Week 52 (for 2 people)

December 25th 2016

Week 52

We made it! I just want to leave you with a "few" quotes by Prophets, Apostles and Church leaders in our dispensation. Here is what they have to say about Food Storage and preparing every needful thing. 

Many thanks to my friend Angalee who have these compiled on her preparedness blog!

What have the prophets and apostles said about self-reliance and preparedness?

The following quotes can be found on lds.org.

• “We live in turbulent times. Often the future is unknown; therefore, it behooves us to prepare for uncertainties. When the time for decision arrives, the time for preparation is past.” (Thomas S. Monson, “Are We Prepared?”, Ensign, September 2014)

• “Paramount is the responsibility to coordinate personal and family preparedness efforts, including food storage.” (Thomas S. Monson, Bishops—Center Stage In Welfare, October 1980)

• “‘Provident living’. . . implies the [conserving] of our resources, the wise planning of financial matters, full provision for personal health, and adequate preparation for education and career development, giving appropriate attention to home production and storage as well as the development of emotional resiliency. . . . If we live wisely and providently, we will be as safe as in the palm of His hand.” (Spencer W. Kimball, “Welfare Services: The Gospel in Action,” Ensign, November 1977, p. 78; Visiting Teaching Message, Ensign, February 2010, p. 7)

• “More than ever before, we need to learn and apply the principles of economic self-reliance. We do not know when the crisis involving sickness or unemployment may affect our own circumstances. We do know that the Lord has decreed global calamities for the future and has warned and forewarned us to be prepared. For this reason the Brethren have repeatedly stressed a ‘back to basics’ program for temporal and spiritual welfare.” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Ezra T. Benson, Chapter 21: Principles of Temporal and Spiritual Welfare)

• “Never before in my life has the doctrine of self-reliance been more needed to be preached and encouraged for the benefit of the Saints.” (L. Tom Perry, “Becoming Self-Reliant,” Ensign, Nov. 1991, 65)

• “We have been instructed for years to follow at least four requirements in preparing for that which is to come. First, gain an adequate education. … Second, live strictly within your income and save something for a rainy day. … Third, avoid excessive debt. … Fourth, acquire and store a reserve of food and supplies that will sustain life.” (L. Tom Perry, “If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 36).

• “Temporal preparedness starts with a year’s supply of food, clothing, and, where possible, fuel. Basic foods and nonfoods are the first priority—grains, dry milk, sugar or honey, salt, oil, dried legumes, garden seeds, water, bedding, clothing, first-aid and cleaning supplies, and fuel. Then the supply should be expanded to round out the diet and ensure a proper nutritional balance—including foods the family normally eats and likes. Items such as axes, stoves, lanterns, shovels, and battery-powered radios are also important.” (Marvin K. Gardner, When Disaster Strikes: Latter-day Saints Talk about Preparedness, Ensign, January 1982)

• “We encourage families to have on hand this year’s supply; and we say it over and over and over and repeat over and over the scripture of the Lord where He says, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” How empty it is as they put their spirituality, so-called, into action and call him by his important names, but fail to do the things which he says.” (Spencer W. Kimball, Chapter 11: Provident Living: Applying Principles of Self-Reliance and Preparedness, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, (2006), 114–23)

• “Too often we bask in our comfortable complacency and rationalize that the ravages of war, economic disaster, famine, and earthquake cannot happen here. Those who believe this are either not acquainted with the revelations of the Lord, or they do not believe them. Those who smugly think these calamities will not happen, that they somehow will be set aside because of the righteousness of the Saints, are deceived and will rue the day they harbored such a delusion. The Lord has warned and forewarned us against a day of great tribulation and given counsel, through His servants, on how we can be prepared for these difficult times. Have we heeded His counsel?” (Ezra T. Benson, “Prepare for the Days of Tribulation”, October 1980)

• “We encourage you to be more self-reliant so that, as the Lord has declared, ‘notwithstanding the tribulation which shall descend upon you, … the church may stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world’. The Lord wants us to be independent and self-reliant because these will be days of tribulation. He has warned and forewarned us of the eventuality.” (Ezra T. Benson, “Prepare for the Days of Tribulation”, October 1980)

