In mid 2024 I spoke with one of our Church leaders and told him I was thinking it was time for a name change. I strongly felt that we had to focus on being Ready even more! Knowing that all sorts of things occur in life as well as know that at some point Jesus Christ will return, I felt like "Ready or Not" was an appropriate part of the name and thinking about how Pearls had been mentioned in scriptures it too should be part of the name. I originally thought of Preparedness Pearls as the name. When I spoke with my church leader, he made the suggestion "Pearls of Prepareness" Interestingly, we had never discussed the use of the word pearls previously. I made the decision to go with his suggestion and it ultimately became "Ready or Not - Pearls of Preparedness"

Ready or Not, Pearls of Preparedness #1

A new name for our Preparedness Blurb! – After talking to President Childs, we had discussed perhaps it is time for a new name and direction to the Blurb and other things in store regarding preparedness.

I wrestled with a few different names and could not figure out what it should be. While lying down for a nap I was half awake and half asleep when this new title came to me. It came ringing as I was listening to “The Battle Hymn of the Republic’ in my earbud. I especially noted the opening line which says, “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord”. Ready or not, He is coming. Hopefully these Pearls will be of great value to those who have them.

This message, however, is not about how it got its name but a reminder that whether we are ready or not, The Savior will come. I vote for ready.

So, what do we do? The most important piece of readiness gear we can have in our possession is our testimony of Jesus Christ. We must be spiritually prepared. I will never diminish the importance of our temporal preparedness, but it is really a means by which we can advance the Lord’s work here on Earth. Our temporal preparedness should be used to strengthen our spiritual preparedness by learning how we can use our resources to help ourselves, our family and our brothers and sisters who are not prepared for the things which will surely come.

Spiritual prep and temporal prep both require a plan of action. Nothing will change if we do nothing to change things. Our spiritual plan should incorporate following the regular counsel and guidance our latter-day prophets provide, which is always in harmony with the scriptures. In addition, we need to execute this plan by reading and trying to understand how the scriptures are meant for us. Between our latter-day prophet and the scriptures, combined with personal revelation, we can maintain a path of spiritual preparedness.

Temporal preparation requires a thoughtful plan as to what emergencies and situations we should prepare for. Once we list those potential emergencies, such as earthquakes, fires, civil unrest, to name a few, we can make our plans to deal with them. Much like Moroni did as he led his armies, he recognized their weaknesses and areas that needed to improve and then made them strong. The Lord gave Noah the plans for building the ark so we need to make sure we understand what our plans should be for our own ark.

The Lord will be back, whether we are ready or not. So, what stage of your planning are you in and what “pearls” can you help others with?

Ready or Not – Pearls of Preparedness # 2

In Omnia Paratus – I was recently excited to learn this Latin phrase meaning “Ready for Anything”. Wow, I thought – this is a phrase for Preparedness! I went on to learn that it is a phrase commonly used on a TV show called The Gilmore Girls. Not having watched that show, I am happy to say that is not where I learned it. Despite Hollywood, it truly fits our “Ready or Not” emphasis. This particular “Pearl” was inspired by feedback from one of our good Bishops.

How inspired President Nelson is! Our movement away from checking boxes as a Home/Visiting teacher to one who Ministers is truly inspired. Our role as ministering brothers and sisters can and will play a significant role in our preparedness efforts, especially in times of emergencies.

Our relationship with others is at the core of a great sequence of communication events in times of trouble. Not so long ago, many of us participated in an exercise called “The Great Shakeout” which was a trial run to understand what may take place to know about our members during a major earthquake. It was expected that the ministering brothers/sisters would be able to locate and report on those for whom they had responsibility. In many cases it was very successful, in some cases, not so much.

The ability to communicate in times of disaster provides safety and comfort to all those involved. When we hear of things that may affect someone we care about, the first thing we want to do is call and get a report on them. But what if there is no cell service due to disruption for an extended period of time? What then?

There are a good many ways communication can continue to take place. Obviously having an emergency AM/FM radio to hear what may be going on around us is important. Having a two-way radio available and how to use them is also very important- Ham radios are a great method and most people have heard of but requires a class and a test to obtain a license to operate.

 For most people having some sort of GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) radios and the understanding how to use them may be the key. They do require a license, but no test and the license is good for the entire family and obtained through the FCC website. They are fairly inexpensive and may prove very serviceable in a disaster and how we implement our personal communication plan. Additional information is also found on the website jjprep.org.

Social media can also play a role in contacting and finding people during a disaster. Many people were located using social media during the Camp Fire a few years back. This does not mean that if you can use Instagram or TicTok, that you are adequately prepared - not even close!

Our most reliable means of communication is talking directly to each other whenever possible. Ready or Not, the time will come when we need to step up our communication skills. Now is the time to figure out our best plans for communication. So - What is your best way to reach out and touch someone and become In Omnia Paratus?

Ready or Not – Pearls of Preparedness #3

It is often said that if we want to know what things will be like when our Savior returns, look at how things were the first time he came to us. The Book of Mormon is very illustrative of conditions at that time.

Prior to His return, the Gadianton Robbers were a strong force in government and politics causing murder and mayhem throughout the land. There were cultural shifts taking place wherein the Lamanites who had long disbelieved in the history of their forefathers became the more righteous group compared to the Nephites who allowed greed, immorality and secret combinations to prevail. The world of the Nephites and Lamanites was tumultuous at that time.

Does any of this sound familiar with what seems to be happening today? Throughout history, whether Old Testament times or more recently, as a nation became unrighteous in the desires of the people, government, politics and their nation became more and more corrupt. They forget God, persecution of Christians become more prevalent and civility towards one another seemed to end. Most of these things occur due to selfishness and the grasp for power and greed.

We as a nation seem to be falling into similar traps where we see corruption at every level with civil unrest, fear and doubt creeping in. Nations have fallen in very short times when corruption and moving away from God takes place.

So how do we become better prepared for these things which surround us.

It begins with listening to and following our prophet. He has stated clearly to “Let God Prevail”. It may seem difficult at times when we hear the gentle voices of our prophets, seers and revelators rather than them screaming and yelling to repent and be prepared. We must act with faith. We must develop our personal testimony of Jesus Christ and follow Him.

Can civil unrest become a part of the norm here in the U.S.? It has in the past and no doubt will again as people with differing opinions take to the streets to try to force others to agree with them. I still remember the LA riots in the 60’s. Even if we are not at the center of riots and unrest, we can still be affected when supply chains are interrupted. When the police are busy trying to control those situations law enforcement costs go higher which we all pay for.  If an insurance company has to pay a lot for claims, it affects us all, no matter where we are. Remember though, the Lord has told us, if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear!

What are the next steps you need to take in your preparation efforts? One suggestion is to know what scenarios to plan for. Talk to your families. Janet and I met with a lot of children in the Stake Primary and one of their biggest fears all centered around their personal safety. Gather your family and take up the challenge to have a plan – start with a simple plan but make it fit the needs of your own family. Use the links on my website, jjprep.org for some great information and guidelines. Most of those links come from the Church website or Ready.gov. The Nike Corp motto is “Just Do It” – President Spencer W. Kimball said, “Do it Now!”

Ready or Not – Pearls of Preparedness #4

It was about 3AM recently when I woke up. It is not like this hasn’t happened before. As I lay there tying to decide if it was simply because my back was a bit stiff or was there something else? I remembered reading that we ofttimes will be awakened because there is some nugget of inspiration that comes to us. In this case, I might call it a Pearl. It was then I realized that these Pearls can be a voice of warning. John the Baptist was a voice of warning prior to the arrival of our Savior. Let it be clear, If John was the Empire State Building, I would be the guy on the street level door tying to figure out how to get in.

D&C 93:36 states “The Glory of God is Intelligence”. Elder David A Bednar said in Oct 2007, “You might think intelligence means being gifted in academic work, but intelligence also means applying the knowledge we obtain for righteous purposes.”

What is the connection between this truth and our preparedness efforts? Each of us has things we have learned through the triumphs and failures in life. These learning events develop skills that can become very useful in our preparedness efforts. Some may have developed the ability to read and understand different life skills, while others have lived through them. I always think about my Pop who couldn’t figure out how to operate his TV and often got things messed up with his remote. I would then get a call to come fix it, He on the other hand had skills from living on a farm where he learned numerous skills that were necessary because there was no one else to solve problems. He also worked in construction where he learned to weld and eventually helped build the Transamerica Building in San Francisco. He couldn’t operate a simple remote but he possessed skills many of us don’t.

Many of the people who lived through the great depression era starting in 1929, by our standards today, might be considered uneducated and unable to survive in our modern society. But what if those roles were suddenly reversed? Could we find our way through difficult economic times like so many of them did? Do we have the basic skills needed to survive? Have we been wise in our own education or even the use of our money, regardless of how much it is? Experience tells us that we can’t even figure out how to get toilet paper in that scenario.

What will happen if all of a sudden, our bank says it cannot allow us to access our money? Is that even possible? According to the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation), there were 567 bank failures in the years 2001-2024. Many of those occurred in the 2008 Great Recession when the stock market crashed, and millions of people lost so much of their life savings. Much of this was due to unwise financial decisions. How are we doing with our financial decisions. Are we making sure our assets are protected regardless of how large or small they may be?

The prophets have been very clear on the need to be self-reliant and to stay out of debt. Avoid get rich quick schemes and be careful with our savings. Today, I would also add there is a very strong need to avoid the thousands of scammers that simply want to steal our money through electronic means. In some cases, with us just sending them the money! Cyber warfare is increasing every day, and we are the soldiers in that war whether we like it or not. Cyber criminals will stop at nothing to try to take our money or put us in very precarious situations.

Ready or Not – Pearls of Preparedness #5

One of the most important things we can do to prepare is to identify various emergencies that may occur in our area. We generally do not have to worry about impactful extreme cold/snowstorms, tsunami or hurricanes as is felt in other parts of our country - but what are some of the things we should prepare for? This is a question each of should be asking ourselves and others within our community.

