Some people often think that we are obsessed with food storage as we try to encourage others to have it and we have tried to go above and beyond the basics. However we have been told to store “every needful thing”. If you have not acted on the warnings of the prophets and have no food storage you should feel urgency whether we will need it tomorrow or in 10 years. My wife and I received promptings shortly after having our first child and we decided that we would do whatever possible to make sure that our children never starve. We have done our part and now we can rely on the Lord to do the rest if it be His will.

We have been warned time and time again, but members think that because it has not been an emphasis as of lately that it is no longer important. If we ever think it is ok to ignore the voice of warning coming from a prophet we had better work on our testimony. I feel that it is not talked about as much because we have already been warned. The warnings were not for the “time”. Yes many members will benefit from food storage during times of unemployment or natural catastrophe, but make no mistake that the main reason we have food storage is to learn obedience and to prepare for the tribulations that will lead the return of our Savior. We should learn from those saints who were not prepared to cross the plains because they didn’t listen to the prophets counsel. They are the ones that suffered because they had to wait behind and sell what they had in order to travel and ended up getting stuck in the snow and ice. We are now being warned to strengthen our testimonies because it is getting closer.

Those that know their scriptures and have listened to the prophets know that we are in the last days, and that we shall have tribulation before the coming of the Lord. As far as the dreams go, we should not look upon them as so “odd”. This is how the gentiles feel about them, we should embrace them. If someone has been prompted to share their dream then they should do so. It is up to you to pray and decide if any of that dream applies to you. Not all people are visionaries, and not all revelations comes from the prophet unless it’s in regards to the church as a whole. We are even told that this will become more common as his coming draws closer.

Job Chapter 2

28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.

So it has to be something other than the math. When we pay our tithing consistently, on a long range basis, the Gospel makes changes in us. We do not avoid major expenses. We still are faced with tough choices. We still have to school ourselves to budget yet we are not the same. People who pay tithing are richer.

So it is when we work on our food storage. It is important in and of itself. It is one of the ways we serve the Lord by serving our fellow man. People who carefully and thoughtfully store vital necessities are helping to make society more stable, even if that is not part of our intent. Our self confidence is engaged. It is important because we are learning to save, and learning to prepare in another method that will increase our reach.

The main thing, the vital thing is that we are learning to obey in a manner that we can see the importance of. We can see for ourselves that this is a good idea. Learning to obey in things that we understand makes it easier for us to obey in other things. And it leads to the biggest gift of all, the Lord is making changes within us. As we learn to walk in his pathways we come to be more like him.