• “…Acquire and store a reserve of food and supplies that will sustain life [if local laws permit such storage]. Obtain clothing and build a savings account on a sensible, well-planned basis that can serve well in times of emergency. As long as I can remember, we have been taught to prepare for the future and to obtain a year’s supply of necessities. I would guess that the years of plenty have almost universally caused us to set aside this counsel. I believe the time to disregard this counsel is over. With events in the world today, it must be considered with all seriousness.” (L. Tom Perry, “If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear”, General Conference, October 1995)

• “Priesthood and Relief Society leaders should teach the importance of home storage and securing a financial reserve. These principles may be taught in ward councils or on a fifth Sunday in priesthood and Relief Society meetings. Church members can begin their home storage by storing the basic foods that would be required to keep them alive if they did not have anything else to eat. Depending on where members live, those basics might include water, wheat or other grains, legumes, salt, honey or sugar, powdered milk, and cooking oil. … When members have stored enough of these essentials to meet the needs of their family for one year, they may decide to add other items that they are accustomed to using day to day. Some members do not have the money or space for such storage, and some are prohibited by law from storing a year’s supply of food. These members should store as much as their circumstances allow. Families who do not have the resources to acquire a year’s supply can begin their storage by obtaining supplies to last for a few months. Members should be prudent and not panic or go to extremes in this effort. Through careful planning, most Church members can, over time, establish both a financial reserve and a year’s supply of essentials.” (First Presidency Letter, January 2002)

• "I have a sense and a feeling as we have watched some of these disasters in the world, that this is a time for us to learn and to prepare from these experiences. ...The preparation happens in our own homes. There are not enough tents in the world to furnish every person with a tent, unless the members of the Church have a tent in their own homes--a simple thing like that. And then the store house is pressed down, heaped over and running over in our own homes... How prepared are you? If an earthquake or an economic disaster happened, would you have enough water to drink for 24 hours? Would you be able to get by until help could come to you? Those are the kinds of things we need to be thinking about in our day and time. The Lord expects us to do our little part. Then He can bring on the miracles. Then we don't need to fear," (Julie B. Beck, Relief Society Training Broadcast, 2010).

• “Concerning clothing, we should anticipate future needs, such as extra work clothes and clothes that would supply warmth during winter months when there may be shortages or lack of heating fuel. Leather and bolts of cloth could be stored, particularly for families with younger children who will outgrow and perhaps outwear their present clothes. ‘The day will come,’ said President Wilford Woodruff, ‘when, as we have been told, we shall all see the necessity of making our own shoes and clothing and raising our own food. …’ (Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, p. 166.). (Ezra T. Benson, Prepare Ye, Ensign, January 1974)

• “The best food storage is not in welfare grain elevators but in sealed cans and bottles in the homes of our people. What a gratifying thing it is to see cans of wheat and rice and beans under the beds or in the pantries of women who have taken welfare responsibility into their own hands.” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “In The Arms of His Love”, October 2006)

• “The counsel to have a year’s supply of basic food, clothing, and commodities was given fifty years ago and has been repeated many times since. Every father and mother are the family’s store keepers. They should store whatever their own family would like to have in the case of an emergency…store a year’s supply…that might keep us form starving in case of emergency.” (James E. Faust, General Conference, April 1986)

• “We encourage families to have on hand a year’s supply; and we say it over and over and repeat over and over the scripture of the Lord where he says, ‘Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?’” (Spencer W. Kimball, “Family Preparedness”, April 1974 General Conference)

• “The Lord has said: ‘For if you will that I give unto you a place in the celestial world, you must prepare yourselves by doing the things which I have commanded you and required of you. …‘Behold, this is the preparation wherewith I prepare you, and the foundation, and the ensample which I give unto you, whereby you may accomplish the commandments which are given you; ‘That through my providence, notwithstanding the tribulation which shall descend upon you, that the church may stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world.’ And he further said, ‘If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.’” (Victor L. Brown, “The Church and the Family in Welfare Services”, April 1976)

• “Should the Lord decide at this time to cleanse the Church—and the need for that cleansing seems to be increasing—a famine in this land of one year’s duration could wipe out a large percentage of slothful members, including some ward and stake officers. Yet we cannot say we have not been warned.” (Ezra T. Benson, Conference Report, April 1965, pp. 121-125.)

