Importance of this post:
If the Lord had a message that He wanted to go to EVERY member of the church, active or not, within a 30 day period, how would He do that? In theory: Home Teaching. Every month the First Presidency publishes a message that is to be taken into the homes of every member of the church by their Home Teachers. Every member of the church is assigned two Home Teachers. EVERY member. EVERY month, those two home teachers visit their assigned families and share the message of the First Presidency. In theory.
This is more reliable than General Conference, Stake Conference, or letters read over the pulpit by the Bishop from the First Presidency, because it doesn't require the member to do anything or be anywhere. The Lord will find you...via your Home Teachers.
In theory.
God's plans and ways are perfect. His message for us today has been delivered. The perfect way to share the message is in place. If we fail to receive the message or deliver the message, we bear the responsibility. We cannot blame God, or the prophet, or His church. I know that we struggle in fulfilling our responsibility to share God's message each month with His children. This is my humble attempt to encourage you to hear it and share it.
It matters.
(I have highlighted and changed the format for emphasis. My comments and thoughts are in blue and are only meant to try to gain insight and understanding and do not represent the official position of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Quotes from another source not sited in this talk are in red)
First Presidency Message
Are We Prepared? Notice the title is Are we prepared? and not Are you prepared? It may not make a difference, but it could mean that this is a question for the church as well as the individual and that local leaders should ask the questions for their wards and stakes and know the answer. Also, it asks "Are we prepared?" suggesting, perhaps, that we should be able to answer yes or no. This could suggest that it's no longer about whether you are doing it, or that you should start, but... have you done it? are you done?
The prophet will start his message with what sounds like a modern day parable, possibly about cleansing the church....separating the wheat from the tares...but the rest of the message is about preparedness and the summary for the children states, "President
Monson has asked each of us to be prepared for hard times and to help
others during their hard times." So, I am trying to understand the story from that context. I invite you to join me in prayerfully considering it's meaning. I will share what I think it could mean.
In the vicinity where I once lived and served, so maybe this is about me and where I live and work the Church operated a poultry project, church farms are a resource to provide for the poor staffed primarily by volunteers from the local wards. this could represent my ward and stake; we are all volunteers Most of the time it was an efficiently operated project, most of the time we are doing pretty good. Sometimes, in some ways, we are not... supplying to the bishops’ storehouse thousands of fresh eggs and hundreds of pounds of dressed poultry. If this is a parable, then perhaps he's talking about "The bishops' storehouse," which is defined later in this talk as: the time, talents, skills, compassion, consecrated material, and financial means of faithful Church members. Members of the church supply countless hours and dollars to provide for the needy. On a few occasions, from time to time however, being volunteer city farmers he's reminds us twice that this church is a collection of volunteer disciples, and added that many of us are "city farmers", at that...possibly meaning we don't really live and work full time in the Lord's church, but help out from time to time, or are called upon from time to time to help the needy with our own time, talents, skills, etc. We are not full-time providers of the poor and needy meant not only blisters on the hands blisters come because we don't work consistently to build up a protective layer (ie. callouses). When we make one great burst of effort, we are less prepared to handle the work load that may be asked of us. We have the opportunity right now to give consistently to the needy via fast offerings. If we were asked to make a large 'one-time' offering we might experience a few 'blisters' as well.. but also frustration of heart and mind. Two things I hear. One: the prophet may be frustrated, both in his heart and his mind. Why? That we are 'city'-givers? That we aren't prepared to give more if it were needed? ??? Two: We may be frustrated also, as our lack of knowledge and experience about how the Church, or more specifically, the welfare program, really works will cause us to make mistakes that have real consequences. We think we're prepared...but we're not.
