The Need to Prioritize

Although some people don’t want to admit it, the world is in a great state of commotion.  It saddens me to see how far our country has devolved from the righteous tenets that it used to stand on. 

I feel much like Nephi (the son of Helaman) crying on his garden tower and mourning over the corruption of his people and his fallen country; bemoaning the corruption that filled his government and the judgment seat. 

Perhaps I should put it into a more modern perspective. I feel like Sarah Connor in “Terminator 2”, trying to warn people of a coming apocalypse; all the while being mocked for being a crazy “prepper”.    

I see the trouble that is coming and I only seek to warn people to get ready.  But because of things like "normalcy bias" and "cognitive dissonance", most people just cannot grasp the idea of something terrible happening in their world.  They say, “Nothing that bad has EVER happened to us here in the United States.”  People can’t bring themselves to imagine a time so hard, that they would have to survive for a year on their own resources. 

The scriptures can give us an interesting guideline for temporal preparedness.  Here is a list of 5 people that were warned to have temporal storage, to last them for an extended period of time.

Who                                                                                          Food to last how long

Joseph - warned the Pharaoh of the coming famine                   7 years (Gen 41)

Gidgiddoni - prepared against Gadianton robbers                     7 years (3 Nephi 4:4)

Noah - was on the Ark                                                                 360-370 days (Gen 8)

The brother of Jared - was on his boat                                       344 days (Ether 6:11)

Lehi’s family - was on the boat                                                 Many days (1 Nephi 18:9) 

                                                                                       -About 1- 2 years (591-589 B.C.)                                                                                                                                                           

I think it is significant that these events in scripture all mark a time where individuals were warned to have enough food and supplies to last them through a period of trouble.  It’s also interesting to note that all of these periods mentioned are about 1 year or more in duration. Similarly we have been told to prepare food and water to last us also…about 1 year or more. 

What if Noah, the brother of Jared or Lehi decided to only bring a 72 hour kit? What if they only brought a 3 month supply of food? Maybe they imagined that a 6 months supply should be enough. This kind of thinking would have made their journey very difficult indeed. The scriptures don’t mention it but I believe that the Lord told them how much food and supplies they would need, to last them through their difficult journey. 

None of them had ever crossed an ocean.  They had no way of reckoning how long a journey like that would take.  Nothing that difficult had EVER happened in their world. 

So now we come to the troubled times we live in now.  We are a society that is unfamiliar with hard times.  Grocery stores are stocked with food and many are open 24 hours to satisfy our wants and needs. Yet we have been warned that this will not always be.  We have been counseled to prepare an emergency supply of long term food and water to last us for 1 year.  

To prepare for...

A time when famine and drought will make food and water very scarce…

             (Ezra Taft Benson)

“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]

(Spencer W Kimball)

“But if you fail to serve me (Christ)…trees will be without fruit and the fields without verdure.  There will be rationing and a scarcity of food and hunger sore…Famine will stalk rudely through your doors and the ogre cannibalism will rob you of your children and your remaining virtues”

                               [Conference Report, October 1961, pp. 29-34]

A time when economies will fail; when money and gold will lose all its value…

(Ezra Taft Benson)

“Too often we bask in our comfortable complacency and rationalize that the ravages of war, economic disaster, famine, and earthquake cannot happen here. Those who believe this are either not acquainted with the revelations of the Lord, or they do not believe them.”

                              [Conference Report, October 1980]

(Brigham Young)

“The time will come that gold will hold no comparison in value to a bushel of wheat. Gold is not to be compared with it in value. Why would it be precious to you now? Simply because you could get gold for it? Gold is good for nothing, only as men value it.”

[Journal of Discourses, 1:250]

A time when the only thing of REAL value, will be food…

(Heber C Kimball)

“Lay up your stores, and take your silks and fine things, and exchange them for grain and such things as you need, and the time will come when we will be obliged to depend upon our own resources; for the time is not far distant when the curtain will be dropped between us and the United States.”

[Journal of Discourses, 5:10]

(J Reuben Clark Jr)

“...when we really get into hard times, where food is scarce or there is none at all, and so with clothing and shelter, money may be no good for there may be nothing to buy, and you cannot eat money, you cannot get enough of it together to burn to keep you warm, and you cannot wear it."