• “We look to you stake presidents, bishops, and Relief Society presidents to teach the people the basic principles of self-reliance and independence. It is of critical importance that the members of the Church be converted to this principle. If the Church as a whole would practice these teachings, we would have no need to fear regardless of problems that will undoubtedly arise." (Spencer W. Kimball, “Family Preparedness”, April 1974 General Conference)

• “As we become more affluent and our bank accounts enlarge, there comes a feeling of security, and we feel sometimes that we do not need the supply that has been suggested by the Brethren. … We must remember that conditions could change and a year’s supply of basic commodities could be very much appreciated by us or others. So we would do well to listen to what we have been told and to follow it explicitly.” (Spencer W. Kimball, Chapter 11: Provident Living: Applying Principles of Self-Reliance and Preparedness, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, (2006), 114–23)

• “What is a provident provider? All of us are responsible to provide for ourselves and our families in both temporal and spiritual ways. To provide providently, we must practice the principles of provident living: joyfully living within our means, being content with what we have, avoiding excessive debt, and diligently saving and preparing for rainy-day emergencies. When we live providently, we can provide for ourselves and our families and also follow the Savior’s example to serve and bless others. Being provident providers, we must keep that most basic commandment, ‘Thou shalt not covet’ (Exodus 20:17). Our world is fraught with feelings of entitlement. Some of us feel embarrassed, ashamed, less worthwhile if our family does not have everything the neighbors have. As a result, we go into debt to buy things we can’t afford—and things we do not really need. Whenever we do this, we become poor temporally and spiritually. We give away some of our precious, priceless agency and put ourselves in self-imposed servitude. Money we could have used to care for ourselves and others must now be used to pay our debts. What remains is often only enough to meet our most basic physical needs. Living at the subsistence level, we become depressed, our self-worth is affected, and our relationships with family, friends, neighbors, and the Lord are weakened. We do not have the time, energy, or interest to seek spiritual things.” (Robert D. Hales, General Conference, April 2009)

• “Our success is never measured by how strongly we are tempted but by how faithfully we respond. We must ask for help from our Heavenly Father and seek strength through the Atonement of His Son, Jesus Christ. In both temporal and spiritual things, obtaining this divine assistance enables us to become provident providers for ourselves and others” (Robert D. Hales, General Conference, April 2009)

• “When we live providently, we can provide for ourselves and our families and also follow the Savior’s example to serve and bless others” (Robert D. Hales, General Conference, April 2009).

• “We have had many calamities in this past period. It seems that every day or two there is an earthquake or a flood or a tornado or distress that brings trouble to many people. I am grateful to see that our people and our leaders are beginning to catch the vision of their self-help… Now I think the time is coming when there will be more distresses, when there may be more tornadoes, and more floods, … more earthquakes. … I think they will be increasing probably as we come nearer to the end, and so we must be prepared for this.” (Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Reports, April 1974, pp. 183–84.)

• “I do not want to be a calamity howler. I don’t know in detail what’s going to happen in the future. I know what the prophets have predicted. But I tell you that the welfare program, organized to enable us to take care of our own needs, has not yet performed the function that it was set up to perform. We will see the day when we live on what we produce.” (Marion G. Romney, Conference Reports, April 1975, p. 165.)

• “Let’s do these things because they are right, because they are satisfying, and because we are obedient to the counsels of the Lord. In this spirit we will be prepared for most eventualities, and the Lord will prosper and comfort us. It is true that difficult times will come —for the Lord has foretold them—and, yes, stakes of Zion are ‘for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm.’ But if we live wisely and providently, we will be as safe as in the palm of His hand.” (Spencer W. Kimball, Chapter 11: Provident Living: Applying Principles of Self-Reliance and Preparedness, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, (2006), 114–23)

• “No amount of philosophizing, excuses, or rationalizing will ever change the fundamental need for self-reliance. This is so because: ‘All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, … as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence.’ The Lord declares that herein lies ‘the agency of man’, and with this agency comes the responsibility for self. With this agency we can rise to glory or fall to condemnation. May we individually and collectively be ever self-reliant. This is our heritage and our obligation.” (Spencer W. Kimball, Chapter 11: Provident Living: Applying Principles of Self- Reliance and Preparedness, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, (2006), 114–23)

• “The responsibility for each person’s social, emotional, spiritual, physical, or economic well- being rests first upon himself, second upon his family, and third upon the Church if he is a faithful member thereof. The individual is responsible for caring for himself and his family. The apostle Paul wrote, ‘But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.’ (1 Tim. 5:8.) This duty rests upon individuals for themselves, upon parents for their children, upon children for their aged parents and grandparents. This duty can be met only through the wise use of individual and family resources.” (Victor L. Brown, “The Church and Family in Welfare Services”, April 1976)

