prophecy says in essence: The descendants of Joseph Smith will one day come into the church as it were a flood and declare unto the world that Jesus is the Christ.

I know when this happens I will stand before them at Michael’s side and with tears rolling down my face and I will declare, “Do you know how many thousands of hands it took to get you here!” May the Lord bless all those who have had a part in this gathering including those who were with us in the years 1987-2000 as hundreds gathered in the temple with our families and acted as proxies to do the work for Joseph and Emma’s children. This temple work gave our ancestors on the other side of the veil access to their children on this side of the veil. This in turn perpetuated a desire to help and softened hearts, providing a way to bring about the charge Michael was given; “to create opportunities for the posterity of Joseph and Emma to be receptive to the teachings of the gospel. “ Our hearts are full of gratitude to all of our friends who have stood by us and continue to support our efforts to gather the Prophet’s family.

“But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you...Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;” Deut 7:8-9

From Darcy A. Kennedy Secretary of the Joseph Smith Jr. and Emma Hale Smith Historical Society & the Joseph Smith Jr Family Organization

THE HOW-TO GUIDE OF GETTING A JOB IN CANADA

I mentioned in an earlier blog post how my wife knows several people who are getting their dual citizenship - "just in case".  These are solid people and they are seeing the writing on the wall......

Here is something if you were thinking along these lines:

    http://www.credentials.gc.ca/immigrants/workbook/workbook.pdf

I am not thrilled about the stifling taxes up there - but then, things appear to be worsening by the day down here.  The Alberta economy is booming - and they are just shaking their heads at what is going on down here.  I met yet another vacationing Albertan at a lake we were swimming at a few days ago and they had nothing but glowing words about their economy.   I caveat that with the sobering reality that they will have nothing once ours goes completely off the cliff.  It WILL drag their economy down.  That is a "future fact".

THE WOMAN AT THE WELL, AND THE FUTURE OF JOSEPH'S POSTERITY

I had a great week visiting with family who came into town for a mini-reunion and bonding with my youngest two children.  One of the things we did was to respond to a Craigslist ad selling two young she-goats.  They are nubian-alpine and the mother seems very patient and a modest milker.  We have a weed problem that I think these girls can take care of.....

The seller (a woman) and I got to talking after finishing the transaction and I mentioned "blog stuff" without revealing my identity (as a Mormon).  There is so much bias by many that I choose to reveal that information only after they discover that I am indeed a believer in Christ and that my doctrine matches theirs nearly perfectly and that I do not have horns on my head, etc.

In the course of our conversation, we started talking about B-12 and I found out that she had been in the mental hospital three times for severe depression and major thyroid issues.  Her symptoms were so developed that she had hands so numb that she would take 400 deg potatoes out of the oven with no glove and not feel any pain or heat.  That is SEVERE neuropathy!  I described all the symptoms and explained all about how to resolve her problem and she was amazed that I had the key of knowledge to years of suffering where she had asked many times that the Lord would just take her from this earth.  I told her she was from the tribe of Ephraim (very reddish brown hair, just as Ephraim's father, Joseph had), she told me of her several dreams and visions (as a descendant of the "King of Dreams"), and we started talking of second coming stuff.  At that point, we were standing next to a faux well complete with windlass, bucket, stone wall, and gabled roof.  As I pointed out the features of her faux well, I mentioned Joseph's patriarchal blessing given to him in Genesis 49:22, as follows:

22 ¶Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:

 23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:

 24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

 25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

 26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

The promise of much posterity whose branches run over the wall (well = ocean) is striking.  Truly, Joseph's descendents, Ephraim and Mannasseh have run over that wall to America and most all the islands of the sea.  We have been hated and they have tried to take us out, but they have had no success UNTIL VERY SOON FROM NOW.

