Do One Thing--A Simple Family Plan

I have a confession to make.  I am not prepared.  I remember a time when my kids were still little and one night I walked into their rooms while they were sleeping and I had this thought go through my head... I couldn't believe I WAS AN ADULT and all these little people were depending on me to take care of them.  The anxious feelings I had about that huge responsibility were almost overwhelming. You would think that this would have motivated me to do what I needed to do to be prepared, but sadly, it didn't.  Up to this point in my life I guess you'd just say I've been lucky.

The other thought that comes to mind is this:  I say that I have a testimony of the gospel and that I follow the prophet.  I listen to conference, I read articles from the Ensign, and I do my best to follow their counsel, yet in this one area I have completely disregarded it?  I have heard MY ENTIRE LIFE from every Prophet that I should be doing this, yet I have ignored it (for the most part) my entire adult life.  I doubt I am alone...

This is counsel that has been given to the Latter Day Saints from the earliest years of the church.  I found the following quote in a talk given by Victor L. Brown in 1980.  (If you'd like to read the whole talk you can find it here.) President Brigham Young, while visiting the Mill Creek Ward on July 25, 1868 said this:

“I believe the Latter-day Saints are the best people on the earth of whom we have any knowledge. Still, I believe that we are, in many things, very negligent, slothful and slow to obey the words of the Lord. Many seem to act upon the faith that God will sustain us instead of our trying to sustain ourselves. We are frightened at seeing the grasshoppers coming and destroying our crops. … I remember saying in the School of the Prophets, that I would rather the people would exercise a little more sense and save means to provide for themselves, instead of squandering it away and asking the Lord to feed them. In my reflections I have carried this matter a considerable length. I have paid attention to the counsel that has been given me. For years past it has been sounded in my ears, year after year, to lay up grain, so that we might have an abundance in the day of want. Perhaps the Lord would bring a partial famine on us; perhaps a famine would come upon our neighbors. I have been told that He might bring just such a time as we are now having. But suppose I had taken no heed to this counsel, and had not regarded the coming time, what would have been my condition to-day.
“View the actions of the Latter-day Saints on this matter, and their neglect of the counsel given; and suppose the Lord would allow these insects to destroy our crops this season and the next, what would be the result? I can see death, misery and want on the faces of this people. But some may say, ‘I have faith the Lord will turn them away.’ What ground have we to hope this? Have I any good reason to say to my Father in heaven, ‘Fight my battles,’ when He has given me the sword to wield, the arm and the brain that I can fight for myself? Can I ask Him to fight my battles and sit quietly down waiting for Him to do so? I cannot. I can pray the people to hearken to wisdom, to listen to counsel; but to ask God to do for me that which I can do for myself is preposterous to my mind. Look at the Latter-day Saints. We have had our fields laden with grain for years; and if we had been so disposed, our bins might have been filled to overflowing, and with seven years’ provisions on hand we might have disregarded the ravages of these insects, and have gone to the canyon and got our lumber, procured the materials, and built up and beautified our places, instead of devoting our time to fighting and endeavoring to replace that which has been lost through their destructiveness. We might have made our fences, improved our buildings, beautified Zion, let our ground rest, and prepared for the time when these insects would have gone. But now the people are running distracted here and there. … They are in want and in trouble, and they are perplexed. They do not know what to do. They have been told what to do, but they did not hearken to this counsel.” (In Journal of Discourses, 12:240–41.)

So the question that I am asking myself is..how do I begin? Most people that haven't started, at the prospect of the monumental task, not knowing where to begin, don't begin at all.  I think that has been my problem.  So the best answer is to start by doing just one thing.

One of the most simple things you can start with is a SIMPLE FAMILY PLAN.  Here are some things to consider as you try to do this:

KEY POINTS TO CONSIDER

• Every family is different, so it's important to tailor your plan to suit your needs.
• Keep in mind anyone in your family that may have special needs and don't forget pets.
• Don't overwhelm yourself with too much at once--start with basics.

WHERE TO BEGIN:

1. Start with a family meeting to discuss the types of emergencies that may arise including fire, earthquake, severe weather or other disasters.  
2. Discuss with children when it's appropriate to call 911 and other actions they can take in an emergency.
3. Discuss what to do in the event of a power outage.
4. Pick one out-of-state contact and one local contact person to call in case of disaster.  If your kids have their own phones, program these numbers into their phones and it's also a good idea to have them memorize the numbers as well.
5. Find safe spots in your home for each type of disaster that might strike and develop an evacuation plan with meeting locations.
6. Back up your computer files and electronic media.  It's a good rule of thumb to have everything backed up in at least two places, including at least one off-site location (like cloud storage).
7. Check into your insurance policies.  Make sure you are properly covered and have all the documentation you need in a convenient place.  
8. Create a list of important contact information and keep it in an accessible place.

The girls over at Food Storage Made Easy dot net have a great PDF worksheet that you can use if you'd like.  It gives some details of how to start your family plan and even gives you the worksheets to fill out if you'd like to print them out.   And...if you don't like theirs, go ahead and make up your own.  Remember that every family is different, and every family's needs will be too.