• “Teach your members to be self-reliant and not to look to others for their support.” (Victor L. Brown, “The Church and Family in Welfare Services”, April 1976)

• “No true Latter-day Saint, while physically or emotionally able, will voluntarily shift the burden of his own or his family’s well-being to someone else. So long as he can, under the inspiration of the Lord and with his own labors, he will supply himself and his family with the spiritual and temporal necessities of life.” (Spencer W. Kimball, Chapter 11: Provident Living: Applying Principles of Self-Reliance and Preparedness, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, (2006), 114–23)

• “The Lord has urged that his people save for the rainy days, prepare for the difficult times, and put away for emergencies, a year’s supply or more of bare necessities so that when comes the flood, the earthquake, the famine, the hurricane, the storms of life, our families can be sustained through the dark days.” (Spencer W. Kimball, Chapter 11: Provident Living: Applying Principles of Self-Reliance and Preparedness, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, (2006), 114–23)

• “Perhaps if we think not in terms of a year’s supply of what we ordinarily would use, and think more in terms of what it would take to keep us alive in case we didn’t have anything else to eat, that last would be very easy to put in storage for a year … just enough to keep us alive if we didn’t have anything else to eat. We wouldn’t get fat on it, but we would live; and if you think in terms of that kind of annual storage rather than a whole year’s supply of everything that you are accustomed to eat which, in most cases, is utterly impossible for the average family, I think we will come nearer to what President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., advised us way back in 1937.” (Harold B. Lee, In Welfare Conference, 1 October 1966.)

• “From the standpoint of food production, storage, handling, and the Lord’s counsel, wheat should have high priority. … Water, of course, is essential. Other basics could include honey or sugar, legumes, milk products or substitutes, and salt or its equivalent. The revelation to produce and store food may be as essential to our temporal welfare today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah.” (Ezra T. Benson, Ensign, Nov. 1980, p. 33.)

• “In all that we have said regarding family and individual preparedness, we must never lose sight of the fact that this entire responsibility comes to us from the Lord. He is our Father. It is through his love for us that he so teaches us. All that we have said must be undergirded by a spirit that is in harmony with his teachings. He is our source of inspiration as a Church, as families, and as individuals. He has promised us that if we are prepared, we need not fear. May we be blessed as leaders and as members to follow his counsel to be prepared, I pray humbly in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.” (Victor L. Brown, “The Church and Family in Welfare Services”, April 1976)

• “The giant earthquake, and the tsunami it sent crashing into the coasts around the Indian Ocean, is just the beginning and a part of what is to come… You remember the words from the Doctrine and Covenants which now seem so accurate: ‘And after your testimony cometh wrath and indignation upon the people. For after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that shall cause groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon the ground and shall not be able to stand. And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds. And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men’s hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people.’ But you and I know that the Lord has prepared places of safety to which he is eager to guide us….It will be our choice whether or not to move up or stay where we are. But the Lord will invite and guide us upward by the direction of the Holy Ghost. …I did not plan to speak to you about the hard times that are ahead and they are real, and they are coming.” (Henry B. Eyring, “Raise The Bar”, BYU-Idaho Devotional, January 25, 2005

• “In his vision of the future, Enoch saw that great tribulations would make necessary a means of preserving the Lord’s people upon the earth in the last days. That means is to gather the elect in Zion (see Moses 7:61–62). The Doctrine and Covenants declares that in addition to the true “center place,” the stakes of Zion would also be “for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth” (D&C 115:6).” (Enrichment B Establishing Zion, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, (2002), 369–374)

• “The Savior has always been the protector of those who would accept His protection. He has said more than once, ‘How oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not’. The Lord expressed the same lament in our own dispensation after describing the many ways in which He calls us to safety: ‘How oft have I called upon you by the mouth of my servants, and by the ministering of angels, and by mine own voice, and by the voice of thunderings, and by the voice of lightnings, and by the voice of tempests, and by the voice of earthquakes, and great hailstorms, and by the voice of famines and pestilences of every kind, and by the great sound of a trump, and by the voice of judgment, and by the voice of mercy all the day long, and by the voice of glory and honor and the riches of eternal life, and would have saved you with an everlasting salvation, but ye would not!’. There seems to be no end to the Savior’s desire to lead us to safety. And there is constancy in the way He shows us the path. He calls by more than one means so that it will reach those willing to accept it. And those means always include sending the message by the mouths of His prophets whenever people have qualified to have the prophets of God among them. Those authorized servants are always charged with warning the people, telling them the way to safety.” (Henry B. Eyring, “Finding Safety in Counsel”, General Conference, April 1997)