We (as a nation) are fomenting revolution in Syria (and everywhere else) and Russian is not taking kindly to our provocations.  The only military base(s) that they maintain outside of Russia until lately, has been in Syria.  Now, we are trying to destabilize their ally in the ME.  NOT GOOD considering prophecy of what will shortly come to pass.  This from Isaiah 17:

 1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

 2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

 3 The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the Lord of hosts.

 4 And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean.

 5 And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.

 6 ¶Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the Lord God of Israel.

 7 At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.

 8 And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.

 9 ¶In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation.

Verse one is ominous.  Damascus is the oldest continuously-inhabited city on this planet (click link for more info).  With all the ebb and flow of civilizations around it, this is no small feat given its location.  Aleppo is done and the only really large metropolitan center left in that country that has not seen civil war is Damascus.  They are on the list - and when they go, all hell will break loose.  That will be the point of no return and Ephraim, the one who could not be affected by the archers for the difficulty of sending their arrows (picture a missile trajectory) over "the wall", will now lose her fortress.  In other words, their "arrows" will finally reach the inhabitants of Ephraim and those in the everlasting hills, etc.

We will get nuked.  Folks, this is clear as day to me.  Visions of Glory confirm this to be a reality - plus all the other NDEs in the blog that call this stuff out.

I just found another bottle of rad pills I had ordered a few months ago so I could get my numbers up to the level for free shipping for some non-hybridized seeds.  It might be good to keep the potassium iodide handy for when the arrows start raining down on our heads as a divine punishment for having forgotten our God!

THINGS YOU CAN DO TO PREPARE

This in from survivalblog.com    I have an old college roommate who lives in Alpine, UT (upscale area of Utah County) and his Stake President asked that families try one facet of their preps for a specific period of time.  If I recall correctly, there was a schedule that the people followed, such as live one week without electricity, cook for one week using only propane stoves, live without a phone for one week (other than work), live in a tent for three days or live without water for a week (other than what you have stored).  Pretty inspired counsel, I think.  I have been short on time this summer, otherwise, I would be doing something pretty similar to this using my own preps.

Here is something for those that need water filters.  A 25% off sale which is substantial!:

     http://www.nitro-pak.com/specials

Here is something I thought was interesting that takes this thinking to a whole new level:

Learning 52 Skills: Applying a Purchasing Plan Approach to Learning New Skills, by Seth T.

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It’s common for Preppers to run into a misallocation of resources.  Some things are flashy (Read: Guns) and will attract a lot of attention. People will spend hours and hours researching their newest gun purchase but never take the time to conduct a test loading of their bug out gear into their vehicle.  People will spend hours comparing the XTP vs Golden Saber vs Hydra-Shok for their carry gun, but never work on drawing their weapon from their carry holster, manipulation drills, or shooting basics.  How much money is spent on QuickClot and trauma dressings by a person who doesn’t have any first aid skills, much less dental floss, Imodium AD and hand sanitizer? Instantaneous lead poisoning will kill, but so will bad hygiene and diarrhea. Gunshots are sexy. Dental floss to help prevent tooth decay is not.

JWR has often recommended making a dispassionate purchasing plan and sticking to it for this reason.  A recent example given was a PTR91 versus an M1A, and looking at the overall cost of magazines, etc.  A reason people often find fitness success with a personal trainer is because of this same principle. They remove themselves from the decision making process, and have someone else make a “purchasing plan” of exercises for them.  When someone is telling you what exercises to do, it’s hard to ignore them and continue to do only bicep curls and frequent trips to the drinking fountain.

I realize daily life gets in the way of prepping for a lot of people, rather than it being a lifestyle. Unless you are living at your retreat full time, I understand that it’s hard to get further in your preparations while taking care of a 9-5, bills, kids, practice, school, or life in general. Sure, you pick up a #10 can here or box of ammo there, but that’s it. Ask yourself- are you more prepared now than you were a year ago? When you thought of the answer to that question, did you think of things you bought in the past year or things you learned in the past year? How much of your prepping  time is spent on new skills vs. pining over a new purchase?  If it’s not as much as you would like it to be, I have a solution for you, one that is almost a pure “software” upgrade that will pay dividends forever. Even if you are living on your retreat full time, I think you can also benefit from this article. So consider this an opportunity for some prepping personal training.  It’s about applying a purchasing plan approach to learning new skills.

