Self-Reliance Boyd K. Packer, August 1975 Ensign
Family Preparedness Spencer W. Kimball, May 1976 Ensign
Applying the Principles of Welfare Services Spencer W. Kimball, May 1979 Ensign
Prepare for the Days of Tribulation Ezra Taft Benson, November 1980 Ensign
Principles of Temporal Salvation Marion G. Romney, April 1981 Ensign
Marion G. Romney, October 1982 General Conference
Policies and Announcements, September 1983 Ensign
- The following statement, entitled “Rebuilding and Giving Service Following Disasters,” was issued by the First Presidency on 10 June 1983.
- Our hearts go out to all who are victims of disasters throughout the world. We love and appreciate you who have been quick to help and are now working to prevent more widespread and serious damage. Members and nonmembers alike have worked side by side in a cheerful answer to the call for service. Public servants in many places have shown creativity, foresight, and service beyond the call of duty.
- Many inquiries have been received regarding the Church’s position on government and other assistance. We wish to restate the policy on this matter.
- “The responsibility for each member’s spiritual, social, emotional, physical or economic well-being rests first with the member, second, upon the family, and third, upon the Church. Members of the Church are commanded by the Lord to be self-reliant to the extent of their ability.
- “Every Latter-day Saint would wish to be self-supporting, while physically and emotionally able, rather than voluntarily shift the burden of one’s own or one’s family’s well-being to someone else. So long as they can, under the direction of the Lord and with individual labors, members should work to the extent of their abilities to supply themselves and their families with the spiritual and temporal necessities of life.
The Responsibility for Welfare Rests with Me and My Family James E. Faust, May 1986 Ensign
Guiding Principles of Personal and Family Welfare Thomas S. Monson, February 1987 Liahona
“Strengthen Thy Stakes” Ezra Taft Benson, January 1991 Ensign
Rowing Your Boat Chieko N. Okazaki, November 1994 Ensign
M. Russell Ballard, March 2009 Ensign
Opportunities to Do Good Henry B. Eyring, May 2011 Liahona
Robert D. Hales, April 2012 General Conference
Individual and Family Self-Reliance Featured in Leadership Session, May 1983 Ensign
Mar. 2000, Tips for Becoming Self-Reliant
Bishop H. David Burton (in an interview about Y2K)
Q: Does the Church have any words of counsel and advice for individual members regarding the Y2K situation?
R: In a recent general conference talk, President James E. Faust, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, said: “Today many people are obsessed with the Y2K problem and worry about the date coming up right because of the way computers measure time. … We have come to rely on electronics for much of our daily work, and we are naturally concerned about the need to reprogram computers to move into the next century. While some glitches may occur, I am optimistic that no great catastrophic computer breakdown will disrupt society as we move into the next century. I have a far greater fear of the disruption of the traditional values of society” (“This Is Our Day,” Ensign, May 1999, 17–18).
Church teachings regarding personal and family preparedness do not stem from any specific event, including Y2K concerns. Predictions of disaster, famine, flood, and earthquake have come and gone and will continue to do so, but the commonsense admonitions of Church leaders to prepare for times of adversity and to be self-reliant remain unchanged. The words of President Brigham Young, “Learn to sustain yourselves; lay up grain and flour, and save it against a day of scarcity” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young [1997], 231), are as applicable today as they were more than 130 years ago.
In every generation, Church leaders have encouraged members “to store sufficient food, clothing, and where possible fuel for at least one year” (First Presidency letter, 24 June 1988). In October 1998, President Gordon B. Hinckley referred to the biblical story of Joseph, who advised Pharaoh to store food in times of plenty. “I want to make it very clear that I am not prophesying,” he said. “I am not predicting years of famine in the future. But I am suggesting that the time has come to get our houses in order.” He continued, “If you have paid your debts, if you have a reserve, even though it be small, then should storms howl about your head, you will have shelter for your wives and children and peace in your hearts” (“To the Boys and to the Men,” Ensign, Nov. 1998, 53–54).
While it is sincerely hoped that members do not get caught up in any hysteria or obsessive preparations for possible disasters, the Church continues its long-standing practice of encouraging members to be self-reliant and reasonably prepared.
Prophetic Counsel about Home Storage
“Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had their … supply of food … and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have at least a year’s supply of debt and are food-free.”President Thomas S. Monson, “That Noble Gift—Love at Home,” Church News, May 12, 2001, 7.
“Everyone who owns a home recognizes the need for fire insurance. We hope and pray that there will never be a fire. Nevertheless, we pay for insurance to cover such a catastrophe, should it occur. We ought to do the same with reference to family welfare.”
President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008), “To Men of the Priesthood,” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2002, 58.
“In the day of plenty, prepare for the day of scarcity.”
First Presidency, “Message of the First Presidency,” in Conference Report, Apr. 1942, 89.
“Learn to sustain yourselves; lay up grain and flour, and save it against a day of scarcity.”
President Brigham Young (1801–77), Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe (1954), 293.
I will include this kind of post every week. It is because of these words that I bother to post information about getting prepared and using the food we have gathered. Part of being self-reliant is not wasting what we have spent time and energy collecting.
Hugs, Glenda