One emergency that seems to be moving higher up on the list of concerns is civil unrest/civil disobedience. There are numerous government agencies that are preparing for such events. With the tension of the upcoming election process, it seems well established that one side of the political aisle or the other will be unhappy. So, can large groups in our population that are unhappy or mad cause unrest? Absolutely! If you happen to follow sports or even the news, you know that the LA Dodgers won the World Series and caused great jubilation for their fans. During their “jubilation” fans excitement quickly turned ugly by throwing rocks and shooting fireworks at police, burning a bus and looting local stores in the LA area.

So, what will happen when large groups are not happy? Hopefully cool heads will prevail, but it is not the time to stick our heads in the sand. It is a time to be spiritually prepared as well as taking necessary precautions to ensure our families and ourselves are safe and have whatever is needed to endure such a calamity.

There is a reason part of the title of these “Pearls” is Ready or Not. Whether we are ready or not, The Savior will return, and we know from our scriptures that there will be several disruptions throughout the world prior to His return. If we are truly studying our scriptures and want to know what things may be like prior to His return, we need only read and study what things were like prior to His arrival in the Americas. Understanding this will help us know how to become Ready. We know through revelation that times before His second coming will be tumultuous. If we compare what happened then to current affairs, we find that dishonesty, corruption and immorality was widespread. Sound familiar? Much of this was due to pride and people distinguishing themselves by ranks according to their riches. Basically, people turned their backs on the Lord and the gospel. Through all this there was commotion throughout the Earth.

We need only look at the number of wars, the immorality and selfishness prevailing around us to know that we must be ready for whatever may come our way.

The answers are straightforward. As President Nelson has instructed – Let God prevail. Draw close to Him by making and keeping covenants with Him. Draw close to Him by serving one another and protecting our families and others through proper preparedness efforts. As we do all that we can do, The Lord will help carry us the rest of the way, but we must be honest with ourselves and know that we have done all the He has asked. So – Ready or Not we must choose Ready.

Ready or Not – Pearls of Preparedness #6

In the Book of Ether, we find in chapter 1:

33 Which Jared came forth with his brother and their families, with some others and their families, from the great tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, and swore in his wrath that they should be scattered upon all the face of the earth; and according to the word of the Lord the people were scattered.

34 And the brother of Jared being a large and mighty man, and a man highly favored of the Lord, Jared, his brother, said unto him: Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not understand our words.

35 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon Jared; therefore he did not confound the language of Jared; and Jared and his brother were not confounded.

36 Then Jared said unto his brother: Cry again unto the Lord, and it may be that he will turn away his anger from them who are our friends, that he confound not their language.

37 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon their friends and their families also, that they were not confounded.

With everything that was going on at that time, the one thing Jared and his brother seemed most concerned with was Communication between their family members. Communication is so important in our lives that we see everything from how friends are made to having wars begin because of communication or the lack thereof.

No doubt Jared’s family was concerned with the events of the day just as we may be today. While we aren’t necessarily going to have our language confused, we still need to be sure how we can and will communicate with others in the event of an emergency. We often communicate very differently when we are under stress, so it is important that we remain mindful of how we say things to others. I often have to apologize for things I say, not what was said, but how it’s said.

In an emergency, we must think about how we will communicate if we are separated from family or if normal communication channels are not available. Recently, I have begun to look more and more into the use of GMRS radios which stands for General Mobile Radio Service. I recently added more information about these and where to learn more on my website- jjprep.org - which is created solely to help others as a preparedness guide.  As always, most importantly, have a plan on how you can and will communicate when normal means are not available. Cell phones, texting, online communications are great but sometimes ineffective. It is always best to be prepared for whatever may come along.

Today may be the ideal day to give thanks for the opportunity to reach out and communicate with someone.

I know - I skipped #7 and went to # 8

Ready or Not – Pearls of Preparedness #8

The title of these “pearls” is significant because things in life will happen whether we are ready or not. Each of us has experienced some sort of event in which we did not feel adequately prepared for.

Our good friends, Brother and Sister Kwan were recently called to and are now serving a mission in the small country of Vanuatu. On Tuesday December 17th, Vanuatu experienced a 7.3 earthquake, an event I am certain the Kwans did not feel prepared for after having just recently arrived. I am also certain they understood the need to take care of their own immediate needs and those around them until help arrives. “Ready or Not” takes on a whole new meaning than just the title of these Preparedness Pearls.

On December 18th the following message was posted on the Church website

:

“The Pacific Area Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made the following statement today following yesterday's 7.3 magnitude earthquake in Vanuatu.

We are deeply concerned for the people of Vanuatu in the wake of the 7.3 magnitude earthquake which struck on Tuesday, December 17, 2024. We are communicating with Church leaders and government officials on the ground to understand the impact of the disaster on our members and friends throughout Vanuatu.

All full-time missionaries in Vanuatu are safe and accounted for.

As we understand needs more clearly in the coming hours, we will mobilize our humanitarian efforts to provide food, water, medicine, temporary shelter, and other supplies as needed. We will work with the Vanuatu Government and other organizations to contribute to the emergency response in an organized and effective manner.

We urge Latter-day Saints throughout the world, and all people, to pray for the people of Vanuatu, seeking God's comfort and blessing to be upon the people. 

We pray that our collective response will be swift, coordinated, and exactly what is needed to alleviate suffering and foster resilience and recovery.”

Please take note that while the Church response to these events is quick and decisive, it takes a matter of days to mobilize the Church response to such an event. Therefore, we as Latter Day Saints need to be vigilant in our efforts to be prepared to help ourselves and others until additional help can arrive.

Hopefully we can all take just a little time each week to become better prepared for such things because they do happen, Ready or Not.

Ready or Not – Pearls of Preparedness #9

What has happened to our food supply in America? Rarely does a day goes by that there isn’t some sort of recall on food. Reasons for recalls are varied. Some contain allergens that may be harmful to some people and are not declared that may result in anaphylaxis if consumed. Others include problems with the presence of foreign substances due to processing systems that may include plastic or even metal shavings. Most of the recalls include some sort of microorganisms that may bring about illness and, in some cases, even death. I went to the grocery store the other day and wanted to buy some cucumbers but there have been so many recalls of this vegetable lately, I opted to hold off. It almost felt like I might be gambling with my family’s health.

Listeria, Salmonella and E. Coli are the most common. No fun when we order lunch with a side of stomach problems. About 1 in 6 Americans get sick from foodborne illness every year, according to the CDC. Of those 48 million people, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die.

Recalls amount to millions of pounds of food being removed each year. In 2023 that number was about 48 million pounds and is expected to exceed that in 2024. We have already seen several recalls in 2025 and we’re just getting started.

Improper cooking techniques and temperatures are also a source of bacteria found in food.

Fortunately, there are solutions to many of these problems. Again, self-reliance heads the list.

Be aggressive about washing fruits and vegetables before putting them away.

Cook meat to achieve the proper temperatures.

Wash hands, cutlery and counters often, to control bacteria.

Follow food recalls from the FDA on their website (more information on jjprep.org)

Growing your own food – this is an excellent way for each of us to ensure we have clean healthy foods. If space is a problem, get some others together and each grow something different and share.

These are all ideas that we can use to be better prepared with the very food our family consumes. Should we just ignore these warning signs and dangers? If the oil light in our car comes on, do we just ignore it or when the gas gage is nearing empty what should we do? These are all simple things to take care of. Try making a practice of getting gas when the gage reads ½ and keep track of when we need to maintain our cars and other things we depend upon.

Using tactics such as making sure our food is safe and taking care of the simple things daily are not only very good preparedness tactics but will wind up saving us money and time in the long run.

Ready or Not – Pearls of Preparedness #10

It’s interesting how when we study the life of Joseph Smith, we learn of the visits that he had in the beginning from the Angel Moroni and how Moroni repeated several times, the exact same instructions to prepare Joseph for what was about to transpire.

Have you ever heard someone say after General Conference, “nothing new, they said pretty much the same thing as before?” I guess when we look at how The Lord teaches his children it is like us trying to teach our own children. We sometimes repeat several times, as needed, the instructions and counsel we have for them.

We have been counselled to stay out of debt. Read our scriptures, learn what we can of our family history and a variety of other things. This life is a preparatory stage for all of our eternal journeys.  

Janet and I have been asked to give a short lesson about preparedness each month in our ward’s Elders Quorum. Our time limit is always about 10 min or less. We had done this class before, but this time was going to be a little different. Normally, we quickly show or tell people different things they can add to their existing preparedness efforts. This time we were asked if there is something the class members could take home and do right away without having to buy anything but can help their preparation efforts. This was a great idea!

We decided to ask each member of the class to take 5 minutes and write down on a piece of paper what they would do in the following scenario:

You have 20 minutes to evacuate your home, what will you take with you?

After those 5 minutes we spent 5 more minutes asking what they wrote down. The answers were varied, and each depended upon that person’s situation. It was a great exercise to help begin to map out a preparedness plan.

This does not mean only preparing for a disaster but also the little things that life brings. We have been counselled time and again to prepare ourselves for whatsoever may come our way.

So – question of the week - How many times must we be asked to become better prepared?

Ready or Not – Pearls of Preparedness #11

Recently while driving home from helping a relative with some things, a rock flew up and cracked our windshield. At first there was a short time of fear because the sound was so loud and seemed to come out of nowhere. Next there was recognizing and assessing what needed to be done next. Lastly there was the matter of going to the shop that had all of the tools including those needed for recalibrating some of the sensors on the car and making the whole thing renewed.

Fortunately, we had enough common sense and forethought to carry insurance on our car. The job that would normally be over $900 came in at $100. Painful still, but much less painful.

Preparedness is similar to the situation I just described. Being prepared for unforeseen situations is much like carrying insurance against difficult events. Yes, there is a cost involved, but like insurance, it is far better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

The title of these messages was derived from some thoughtful consideration of what Noah must have gone through. The price he paid was his hard work and the love he had for people who would not heed his warnings. In spite of all that, he continued to share and work in spite of disinterest by so many others until the point that was finally reached – Ready or not – the rains came.