When it comes down to it, software beats hardware any day of the week.  What you know, and what you can do with that knowledge is infinitely more advantageous than all the neatest gadgets in the world.  Simo Häyhä and an open-sighted Mosin Nagant are a perfect example of what a skilled person can do with the most basic equipment. It is the skill of the user that determines the end result. Hardware can be lost, broken, stolen or run out. Software lasts forever, and can actually be multiplied if you can share it with others.  Too many people plan on doing skills they have never tried, with gear they have never used, in conditions they have never been in, under levels of stress they have never dealt with, and expecting good results. This is a recipe for disaster.

My retreat group decided to address this issue. We came up with a list of skills,projects or activities that we felt were important to try, learn, do and master. We had an absolute blast spending the last year doing them. Everyone agreed it was great family bonding time as well. What we found is that with someone else providing the focus, instruction and activities, and you merely following them, you will be encouraged to do things outside of your comfort zone, and, most importantly,  actually do them.  These things can be done mostly at home (or can be adapted for home), for little or no cost.  The projects are designed to be done as a family, but can be done individually as well. If you have kids, this is a great way to give them life skills.  (Every day, your children are learning. If you are not teaching them, someone else is!) Extended families can take part, and lots of these would be a great way to introduce someone to prepping. If you are a prepping grandparent, invite your grandkids over each week.  A lot of the skills are not “prepper” specific, so if one spouse is gung ho and the other is reluctant, they can also act as a conversation starter and good chance to work together. A lot of prepper spouse vs non-prepper spouse arguments tend to center around money spent on preps. If you put forth an effort to improve free skills, it will go a long way towards harmony in the home. You can even do most of the skills without anyone knowing it was for prepping. The list is by no means inclusive, and will not make you a master at anything. Each skill is one that will come in handy both pre and post-SHTF. Everyone has a special skill set niche, but this will hopefully expose you to new things, and encourage you to delve deeper into them on your own or continue them at your own pace.

There are 52 weeks in a year. We came up with 52 skills. You may follow them in order, or to make it extra fun, number each card in a deck, 1-52. Sunday night, pull a card from the deck. Sometime during the next week, Monday thru Sunday, complete the corresponding assigned exercise from the list below. My family did it as almost a game, coming up with a scenario based background for each task that the kids really enjoyed thinking up. One commented that it was like playing Swiss Family Robinson or living Survivorman. I tried to include different skill levels when I could in the same genre. If it is a skill you have already honestly mastered, redo one you have not mastered or wish to try again, or better yet, help teach the skill to someone else.  If Mama does all the cooking, have her help teach others during those skill weeks. Some weeks you will teach, some weeks you will learn. All weeks you will improve.  As stated above, most are free or very low cost.

One pact that we made also as a group going in….In general, if you don’t already, try to live your life this year as if the Crunch already happened.  Grow as much of your own food as you can. Try fixing things yourself, with what you have on hand. Instead of running to the store for something you forgot, do without or come up with another workable option. Go to your group medic before your doctor, if for nothing else than to keep your medic’s skills sharp and to check his or her diagnosis. If your group is geographically nearby, rely on each other for problem solving. Become a support network. Perform all of your own vehicle repairs this year. Do all of your own home repairs. One of your friends used to work in construction or is a mechanic, trust me. Ask around. Work out a trade. You can find a youtube video that shows a walk through of almost any repair, replacement or medical procedure you can think of. They are available now, but will not be when the grid goes down. Learn the skills now, while you can.  I didn’t include specific instructions for most of these skills on purpose…..I want you to research them yourself. If you find something online that you use for instructions, print them out! Work on your resource library one skill as a time.

