Emergency Preparedness
What can I do to prepare?
Preparing for emergencies or difficult situations can help us stay safe and feel more secure. Additionally, being prepared allows us to provide for our own needs, our family’s needs, and the needs of others when a disaster or unexpected event occurs. Following the guidelines below will help you get started.
Spiritual Foundations of Temporal Preparedness
We have been instructed “Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:119). Following this counsel will allow us to better provide for our own needs and for the needs of others should challenges occur.
Bishop W. Christopher Waddell taught, “In an ever-changing world, we must prepare for uncertainties. Even with better days ahead, we know that the temporal peaks and valleys of mortality will continue. As we seek to become temporally prepared, we can face the trials of life with increased confidence [and] peace in our hearts” (“There Was Bread,” October 2020 general conference).
In Wisdom and Order
Be wise and plan within your means for both immediate and future needs. You will be blessed as you gradually build up storage and savings to prepare for life’s challenges.
Small and Simple Means
By “small and simple things are great things brought to pass.” (Alma 37:6). As you take small and simple steps to prepare physically, emotionally, and financially, you can have faith that the Lord will magnify your consistent efforts.
Peace to Your Mind
When you prepare prior to an emergency, you will have greater peace of mind. Because you are prepared, you will have more choices available to you as you work to adapt to changing circumstances. As we strive to follow the Lord’s counsel to prepare, we are entitled to the protection and peace that comes from obedience.
As the Brother of Jared prepared his family to enter the barges and cross the sea, he thought carefully about what they would need—light, air, food, and so on. After asking the Lord for guidance and working together to prepare for the likely hardships on their journey, the Brother of Jared and his companions “got aboard of their vessels or barges, and set forth into the sea, commending themselves unto the Lord their God” (Ether 6:4).