The renewal of a glass windshield is nothing compared to the renewal we can receive from our Savior. He has all of the tools to help us become recalibrated with our covenants. He strengthens us so that when the rocks fly at our spirits, we have the ability to overcome them and avoid spiritual breakage.

Interestingly, a small chip in the glass can and usually does spread to become larger cracks. Similarly, if we do not take care of those things that chip away at us, we too can become weakened.

Pearls of Preparedness #13

Way back in the mid-1900s, when I was just a little boy, one of my favorite things to do was to go out to our little airport with my Grandpa and watch the planes come and go. The airplanes were just small crafts but watching them take flight was amazing to both of us. It was amazing to me because those things seemed big to me, and I could not understand how they stayed in the air. I’m sure they were amazing to my grandfather because he was born in the 1800s and watching the advancement of technology was no doubt incredible. My favorite thing to watch was what we called the whirlybirds – the helicopters. They could go straight up and down and take off and made a cool sound.

The absolute best part for me was that I was spending time with my grandpa, who I loved and admired and always knew he felt the same way about me. While it seems like a whole different world today, we now have jets that take off vertically and go so fast and others that literally cannot be detected by radar. We also have jumbo jets that move a lot of people great distances, oh how have things changed, or have they really?

It is my belief that our environments have changed but what has stayed constant is the need for the love of others. The focus of our preparedness cannot simply be the “stuff” we have set aside. Sure, it is very important, just ask Joseph who was sold into Egypt. Having the food stored at that time not only helped those who were going hungry, but it also allowed Joseph to forgive his brothers and save his family from starvation. Why would he do that after all he went through? Because he loved them, and it was the right thing to do.

Gather Israel, our prophet has proclaimed. Gather is a verb that means action. Do something – Put aside extra for those in your family and community that may need help or show our love and doing something about it is one way we prepare to gather Israel. Sharing the Gospel with our friends because we love them is one way to gather Israel. Another is through our family search to gather those on the other side of the veil.

Recently my sweetheart and I were able to attend the temple and seal together my grandpa and grandma for time and all eternity. It was better than watching a whirlybird! I could not stop smiling through the entire sealing because of the Spirit that was so strong. Even now I smile just thinking about it.

Prepare to get to the temple, share the Gospel or simply do whatever personal revelation tells you to do to become better prepared in this life and life with our Heavenly Family.

Ready or Not – Pearls of Preparedness #14

Have you ever listened to a telegrapher punch in a bunch of “clicks” on the telegraph machine? Maybe it was on an old TV show or movie. Those audible clicks were actually an electrical connection being broken and closed to represent a code – Morse Code. The code was named after Samuel Morse who is credited with its invention even those there were others developing something similar before and during that same time. Currently, without fanfare on April 27th we celebrate “Morse Code Day”

The first recoded message sent using the several combinations of dots and dashes representing letters asked the question “What has God wrought?”

Modern day Artificial Intelligence will tell us this means- “a phrase expressing wonder and marvel at something, often referring to a miraculous or extraordinary event. It's a statement of awe and admiration for God's power and creative abilities, particularly in the context of the Bible”. This essentially means that it is through God that such an incredible event can occur.

In 1838 Morse sent a letter to an Illinois senator named Francis O.J. Smith in which he said, “This mode of instantaneous communication must inevitably become an instrument of immense power, to be wielded for good or for evil, as it shall be properly or improperly directed.”

Today we see the same thing Samuel Morse was concerned about. There are marvelous tools that have been created but can be used for both good and evil. The internet comes quickly to mind. There are so many wonderful things online such as Family History, as well as all our scriptures available at the touch of a button. At the same time, some of the most vile and evil things can enter our homes with a similar click or two.

This preparedness pearl is about being prepared to use the great gifts we all have and do great things and at the same time be prepared to ward off the evils that are ever present. Using the gifts we have been given; we can prepare ourselves and others to receive the blessings of the temple. By doing so we become more spiritually prepared ourselves and do as President Nelson has asked “Gather Israel”. This expressed in Morse Code is --. .- - .... . .-. / .. ... .-. .- . .-..   Each letter represented by "dots and dashes"

Ready or Not – Pearls of Preparedness 15

I really like the phrase “ready or not” in the title of these “Blurbs “. It truly reinforces exactly how things are in life – things happen, whether we are ready for them or not. Having grown up in a family that loves baseball (the game itself, not necessarily some of the business aspects of baseball), I tend to look at life’s situations as I would a baseball game. I’ve been making these analogies for as long as I can remember.

For example – in baseball, we have rules, things that can and cannot be done, or at least shouldn’t without penalty just like we do in life. We are a society of laws and expectations.

In baseball, we have coaches who provide guidance and direction to the players, whether it’s pitching instruction, hitting, fielding or even handling personal issues. Similarly, we all have people in our lives that coach us, parents, teachers and church leaders to name a few. At the head of the team, we have a manager who controls the team. His or her word is final.  Umpires fit in because they are the ones who enforce the rules, much like our police and judicial system – It’s a very simplistic way to look at things but in a baseball game, just about anything can happen. YouTube is full of some of the crazy things that happen.

“Ready or Not” – would we go out to play the game with our backs turned towards the batter? Of course not, we would not be ready. Why then do we turn our backs on the concept that life brings challenges that we should prepare for? Each of us can think of one or several occurrences which we were not prepared to deal with.

We know that crazy things happen, things we do not expect, but we know they can happen. We need to choose what we should prepare for. For example - Do we carry auto insurance? Of course, but we hope never to use it. When things happen, we are glad we are ready for them. I can’t help but think of 2020 and laugh about toilet paper. We did need it, but it often was unavailable unless we were adequately prepared ahead of time.

There are devastating things that happen each day, but this is not meant to be a message to scare anyone, only a voice reminding us to think and plan ahead. Make your plan. Find out what you and your family’s needs are and figure out those areas where you feel most vulnerable and start to work on them. Check out the website we have created at jjprep.org which is designed solely to bring information about how best to prepare. We have also provided links to other sites that are helpful as well. Regardless of what we do, do not turn your back on the batter because mostly like the ball will eventually come your way.

Ready or Not – Pearls of Preparedness 16

Wow! It’s already June 2025. Time seems to go fast sometimes. It really seems to be and perhaps truly is fast when we look at how quickly our children or other people’s children grow up. We look and think “how did that little primary boy who used to be bouncing off the walls become an elder going to the temple and off on a mission?” It almost feels like it happened suddenly.

Preparedness not only means putting aside emergency items for difficult times. Our Preparation efforts go way beyond these things. It also means helping our young people, the ones President Nelson refers to as “the rising generation” become prepared to meet the world head on. I can’t help but think of the movie Finding Nemo where that father clown fish had to deal with all the obstacles his world presented while doing his best to bring his missing son back to safety. When we look at most intersections these days, we see some of the “missing” children from families. In most every case, they appear lost and have no idea they are a child of God and have immense potential.

While serving the first time as a bishop about 25 years ago, our ward had about 220 active people and a large percentage were younger married couples. While giving a talk to our ward, I felt impressed to make the following statement – “Parents, teach your children. If you don’t society will, and you probably won’t like what you get.”

One of the most important lessons to be taught at home is how to love, honor and respect each other. How we raise our children will have a direct impact upon their children and families because they will know no better.

The Savior obviously loved and adored the children; we must do the same.

Ready or Not – Pearls of Preparedness 17

July 2, 2025 – This is the halfway date for this year. I can only imagine how much preparation will be made to celebrate 2 days later, on the 4th of July! It is generally a joyful time as we appropriately celebrate our nation’s birth. During that preparation perhaps we should ask ourselves what we have done to become better prepared for future events that may be unseen, unknown or unintended challenges that life brings. We all know that things happen and happen quickly. The year will be half over and what have we done differently?

I am not the half-gone type. I like to think, I have a half year to change my situation! Yeah, it’s the old glass half empty or half full idea, but it is true. How we approach our future should be a time that we look forward to. Yes, there are problems all around us but here we are. We are in the pool, should we sink or swim? I say – swim! Let’s look at what areas of preparedness we need to improve. Do we know? Have we taken a little time to do some self-evaluations? This is a personal question we should each ask ourselves and then write down what we will do about it. It won’t improve unless we do. Don’t try – you may know by now that I love to quote Yoda – Do or do not – there is no try! When we joined the Church, President Kimball was our prophet – I always loved his statement – Do it - NOW!

Our efforts could be purchasing an extra can (or case) of beans or whatever your family uses the next time we go shopping. Maybe it is how we become better prepared spiritually and read our scriptures more often. Perhaps it is family history efforts or some other way to “gather Israel” We each need to decide. If we do something or do nothing, we have still made a decision.

I have been continuously updating our website jjprep.org to bring more information and links to reliable preparedness sources. It is there for anyone to use. Spend a few minutes and look at the information contained on that site. If there are other areas you need help with, please let me know. We visited a ward that has a monthly preparedness meeting after church and discussed the website there and it was great. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts.

I will share some personal insight with you – We have decided to work on a couple of specific things – The first is organization – we are pretty well organized but know that we can improve. The second is canning more food ourselves. We have really enjoyed pressure canning to go with the regular homemade jam that is so easy to do.

So – what will you do? Please make a list or jot down a couple of areas you want to improve to move forward or perhaps get started in your personal family preparedness efforts.

Ready or Not – Pearls of Preparedness 18

“Ready or Not – Pearls of Preparedness” – Each of these preparedness messages is its own “Pearl” – it is the question about our readiness that is the key.

I have been on this Earth for more than a minute or two – about 38,040,480 minutes as of this writing and more by the time it is read. Wow! (There are few of those I wouldn’t mind getting back.) During this time, I cannot remember when I have heard about so many natural and man-made disasters. Maybe we should start believing the scriptures where it talks about the world being in “commotion” in the last days.