One last thing that my family did….Try to put $5 into an envelope each week. If all you can spare is $1 each week, then by all means do that. As you go through the skills, you may find that there are gaps in your preps. It was nice to have a small amount of money set aside preemptively to pick up what was needed. If you go through the year and don’t spend it, you have $260 to buy silver on a dip day or convert to nickels!

Most importantly, enjoy yourself. Have fun. Here we go:

1)      Take care of your health issues NOW! Make a Doctor and/or Dentist Appointment.  The appointment does not have to actually be during this week, but you at least need to schedule it this week. Get that cavity filled. Get a physical. Ask about prophylactic antibiotics for your upcoming vacation to Mexico. If you are on medication, see what you need to accomplish to get off of it. If you regularly see your Doctor or Dentist, check out a health book from the library and read it. Most carry books about natural remedies or other topics that can be useful. (see what herbs you can grow that would be helpful)

2)      We all talk about the grid going down. How will you cook when it goes? Come up with an off grid cooking method.  Try making a volcano stove, rocket stove, wood gas stove, alcohol stove or a solar cooker. If you plan on using a fire ring, do you have cast iron or other way to cook on it? Do you have a pot stand? Do you store enough Charcoal? If you already have an off grid method or a wood fired stove, develop a second method. A very efficient solar oven can be constructed from a reflective sun visor from the dollar store (search the web for plans). Solar cooking does not produce smoke like traditional fires do and while you may have associated food smells, you won’t have the giveaway sign of a fire. This method is ideal for apartment dwellers with access to a sunny balcony. If you have stored charcoal for a BBQ as your method, can you cook with wood as well? This is also a good time to construct fire starters out of dryer lint or cotton balls and Vaseline. Store in empty prescription bottles or altoid containers.

3)      Actually cook a meal with your off grid method.  Go as simple or elaborate as you feel comfortable doing.  If all you can muster is roasting hot dogs, then do it. (At worst, you have a family cookout over a campfire.) For a better exercise, try using your food storage (you are rotating it and eating it on a regular basis, correct?) or baking something.  Baking something in a solar oven is very challenging and rewarding project. (This is great for science project time for kids too.) If you already use a wood stove to cook with, use an alternative method (redundant redundancy!)

4)      With no grid or reduced refrigeration, food storage becomes difficult. Everyone plans on hunting or butchering livestock, and jerking the meat. So go ahead and do it. Smoke or Jerk meat this week. For an added twist, you can imagine the power went out and you have to jerk some rapidly thawing item on hand in your freezer, or you can just buy a cut of meat specifically for it. Already make jerky? Try making jerky sticks from ground meat, or try pemmican.  Try to find recipes that call for ingredients you have on hand. If you don’t already store and rotate those ingredients, it’s a good chance to start. Extra points if you make the jerky from a home built smoker. Already have a home built smoker or dehydrator? Make one from scratch using foraged material.

5)      Go hunting or trapping .  Every state has something that can be hunted year round, whether it is jackrabbits, coyotes, etc. Hunting builds countless skills, and is great bonding time for families.  Part of everyone’s SHTF plan is hunting….but when did you last go? If you weren’t drawn for Elk last year, did you still go for squirrel?  Skills atrophy with disuse….keep yours fresh! If you hunt or trap regularly take a newbie and pass along some skills to the next generation.

6)      If your hunt was successful, tan the fur. Look at plans online to build a fur stretcher. Process it using ingredients you have on hand if possible . It is very simple to end up with a great fur. It is also very simple to destroy one.  Learn now, when your child’s warmth through winter does not depend on it.  I have friends that run a few traps, and are able make a few thousand extra dollars each year selling fur. If you do not have a fur to tan from your hunt, research the process and get the ingredients to tan one when you are successful.  If you already do this try and make an item of clothing from your fur or leather.
 
7)      Go fishing this week. Take your kids. If you don’t have kids, take a niece or nephew. Try to use natural bait if you can find it. Dig your own worms or catch your own crickets, or minnows. An easy way to find natural bait it to turn over large rocks in the water and swipe a butterfly net under them. Have fun.