[Church News, November 21, 1953, p.4]

               

A time when farming, production and all industry and commerce will cease…

(Brigham Young)

“By and by there will be a gulf between the righteous and the wicked so that they cannot trade with each other and national intercourse will cease.”

[Journal of Discourses, 12:284]

(Orson Pratt)

“…manufacturing will, in a great measure, cease, for a time, among the American nation. Why? Because in these terrible wars, they will not be privileged to manufacture, there will be too much bloodshed too much mobocracy too much going forth in bands and destroying and pillaging the land to suffer people to pursue any local vocation with any degree of safety. What will become of millions of the farmers upon that land? They will leave their farms and they will remain uncultivated.”

[Journal of Discourses, 20:151]

   

A time when our government will fall and war will come to America…

(Duane S. Crowther)

“…a series of internal wars which will bring about the collapse of the government and dominion of the United States. [These] wars will cause the complete collapse of national and state governments in the United States!

[Duane S. Crowther, Prophecy: Key to the Future, 1967, pp. 65-66]

(Orson Pratt)

"…What then will be the condition of that people, when this great and terrible war shall come? It will be very different from the war between the North and the South. Do you wish me to describe it? I will do so. It will be a war of neighborhood against neighborhood, city against city, town against town, county against county, state against state, and they will go forth destroying and being destroyed and manufacturing will, in a great measure, cease, for a time, among the American nation”

                                [Journal of Discourses, 20:151-154]

“Party will be arrayed in deadly strife against party; State against State; and the whole nation will be broken up; the sanguinary weapons of the dreadful revolution will devour the land. Then shall there be a fleeing from one city to another, from one State to another, from one part of the continent to another, seeking refuge, from the devastations of bandits and armies”

                                [Millennial Star, 28:633-634]

This is just a small number of quotes from modern day Apostles and Prophets, warning us of what is coming.  This is to say nothing of the multitude of witnesses from the visions already posted here. 

These humble people saw in dream or vision, all these things coming to pass:

1.                    A period of drought, famine and starvation

2.                   The collapse our government and economy in America

3.                   The loss of electricity, gasoline and transportation.

4.                   The beginning of a World War that would break down into civil war everywhere

5.                   Many Great Tribulations: Earthquakes, Plagues, Flooding and Great Storms

So I sit back and see the beginning of this tribulation starting. We are experiencing record droughts across the country.  The drought in California is devastating crops and food prices are skyrocketing.  California is responsible for more than ½ of America’s fruits and vegetables.  They will be completely out of water in just 2 years.  There are 7 other states in the U.S. in similar circumstances.

 We see a staggering amount of corruption in government. Politicians seek their own self interests while the Constitution is being violated and ignored so regularly, that some don’t think it even applies anymore.  Our country’s economy lays in a coma, while Federal Reserve doctors keep pumping massive amounts of “Quantative Easing” into the failing veins, hoping that no one will realize, that it is too late.  

The dollar is destined to fail; it’s just a matter of time.   

Racial and political tension is at all time highs across the land. Never has America been more frustrated or more divided.  This tension is felt worldwide with a new Cold War with Russia and as tensions with China also increase... How long will it be before the Cold War becomes Hot?

We see new diseases spreading and old diseases coming back.  We suddenly have the spreading of new strains of incurable diseases like MRSA.  We see the near pandemic spread of Ebola coming to America from Africa; not to mention new virulent strains of Influenza and Tuberculosis crossing our unguarded borders to the south. 

As all of the multiple events fall into place, I see that time is getting short.  What is coming is inevitable.  How prepared you are when it gets here is up to you.  We see that eventually money, gold and other material possessions will not matter.  The only thing that will matter is can you feed your family. 

So put off buying that new    *  insert materialistic item here   *…

...And go buy your food storage. 

Sell off some of that “stuff” that you think that you can’t live without….

...And go buy your food storage. 

Pull some money out of your savings or your retirement.  It may not be there for much longer….

...And go buy your food storage. 

No amount of physical assets will matter if you cannot feed your family in a crisis; and that crisis is near, even at the door.

I encourage you to use the LDS cannery in your area. It is by far the cheapest…

     Here is a location map…

http://providentliving.org/self-reliance/food-storage/home-storage-center-locations-map?lang=eng

If you don’t have the time to go pick it up, they even deliver it to you…

http://store.lds.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Category3_715839595_10557_3074457345616706237_-1_N_image_0

                A month supply for one person is only about $30 – A year supply for one person is around $300.