“Ready or Not” – let’s begin by asking what should I be ready for? What sort of event can occur that will affect me and my family? The answer is the same and different for each of us. The same because most of the recipients of this message live near each other but different due to our own specific circumstances. Where we live, how we drive, are we near an area that may have a chemical spill from one of the several trucks carrying who knows what close by? Perhaps we live at the bottom of a hill where high waters might prevail. Do we have neighbors who take no regard or respect for others creating some sort of dangerous conditions? Add these to earthquakes and other natural disasters that may happen, and it should give us pause to at least consider some of these things.

One might say, “these disasters won’t occur here”, and they may be correct because we live in a safer area than many other parts of the state. Earthquake faults, large dams and reservoirs and mountain peaks that are still “alive” major disasters have the potential to impact us all.

This is not about Doom or Gloom –it is simply about taking a few minutes each day to consider what will help us when we need help and there is no help readily available.

Is the whole world in commotion as the scriptures imply? Regardless of where we get our news, that seems like a good description of our world today.

Ready or Not – Pearls of Preparedness 19

I have written and distributed over 110 of these messages. Several times when I have met someone in our Stake for the first time, they say to me, “Oh, you’re that Blurb guy” and fortunately the feedback is usually very positive. I also get a few people who email me with their thoughts and sometimes recommendations, which I really appreciate. I have covered so many different topics regarding both physical and spiritual preparedness and even developed a website devoted to preparedness as a useful tool for anyone to use.

It is now time to take this message to a different level. From time to time, I plan to include a meaningful request (call it homework as we prepare for school and seminary to be back). That request will be to put some action into our discussions. Here is the first one.

Personal and family preparedness is one of the things that attracted us to the Church back in 1979 followed by our subsequent baptism in 1980 because we became interested in a faith that teaches us about life today, not just what happened 2000 years ago. In our case, personal and family preparedness became a great missionary gateway tool to introduce us to the Gospel. Our local Home Storage Center has told me several times that a large percentage of people purchasing food there are non-members.  With that in mind, I am sure that we are all surrounded today by many non-member friends and neighbors who recognize the importance of becoming better prepared in day-to-day life.

So – this first get up and get going request will have 2 parts. The first part is – pick up an extra can of something your family likes or needs and put it aside as extra. It doesn’t matter if it is a can of beans, a box of cereal, batteries or whatever. The 2nd part is to pray about who you might tell about your preparedness efforts or what the Church says about it. Who you tell (this time) doesn’t matter – if you are nervous about it, tell a family member or you can even tell me! I will be interested to know how some of those conversations go.

It is time to get up and get going with our preparedness efforts – It is amazing how The Spirit will direct you and others as you share ideas with them that are just simple reasons why we do what we do.

To put this into perspective, during a recent High Council handbook training session, we discussed Extreme Preparation and Survivalism. It was a great discussion. The General Handbook is very clear on these matters. At no time should we ever go into debt or become so entrenched in our preparation efforts as to push Gospel principles aside. These “Pearls” are strictly intended to help us remember the need to prepare for things, especially spiritually as we have been taught by Church leadership for years. As we become more spiritually prepared in our daily lives, our temporal preparedness will follow suit. So, let’s get up and get going!

Ready or Not – Pearls of Preparedness 20

In the last get up and get going request “Pearl”, I mentioned it is time to take things to the next level. While the responses I received were scarce, those that responded are moving things in the right direction. There was some discussion about how different individuals could talk to friends or neighbors about preparedness.

If you think people outside of the Church are not interested in personal and family preparedness, you would be incorrect. Evidence is clear by the people who go to our Church run Family Storage Center at our local Bishop’s Storehouse. Each time I have been there I am told that many if not most of the people buying food there are not members of our Church. Also, if you ever watch some of the YouTube videos about preparedness, most are not members. People of all walks of life recognize the need to become better prepared.

While sharing a message about food storage or preparation in general is a distant priority to sharing Gospel messages, it at least gives us a common place to stand with our friends and neighbors.

Time to keep ourselves moving! I am certain that most everyone reading this message has been to a grocery store, ordered from Instacart or Amazon or some other place since the last Pearl was sent out – now it’s pop quiz time! Did you pick up an extra something/anything to enhance your personal preparedness efforts? Or did you take a moment to share ideas of preparation with someone else? If you did, fantastic. If not, we can still do this – there is no time limit, that is, unless the clock runs out and we are faced with a situation that requires us to be self-reliant.

So – here is the 2 part get up and get going request this time around

1.      Read the scriptures and use Come Follow Me as a guide. I know personally, it has helped me become much more consistent in my studies,

2.      Same as part 1 from the last time - pick up an extra can of something your family likes or needs and put it aside as extra. It doesn’t matter if it is a can of beans, a box of cereal, batteries or whatever. If you didn’t do this one last time – do it twice if you can. If you did it last time, you already know how easy it is and can continue to build your self-reliance efforts.

The great thing about these requests is that they are designed to help each person or family individually to become stronger and better prepared both temporally and spiritually. The more we are individually prepared for things, the stronger it makes our community.

OK – so now is the time to get up and get going!

Ready or Not – Pearls of Preparedness 21

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to find a goldmine or perhaps a map that shows buried treasures? Most of us would say this is a waste of time and silly. What if it isn’t a waste of time. What if we don’t have to travel far away and can find riches beyond our belief?

I’m sure everyone reading this is now wondering where this is headed. What I’m talking about is our Church website and the Gospel Library! Have you ever stopped to think about the wealth of knowledge and information that is there? I’m sure many of us have but how many times have we gone into the Gospel Library to see a quick video or read scriptures or perhaps the “Come Follow Me” section and then back out?

This is like going to a swimming pool on a hot day, placing a few toes in the water and then leaving. The amount of information is amazing, more like the ocean rather than a pool!

I know many of you already have a fondness for the Gospel Library and the Church website so let’s use this “goldmine” to further expand our personal inner storage! The inner storage I am referring to is knowledge.  Afterall didn’t we recently read in our Doctrine and Covenants - Come Follow Me - in section 93 verse 36 that The Glory of God is Intelligence? To further increase the light section 93 references, perhaps we can find someone or a small group of people that are not comfortable looking through the electronic versions and help them to find their own treasures in the Gospel Library. It will make us stronger collectively!

The number of books, magazines and videos is amazing and when broken down into the number of topics, it truly is a goldmine that we should cherish. (Oh, and yes – there is also a lot of information on the topics of food storage and self-reliance.)

Keeping with the recent theme of including some sort of action item, I would propose that each of us spend just a few extra minutes in the Gospel Library and find a church magazine, a video or book with a topic we want to explore ourselves or help someone else learn to use it. Afterall, we can’t find the treasure unless we look for it.

Ready or Not – Pearls of Preparedness 22

I recently purchased something I found on an online Marketplace. It turns out the seller was a member of our stake! What a pleasant surprise that was. We did not know each other until that day. When we both learned of our common faith we talked for about 45 minutes. It turns out their family is working to become better prepared as well.

During our discussion we agreed that there are some key points to consider while becoming better prepared. One is making sure that we rotate the things we have purchased so that we use our older dated food first to keep things as fresh as possible. It is not always an easy thing to do, despite being so simple. We talked a bit about “Best By” dates and how those dates normally do not represent a date when food goes bad but rather when the producers claim the quality may diminish. This was something I had learned when preparing a talk for a Stake Relief Society meeting in our old stake. It is such an important topic that I included that in the jjprep.org website I have mentioned previously.

We also talked about how food in general has changed over the years. There seems to be a growing concern about things like gluten, microplastics and a host of other things that may be cause for concern. I know personally we have tried to reduce the amount of plastic we use, especially in the kitchen.

Here is our action item for this Pearl – Find something you want to learn, do, or understand more about one of the following:

·         Food rotation and how you can do it better

·         Microplastics – is it a concern for you/your family?

·         “Best by” dates – see what the USDA has to say about it on their website.

·         Pickup a few extra items next time out shopping.

·         Find a way to share the things you learn about preparedness with a friend or neighbor.

·         Choose something else that will help you become better prepared.

We have been told that things will become more challenging in the latter days, which also seems evident if we follow current events - with that in mind – be sure you are doing your best to become better prepared – this should be done without going into debt or panic buying. Be reasonable and steady – remember the tortoise did beat the hare and won the race! 

Ready or Not – Pearls of Preparedness 23

Recently we went on a treasure hunt. That treasure was found in the Church Gospel Library. That library is brimming with information, articles and inspired direction from our General Authorities in addition to God’s words through the scriptures. There isn’t a bigger or better treasure than that anywhere to be found.

I have also mentioned the need for each person to be able to access information digitally via phones, you know that little computer in your pocket or purse that no one ever talks into because they text instead.

There are many people who still do not access all that is offered. It’s time to change some minds by shedding some additional light on the subject. Through our church website, churchofjesuschrist.org we can also access our own ward’s website. A lot of people don’t even know they exist. Those websites are meant for each of us personally to stay in touch with the latest information. Some Wards post their Sunday bulletin on them and other significant information. One idea we have discussed is in the event of a disaster of any kind we can possibly use those same websites to get information and directions to people throughout our Stake, instantly.

Shortly after the Camp Fire I had the privilege of chatting with the Chico Stake president who played a major role in orchestrating comfort, relief and spiritual guidance for the saints as well as many non-members in the area, especially those directly impacted in Paradise. He met with several Church departments including a visit from President Nelson to tour the area. He told me that one of the best means of communication was social media. This pre-dates our ward websites. I can only imagine how helpful they would have been.

We must become more familiar with ward websites. Action Idea! – let’s minister with each other and make sure everyone knows how to access their ward website. These websites could be a foundation of information in the event of an emergency in our area. Here is how!

Sequence: Login to churchofjesuschrist.org - after logging in you should see your name in the upper left hand corner. Next to your ward’s name, you should see a link that says “View Ward Page” – click on it - This is how simple it is to access your ward website.

Also - Did you see how many people were using their phones for the hymns in General Conference to sing the many new hymns being released?

The time has come for us all to learn how to use these valuable tools. If you don’t know, ask – there are plenty of members willing to help. If you still need access, talk to your Ward Clerk.

