by Jim Buchanan, High Councilor

For decades, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has encouraged members to prepare for a range of emergency situations from earthquakes to the loss of a job and everything in between. All stake members are strongly encouraged to follow (or continue to follow) the counsel from the brethren by being self-reliant. Preparedness is becoming more encouraged as we prepare for the second coming. Specifically, they recommend:

Basic 3-month supply

Each household should have at least a 3-month supply of food for each family member. There are many plans for assembling such a supply. Some suggestions include buying in bulk, on sale, items with long shelf lives, and building the supply gradually as well as not going into debt to buy food storage.

14 days of drinking water

A minimum of one gallon per person per day is needed. For a family of four, that’s 56 gallons. Consider storing more than the minimum. You will need more than one gallon per day in St. George in the summer. In an emergency, the city water service you count on may become contaminated or fail completely. Store water in food grade containers. Two-liter soda bottles, heavy plastic buckets and drums work well. Keep them out of direct sunlight and rotate the water frequently. Cloudy water can be purified with unscented household bleach. This is especially true if you are using dehydrated foods.  You will need extra water to use these types of food.

Financial Reserve

If you haven’t already started, begin saving a little money from each paycheck. Some financial experts suggest that you save the same amount you pay in tithing. Then learn to live on 80 percent of your take home pay. If that is too hard, start smaller. Just start saving some money. You may want to keep some money in cash in a place you can get to it in an emergency – in case financial institutions close.

Longer-Term Supply

After you get your 3-month supply of food, continue building your reserve until you have a year’s worth or maybe even two years. As an example, a year’s worth of grains for a family of four is 1,600 pounds.

72-Hour Kit

Build and maintain a 72-hour kit for each family member. It should include 3 days of food, 3 gallons of water, a change of clothing and be in a container that is easily portable – in case you are evacuated.

Preparedness, when properly pursued, is a way of life, not a sudden spectacular program. —President Spencer W. Kimball