In the vicinity where I once lived and served, so maybe this is about me and where I live and work the Church operated a poultry project, church farms are a resource to provide for the poor staffed primarily by volunteers from the local wards. this could represent my ward and stake; we are all volunteers Most of the time it was an efficiently operated project, most of the time we are doing pretty good. Sometimes, in some ways, we are not... supplying to the bishops’ storehouse thousands of fresh eggs and hundreds of pounds of dressed poultry. If this is a parable, then perhaps he's talking about "The bishops' storehouse," which is defined later in this talk as: the time, talents, skills, compassion, consecrated material, and financial means of faithful Church members. Members of the church supply countless hours and dollars to provide for the needy. On a few occasions, from time to time however, being volunteer city farmers he's reminds us twice that this church is a collection of volunteer disciples, and added that many of us are "city farmers", at that...possibly meaning we don't really live and work full time in the Lord's church, but help out from time to time, or are called upon from time to time to help the needy with our own time, talents, skills, etc. We are not full-time providers of the poor and needy meant not only blisters on the hands blisters come because we don't work consistently to build up a protective layer (ie. callouses). When we make one great burst of effort, we are less prepared to handle the work load that may be asked of us. We have the opportunity right now to give consistently to the needy via fast offerings. If we were asked to make a large 'one-time' offering we might experience a few 'blisters' as well.. but also frustration of heart and mind. Two things I hear. One: the prophet may be frustrated, both in his heart and his mind. Why? That we are 'city'-givers? That we aren't prepared to give more if it were needed? ??? Two: We may be frustrated also, as our lack of knowledge and experience about how the Church, or more specifically, the welfare program, really works will cause us to make mistakes that have real consequences. We think we're prepared...but we're not.
For instance, I shall ever remember the time we gathered the Aaronic Priesthood young men not the High Priests, or Elder's quorum, but the young men. This might mean that the message is about the consequences of what we are teaching (or not teaching) the youth who are inexperienced in provident living or providing for the needy. Or maybe it is more directed to the priesthood as a whole. In 2007 we were told, "We call upon priesthood bearers to store sufficient so that you and your family can weather the vicissitudes of life." to give the project a spring-cleaning. In this part of the story, the physical space that houses the resource (the farm houses the chickens) needs some cleaning. If the bishops' storehouse is the farm, then it is we, the members, that provide the resource, so maybe it's us that need the "spring cleaning" - our houses (physical and spiritual). Our enthusiastic and energetic throng we have good youth who have enthusiastically and energetically responded to the call to work on the Lord's "farm" as volunteer missionaries at a younger age than ever before. Right now they are providing for the "poor in spirit" by sharing the gospel. assembled at the project and in a speedy fashion how often do you hear the word "hasten" in the church right now? The youth responded in a speedy fashion to follow the Lord's call to go into the vineyard. uprooted, gathered, and burned large quantities of weeds and debris.This is where the parable starts to sounds like a separation of the "wheat from the tares" inside the church. Or... the "weed and debris" are not people, but the junk in our lives that is identified, collected and abandoned. Or...it represents the "work" of the church to perfect the saints coupled with our day of hastening...but in light of the message of providing for ourselves and the needy, what does this represent? Uprooting, gathering and burning weeds and debris sounds like a good thing. Those are things we don't want. If the people are the resource in the Lord's storehouse, the weeds and debris could be the things around us that clutter our lives; make us look bad; and represent things that have crept in because we have not been diligent at keeping them out or have ignored them. By the light of the glowing bonfires, we ate hot dogs and congratulated ourselves on a job well done. On the surface it appears that we have done what we were supposed to do; that we've been successful. We've gotten rid of the 'weeds and clutter and distractions' in our lives. Our work creates a big noticeable fire (can be seen by others and creates heat). We satisfy our hunger with food that has no real nutrition; we pat ourselves on the back for what we think is our success.