Ready or Not – Pearls of Preparedness 24

It is a crazy digital world we live in. Cell phones have all but made personal computers

seem outdated. Laptops seem to have taken over the home computer world. Speaking as

someone who was involved in the computer/electronics industry at about the time the IBM

personal computer reigned supreme, it has been interesting to watch the advancement of

speeds and memory over the years. Today a reasonable storage might be 4 TB (terabytes or

4,000,000 megabytes) – when I first ventured into this arena, 5 Megabytes was fantastic).

We used to say, well, you’ll never fill that up!

There was a time when TVs were uncommon in a home and a color tv, forget it! Our family

used to go to some friend’s house to watch the tv show “Bonanza in Living color” each

week. It was astounding, more so to our parents because they grew up in a world where tv

did not exist. How on Earth did they manage? It’s like we rely upon our cell phones or

computers to tell us what we should be doing all the time. Watch people as they walk down

the street or are standing waiting for a bus – about 90% of them are on their “phones”

allowing the phone to act upon them.

Elder David Bednar has stated several times that we are not objects to be acted upon but

rather we need to act. If we are only expecting FEMA, The Red Cross, the Church or some

other agency to help bail us out of disruptive situations and doing nothing ourselves, we are

becoming objects to be acted upon. If we are doing what we can do ourselves to be

prepared both temporally and spiritually, then we are in action. This is not a race to see how

fast we can build our food storage or how quickly we can read The Book of Mormon, but

doing these things in an organized, consistent manner will set us apart and open up

opportunities for us to not only help ourselves but help others.

Since actions speak louder than words – here is this Pearl’s action item. Find a way to

limited digital exposure by interacting with others or perhaps find ways to act upon the

phone by using the Gospel library or learning the new hymns the Church has released.

 It doesn’t matter what it is, just do something. One suggestion might be to start with this video (Facebook Reel) https://www.facebook.com/reel/4185116141743819 and spend some quality time with Elder Bednar. If you don’t know how to view it – ask someone to help you, when you do, you are acting rather than being an object acted upon.

 Here is another link to that video https://www.facebook.com/reel/4185116141743819

Pearls of Preparedness #25

Do you remember learning from the Lewis Carroll book or even the movie how a young girl named Alice became intrigued with a rabbit and wound up falling down a hole? Her curiosity led her into a world of disorientation called Wonderland.

I am amazed how research for one thing can lead us down a “rabbit hole” only to find out we spent more time than we remember and fell well short of our intended goal.

This happens to all of us, if we let it. (It happens to me more than I care to admit) This becomes an exercise by strong forces to keep us off guard and headed in unintended directions. Usually, the distraction is nothing bad and may even be considered good but the completion of our task or discovering what we intended would be considered better – Just like what President Oaks talked about when he spoke about “Good, Better, Best” and how we should always look for what is best.

These distractions can certainly keep us from learning what we need to learn or perhaps even making us fall into a pit of distractions, especially on the internet.

So how does all of this relate to our preparedness efforts? Quite simply, we need to determine for ourselves and our families what is best regarding our spiritual preparedness as well as what our plans and preparation needs to be in the event of some sort of setback without getting sidetracked, without falling into the rabbit holes. One of the distractions we might face could even be a feeling that everything is just fine and there is no need to be more prepared.

In our preparations whether spiritual or temporal, we must remain focused and diligent in our efforts.

So as promised – here is the action item (your choice) for this Pearl – Take an inventory of your plans and resources in the event you are involved in some sort of setback, OR take a look at how well your scriptures studies are going or perhaps find ways to help your testimony grow. If we really want what’s best, we will make sure our testimonies are rock solid and share them with other family members and other people.

Just don’t let the rabbit fool you, he can be enticing.

Pearls of Preparedness #26

Preparedness takes its shape in many forms. Some people think it is all about hoarding food like wheat and rice and other long-term items that can be stored. Others might think it is about becoming the most well-armed survivalist one can be. Yet another approach seems to be the I don’t worry about things; we will surely find a way to figure things out.

There are hints of truth in all of these notions, however, each is extraordinarily flawed by itself. First of all, our Church teaches simple principles about the fact that we are not “preppers” in the doom and gloom sense of the word, nor should we consider ourselves to be survivalists. These principles are found in our General Handbook of Instructions. So, what should we be doing and thinking about, to become better prepared?

I have mentioned before and will mention again, Elder Bednar’s message of acting rather than being acted upon because it fits our preparedness efforts perfectly. To become better prepared, one must realize that life is a winding road that takes us up and down hills. Some hills seem almost impossible to climb which is a time when we should probably re-read “The Little Engine That Could” book. First and foremost, we must become closer to our Savior since He is the strength and the power that can and will help us climb those hills in our life.

Next, we must realize that we need to act and put effort to secure ourselves for situations that may arise. These days, I would never think of driving a car without wearing a seatbelt or having insurance. These are preparatory steps. We hope there is no accident, but we do our best to prepare in case there is. Similarly, we want to plan ahead to ensure we have sufficient basic requirements for our family. One of my favorite sayings is “keep it simple”. Speaking from personal experiences, I cannot place too much emphasis on how important preparedness has been for me personally.

Another aspect of our preparedness efforts should be to strengthen our testimonies of our relationship with the Savior, and The Book of Mormon. In recent months we as a Church have seen violence and degradation thrown our way. Even the BYU football team has experienced terrible, childish insults cast at them. We must strengthen ourselves and our resolve to always rise above these conditions. It is through our preparations that we can do just that. I have always found that it is the small and simple things we do that make the biggest differences.

So, in keeping with the idea that we are acting and not waiting to be acted upon here is the action item for this “Pearl” – Find the small and simple things you can do to share your testimony of The Savior or of preparedness in general with a family member or friend. Simple, right?

Pearls of Preparedness #27

What goes into creating a Pearl?

In nature – Google says “A pearl forms when a mollusk, like an oyster or clam, coats an irritant (a parasite, piece of shell, or inserted nucleus) with layers of a shimmering substance called nacre (mother-of-pearl) as a defense mechanism, gradually building it into a smooth, iridescent gem over time. This protective coating, made of calcium carbonate and protein, creates a pearl around the foreign object, a process that can take months to several years”.

For us, these pearls are created similarly and while I have been called different things in my life, I have never been called a mollusk. In fact, I don’t know anyone who has. At times we are all irritated about something or concerned enough about life’s various ups and downs to build defenses of our own. 

There is a whole list of concerns that might cause us to build our defense mechanism but each of us has our own list. Perhaps we are concerned about various disasters that seem to impact so many people each day or maybe it’s a lack of knowledge or understanding about a faith-based problem that causes us concerns.

No matter what our list looks like, Our Savior has told us to cast our burdens upon Him. That does not mean to just sit back and do nothing, but instead do all we can and combined with our faith, He will help us the rest of the way. Sounds kind of like what we have learned from Elder Bednar, “Act, don’t wait to be acted upon”.

Like the mollusk, it can take a long time to finally develop the beautiful pearl that provides us with more peace of mind and satisfaction.

As we approach the New Year, it is a great time to consider what our plans for next year will look like. Will we become more faithful about our studies on Come Follow Me? Maybe we want to prepare ourselves to be able to attend the temple. Perhaps improving our food storage, maybe planting a garden or any other needful things may be considered. This list goes on and on and is different for each of us.

The action item in this pearl is to act. Find one or two things on your list that you want to act upon. There is a major corporation whose motto is “Just do it”, personally, I like President Spencer W Kimball’s similar iteration “Do it Now”. Don’t wait for the irritation to become worse, begin to build your pearl now.

Pearls of Preparedness #28

The end of the year has come and gone and here we go again – the start of a New year!  New Year’s resolutions abound. Fitness and weight loss always seems to be the top resolution each year –stores use marketing techniques all to encourage people to spend more. In the US alone, $60 billion dollars is invested each year on this. Fitness is a great cause and is essential to our personal preparedness efforts. How do we pursue good things financially?

The second resolution only to fitness is personal finances. Did we overspend on Christmas? Are we prepared for the upcoming grind to get our taxes done? Do we grow concerned about all of the advertisements regarding identity theft or home mortgage theft? These are among the many things many Americans face this time of year.

This “Pearl” is not about telling you how much weight you need to lose or how much you should or should not spend. It is, however, about not allowing someone else to decide things for you without your consent. There are numerous data brokers selling our personal information every day. Some legal, some not. It is important that we do all we can to protect our information wherever possible. Many data leaks are announced on the news but usually after much time has passed.

This “Pearl” is too short to illustrate the many ways that others can gain access to our personal information and finances. It is important for each of us to look at our own situation and try to understand where our own vulnerabilities lie and if need be, consult a financial expert. It is also not intended to scare anyone, just to increase awareness.

A good friend of mine and former Stake President reminded me that a person can put a “freeze” on their credit at the major credit bureaus and it is absolutely free. I did that immediately and it was easy to do. It can be unlocked whenever it becomes necessary to make a purchase requiring a credit check. While doing this, I spent some time looking at what accounts were still open to make sure they were all mine. It will not solve all of our potential problems, but possibly a good way to start.

It is critical to be aware of the many scams that are online over the phone and all around us. As some my law enforcement friends always say, “keep your head on a swivel”. This means always make sure you are in a safe environment. I would add, that means both physically and in the digital world.

The action item for this Pearl is for all of us to review our personal finances, learn how to understand this digital world we live in and make sure only you are making choices where your money goes, then we can all rest better and take care of another personal fitness goal – a good night’s sleep.

Pearls of Preparedness #29

During a recent conversation with one of the ward Relief Society Presidents, it came to my attention how she noticed that there are more and more young people who are interested in eating food they can count on. Our conversation first began regarding a desire to do some pressure canning. Pressure canning is not pressure cooking which many of us have become familiar with using an Instant Pot or similar device for meal preparation. Pressure canning is designed to reach a specific, calibrated pressure over a specified period of time to ensure there is no bacteria, specifically botulism, remaining inside the jar of food. Pressure canning is used for lower PH foods, such as meats and vegetables as opposed to higher acid foods and jams that may be safely canned using a water bath method, without the pressure.