• “Looking for the path to safety in the counsel of prophets makes sense to those with strong faith. When a prophet speaks, those with little faith may think that they hear only a wise man giving good advice. Then if his counsel seems comfortable and reasonable, squaring with what they want to do, they take it. If it does not, they consider it either faulty advice or they see their circumstances as justifying their being an exception to the counsel. Those without faith may think that they hear only men seeking to exert influence for some selfish motive.” (Henry B. Eyring, “Finding Safety in Counsel”, General Conference, April 1997)

• “Another fallacy is to believe that the choice to accept or not accept the counsel of prophets is no more than deciding whether to accept good advice and gain its benefits or to stay where we are. But the choice not to take prophetic counsel changes the very ground upon which we stand. It becomes more dangerous. The failure to take prophetic counsel lessens our power to take inspired counsel in the future. The best time to have decided to help Noah build the ark was the first time he asked. Each time he asked after that, each failure to respond would have lessened sensitivity to the Spirit. And so each time his request would have seemed more foolish, until the rain came. And then it was too late.” (Henry B. Eyring, “Finding Safety in Counsel”, General Conference, April 1997)

• “From the standpoint of food production, storage, handling, and the Lord’s counsel, wheat should have high priority. “There is more salvation and security in wheat,” said Orson Hyde years ago, “than in all the political schemes of the world” (in Journal of Discourses, 2:207). Water, of course, is essential. Other basics could include honey or sugar, legumes, milk products or substitutes, and salt or its equivalent. The revelation to produce and store food may be as essential to our temporal welfare today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah.” (Ezra T. Benson, General Conference, October 1980)

• “We have tried to bring into sharp focus the importance and the relationship of both Church preparedness and family preparedness. We need both if we are to discharge our responsibilities and be fully prepared for the challenges that face us. In order to increase our Church preparedness, each ward should be involved in a production project, an employment program, and have access to a bishops commodity storehouse. To increase family preparedness, we need to develop a plan and implement it. In this manner we become more fully self-reliant.” (Victor L. Brown, “The Church and Family in Welfare Services”, April 1976)

• “Our bishop’s storehouses are not intended to stock enough commodities to care for all the members of the Church. Storehouses are only established to care for the poor and the needy. For this reason, members of the Church have been instructed to personally store a year’s supply of food, clothing, and, where possible, fuel. By following this counsel, most members will be prepared and able to care for themselves and their family members, and be able to share with others as may be needed.” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson, p.263-264, 267).

• “It is time to get our houses in order… There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “To The Boys and Men”, General Conference, Priesthood Session, October 1998)

• “If you are without bread, how much wisdom can you boast, and of what real utility are your talents, if you cannot procure for yourselves and save against a day of scarcity those substances designed to sustain your natural lives?” (Brigham Young, In Journal of Discourses, 8:68.)

• “For over 100 years we have been admonished to store up grain. ‘Remember the counsel that is given,’ said Elder Orson Hyde, “‘… Store up all your grain,’ and take care of it! … And I tell you it is almost as necessary to have bread to sustain the body as it is to have food for the spirit; for the one is as necessary as the other to enable us to carry on the work of God upon the earth.” (Journal of Discourses, vol. 5, p. 17.) And he also said: ‘There is more salvation and security in wheat, than in all the political schemes of the world. …’ (JD, vol. 2, p. 207.). (Ezra T. Benson, Prepare Ye, Ensign, January 1974)

• “Most of us have thought about how to prepare for storms. We have seen and felt the suffering of women, men, and children, and of the aged and the weak, caught in hurricanes, tsunamis, wars, and droughts. One reaction is to ask, ‘How can I be prepared?’ And there is a rush to buy and put away whatever people think they might need for the day they might face such calamities. But there is another even more important preparation we must make for tests that are certain to come to each of us. That preparation must be started far in advance because it takes time. What we will need then can’t be bought. It can’t be borrowed. It doesn’t store well. And it has to have been used regularly and recently. What we will need in our day of testing is a spiritual preparation. It is to have developed faith in Jesus Christ so powerful that we can pass the test of life upon which everything for us in eternity depends. That test is part of the purpose God had for us in the Creation.” (Henry B. Eyring, “Spiritual Preparedness: Start Early and Be Steady”, General Conference, October 2005)