However,
there was just one disastrous problem. Disastrous: "causing great distress or injury; ruinous; very unfortunate; calamitous". This is no small, insignificant choice of a word. The noise and the fires How did getting rid of those weeds and debris draw too much attention or make too much heat? so
disturbed the fragile population of 5,000 laying hens If we are the hens, then why are we such a fragile population? does this refer to the converts? Or does the 'fragile population' represent the resources we rely on to provide for the poor, like money and food and clothing? that most of them
went into a sudden whatever we are being cautioned about, the result will be swift molt and ceased laying. we will not be able to produce/function/provide as the Lord intends or needs Thereafter we tolerated a few
weeds so that we might produce more eggs. Lesson learned. Is this parable teaching us that the Lord not coming in right now to "clean house"? He is the one tolerating a few "weeds" (some of us) so that He can produce more eggs (converts). Are the new members, or the testimony of existing members too fragile? Would we stop being able to gather more members in if there were to be a swift cleansing? But....the rest of this message is about preparation for the days ahead; not cleansing the church. If people leave the church it would impact the Lord's storehouse via tithes and offerings. If it's not about a cleansing within, what are the 'weeds' that are being tolerated so that we can keep providing for the needy? If they only tolerated a few weeds, it seems to imply that there was a slower, more regular pulling of the weeds that could be hauled off quietly instead of burned in big fires. They didn't stop pulling weeds altogether, but didn't ignore them and then take care of them in one great effort. That has always been the counsel with preparedness. They have told us year after year after year the same thing. We were to work at it quietly, consistently, and without one great burst of effort. We have had years to fill our pantries, to get out of debt, to build a reserve of cash - our own storehouses. That would put us in a wonderful position to provide for the poor and needy. The ones not prepared are the new converts and the young marrieds. However, if we had each stored for our own (and our children married within the church), parents could give their married children their "supply" from their own storehouse and then they would add to it as they had their own children. Only the converts would be left "without", assuming they had not learned to "lay up and store". Unfortunately, our youth are most likely not being given these stores when they marry and are left starting from scratch. If the prophet were to say, "you need it now"...the "day of decision is next month, or next year" the youth of the church, in their enthusiasm and energy could create quite a stir. The end result could have a negative effect on the world, such that no one would be able to store anything. Is that the message?
No
member of the Church who has helped provide for those in need ever
forgets or regrets the experience. Clue: this story has to do with providing for those in need. The service on the farm was ultimately to provide for those in need. The chickens were the resource to do that. That resource was disturbed and the ability to provide for the poor was impacted. What impacted the resource? The energetic efforts of the youth as directed by the adults in charge? How does that tie in to the following counsel?
Lesson two: If you are asked to or able to provide for those in need you will never regret the experience and you will never forget the experience. Ask yourself, "why"? Is it because of the relief you provide? The gratitude expressed? The peace of having "enough and to spare"? The feeling of sacrifice of one's own means for another without judgment?
Lesson two: If you are asked to or able to provide for those in need you will never regret the experience and you will never forget the experience. Ask yourself, "why"? Is it because of the relief you provide? The gratitude expressed? The peace of having "enough and to spare"? The feeling of sacrifice of one's own means for another without judgment?
Industry, thrift, self-reliance, and
sharing with others are not new to us. This is not new counsel. Here's a review of some of that counsel:
Brigham Young - RS/Prsthd Manual:"We want you henceforth to be a self-sustaining [self-reliant] people [see D&C 78:14]. Hear it, O Israel! hear it, neighbors, friends and enemies, this is what the Lord requires of this people"(DBY, 293).
Boyd K Packer, 1975
Brigham Young - RS/Prsthd Manual:"We want you henceforth to be a self-sustaining [self-reliant] people [see D&C 78:14]. Hear it, O Israel! hear it, neighbors, friends and enemies, this is what the Lord requires of this people"(DBY, 293).
Boyd K Packer, 1975
(In preface to this fireside that he said many might not like, he said, "in this case I would rather teach a few of you than entertain all of you.")The welfare handbook instructs, “(We must) earnestly teach and urge
members to be self-sustaining to the fullest extent of their power. No
Latter-day Saint will … voluntarily shift from himself the burden of his
own support. So long as he can, under the inspiration of the Almighty
and with his own labors, he will supply himself with the necessities of
life.” (1952, p. 2.)
We have succeeded fairly well in establishing in the minds of Latter-day Saints that they should take care of their own material needs and then contribute to the welfare of those who cannot provide the necessities of life. If a member is unable to sustain himself, then he is to call upon his own family, and then upon the Church, in that order, and not upon the government at all. (I missed that last lesson!)
We have succeeded fairly well in establishing in the minds of Latter-day Saints that they should take care of their own material needs and then contribute to the welfare of those who cannot provide the necessities of life. If a member is unable to sustain himself, then he is to call upon his own family, and then upon the Church, in that order, and not upon the government at all. (I missed that last lesson!)