All of the specific requirements for safe food preparation can be found through various university extensions or at the National Center for Home Food Preparation, https://nchfp.uga.edu/ through the University of Georgia. It is critical to always follow tested safe recipes established from reliable science backed sources.

Why all of the interest? Much of it is due to the changes our food supply has had regarding genetic modification and the millions of pounds of food listed throughout the year in various food recalls due to safety. Food safety is critical for us all.

A quote from our Church website states – “God created the earth for our benefit. “Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart” (Doctrine and Covenants 59:18). It is a miracle of creation that seeds planted on the earth can grow to become plants that feed us.

Gardening is a great way to provide good nutrition for children and families. Fruits and vegetables grown in a garden can supply the nutrients children need to properly grow and develop.” End quote.

Many more people are growing their own food in personal gardens, sometimes even in apartments where size is challenging. There are so many ways to garden for young and old alike, and now is the time to plan out the strategy to use. Maybe it is just a couple of small plants to start with or perhaps even more. Personally, we have already started some seeds inside and plan to use them later when the ground becomes warmer.

This can also be a fun and wonderful way for families to understand our own spiritual growth - how the seed of our own testimonies can grow through faith, understanding and proper spiritual nourishment. Now is the time to act, not wait to be acted upon.

Pearls of Preparedness #30

After a blessing recently, one of the brethren said to me you will probably find a way to bring this up in a Pearl. He was right. While waiting for some medical tests I felt impressed to do so. Have you ever started something in the morning and suddenly life takes over and the expectations of the day change dramatically? Of course you have. It happens to us all. This is why we need to consider what preparations need to be made to mitigate the diƯiculties that crop up from time to time. After considering various situations we can determine what our next steps should be. We can strengthen our own situation before things occur!

Our first order of business is to call upon the Lord and seek his blessings. He is the arm we can always rely upon. He will provide comfort and clarity to every situation. That is not to say we just sit and wait for something to happen at this point. We need to prayerfully assess what our next steps will be. How do we act without waiting to be acted upon?

We each have a whole list of trials that have come our way and should expect more to follow. This is life. Rather than dwell on the things we cannot change, perhaps it is time to focus on those things we can change. Worry and stress about things out of our control is unhealthy. This is not to say we should ignore these unchangeable things by sticking our head in the sand but rather decide what we need to do to mitigate the impact of events.

As a young man I received a call from a counselor in the Stake presidency who asked if he could come by and visit with us. I quickly agreed and after hanging up the phone (yes, we used to hang the phone up in those days) my thoughts became speculative, what could he want? Speculation became understanding as he called me to serve as an Elders Quorum counselor! During our interview he asked me, “how can you change the world?” I had no idea what kind of a question that was. After confessing my ignorance he said, “We start by changing ourselves.” Here is one example of how we can change the world starting with ourselves.

Developing and strengthening our testimony of The Savior will better prepare us to share the gospel and be ready for the next opportunity to tell someone about Him, our Church, or even why we do what we do. Regardless of what we are preparing for, it requires us to do all we can do and not just wait for things to happen. Things will happen and some will be diƯicult, but it is our preparedness steps that will provide a path to help us through diƯicult situations. The brother of a dear friend of ours recently passed away, his oldest daughter is about to join him due to an incurable illness, and his wife had to be moved to a care facility due to Alzheimer’s. Due to his faith and spiritual preparation, he has remained rock solid in knowing that peace without pain will be theirs and that this is not the end, but rather the start of their new life.

Pearls of Preparedness #31

Hopefully everyone reading this has or will soon read in our “Come Follow Me” course about the crowning example of preparedness. Of course I am referring to Joseph who was sold into Egypt, the son of Jacob and Rachel.

Joseph’s inspired vision that Egypt would have years of plenty, followed by years of famine is one of those things that just makes sense. We have all seen times of plenty and other times when some things were not so plentiful. Whether due to the pandemic, a supply chain interruption or any number of things that happen, necessary foods can quickly become in short supply. This is not Chicken Little running around yelling that the sky is falling but rather just good common sense. I sometimes wonder how many people in Joseph’s time just didn’t give him and his words, a second thought. So, what can we do?

How did the old adage he/she has a “green thumb” begin? The top theory seems to be from King Edward the 1st - by awarding servants with the greenest thumbs from shelling peas. Seems plausible but today we just consider those with a “green thumb” to be good at growing plants. Those of us who have tried our hand at growing a garden have had our good experiences along with our bad. It kind of reminds me of my golf game. I hit just enough good shots to think I should keep playing and just enough bad shots to know that I need to carry extra golf balls with me when I play. With results like that, it may seem easier just to do something else and avoid it altogether.

Growing a garden is like every other experience we attempt. If we plan and study, our chance of succeeding improves. So why don’t we do it? What is it that keeps us from becoming more self-sufficient? Do we need to have to have a large area or invest a lot of money to be successful? No! There are so many ways to grow good safe food in a small area. Sometimes the cost may simply be a $4 pack of seeds, a $10 bag of good soil and a $5 bucket or grow bag. About $20 total. You can frow a lot of tomatoes with just those simple things - plus the added value that the tomatoes actually have flavor! So why don’t we do it?

For most of us, it is the ease of going to the grocery store or restaurant and picking up food and taking it home after work. This point is made when we find that the worst times to shop are from 4-6 PM weekdays, most likely due to poor planning on our part.

We are truly blessed to have the type of growing season that we do, so why not get a little more sunshine in our lives and spend some time learning more about the wonderful food we can grow ourselves.

Pearls of Preparedness #32

ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Rufus, Grammarly and about 100 others - all are names for AI tools, Artificial Intelligence. It is truly a technology “explosion”. Everywhere we look there is some sort of discussion about Artificial Intelligence. This “explosion” creates a level of fear for many people. Fear of missing out, fear of the unknown, fear that machines will take over the world – that last one may come from me watching too many movies. But it seems likely that AI has and will take the place of many things we as people currently rely upon ourselves to do. It is truly amazing what things can be done with AI. The critical thing for each of us is to properly prepare ourselves spiritually so we do not become confused when AI generated false topics come our way, and they will.

We have been told numerous times in the past that we must rely upon our ability to follow The Spirit and develop a deeper relationship with our Savior. As a regular social media user, I have begun to see more often how AI can be used by self-serving unscrupulous people to mislead or take advantage of others. Most platforms are designed to be helpful and honest but can be twisted and used to promote someone’s own personal self-serving agenda. President Nelson stated, “In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”  President Oaks reiterated his words in Feb of this year to BYU students. I have found YouTube in particular to be one of the best repositories of valuable information to help people. I continue to use it nearly every day but always tread carefully.

When I first started to send out information to members about 6 years ago, I started a website that could be used by members or anyone else. I receive no renumeration for its use, just glad to help people with their preparedness efforts. I clearly state how it is NOT a Church sanctioned website but always try to follow the Church guidelines. I chose the name jjprep.org, using letters from our first names. There is a lot of information compiled on jjprep.org and as always, it is always up to each person to decide what is useful for them, just like any other resource we use.

AI, internet websites and social media platforms are all going to be here for a long time. They will continue to be battlefields for good vs evil but that should not stop us from gleaning the information that is available to help us to learn and understand. Our General Authorities clearly understand this and use them as well. These social media battlefields are no different than previous generations using books and writings to either help or mislead people. We have always been reminded to get the most out of the “best books”.  As always, it is up to us to decide how we will use these things for good and promoting the Gospel principles that we know to be true. It is only through our ability to receive personal revelation that can we safely do this.

Pearls of Preparedness #33

Recently I mentioned how now is the time to get going with our gardens. That statement remains true today. Don’t let the opportunity escape you. It is true that gardening takes time, time we often think we do not have. I would challenge that notion. Some of the busiest people I know grow a garden. I’m not talking about a huge stretch of land, plowed up into rows, but well-placed plants in selected areas all growing some of their favorite things.

How do they do it? The same way building a strong testimony works. First, by starting with desire, we will always put more focus on those things we desire most. Next – learn. Learning is key for anything we wish to accomplish. Whether it is coming to know some key element of the Gospel or just how to grow a tomato or zucchini plant we can learn from those who know. One thing we have learned this year is to tell male and female flowers on our zucchini plants to achieve better fruit. Who knew? More importantly, this year we have learned to love the book of Genesis in the Old Testament and our Savior’s influence during that time.

As we continue to learn and to understand what we can, we have to add in faith. Watching a little seed germinate into a seedling is amazing. Similarly watching a new convert grow in the Gospel through faith also strengthens us as well.

Eventually, we will have plants that produce good food or flowers. As we look at ourselves when we make and keep sacred covenants, we begin to see good fruits from our own labors.

Sometimes the plants may become sick often from external influences or neglect and need special attention. This is where the Master Gardener comes in. This is someone who knows the problem with our sick plant(s) and can help them become stronger.   We are like the garden of life - we have our own Master Gardener, our Savior Jesus Christ. He can help us turn from downtrodden to strong and fruitful once again.  Yes - it is garden season. More importantly it is also Easter Season. Now is the time to prepare for both.

Pearls of Preparedness #34

For most students, Spring Break is now over. What comes next is preparation for quizzes, tests and Final exams – ICK. The key word here is preparation. Basically, preparation is our best effort to develop the outcome we prefer to upcoming events.

Maybe it’s preparing for math exams or is it science or history that is the most challenging. Regardless of what “it” is, we can best facilitate a better outcome if we prepare for it.

OK – so here is the quiz for all of us - What are some of the areas we feel most vulnerable about in the future? This could be just a few items or perhaps a long list. The important thing is to think about the area or areas that are the greatest concerns for you and your family and come up with a plan to prepare for them.

One of the things that I am personally trying to learn is how to better serve my brothers and sisters and neighbors. One way to help me with this is for you to let me know what areas concern you the most. With that information I can address them or I will find someone who can. The best way is to drop me an email at jharry33@gmail.com . That email is used primarily for my preparedness efforts. I also have it tied to my website which is designed to help others find answers to their preparedness questions – It is jjprep.org. Hopefully, you will take the opportunity to check it out. There may be some of the answers for your personal quiz there.