• “When will all these calamities strike? We do not know the exact time, but it appears it may be in the not-too-distant future. Those who are prepared now have the continuing blessings of early obedience, and they are ready. Noah built his ark before the flood came, and he and his family survived. Those who waited to act until after the flood began were too late.” (Ezra T. Benson, Prepare Ye, Ensign, January 1974)

• “We cannot provide against every contingency. But we can provide against many contingencies. Let the present situation remind us that this we should do. As we have been continuously counseled for more than 60 years, let us have some food set aside that would sustain us for a time in case of need. But let us not panic nor go to extremes. Let us be prudent in every respect.” (Gordon B. Hinckley, General Conference, October 2002).

• “ …If we meet today’s problems with adequate preparation, there will be no need for panic preparation tomorrow.” (Victor L. Brown, “Preparation for Tomorrow”, October 1982)

• “All too often a family’s spending is governed more by their yearning than by their earning. They somehow believe that their life will be better if they surround themselves with an abundance of things. All too often all they are left with is avoidable anxiety and distress.”
  (Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Earthly Debts, Heavenly Debts”, April 2004)

• “We can begin ever so modestly. We can begin with a one week’s food supply and gradually build it to a month, and then to three months. I am speaking now of food to cover basic needs. As all of you recognize, this counsel is not new. But I fear that so many feel that a long-term food supply is so far beyond their reach that they make no effort at all. Begin in a small way, my brethren, and gradually build toward a reasonable objective. Save a little money regularly, and you will be surprised how it accumulates. Get out of debt and rid yourself of the terrible bondage that debt brings. We hear much about second mortgages. Now I am told there are third mortgages. Discipline yourselves in matters of spending, in matters of borrowing, in practices that lead to bankruptcy and the agony that comes therewith.” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “To The Men of The Priesthood”, General Conference, 2002)

• “Life is made up of small daily acts. Savings in food budgets come by pennies, not only by dollars. Clothing budgets are cut by mending stitch by stitch, seam by seam. Houses are kept in good repair nail by nail. Provident homes come not by decree or by broad brushstroke. Provident homes come from small acts performed well day after day. When we see in our minds the great vision, then we discipline ourselves by steady, small steps that make it happen.”(Barbara B. Smith, Ensign, Nov. 1980, p. 86)

• “It seems that safety in times of judgment is directly connected to the acceptance of prophets.” (Chapter 55: Revelation 12–16, New Testament Student Manual, 2014)

• “Again, the Lord warned those who will reject the inspired words of his representatives, in these words: ‘… and the day cometh that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles, shall be cut off from among the people.’” (Ezra T. Benson, Prepare Ye, Ensign, January 1974)

• “If the great and dreadful day of the Lord were near at hand when Elijah came 130 years ago, we are just one century nearer it today. But some will say: ‘But no! Elijah, you are wrong! … Surely you made a mistake!’ So many seem to think and say, and judging by their actions they are sure, that the world is bound to go on in its present condition for millions of years before the end will come. Talk to them; hear what they have to say—these learned men of the world. ‘We have had worse times,’ they say. ‘You are wrong in thinking there are more calamities now than in earlier times. There are not more earthquakes, the earth has always been quaking, but now we have facilities for gathering the news which our fathers did not have. These are not signs of the times; things are not different from former times.’ And so the people refuse to heed the warnings the Lord so kindly gives to them, and thus they fulfill the scriptures.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, In Conference Report, Apr. 1966, pp. 13, 15.)

• “But what if you have faithfully stored a year’s supply and it’s washed away in a flood or carried away by a tornado or burned up in a fire? ‘I found that the mental security of having a year’s food and fuel supply was even more important than the physical security,’ says Ruth V. Tingey of Lincoln, Massachusetts. ‘If our year’s supply had been destroyed, then, having been prepared and having helped others to have their supply of food, I would have felt free to ask for their support, and they would have given it without bitterness. When the Lord promises that if we are prepared we shall not fear), I think he means regardless.’” (Marvin K. Gardner, When Disaster Strikes: Latter-day Saints Talk about Preparedness, Ensign, January 1982)

