Words of Wisdom

In preparing for this week’s class, I was a little discouraged thinking that I have been putting together these recipes and making this food thinking that the 20+ people who signed up would come, but that last few meetings have had only a handful of sisters in attendance. I really wanted to do this midweek enrichment group because I wanted to challenge myself to “prepare every needful thing”. I began to think maybe everyone else has a year’s supply of food and basic essentials, a full menu of delicious and nutritious recipes, and a handle on food storage, which must be why they haven’t been coming. I turned to Heavenly Father this week during a trip to the Mount Timpanogos Temple to know what I was supposed to do to get my house in order and be a resource for others wanting to do the same. The response I got was “turn to the words of the Latter-day prophets.” I found some great quotes that keep me going in my quest to prepare every needful thing:

Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) Fifteenth President of the Church
“The best place to have some food set aside is within our homes,
together with a little money in savings. The best welfare program is our own
welfare program. Five or six cans of wheat in the home are better than a bushel
in the welfare granary. … “We can begin with a one week’s food
supply and gradually build it to a month, and then to three months. I am
speaking now of food to cover basic needs” (“To Men of the Priesthood,” Ensign,
Nov. 2002, 58).

Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994) Thirteenth President of the Church
“The revelation to store food may be as essential to our temporal
salvation today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah”
(“Prepare Ye,” Ensign, Jan. 1974, 69).

Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) Twelfth President of the Church
“We encourage you to grow all the food that you feasibly can on your
own property. Berry bushes, grapevines, fruit trees—plant them if your climate
is right for their growth. Grow vegetables and eat them from your own yard. Even
those residing in apartments or condominiums can generally grow a little food in
pots and planters. … Make your garden as neat and attractive as well as
productive. If there are children in your home, involve them in the process with
assigned responsibilities” (“Family Preparedness,” Ensign, May 1976, 124).

Harold B. Lee (1899–1973) Eleventh President of the Church
“We expect the individual to do all he can to help himself, whether
it be an emergency for a single family or for a whole community, that the
relatives will do all they can to help, then the Church steps in with
commodities from the storehouse, with fast offerings to meet their needs that
commodities from the storehouse will not supply, and finally, the Relief Society
and the priesthood quorums will assist with rehabilitation” (Teachings of
Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee [2000], 171).

Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1972) Tenth President of the Church
“[The pioneers] were taught by their leaders to produce, as far as
possible, all that they consumed, and to be frugal and not wasteful of their
substance. This is still excellent counsel” (“The Pioneer Spirit,” Improvement
Era, July 1970, 3).

Wilford Woodruff (1807–98) Fourth President of the Church
“We
feel led to caution the Latter-day Saints against forming the bad habit of
incurring debt and taking upon themselves obligations which frequently burden
them heavier than they can bear, and lead to the loss of their homes and other
possessions. … Our business should be done, as much as possible, on the
principle of paying for that which we purchase, and our needs should be brought
within the limit of our resources” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church:
Wilford Woodruff [2004], 232–33).

George Albert Smith (1870–1951) Eighth President of the Church
“How on the face of the earth could a man enjoy his religion when he
had been told by the Lord how to prepare for a day of famine, when instead of
doing so he had fooled away that which would have sustained him and his family”
(Deseret News, Mar. 4, 1868, 26).

Brigham Young (1801–77) Second President of the Church
“If you are without bread, how much wisdom can you boast and of what real utility
are your talents, if you cannot procure for yourselves and save against a day of
scarcity those substances designed to sustain your natural lives?” (Deseret
News, July 18, 1860, 153).