We just celebrated Easter and Conference on the same day. Wow! Even though we did not have to take a test afterwards, it is important that we understand the answers to our personal trials can be found in the words of the prophets and General Authorities. Keeping our covenants is a great way to always have His Spirit to be with us so we can past the tests of what is true and what is not. The adversary is working hard to deceive and distract us. Ready or Not – Now is the time to better prepare ourselves and others in our sphere of influence to be ready to meet the Savior.

Pearls of Preparedness # 35

   Preparedness, preparation, readiness, what do these all really mean? We hear about readiness from a wide variety of sources. Ready.gov. a government website. Utility companies, The Red Cross and a host of other institutions share their ideas about how we become better prepared for life’s challenges as they see them.

   The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has been preaching, teaching and I would say exhorting the concepts of preparedness to its members and the world.  This concept was one that attracted Janet and I to the Church to begin with, only to hear truths about The Book of Mormon, latter day prophets and a Savior who loves us, despite ourselves.

   Metaphorically, we can easily put away a can of beans for when life throws us a curveball. There are other times when that curveball comes straight at us and we are not sure what to do exactly. Those are most often the times when we are challenged spiritually or emotionally. One example may be the recent sudden passing of a dear friend that we served closely with for years in The Church. These are times that are difficult to prepare for. The only way we can prepare for these events is to live nearer to our Savior. I did not say to just draw nearer but to live near Him. As we live our lives near Him, even though we may not understand why these things happen in every case, we can understand that life goes on both here and in the Spirit World.

   Our heart is full and our eyes may leak but living near Him will give us the comfort that only He can bring.

   I know I used the curveball metaphor in a couple of places, probably because I am a baseball fan, taught by grandparents who loved baseball and loved me. I did not know then what I know now about how life takes those close to us, but it is sure comforting to know a bit more about them now.

   Keep putting the beans on the shelf, but most importantly find the best way to first draw near to our Savior and then live there.

Pearls of Preparedness # 36

Time to get down to brass tacks! It seems that statement originated when furniture was being pulled apart for renewal and it was necessary to take apart everything down to where the brass tacks, holding things together were located. In other words, get down to the basics.

I have sent out over 130 of these Pearls, Blurbs, or whatever we call them, and, in every case, they are designed to help remind us to take care of some basic needs.

If you don’t remember during the pandemic how important toilet paper, disinfectants and a lot of foods became unavailable, please do your best to remember or at least look back about 5 years.

Our Church just donated over 10 MILLION pounds of food to various food banks all over the US. Why did they do this? Is it because they had too much and just wanted to get rid of it? Of course, not – it is because these food banks, designed to help people meet basic needs are running short on supplies. We hear this on the news all of the time.

Why is this? Numerous issues cause these shortages, and all a person has to do is read a few world news articles to see that there are good reasons to consider the need to become better prepared.

I am not a doom and gloom person. I always recall President Hinckley talking about how bright the future looks and I agree. That is not to say there will not be challenges we must face. A couple of recent news articles have really captured some attention. There is a discussion about the parasite infecting cattle in Texas. This could adversely impact beef prices in the future. To make matters much worse, weather forecasters are calling for one of the strongest El Nino on record. This has the potential to cause serious droughts in some areas and heavy rainfall and flooding in others, all of which will impact food supplies worldwide!

As Joseph taught Pharoah and the Egyptians there would be a season of plenty and a time to prepare, followed by seasons of shortages. We have been instructed for most of 100 years to prepare every needful thing during our times of plenty so that we can have the basic necessities for our families and neighbors. Please check out our website dedicated to helping people find answers to preparedness questions. Any questions or concerns, please contact us via the jharry33@gmail,com dedicated email address listed on the website. The website jjprep.org is not an authorized church website but follows information from The Church Handbook of Instructions. It provides no financial gain, is free to view and dedicated to help us all become better prepared.

Pearls of Preparedness # 37

I received a very insightful comment regarding these Pearls recently. It was said that I must feel like a flight attendant giving safety instructions before a flight takes off. The plane can’t leave without them, yet nobody listens! I am not like Noah or Joseph who was the head of the Egyptian government under Pharoah. I am a person who lived through many times as an older child and teen with little to no food, in a family with a father rarely present and a mother who had difficulty deciding whether to make a house payment or keep the electricity and water on at our house. I know what the lean years are like versus the years of plenty. I choose plenty. No matter the circumstances I learned that with a little discipline just about anyone can build their food resources. With the Lord’s help and inspiration, we can all become better prepared.

Here is just 1 current problem and some possible solutions: Cattle herd numbers are now the lowest in 75 years and the prospect of extremely poor weather conditions in the very near future will not help. This means beef prices will continue to increase challenges for the protein so many want or need. Chicken/poultry? Currently a much lower cost protein but as chicken demands increase, prices will too. Also, flocks can be wiped out very quickly as we recently experienced when eggs shot up over $5+/dozen and shortages of chicken to prepare. High protein vegetables? A great source of protein and many are still at affordable prices or grow your own and store some for future use.

Our Church has some great solutions in the form of long-term storage available at the Home Storage Center (HSC) located at the Bishop’s Storehouse. Online ordering is also available on these products and shipping may cost less than the gas to go to the HSC. If you have never been there, go and talk to those serving there. You will find that many if not most of their sales go to our non-member friends. The foods there are mainstay staples that can provide protein and calories that are available for long term storage. Our local HSC is located at 8401 24th Ave, Sacramento, CA 95826.

Always remember – DO NOT go in debt for food storage. Avoid debt at all costs. We have had years of counsel regarding finances and avoiding debt. Know what your resources are versus what your needs are (not wants, needs) and hopefully you will be able to put aside some extras for difficult times. Check out the Church website for great ideas. The old providentliving.org web address now takes you to a page on the main church website. You will find there are topics with information for all of us to use to become more self-reliant and help others do the same..

Pearls of Preparedness # 38

As I sat down to read some scriptures on the Church Website, I was drawn to one of my dashboard items, the Church Online Store. It is easily found on the Church Website which everybody should have access to. If you don’t- get it. As President Kimball always said – “Do it Now!”

The Online Store has so many wonderful items but the one I will focus on this time says “Food Storage” with its drop-down menu.

Under that heading you will find several good, basic products to enhance your food storage. There are 18 different items that can be purchased in a case lot and believe me – the shipping is very inexpensive. Here is a list of the food storage items available online. 

Freeze dried Strawberries                  Red Wheat                                 White Wheat

Apple Slices                                                Carrots                                           Onions

Potato Flakes                                             Rice                                                  Spaghetti Bites

Black Beans                                               Pinto Beans                                White Beans

Quick Oats                                                  Reg Oats                                        Sugar

Macaroni                                                      Milk                                                  Flour

There are also some other items related to food storage, but these focus on the food.

Additionally, Church books, clothing, media and other things can all be purchased on separate tabs.

So here is the 3-step challenge – 1 – make sure you have access to the Church website. 2 – find the online Store. 3 -find something your family can use. On a personal note, I love these instant potato flakes because they only have potatoes in them, not a whole bunch of sodium or other additives. The apple slices are like snacks, and the dry milk is surprisingly good.

If you do not want a full case for any reason, go to the local Home Storage Center and buy 1 of the items you are interested in. The prices per item are the same as online.

Now the Bonus Challenge – be a good missionary, check these things out and tell a neighbor or friend!

Pearls of Preparedness #39

How would you like to buy eggs for $0.61/dozen? Or how about beef round steak for $1.89/lb. and Milk for $1.58/gallon? Seems great, doesn’t it? Well, this is not 1975. These were average prices for those items then.

If we take inflation into account, however, we see that those 1975 prices are actually higher than what we pay on average today. Taking inflation into account, milk would be $4.92/gallon, today, the average price is $4.03. Round steak would cost $11.85/lb. compared to today’s average price of $9.06/lb. and our wonderful eggs would have an adjusted price of $5.27/dozen compared to about $3.00/dozen today. Plus, today they are free range!

The list goes on and goes to show that economies are like a roller coaster. Sometime prices go up and sometimes down. What we need to do is always be on guard for the best quality at the best prices. Sometimes a cheaper price is not better but many times it is simply less expensive, or the store just wants to get people in the store to sell the higher markup items. So, how do we do this? Have you ever noticed that all of the major supermarket chains send out a weekly ad each Wednesday with their sale prices? This is a great place to start. Find the food that you and your family eats and stock up when it is at a low point, on sale.

Another way to save is looking for food on clearance. There are some great deals to be had. Read the labels and pay attention especially regarding fresh meat. Older meat can spoil quickly and if it is poultry, it may already be spoiled. The USDA says, make good use of your nose and senses if shopping for these items on clearance.

Please do not fall into the trap with canned goods that say, “best if used by” That food is still safe to use well beyond that date according to the USDA. If it says, “use by”, then do so. There have been several studies showing exactly what I am saying. I have that information listed on our website jjprep.org - Check it out under the heading Food Safety and Preservation.

Another great way to save is to buy a large quantity at a low price and split it with another family or two. There are co-op groups that do this all the time. This can be done with friends and neighbors.

There are a lot of great ways to save on our food for daily use and for storage. I am certain many of you have some great ideas. Please do not hesitate to share them with me and others. If enough of you share them, I will even create a new page on the jjprep.org website with your ideas. This could be fun!

Preparedness Pearl #40

Based upon the lack of response for the last few Pearls, I feel like maybe no one needs to know anything more about food storage or Preparedness efforts that we should already be engaged in. If this is not true, please let me know

But for now - Let’s go a different direction this time.

Security – this is something we all need and deserve. Security, in its various forms, is becoming a bit more elusive. The types of security range from health and auto insurance to personal and home security protection to security of our digital self.

Digital self?  What is that? As we interact with various websites and chatbots we do so by changing our responses into a digital format that our computers understand. At the same time, AI transforms its digital self into something that seems recognizable to us.

This is where our personal, financial and spiritual security may become vulnerable. Elder Gong recently shared a video specifically addressing the topic of spiritual security while addressing the use of artificial intelligence. His insight and understanding of artificial intelligence are incredible.