8)      Go shooting. If all you can do is dry fire, then by all means do that. Try something new if you can. Try trap or skeet if you haven’t before. Shoot an IDPA or high power match. Shoot at unknown ranges(distances) if you have an area where you can. Sign up for an Appleseed class. When you shoot, try to go with a training mindset. Pick a specific skill to improve on for each outing.

9)      Sew something this week.  Mend or patch a ripped pair of jeans. Make a pillow if you are new to sewing. If you already sew, try quilting, or teach someone.  Try both machine and hand sewing.  Got all those mastered? Try knitting.

10)   Barter for something this week. Search on Craigslist or Backpage, or your local classifieds. “WTT” means “WILLING TO TRADE” (you can often search for WTT and things should pop up). The only rule is no cash, only bartering or trading.  The downside to Backpage or craigslist is that the hankering is done by email, so an even better place to barter is at a farmers market, where you can practice the skill face to face.  It doesn’t have to be a survivalist item. The goal is the bartering, not the item.

11)   Volunteer this week. Choices are up to you. Church, Scouts, kid’s school, soup kitchen, etc. Give back to your community.  You will also be exposed to a group of the population you normally don’t interact with, for better or worse.

12)   Go through your clothes and food storage, and donate any items that you will not eat before expiration or that don’t fit. Try to repurpose the clothing if you can, camo makes good storage pouches etc.. donate it If you cannot. Some thrift stores offer discount coupons for the store when you donate items.

13)   First aid training. Learn CPR and basic first aid at a minimum. Most communities offer free classes. You don’t have to take the class this week, but you do need to sign up for it. Already know CPR? Work on suturing, or starting IVs, or taking vital signs. Go over signs of and treatment for shock, burns, gunshot wounds, dehydration, infection etc. Look at thrift shops or the Goodwill for medical books. Many have EMT, Nurse or Paramedic textbooks, as well as PDRs, often for a dollar or two. The books do no good unless you read them! Have your medical coordinator teach a class.

14)   Each family/retreat member brings a different skill set to the table. Cross train and teach a skill to one another. It will increase your knowledge of the topic, as well as make you a better learner. It does not matter the topic or skill, again, the teaching process is the goal. Your kids may surprise you with their knowledge as well. In all reality, you may have a surgeon with your group, who gets struck by lightning on Crunch+1 . Unless you have cross trained, you will be behind the 8 ball.

15)   Everyone should already have a Bug out bag. How many days’ worth of food do you pack in your bag? If its three days, for the next three days, eat only that food from your bag.  You will quickly find out if you packed too little, too much, if those Datrex bars or MREs make you constipated or give you diarrhea. If your plan is one jar of peanut butter, see how well that goes.  You will also see the effects of your local environment on your items. Either way, it’s probably time to rotate the food in there anyway. You may end up adding spices or flavorings like tabasco or seasoned salt.  Don’t cheat. I promise you that you will pack different items when you are done with this week!

16)   Everyone stores wheat, with the idea that you will bake bread. How many of you have baked a loaf of bread? Bake one this week. I recommend the Lahey method (search for it). His recipe is literally no knead, and makes wonderful bread that has very little hands on time, and uses a tiny amount of yeast. You can prep it in 10 minutes before bed for baking the next day.  Already bake bread? Grind your own flour for your bread. Already do that? Use a sourdough starter, or try baking bread off grid.

17)   Test your off grid power. See how long the solar charger takes to charge your batteries or a jump pack. See how long the jump pack lasts charging tool batteries. If you don’t have anything, then come up with some method of off grid power.  An option is a jump pack with a DC plug and AC outlet coupled with a solar panel with a DC output, or simply  a solar panel and battery charger. Put it in your purchasing plan.  Already have solar? Consider a surplus hand crank generator, or one of the pocket ones. Try using the power source for alternative heating or cooling.