Here's a blog with a whole list of them:
http://ldsintelligentliving.org/2014/07/04/preparedness-self-reliance-quotes-words-of-wisdom/
The point is, that we have been counseled and warned to do this for a reason. And the counsel has been given over years and years for a reason, and not at the last minute with just enough time to do it.
We
should remember that the best storehouse system would be for every
family in the Church to have a supply of food, clothing, and, where
possible, other necessities of life. Do not look to the church or your neighbor to provide for you. That is not the plan. You must have your own storehouse. The Lord’s storehouse In addition to your own storehouse, the Lord has a storehouse includes the
time, talents, skills, compassion, consecrated material, and financial
means of faithful Church members. These resources are available to the
bishop in assisting those in need.This means, that the Bishop can call upon you (especially if you are endowed, ie. "faithful" member) to help others in need via all these ways listed.
Now listen to see if you feel a certain focus in a particular area of your "storehouse"....We urge "to press, push, or hasten (the course, activities, etc.)"
all no exception Latter-day Saints to
- be prudent "Wise, sensible, thrifty" in their planning, of your own storehouse
- to be conservative avoiding novelty or showiness; tending to be moderate or cautious in their living, and to
- avoid excessive or unnecessary needless; unessential debt
Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their
economic lives if they had a supply of food and clothing and were
debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in
reverse: they have a supply of debt and are food-free.(First said in 2001, four months before 9/11, and again in 2007) I repeat what the First Presidency declared a few years ago: Pay attention when a prophet repeats himself or another prophet...
"In our own time, we have been warned with counsel of where to find safety from sin and from sorrow. One of the keys to recognizing those warnings is that they are repeated. For instance, more than once in these general conferences, you have heard our prophet say that he would quote a preceding prophet and would therefore be a second witness and sometimes even a third....One of the ways we may know that the warning is from the Lord is that the law of witnesses, authorized witnesses, has been invoked. When the words of prophets seem repetitive, that should rivet our attention and fill our hearts with gratitude to live in such a blessed time...(I urge you to read the rest of this talk by Pres. Eyring)
"In our own time, we have been warned with counsel of where to find safety from sin and from sorrow. One of the keys to recognizing those warnings is that they are repeated. For instance, more than once in these general conferences, you have heard our prophet say that he would quote a preceding prophet and would therefore be a second witness and sometimes even a third....One of the ways we may know that the warning is from the Lord is that the law of witnesses, authorized witnesses, has been invoked. When the words of prophets seem repetitive, that should rivet our attention and fill our hearts with gratitude to live in such a blessed time...(I urge you to read the rest of this talk by Pres. Eyring)
“Latter-day
Saints have been counseled for many years to prepare for adversity this can be verified quickly by a search on lds.org. The thing to note here is that he targets one aspect of that counsel in particular by
having a little money set aside. Doing so adds immeasurably to security
and well-being. Every family this reaches into your extended family has a responsibility to provide for its own
needs to the extent possible. It is not the church's responsibility to take care of you; nor the government, although the government is all to happy to take you under its wing..of bondage.
“We
encourage you wherever you may live in the world to prepare for
adversity "The economy is a fragile thing. A stumble in the economy in Jakarta
or Moscow can immediately affect the entire world. It can eventually
reach down to each of us as individuals. There is a portent ("a sign or indication of a future event, esp a momentous or calamitous one; omen") of stormy
weather ahead to which we had better give heed. (Pres. Hinckley) by looking to the condition of your finances. We urge you to
- be modest in your expenditures; don't too much, too big, too unnecessary...
- discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt. "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"... discipline!
- Pay off debt as quickly as you can, and free yourselves from this bondage. Ponder this bondage...we seem to not think too much about it anymore.
- Save a little money regularly to gradually build a financial reserve.”1 Based on the above emphasis, I believe the next thing he is warning us that we will have to deal with on a widespread basis has to do with the economy. Something will impact our financial lives. That "something" could be any number of things....a stock market crash, the devaluation of the dollar, a pandemic, natural disasters, acts of war or terrorism, etc.
- Are
we prepared for the emergencies "a sudden, urgent, usually unexpected occurrence or occasion requiring immediate action in our lives? These "emergencies" are prophesied...they are coming. He is asking if we ARE prepared, not telling us TO prepare...