Elder Gong’s message is titled - Faith, Dignity, and Human Flourishing: Hearing God’s Voice in an Age of Artificial Intelligence and can be found on the Church’s website in the Gospel Library.  (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media?lang=eng) His discussion coincides precisely with President Nelson’s statement in April 2018 "In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost". He shared this message during his address, "Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives".

Is this a part of preparedness? Absolutely! We must prepare ourselves and our families in ways never before seen. Not just food and water. Not just physical and other temporal protections but preparing ourselves spiritually. According to President Nelson whom we have sustained as a prophet, seer and revelator, our spiritual lives require it.

A good friend of mine developed a website designed to help members, youth and leaders to better understand the influences of AI and also see how well we can discern real or AI. I personally did pretty well but definitely have more to learn. When appropriate, I hope to share that with our stake as well.

Preparedness Pearl #41

First time ever! I am including a section from the previous Pearl – the reason is clear. This message should be viewed and understood due to the importance for the people of our day of the topics discussed. In case you missed it the last time - Here it is:

Elder Gong’s message is titled - Faith, Dignity, and Human Flourishing: Hearing God’s Voice in an Age of Artificial Intelligence and can be found on the Church’s website in the Gospel Library.  (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media?lang=eng) His discussion coincides precisely with President Nelson’s statement in April 2018 "In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost". President Nelson shared this message during his address, "Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives".

Previously we referenced security which is found in many forms. The messages from Elder Gong and President Nelson are clearly messages of spiritual security.

We have all at least heard of AI – Artificial Intelligence. Understanding what is true and what is artificial have always been paramount in our search for truth before artificial intelligence was even a forethought. Throughout the years, scams, dishonesty and corruption have always been with us.

A friend of mine, John Meyer, was the Stake President in the Chico Stake during the 2018 Camp Fire that destroyed Paradise and other nearby communities. I personally know individuals who barely escaped that tragedy. John shared some great details of that event in subsequent years with me. He has also been at the forefront of guiding people in his area on the topic of Artificial Intelligence. He is deeply connected to AI personally and spent about 6 months developing an application for the Saints to better understand AI. He has allowed me to share the website he developed. It is www.ChicoStake.ai

AI is not going away. It is not inherently evil. Like so many new developments meant to bless the lives of people, the adversary will always find ways to corrupt their use.

Please be sure to check out John’s application to gain a bit more clarity on AI. When you do, make sure your family members also get a chance to review it. The website is designed to help all ages. 

With understanding we can forge new ways to utilize AI to move the Lord’s work forward while protecting ourselves and our families from its inappropriate use.

Preparedness Pearl #42

Recently while driving with my son-in-law in the passenger seat, I asked him a hypothetical question about something specific. His response was “Not my circus, not my monkey”. I am glad I didn’t drive into a parked car when I started laughing at that statement. Of course, he was saying that he didn’t need to worry about the question I asked because it did not affect him.

For a few years now, I have been sending out these Preparedness Pearls and before that, they were called Preparedness Blurbs. All of these are attempts to raise the consciousness of the Saints in our area about the need to be prepared for whatever may come along. I know that each of us has different challenges that we face regardless of who we are.

In these “Pearls”, there have been topics that are related to personal, family and local preparedness. Some specific topics have included food storage, water storage, spiritual preparedness and most recently cyber security and online protection. Hopefully, these are topics that are helpful to keep us motivated to be better prepared for events in our busy lives. There is so much lately about cyber security, AI and online protection – these are areas that need to be addressed consistently. Action Item - A couple of first steps would be to check our credit reports and our online statements to identify potential fraud or errors in our accounts.

In the movie, The Wizard of Oz, the part that was the scariest to me as a child were those awful flying monkeys. When Dorothy started down the yellow brick road in the Wizard of Oz, she was told to watch out for: lions and tigers and bears, good advice. Still, it was those flying monkeys that were the worst. Today, those monkeys can represent all of the various ways others use digital media and artificial intelligence to mislead and sometimes rob people of their resources and security. This means it is our circus so we must make sure we are watching out for the “flying monkeys” every day.

For our younger friends who are not familiar with the Wizard of Oz, I am always drawn to Star Wars – the ultimate good vs. evil movie. The Jedi Force vs. the dark side. Remember, there is only do or do not – there is no try. Nike Corp. and President Kimball both agree. Nike said “Just Do It” – President Kimball said “Do it Now”

Here is the bottom line – be watchful always. Pay close attention to what you read, hear or even think you see. As Elder Gong pointed out, we must hear God’s voice in this time of artificial intelligence and as President Nelson stated, it is the only way we will be able to survive spiritually.

Preparedness Pearl #43

Recently we have been going through some of our boxes of old photographs. Some we took with several from other family members. Most are pictures of family and friends. With some of the pictures we had to try to remember who they were if there was nothing written on the back One such picture was of a baby roughly 6 months old. The picture was black and white and obviously very old and done in a studio. With no note on it, we had to resort to AI to help us figure out the approximate age of the picture. After AI sifted through records at various institutions it was determined, based upon the clothing and especially the little shoes worn that this picture was most likely from 1929. It just so happens that my mom was born in the last part of 1928. I suspected this was my mom and apparently it is.

The reason for the story is twofold – 1 – keep better books of remembrances. We have been asked to do this for many years. We can do better at writing down or identifying people for others that may come along. 2- If AI can reconcile the information that it reads on a picture with data it finds at various university libraries and other institutions, it can certainly reconcile data about us and others. It is very powerful and can easily be used to mislead people. Each company’s software is its own chatbot whether it is ChatGPT, Gemini, Alexa or any of several out there. When using them we “chat”.

Another quick story to hopefully make this point clearer. Not long ago, I was in a “chat” with a chatbot doing some research. After about 20 minutes using this chatbot, I found myself thinking that what I was doing was very much like texting, emailing or some kind of communication with another person. I knew that was not the case and proceeded to get to the conclusion of my research. It became clear to me that it is probably easy for some people to build a relationship with the chatbot they are using.

With our personal information that can be found in so many places each of us can be at risk. That sort of power and influence is exactly the sort of thing criminals like to use.  Be sure to protect your information. ID theft and cyber-crimes are the leading crimes in the US today. Always be prepared to know what information you are sending and where it is going. If you are not certain, take extra steps to find someone you trust to help you. Cyber criminals prey on whoever they can, especially those who make online mistakes.

AI and the internet are magnificent tools when properly utilized. Just remember, it is a tool. It is much like a hammer. Properly used, it will drive the nail. Improperly used and our hands and fingers are at risk. Yes, I know this from personal experience.

Preparedness Pearl #44

I have felt very impressed to try to bring to light more about the importance of preparation regarding scams and cybercrimes. Cybercrime is the #1 crime in the USA.

Buried inside the internet is something referred to as the “dark web”. This is where a lot of illegal untraceable and nefarious activities take place. It is no doubt called the dark web because the people using it prefer to operate in the shadows. Personally it reminds me of the Gadianton Robbers in The Book of Mormon. Like every other area where criminal activity takes place, we need to avoid it and use the defenses available to us to protect ourselves and our families.

Personal information can be bought or sold for only a few dollars on the dark web. Scammers are getting more sophisticated at trying to hook people into their nets. Phishing is a metaphor for scammers. “Phishing” refers to setting out their bait, setting a “hook” and finally reeling in their catch, just like the “fishing” we all know about. The bait can vary from emails, texts, phony websites and many other methods. The hook is when we simply click on something we don’t know about or give people information over the phone to name a couple of hooks. Once hooked the reeling or “catch” begins. This is when they have sufficient information to start to steal from us.

A couple of years ago, I was sent an email stating that someone had pictures of me doing something inappropriate which I knew was completely false and they wanted me to send money. I contacted a friend in law enforcement who works with cybercrime, and we agreed my best solution was to ignore it. Of course, nothing else came of it. In today’s world with the use of AI a person very likely could create pictures that are totally fake. We must take steps to protect our digital life and always be diligent about it. Remember, things we email or put on social media are never fully deleted.

There are numerous solutions to protect our digital existence. Some of these are expensive but some are not. One of the best places to start is by “freezing” our credit report at all of the credit reporting agencies. This will help to keep someone from setting up new credit accounts, but nothing is foolproof. Monitor your accounts. Protect your passwords and make them unique. Keep phones and computer operating systems up to date.  Always keep track of what is being charged on credit cards or taken from bank accounts. If you do not understand what to do next, find someone you trust that understands these things and learn all you can to be self-reliant as much as possible in the world of digital self-protection. Don’t feel pressured or act out of fear. When it comes to dealing with potential scammers – Stop - Follow the Spirit – if something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.

Preparedness Pearl #45

In case you were not aware – October is considered Cybersecurity Awareness Month – this is just one reason the latest Pearls have been dedicated to Cyber security. Whether you like it or not – we are all directly and indirectly involved in Cyber Warfare. As in any battle, we need to make sure our defenses are solid and as impenetrable as possible. When was the last time you updated the operating system on your phone or computer? These updates are often designed to specifically patch problems that have developed due to cyber criminals finding ways to capture data. Similarly, we need to make sure our Spiritual defenses are strong. The adversary is real and is constantly looking for holes in our spiritual defenses.

Much like the updates we need for our electronics to keep them safe, we need to know and understand what our modern-day prophets share with us. Consider these to be spiritual updates.  We also need to update our mental operating systems by better understanding the digital world we live in.

 Here are a few check points to consider:

·         Backup Data files, pictures and important information

·         Update computer and phone Operating Systems

·         Freeze credit reports at all 3 companies – Experian, Trans Union and Equifax      (takes about 5-10 min. each on their  website)

·         Secure email passwords with a unique password and install 2 factor authentication(2FA)

·         Be sure antivirus software is up to date.

These are all important steps – the best thing now is to pick one and act. Like Elder Bednar says – Act or be acted upon

Most people who have experienced malware or identity theft almost always say they didn’t think it would happen to them.

These steps are simply like all our other preparation efforts – the time to act is now.