18)   Go for a hike, or walk in your area. You can work on map reading, orienteering, etc. You can teach about the military crest. Look for lines of drift. Notice ambush spots. Try to identify plant and animal life. Treat it as a patrol hike if you are at that stage.  The goal is not the Appalachian Trail. The goal is to walk in the outdoors, and pay attention to your surroundings. If you do this on a regular basis, throw a BOB on and use it as physical training opportunity.

19)   Go for a hike at night. This is different from just walking around in the dark. Many parks offer full moon hikes if you want a guided experience.  Pay attention to shadows and hiding areas. Walk quietly. Avoid using a flashlight and improve your night vision. Orient with compass instead of landmarks.

20)   Make a cache outdoors. It doesn’t have to be anything special, or crazy. Even if it is a PVC tube with only a roll of silver dimes, choose a location, landmark, construct the container, and bury it.  If you are afraid to bury anything of value, try tissue paper which is a great test to see how waterproof you can make it. If you already have made one, try to construct a hasty one from supplies on hand.

21)   Make a hidden cache inside your house.. Even if you don’t hide anything in it yet, construct it.

22)   Improve your relationship with your neighbors.  Some of you may laugh at this, but a lot of people wave at their neighbors, but don’t even know their names. If this is you, introduce yourself. If you are already on good terms, bring them a loaf of your recently baked bread or invite them to dinner.  You and your neighbor are geographical allies. Start to kindle a relationship, very simple conversations will let you know if they are "like-minded" people.

23)   Butcher something, from start to finish, and use all of it up.  For those of you with livestock, this is a no-brainer. If you don’t have livestock, it gets more interesting, but still doable. If your hunting or fishing was successful, start here. If it was not, buy a live chicken. Use an air rifle or slingshot and some bird seed if you have that option. Buy a live lobster if all else fails. The goal is to go through the act of processing an animal, and to make three meals out of it. With a chicken, you could eat the meat as a main course one night, toss some with some pasta or rice the next, and make a broth out of the bones for soup.   If you use a rabbit, squirrel, etc, process the fur as well. There was a great article on SB a few months back about having a Zero-Waste kitchen. Try it.

24)   Make a family budget. See where you can trim any fat, and make an effort.  See what things you can do at home. (Haircuts, coffee, etc) as well as reducing energy expenses (heating oil, electricity, gasoline) Start a list of prepping needs, and start on a purchase list including order, and stick with it!

25)   Make candy with your food storage. Think salt water taffy, peanut brittle, hard candy, stained glass candy, all the old fashioned treats.  It’s a lot easier than you think. Sugar and corn syrup can make amazing things. Try to flavor them with natural flavorings, like clove oil or cinnamon oil, or other things from your food storage if you can. In addition to keeping morale up post SHTF, candy could help on picket duty or be great for barter.

26)   Run a communications test.  Test out the actual range on your radios/CBs. If you don’t have comms yet, do some research, select some, and put them in your purchasing plan. Try your primary and secondary stations. Make sure your channel of choice is not used by a nearby RV park or deer camp, etc.   Monitor your chosen stations on different days, at different times, in different weather, and see who else is on there. Decide on message drop locations, rally points, and other communication methods you have a code or use the “identical book code” method, test it out. Iron wrinkles out now, not later.

27)   Read the Constitution and The Declaration of Independence.  Understand where your rights come from. Compare them to some “modern” constitutions of other nations. Then, write your congress critter. The topic choice is up to you, but I’m sure you won’t have to look far to find a passionate topic.  Only a small percent of constituents write, so you are able to have a exponential impact.

28)   Improve your internet security. Use a VPN or Tor browser, which is open source and free. In light of the NSA news, this is something everyone should already be doing.  If you already do this, make digital scans of all important documents and put them on a thumb drive(s). Truecrypt is a great encryption software that is also open sourced. Cache one and/or store one with a trusted friend. Consider an Ironkey USB for the task.