-
Doctrine and Covenants 112:24
24 Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth, a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation; and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth, saith the Lord.
-
- Are our skills perfected? What "skills" is he referring to? Cooking? Medical? Gardening? Survival? Notice he asked if they ARE perfected, not "are you working on it?"...
- Do we live providently? "having or showing foresight; providing carefully for the future" Provident living is not a bunch of food in boxes or wheat in buckets that we never look at. It is living today with foresight and preparation for the future. This takes planning, practice, and diligence. He's asking if you are living that way NOW....he's not asking you to start.
- Do we have our reserve supply on hand? He didn't ask if we were "working on it". He asked if we HAVE our reserve supply on hand now. What do we have a supply of? money? food? clothes? fuel? shelter?
- Are we obedient to the commandments of God? This whole message is about obeying the commandment of God to be prepared. The question is ARE you, not will you be...
- Are we responsive to the teachings of prophets? D&C 1:38 "...whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same." Have you been responsive in the past? How are you going to act today? Only those who "do" the will of the Lord will enter His kingdom.
- Are we prepared to give of our substance to the poor, the needy? Ahh.....a test is coming!!! This could mean that because of impending "emergencies" there will be many many more poor and needy among us. Or maybe a rush of converts to the church will bring many more poor in need of our fast offerings or other resources we've consecrated to the Lord's Storehouse. How will we respond? Will we have the means to give because we are prepared? Will we be among the needy because we are not prepared?
- Are we square with the Lord? In financial terms, to be "square" means we have settled our debts. It also can mean honest. Are you current and honest with your tithes and offerings? Have you repented of all that you need to that requires the Bishop's help?
We
live in turbulent "full of commotion, restless," times. Often the future is unknown; the only thing really known about the future is what has been revealed, specifically in Isaiah and Matthew 24 and Revelations...which is really quite a bit. The specifics are unknown, but we have been told what to prepare for therefore, it
behooves "to your/our advantage; benefit" us to prepare for uncertainties. When the time for decision
arrives, the time for preparation is past. What is the "decision" he is referring to? The decision to set some money aside? to store food? to follow the prophet when he tells you to leave everything and gather to a place of refuge?
"As long as I can remember, we have been taught to prepare for the future and to obtain a year’s supply of necessities. I would guess that the years of plenty have almost universally caused us to set aside this counsel. I believe the time to disregard this counsel is over. With events in the world today, it must be considered with all seriousness.(I urge you to review this talk given in 1995 by Elder Perry)
If this was said 19 years ago, do you think we have time to disregard it today? Seven years ago, we were told again, that if we hadn't begun that it was time:
"Inspired preparation rests on the foundation of faith in Jesus Christ, obedience, and a provident lifestyle. Members should not go to extremes, but they should begin."
Now he is asking us if we have done it. God is a God of mercy. He will warn with time to obey. Pres. Monson just warned us that the day of decision WILL arrive, and when it does, you will not have time to prepare any more than the people in Noah's day had time to start building a boat when the flood waters began to rise. You will also not be able to say that God did not warn you or give you time to prepare. I still think this is a message saying there is time...or rather.. the time is NOW. Do not delay this time. Hasten. Be able to answer yes to the above questions as quick as you are able. Many of us should already be able to answer "yes", for we have had years of counsel and prosperity to provide for ourselves and our families. Put your resources in the right place. The "day of decision" is fast approaching. At some point, sooner than later, it will be too late. The parable of the Ten Virgins teaches us that those who need to go to the store when the "time has come", find that it is too late to go and then still gather with the Lord at His table.
So now that you are at the end of this message. What do you think?
Apostle, Ezra T Benson (of the 12 at the time, not the Prophet) in April 1965 General Conference said:
"For years we have been counseled to have on hand a year's supply of food. Yet there are some today who will not start storing until the Church comes out with a detailed monthly home storage program. Now suppose that never happens. We still cannot say we have not been told.
Should the Lord decide at this time to cleanse the Church—and the need for that cleansing seems to be increasing—a famine in this land of one year's duration could wipe out a large percentage of slothful members, including some ward and stake officers. Yet we cannot say we have not been warned. "
One thought to take from that quote is that you don't need to wait until your ward or stake decides to emphasize preparation. They may not. Still, we've been told. It's now up to us.