                They even have starter kit boxes, that have a variety of things all in one box.

    One box feeds / one person/ for one month.

Remember to get water storage also. 55 gallon drums are only about $50 at Wal-Mart. Remember to only use food grade barrels.  The human body can survive for weeks without food; but can only survive about 3 days without any water!

I will repeat again what Ezra Taft Benson had to say:

 “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."

A final warning from Ezra Taft Benson

 “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.”

                                 [“Not Commanded in All Things”, Conference Report, April 1965]

~Scott~

What You Need to Do to Survive a Pandemic BEFORE a Panic Starts

Pay attention to the details in this article.  Sarah Menet and John Koyle both warn us of a long, hard winter that will just precede the tribulation in the US.

Sarah mentions that events in the US will deteriorate rapidly in the year following the long winter.

Remember that record winter that we just came out of?   Here are some links to remind you...

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/03/26/coldest-u-s-winter-in-a-century/

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/coldest-winter-record-100-years-22890066

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013%E2%80%9314_North_American_cold_wave

     Sarah warns that the year following the long winter, we would begin to see a disease spread beginning in four major cities: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Salt Lake City. 

 In my previous post I compared Sarah's description of the plague and the clinical description of Ebola. It seems clear that the disease she is describing is some variation of Hemorrhagic Fever.  

Now that we are hearing rumors of Ebola spreading to the US, I encourage all to get your emergency food and water NOW!  

It takes about 3 months for a pandemic to run its course. Get at least 3 months supply of food and water.  1 Gallon of water per person/day.  Try to get food that can be prepared without power or a source of heat. Get plenty of bleach.  It is cheap and is the perfect antibacterial. 

Remember that Sarah said that economic collapse and power failure would accompany the spread of this disease.  Get prepared now!  If this spreads fast, we may all be quarantined in our homes for the duration.  

~Scott~

Mac Slavo

SHTFplan.com
Aug 7, 2014

The Ebola virus is spreading and no one in any position of authority is releasing information to the public about how serious of a contagion this is.

It was just a few weeks ago that the CDC and mainstream media claimed it wouldn’t make it to U.S. shores, but as of this morning, reports are flowing in from all over the country from hospitals that have admitted patients who recently traveled to Africa and are showing possible symptoms of the deadly virus.

In Nigeria, where there have only been a couple of deaths reported officially, the medical community has formally requested help in the form of experimental serums from the United States, suggesting things are much worse there than are being reported.

Moreover, the World Health Organization reports an explosion in confirmed cases over the last 48 hours.

An analysis of confirmed cases from Joshua Krause at The Daily Sheeple suggests that, while the virus almost died out back in April, it is now back with a vengeance and growing at a seemingly exponential rate.

What’s most bizarre and frustrating about all of this is that neither the U.S. government or the Centers for Disease Control have provided any actionable information or advice to the American public. They maintain that they have the facilities to stop any such outbreak and continue to tout the narrative that there is nothing to fear, because they have it all under control.

Should even one single case pop up in a random U.S. city, that narrative will fall apart instantly. If someone in Georgia, Ohio, New York or any other state checked themselves into a hospital and are found to be infected with Ebola it will prove without a shadow of a doubt that all CDC containment efforts have failed.

In such an instance where Ebola is found to be in the “wild” anywhere in the continental United States you can be certain that panic will follow.

Take a look at the following photo. It was taken last week in Toledo about an hour after the city announced that their water supply had been contaminated with toxins:

Notice how every drop of pure H2O has been removed from the shelves.

Imagine for a moment what grocery store shelves, pharmacies and hardware supply stores are going to look like within 12 hours of an Ebola infection or outbreak being announced on U.S. soil.

Things will happen fast.

Now, for all we know the CDC’s containment efforts are successful, and perhaps Ebola will be stopped in its tracks. But being naturally skeptical of our government’s abilities to mitigate such a virus, especially given the lack of any actual information from the CDC or government, we must assume that Ebola will eventually start popping up in the United States.

When it does, the CDC and Homeland Security will likely announce a number of precautions that we need to take. Those precautions are going to include supply lists and strategies.