29)   Forage a meal locally. In addition to hunting, people assume they will be able to forage post SHTF, in a calorically deprived state while avoiding lead poisoning.  Try it during good times, with a field guide, and a full stomach. A good resource is a study of the native plants etc..that the Native Americans use and how they prepare them. This has to be done with care, and make sure that any items to be eaten are correctly identified! (I assume no responsibility for your errors.)  Live in an apartment in the city? Find a nearby Oak tree and make acorn flour.

30)   Build something out of wood using off grid power. If you have cordless tools that you can power with solar, feel free to use them. If you have a hydro powered mill, use it. If you only have hand tools, use them. Bench, planter box, raised bed, tree house, rocking horse…. Choice is up to you. But practice your large scale building skills. Try drawing up blue prints and plan your cuts to not waste materials.

31)   Build a child’s toy out of wood using off grid tools. While last week focused on macro wood skills, this week focuses on micro skills. Sanding, fitting, finishing, carving. Toy cars, dolls, ball in cup, maybe even a Dala Horse. Alternatively, try making a wooden spoon or bowl.

32)   Take your kids out of school for a day, and home school them if you don’t already. It’s worth taking a day off from work. If your schedules will not allow it, spend Saturday morning doing it.  If your kids are already home-schooled, go on a field trip somewhere fun.  Most parents have no idea what their children are learning, or what they have not learned. Take an active role in your child’s education.

33)   Go to a thrift shop. If you regularly make thrift shop and garage sale rounds, try to find a new one. If not, locate a few in your area and go. Foodsavers, tools, cast iron, preparedness books, medical books, sturdy clothing, meat grinders, CB radios, canning supplies etc are all readily available on a fairly regular basis at pennies on the dollar. You will save money, help a charity, and reduce waste.

34)   Can something, ideally something homegrown. If your garden didn’t produce or you don’t garden (Start!), go to your local farmers market or produce discount store, and buy in bulk. Jams, jellies, and pickles are an easy and forgiving start. If you regularly can vegetables, can meat. If you do that on a regular basis, come up with and design a barterable canned good, whether it is tomato sauce, barbeque sauce, salsa, or something more imaginative.

35)   Run a test load of your G.O.O.D. gear and make the drive.  Give yourself 30 minutes to load and go,and use the gas already in your car. If you have done this recently, go with your B or C route.  If your drive is cross country, try the test load and follow your route on google earth.  Rotate your stored gasoline from your gas can into your vehicles and refill them (don’t forget Sta-Bil or Pri-G!) If you are already at your retreat, you should still have a G.O.O.D. plan.

36)   Conduct a threat assessment of your home.  Literally, try to break into your own house.  Even better, swap with a friend and assess each other’s house so you get a fresh set of eyes.  Come up with an assault plan if you were going to rob/burglarize your house. Start from a distance outside, and finish clearing the inside of the house.

37)   Fix any deficiencies found during last week’s threat assessment. At a minimum, adjust and aim lighting, upgrade hinge and lock screws, put locks or dowels on windows, etc. Trim bushes that were blocking fields of fire. Plant roses under windows. Put locks on gates and your fuse box, etc. Consider anti-vehicle defenses, door and window reinforcement and use of furniture and materials in your home to build defendable or safe positions.

38)   People often assume 1 gallon of water per person per day. Using only containers of water, see how much water you actually use in a day. Cooking, cleaning, washing, and drinking. When you finish, adjust your stores if you need to.

39)   Run JWR’s 48 hour experiment. Shut off power to your house for 48 hours. See where your deficiencies are, and make lists. Update your purchasing plan.

40)   Like the 48 hour experiment, go seven days without purchasing anything. This should be a breeze. If it is not, adjust your stores and purchasing plan.

41)   Use your water filter. Locate questionable water, and filter it. Try different methods. Compare ease, taste, with a pre filter vs without, etc.  Try boiling, a filter, tablets, UV. Try evaporation, either with a two bottle mini distillation method, solar oven or plastic wrap and see how much water you can process through collection, filtration, boiling, sterilization per day.