Teaching from This Message
"As long as I can remember, we have been taught to prepare for the future and to obtain a year’s supply of necessities. I would guess that the years of plenty have almost universally caused us to set aside this counsel. I believe the time to disregard this counsel is over. With events in the world today, it must be considered with all seriousness.(I urge you to review this talk given in 1995 by Elder Perry)
If this was said 19 years ago, do you think we have time to disregard it today? Seven years ago, we were told again, that if we hadn't begun that it was time:
"Inspired preparation rests on the foundation of faith in Jesus Christ, obedience, and a provident lifestyle. Members should not go to extremes, but they should begin."
Now he is asking us if we have done it. God is a God of mercy. He will warn with time to obey. Pres. Monson just warned us that the day of decision WILL arrive, and when it does, you will not have time to prepare any more than the people in Noah's day had time to start building a boat when the flood waters began to rise. You will also not be able to say that God did not warn you or give you time to prepare. I still think this is a message saying there is time...or rather.. the time is NOW. Do not delay this time. Hasten. Be able to answer yes to the above questions as quick as you are able. Many of us should already be able to answer "yes", for we have had years of counsel and prosperity to provide for ourselves and our families. Put your resources in the right place. The "day of decision" is fast approaching. At some point, sooner than later, it will be too late. The parable of the Ten Virgins teaches us that those who need to go to the store when the "time has come", find that it is too late to go and then still gather with the Lord at His table.
So now that you are at the end of this message. What do you think?
Apostle, Ezra T Benson (of the 12 at the time, not the Prophet) in April 1965 General Conference said:
"For years we have been counseled to have on hand a year's supply of food. Yet there are some today who will not start storing until the Church comes out with a detailed monthly home storage program. Now suppose that never happens. We still cannot say we have not been told.
Should the Lord decide at this time to cleanse the Church—and the need for that cleansing seems to be increasing—a famine in this land of one year's duration could wipe out a large percentage of slothful members, including some ward and stake officers. Yet we cannot say we have not been warned. "
One thought to take from that quote is that you don't need to wait until your ward or stake decides to emphasize preparation. They may not. Still, we've been told. It's now up to us.
Teaching from This Message
Considering
the needs of those you visit, think of ways you can help them become
more self-reliant in employment, finances, food storage, or emergency
preparedness. Notice "food storage" is listed separately from "emergency preparedness". Think of a skill you could share with them, such as
gardening or money management, that would empower them to follow
President Monson’s counsel.
For ideas on teaching this message to youth and children, see page 6.
Youth
I Served Again
The author lives in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
One
day, after finishing a service project, I was walking past our
meetinghouse and saw two sisters who were cleaning the building. My
words simply came out: “Sisters, do you need some help?” "first observe, then serve" One of them
smiled at me and said that I had arrived just in time because they were
the only ones cleaning and they were very tired. She said that she had
prayed that the Lord would send someone to help. I was very happy to be
an answer to her prayer. I had just finished giving service to someone
else and was also tired, but I followed my heart and offered to serve
more. Be not weary in well doing...
It is a commandment to work with joy (see D&C 24:7).
When we have the desire to serve at all times, we can help miracles
happen in other people’s lives. Our lives become more meaningful when we
serve. The Lord really does love us, He helps each of His children, I believe this is why others, even those not of our faith, are receiving promptings and dreams and visions to help get the word out that now is the time to prepare. Pres. Hinckley said, the vision of Joel has been fulfilled: Joel 2:28 ¶And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
and
He will give us the strength to serve. Children
Are You Prepared?
Answers: True, True, False, True, False
President
Monson has asked each of us to be prepared for hard times and to help
others during their hard times. A simple summary even a child can understand...
Take this true-or-false quiz to see if you’re ready!
Take this true-or-false quiz to see if you’re ready!
I can always find someone to help. True □False □
I can be grateful for everything I already have. True □False □
I don’t have any talents to share with anyone. True □False □
Saving money for later is a good idea. True □False □
I need new toys and clothes to be happy. True □False □