Guess what 300 million Americans are going to do all at once when those supply lists and recommendation are announced? ( Look no further than the DHS Fukushima radiation announcement and how it affected the supply and price of potassium iodide)

Here’s the bottom line: If you don’t have your supplies before emergency announcements hit the airwaves, then plan on going without.

If you want to take action ahead of millions of panicked Americans, then we urge you to follow the recommendations below. They come from informed sources and will be very similar to what the government will recommend in the event of an Ebola outbreak or pandemic emergency.

Emergency services professional Tess Pennington, author of The Prepper’s Blueprint, explains that the government will have specific protocols to follow on local, state and federal levels, and they’ll include widespread shutdowns:

Understanding that our lives will change drastically if the population is faced with a pandemic and being prepared for this can help you make better choices toward the well being of your family. Some changes could be:

-Challenges or shut downs of business commerce

-Breakdown of our basic infrastructure: communications, mass transportation, supply chains

-Payroll service interruptions

-Staffing shortages in hospitals and medical clinics

-Interruptions in public facilities – Schools, workplaces may close, and public gatherings such as sporting events or worship services may close temporarily.

-Government mandated voluntary or involuntary home quarantine.

Essentially, once this happens the whole system could potentially go into lock-down.

The Organic Prepper and author of The Pantry Primer says that in this environment that you must take the No One Goes Out, No One Comes In approach in order to be absolutely certain no one in your household is exposed.

I know this sounds harsh, but there are to be no exceptions. If you make exceptions, you might as well go wrestle with runny-nosed strangers at the local Wal-Mart and then come home and hug your children, because it’s the same thing.

Once you have gone into lockdown mode, that means that the supplies you have on hand are the supplies you have to see you through.  You can’t run out to the store and get something you’ve forgotten.

That means if a family member shows up, they have to go into quarantine for at least 4 weeks, during which time they are not allowed access to the home or family, nor are they allowed to go out in public.  Set up an area on your property that is far from your home for them to hang out for their month of quarantine. If at the end of the month they are presenting no symptoms, then they can come in.

It sadly means that you may be forced to turn someone away if they are ill, because to help them means to risk your family.

Now is the time to plan with your preparedness group how you intend to handle the situation. Will you shelter together, in the same location, and reserve a secondary location to retreat to if the situation worsens further or if someone becomes ill? Will you shelter separately because of the nature of the emergency?  Decide together on what event and proximity will trigger you to go into lockdown mode. Make your plan and stick to it, regardless of pressure from those who think you are over-reacting, the school that your children have stopped attending, and any other external influences. If you’ve decided that there is a great enough risk that you need to go into lockdown, you must adhere to your plan.

Full Article

Here’s a basic supply list, provided by The Organic Prepper, of items you’ll need to weather a pandemic emergency:

• Drinking water (1 gallon per person per day)
• Food (including items that don’t require fuel for preparation)
• Heavy duty garbage bags
• Sanitation supplies such as toilet paper, paper towels, baby wipes, and feminine hygiene supplies)
• Entertainment – you’ll want to be able to keep children and restless family members  busy so get craft supplies, books, games, and puzzles
• Basic medical supplies (here’s a list)
• Pandemic kits that contain protective clothing (we have a QuakeKare Deluxe Pandemic Flu Kit for each family member)
• Extra N95 masks (3M 1860 Health Care N95 Particulate Respirator and Surgical Mask, Small Adult, 20/Bx)
• Nitrile gloves (Dynarex Black Nitrile Exam Gloves, Heavy-Duty, Powder Free, Large, Box/100)
• Safety goggles with an elastic band to ensure a snug fit (Pyramex V2G Safety Eyewear, Clear Anti-Fog Lens With Black Strap/Temples)
• Antibacterial cleaners such as disposable wipes, bleach, and spray cleaners
• Antibacterial hand sanitizer (Purell Pump Bottle, Original, 8 Ounce (Pack of 12))

Those items should help with prevention, especially if you take the advice of locking down and staying home.

• A D V E R T I S E M E N T

However, we must assume that some of us, for whatever reason, will still have to make our way out into public. And with that assumption, we must also expect the absolute worst case scenario – an infection or suspected infection within in our own ranks.

If you must venture outside then take a look at what medical personnel are sporting in highly contagious environments:

If you’re forced to exit your home, you’re going to want to be fully protected, and that includes covering your hands, eyes, nose, and mouth.