42)   Start working on your fitness. (Preface it with a Dr’s visit, and all the usual liability provisos.) Even if it is only walking, it is a start. On one of your thrift shop visits, pick up an exercise DVD. Something as cheesy as a Tae Bo video will help immensely if done on a regular basis.

43)   Make a range card for your house from all directions. From the assessment you did earlier, identify possible paths of approach and cover that attackers may use as well as landmarks that are readily identifiable. Measure distances inside your home as well. Shoot at these distances on your next range trip. How does your shotgun pattern at inside the house ranges? What is your battle rifle sight offset at 5 yards? What are your holdover points for your long gun at your landmarks? Shoot your sidearm at longer ranges as well, make a map and range card of the areas around your house.

44)   Everyone has planned  to sprout after the crunch. So sprout some greens this week. While you are at it, make a meal out of wheat berries, hopefully in your solar oven. Try different recipes as wheat berries may get old real fast after the crunch.

45)   Put on your Bug out bag, MBR, sidearm, and web gear. Work on weapon manipulations, clearance drills, shooting positions with all of your gear on. Can you access your magazines on your chest rig while prone? How fast can you dump your backpack and drop prone? Try working some moving to cover and firing while moving drills with all your gear on.

46)   Clean and oil your guns, including disassembling magazines. Where eye protection!  Rotate your carry magazines.  Work on loading from stripper clips for any weapons that utilize these, as well as performing tactical reloads for magazine fed devices. If you carry a shotgun, practice loading that. Once you are comfortable, try it at a jog, or while sprinting from cover to cover. (if you already do this develop a list of common parts that break from each weapon and add it to your purchase plan)

47)   Look at other news sources this week. If you usually watch the news, read a newspaper. Watch a new television station. Visit a new web site. It is important to not have blinders on when looking for trigger events, as well as to not limit yourself to like-minded sources. If you are a Drudge Report or Zero Hedge person and can stand it, go to MSNBC or one of the kool-aid drinking financial pages. Learn the opposing arguments.  Go electronically invisible this week as well. Pay cash for everything you buy if you don’t already. Do not carry a cell phone with you, but if you must, take the battery out. Don’t use your shopping discount card (your area code plus 867-5309 works pretty much universally.) Use your VPN or Tor browser for any Internet needs. Realize the trail you are leaving everywhere.

48)   Make a Zeer pot. Already made a zeer pot? Make a Fresnel lens cooker (Be careful with it!) You can build huge ones from old projection televisions from your local thrift store. Try another evaporative cooling method, even if its spinning something in a wet tube sock.

49)   Make hard cider, wine, or beer.  If you are opposed to alcohol, please consider the fuel/disinfectant and barter properties that it could make if distilled, and remember you are learning the skill, not condoning consumption. If you are still opposed, make cheese. Or try making homemade root beer and bottling it.  Save bottles during the year for this project.

50)   One shot challenge. This is a family favorite. Set different targets (we use  8x11 sheets of paper) at unknown ranges.  Without any warm up shots or adjustment to zero, place one shot on each target with your MBR. Once you can do this on a regular basis, try it with a different weapon, sidearm, etc. Extend the ranges for any guns you plan on serving LP/OP duty.
 
51)   Introduce some stress into your life. Expose yourself to a high stress situation.  Compete in something. Challenge yourself. Consider volunteering with a local hospital, fire, EMS or police department, or go on a ride along with one at the least. The more accustomed you can be to thinking on your feet and dealing with stress now, the easier it will be later.

52)  Plan for 52 additional skills next year! See what needs work, what skills you have, and continue progressing! You can use this list every year and expand on each idea, create an alternative or pass along skills to other members.

Think of this challenge as a return on investment. The more well rounded we all become the better. Even the best stocked well defended retreat can burn down, flood or be hit by a tornado. The more skills you have the more valuable you become to another group or community. I truly do hope you will take this challenge. One year from now, you do not want to be wishing you had done X and Y. Expand your skill set. I fear that our time is approaching, and the clock is ticking. Take advantage of the forgiving times to prepare yourself.