D&C 38 famously informs us, "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." So why is it that the most serious "preppers" are often the most fearful and paranoid? It happened to me, as I improved my own preparedness and collected my all-important Year's Supply. It turns out that figuring out how to prepare for all kinds of different disasters teaches a person a great deal, most of which revolves around just how many different disasters are possible.
I wonder if we're preparing for the wrong thing.
D&C 38:8,9 -- But the day soon cometh that ye shall see me, and know that I am; for the veil of darkness shall soon be rent, and he that is not purified shall not abide the day. Wherefore, gird up your loins and be prepared. Behold, the kingdom is yours, and the enemy shall not overcome.
Funny, that doesn't say anything about guns or food storage. Instead it says we should be purified, and that we'll soon know that Christ lives. Maybe that's what being "prepared" refers to: being purified, and prepared to meet Christ.
But wait -- later on it starts talking about the wars and violence our 400 pounds of wheat per person is supposed to get us through:
D&C 38:28,29 -- And again, I say unto you that the enemy in the secret chambers seeketh your lives. Ye hear of wars in far countries, and you say that there will soon be great wars in far countries, but ye know not the hearts of men in your own land.
There it is: your neighbors are conspiring against you! Now it's going to tell us how to prepare, right?
D&C 38:30 -- I tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth; but if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.
Note that it doesn't say anything about getting food and learning to smite your enemies. Instead, it says we should treasure up wisdom in our bosoms. I guess that's what it really means to be "prepared". Maybe with enough wisdom, we won't fear.
I should note here that I have nothing against the idea of preparing to weather a disaster. That so many of us have no savings, can't go more than three days without help from a grocery store or Burger King, and blindly expect that in any serious difficulty the government will arrive on its white horse to rescue us from our own stupidity and blindness, is horrifying. Our unending refrain that our New World has somehow evolved its way out of the violent and degenerate nature that has characterized all prior humanity remains standing only because we regularly shore it up with carefully cultivated cognitive dissonance and historical apathy. I'm grateful for what my family has done to keep us alive through troubled times. But that's not what the scriptures mean whey they ask us to be "prepared".
I wonder if we're preparing for the wrong thing.
D&C 38:8,9 -- But the day soon cometh that ye shall see me, and know that I am; for the veil of darkness shall soon be rent, and he that is not purified shall not abide the day. Wherefore, gird up your loins and be prepared. Behold, the kingdom is yours, and the enemy shall not overcome.
Funny, that doesn't say anything about guns or food storage. Instead it says we should be purified, and that we'll soon know that Christ lives. Maybe that's what being "prepared" refers to: being purified, and prepared to meet Christ.
But wait -- later on it starts talking about the wars and violence our 400 pounds of wheat per person is supposed to get us through:
D&C 38:28,29 -- And again, I say unto you that the enemy in the secret chambers seeketh your lives. Ye hear of wars in far countries, and you say that there will soon be great wars in far countries, but ye know not the hearts of men in your own land.
There it is: your neighbors are conspiring against you! Now it's going to tell us how to prepare, right?
D&C 38:30 -- I tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth; but if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.
Note that it doesn't say anything about getting food and learning to smite your enemies. Instead, it says we should treasure up wisdom in our bosoms. I guess that's what it really means to be "prepared". Maybe with enough wisdom, we won't fear.
I should note here that I have nothing against the idea of preparing to weather a disaster. That so many of us have no savings, can't go more than three days without help from a grocery store or Burger King, and blindly expect that in any serious difficulty the government will arrive on its white horse to rescue us from our own stupidity and blindness, is horrifying. Our unending refrain that our New World has somehow evolved its way out of the violent and degenerate nature that has characterized all prior humanity remains standing only because we regularly shore it up with carefully cultivated cognitive dissonance and historical apathy. I'm grateful for what my family has done to keep us alive through troubled times. But that's not what the scriptures mean whey they ask us to be "prepared".