In addition to the N-95 respirator masks mentioned above, you may also consider upgrading to the more expensive N-100 respirators recommended by the World Health Organization.

Or, go with a full facemask. Insofar as your preparedness efforts are concerned, you may also be able to kill two birds with one stone here and go with a full face mask that includes NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) protection like the US-made NATO SGE 400/3 Military Gas Mask.  If going with such a mask, be sure to include some NBC filters.

For protection inside of your home, Tess Pennington of Ready Nutrition recommends building a sick room that can be used to isolate suspected infections or even to be used as a quarantine/observation area for friends and family who may be coming to your home as part of your group lockdown plan.

Building a sick room may include supplies like:

• Heavy Duty Plastic Sheeting to go over doors, windows or other potential airborne entry points (4 millimeter home coverall)
• Duct tape
• Portable toilet if one is not attached directly to the sick room (Luggable Loo)
• Disposable trash and toilet bags *Note: Waste must be disposed of properly because it may be contaminated*
• Click here for a complete list of items for a well stocked sick room

The takeaway here is this: You cannot depend on the government to give you accurate information until it is too late. Moreover, emergency services personnel will be overwhelmed and you will have only yourself and those in your lockdown group to depend on.

Plan on no outside help.

That means you need to have food, water, and other supplies on hand. Additionally, if we have a widespread emergency that brings down the commerce system you may need to head out to barter and trade with others for necessary supplies that may have been overlooked. In such an instance you may also want to have some precious metals on hand for trade. The Silver.com price for silver today is about $20. It may be a good time to stock up on some emergency ‘cash’ like silver eagles or pre-1965 US quarters and half-dollars which contain 90% silver. These trade instruments are recognizable and may come in handy.

Prepare now, because as we have seen with disasters past, waiting to do so until after the announcements are made will be too late.

Ebola / Hemorrhagic Fever: The beginning of the end

There is a lot of talk in the news about near epidemic spread of Ebola that is starting to find it's way into the US.  A fantastic article describing this modern day plague is covered perfectly by Dr. Michael Savage: see link

http://www.wnd.com/2014/08/ebola-madness-is-epidemic/

Quoting from this above article is a description of Ebola:

"While each of these diseases is different, they are all hemorrhagic fevers, with some common symptoms including flushing of the face and chest; small red and purple spots; bleeding; swelling caused by edema; low-blood pressure; and shock. In some cases symptoms are more dramatic than in others."

 A clinical description of Ebola from - "psmag.com"

"The early symptoms of Ebola are flu-like—a runny nose, chills. But then the virus begins to cause white blood cells to rupture and prevent blood from clotting. In the final stage of the disease, patients’ eyes turn red and their genitals swell. They likely have purpura, subcutaneous hemorrhaging, and appear bruised all over; sufferers can bleed from all orifices"

http://www.psmag.com/navigation/health-and-behavior/scariest-virus-ebola-back-worse-ever-87348/

It is very interesting to compare this description to some of the visions posted on this blog. I believe we are seeing the beginning of this first "plague" now. 

                    Sarah Menet describes the first of these horrific diseases very similarly.

(Sarah Menet)

“The next thing I saw was people being sick and dying. I saw this particularly in four cities: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Salt Lake. The disease started by having white blisters, some the size of dimes appear on their hands, arms and face. This quickly developed into white puffy sores and blisters."

"I also saw other people with blood coming from their nose, mouth, eyes and ears."

(Gail)

“There were also diseases so terrible like the Ebola Virus. I saw people bleeding from the eyes, nose, ears, mouth, and from every orifice of the body and dying very quickly.”

(Spencer)

“When a person contracted the plague, they got many small pox marks on their skin, similar to pimples.  These grew in size and quantity until nearly their whole body was covered by them"

          [John Pontius, Visions and Glory, pg 132]

(Charles D Evans)

“Again the light shone revealing an atmosphere tinged with a leaden hue, which was the precursor of an unparalleled plague, whose first symptoms were recognized by a purple spot which appeared on the cheek or on the back of the hand, and which invariably enlarged until it spread over the entire surface of the body, producing certain death"

It certainly does look like we are seeing the beginning of the plagues mentioned in the visions and in the scriptures.  If this is it, then Sarah Menet said, then it will begin to spread in the major cities: 
New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and even Salt Lake City.  

~Scott~