Heeding the Call to be Self Reliant

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We have been prompted by several generations of Prophets to be prepared, provident, frugal, hard working and self reliant. With each General Conference session, the same pleadings from our General Authorities are heard.

As Latter-day Saint woman, particularly those of us who are mothers, we have a sacred responsibility to teach our children and create a sanctuary in our homes. The home should be a place of refuge, peace, comfort and security from the trials of the outside world. The home is where the foundation of faith is laid. We have been given principles and teachings that, if used in our homes, can provide some protection from the spiritual attacks that we encounter each and every day. Our physical welfare is equally important to our Heavenly Father. He has provided temporal council, like the Word of Wisdom, to protect us from some of the physical challenges of this world.

So why is it that the simple council to be self reliant is so often disregarded? Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that for all of these years we have not experienced the types of trials that we expect would cause need for real preparation. Our country seems to be blessed with food. Our economy, although weakening, still supports jobs and our optimistic attitude keeps us hoping that “all is well.”

Unfortunately, all is not well. Our homes, our communities, our states, our country and our world is facing moral, social, and economic challenges at a magnitude that has probably never been experienced before. The Constitution of our country hangs by a thread and governments of many other countries are near collapse. There are wars, rumors of wars, famines, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis and pestilence. If we believe that our Heavenly Father is a kind and merciful God, then we must believe that he would guide us through-not prevent us from- our greatest trials. We must believe that he has a plan. But most important we must be willing to follow the council of His Prophets. We may not know the reason why the Lord continually urges the Saints to be self reliant. We may not know when we will need to use all that we have prepared, but we must never doubt that the Lord knows. There will be a reason, a time and a need. The Lord would never waste your time or your money. Have faith that, in the Lord’s time, all things will come to pass, the good and the bad. May we each have the faith to do the work He has asked of us in preparing our homes and our children to be self reliant.


Kai is the mother of 3 beautiful children. She is a flight attendant and an Independent Consultant with Shelf Reliance. Learn more about ways to be self reliant on her blog, Shelf Reliant Living.

What I Learned About Food Storage

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When I got engaged 10 years ago, I honestly had no idea what Food Storage was.  I just knew that we had been told it was important.  The next day was 9/11/2001- which really stopped me in my tracks and changed things forever, especially how I thought about things.  My soon-to-be husband does construction, which is usually the first industry to halt during times of crisis and the last one to start up again after people feel comfortable.  Work comes and goes- and it looked like soon we'd be stopping for who knows how long.  This really got me interested and I wanted to read everything I could about what food storage is and how it works.

My now in-laws are experts at food storage- always experimenting with wheat and beans- these are so much more nutritious too.  My mother-in-law did a workshop for the ward and it really opened my eyes to what food storage was and what it can mean to a family.  For them it was a way of life- they never knew where that next job was coming from, and had 4 kids and their own parents to feed.

I learned that there are 4 parts to Food Storage:
1. 3-month supply of everyday foods
2. 1 year supply
3. water
4. savings

We started with water- watching for sales on jugs/containers and even some bottled.  We also know that in certain emergencies, our hot water heater can be cut off from the system and used.  The church also sells water filters and tablets- we got those for our 72-hour emergency kits.  Once we had all those, we knew we just had to keep those rotated so we do that with the General Conference schedule which is also when we do 72-hour kids updates (clothing, food, etc…).  Besides replacing bottled water, the refilling is basically the only part to worry about.

We also started to put away part of our paycheck each month- we saved $1000 for an emergency fund (and cover any deductibles that might need to be paid) and then a separate fund for an 8-month expenses savings.  If ever the emergency fund needed to be used (broken down cars, appliances, etc), then we'd rebuild that before going back to the 8-month fund.  I use an account on ING Direct- I can open a different account for each type of fund and see them all at a glance.  I can also direct deposit and put it away first before I even have to think about it- then I work with what's leftover.  But that's more with budgeting and a totally different topic!

I really didn't get into the food part until a few years ago- it hit me that I have 4 boys and in a matter of years, they are going to be eating constantly!  This is when my sister and I started learning how to coupon and save on items we needed to stock up on- 3-month supplies mostly.  Not everything on that link is what your family will use- only buy and store the things you will eat!  Make a list of your favorite recipes and the items you need- that will also give you a more personalized list.  Learn what the best prices are for those items and stock up when they are on sale.  If you can get one or two extra at a time when they are on sale, then you will soon have a good 3-month storage.  Last year we had 3-4 months where we were out of work, I was so glad we had this to live on.

There is a site I came across that really started to help me accept long-term food storage, because it was practical and taught how to use it on a daily basis- called everydayfoodstorage.net.  I started trying things out at home- I made a potato chowder completely from food storage items for my son's blessing gathering.  She also has a book that really spells out what to get and how to use it.  That lead to the bean butter cookies I recently did for my son's class- and the kids loved them, not one complaint.   Another site that is helpful and breaks it up into smaller steps is foodstoragemadeeasy.net.

Here in Hawai’i, we are always 1 disaster away from something big and the recent tsunami warnings have really hit this home for me.  We had a glimpse for a short while of what a dock strike would do- nothing would be coming in or out, or whenever something happens around the world it sends prices sky-high.  We can count a little on local farmers, but at that point demand would be so high that they'd hike prices as well.  I don't say this to scare you into doing Food Storage- it's just something that we have to be realistic about because we’re living in this vulnerable state.  Food prices are also increasing everywhere- so many of us will need to go back to basics.  These items are good for you and can save you money- a little more effort to prepare, such as bread, but you can do it for pennies instead of dollars.  This has been a great source of comfort to me- knowing I can feed my family if something were to happen with work or certain disasters. 

"If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear" (D&C 38:30) is a scripture that comes to mind and there is also a talk from 1995 by Elder L. Tom Perry, who talks about four ways to be prepared, and Food Storage is one of them.



Lindsey is a wife to her high school sweetheart (soon to be 10 years) and mom to 4 boys ages 8, 5, 3 and 20 months.  She enjoys all things Disney and helps families plan their trips as a Disney vacation planner and sharing with others how to live providently by using coupons and budgeting wisely.