• “We have a great welfare program with facilities for such things as grain storage in various areas. It is important that we do this. But the best place to have some food set aside is within our homes, together with a little money in savings. The best welfare program is our own welfare program. Five or six cans of wheat in the home are better than a bushel in the welfare granary.” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “To The Men of The Priesthood”, General Conference, 2002)

• “The strength of the Church welfare program lies in every family following the inspired direction of the Church leaders to be self-sustaining through adequate preparation. God intends for his Saints to so prepare themselves ‘that the church [as the Lord has said] may stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world’.” (Ezra T. Benson, Prepare Ye, Ensign, January 1974)

• “In Matthew, chapter 24, we learn of ‘famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes…’ . The Lord declared that these and other calamities shall occur. These particular prophecies seem not to be conditional. The Lord, with his foreknowledge, knows that they will happen. Some will come about through man’s manipulations; others through the forces of nature and nature’s God, but that they will come seems certain. Prophecy is but history in reverse —a divine disclosure of future events. Yet, through all of this, the Lord Jesus Christ has said: ‘… if ye are prepared ye shall not fear’.” (Ezra T. Benson, Prepare Ye, Ensign, January 1974)

• “How on the face of the earth could a man enjoy his religion when he had been told by the Lord how to prepare for a day of famine, when, instead of doing so, he had fooled away that which would have sustained him and his family.” (George Albert Smith, JD, vol. 12, p. 142.)

• “When will we learn these basic economic principles? However, ‘… when we really get into hard times,’ said President Clark, ‘where food is scarce or there is none at all, and so with clothing and shelter, money may be no good for there may be nothing to buy, and you cannot eat money, you cannot get enough of it together to burn to keep warm, and you cannot wear it,’ (Church News, November 21, 1953, p. 4.).” (Ezra T. Benson, Prepare Ye, Ensign, January 1974)

• “Let us not be dissuaded from preparing because of a seeming prosperity today, or a so- called peace.” (Ezra T. Benson, Prepare Ye, Ensign, January 1974)

• “If in 1936 we had told the Saints, ‘You would better prepare, because the time is coming when’ – remember, in 1936 the problem was money, – there was always enough to buy, but the problem today is something to buy, not money – if we had told you then that the time would come when you could not buy all the meat you wanted, and perhaps not any at times; that you could not get butter, and that you could not get sugar, and that you could not get clothing, and that the farmers could get no machinery, and so on down the whole list of things that you can not get now and that therefore you should prepare for a stormy day, we would have been laughed to scorn. But I say to you again, the advice then given is good today, and you would better prepare for the times ahead, that you may not be like the five foolish virgins with no oil in your lamps.” (J. Reuben Clark, Jr. “Church News,” March 2, 1946)

• “…when we really get into hard times, where food is scarce or there is none at all, and so with clothing and shelter, money may be no good for there may be nothing to buy, and you cannot eat money, you cannot get enough of it together to burn to keep you warm, and you cannot wear it.” (President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Church News, November 21, 1953, p.4)

• “There is a wise old saying ‘Eat it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without’. Thrift is a practice of not wasting anything. Some people are able to get by because of the absence of expense. They have their shoes resoled, they patch, they mend, they sew, and they save money. They avoid installment buying, and make purchases only after saving enough to pay cash, thus avoiding interest charges. Frugality means to practice careful economy.” (James E. Faust, The Responsibility for Welfare Rests with Me and My Family, April 1986)

• “‘The time is about ripe,’ said President Lee, ‘for the demonstration of the power and efficacy of the Lord’s Plan which He designed as ‘a light to the world, and to be a standard for my people, and for the Gentiles to seek to it.’’ (Deseret News, Church section, December 20, 1941, p. 7; see also D&C 45:9.) May we ever remember the Lord’s promise: ‘… if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.’ Let us live the gospel fully, and may we recognize the infallibility of God’s inspired word— whether by his “… own voice …” or the “voice of [his] my servants, it is the same.” (D&C 1:38.) The days ahead are sobering and challenging. Oh, may we be prepared spiritually and temporally, I pray humbly in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.” (Ezra T. Benson, Prepare Ye, Ensign, January 1974)

• “We do not know when the calamities and troubles of the last days will fall upon any of us as individuals or upon bodies of the Saints. … We can rest assured that if we have done all in our power to prepare for whatever lies ahead, He will then help us with whatever else we need. … We do not say that all of the Saints will be spared and saved from the coming day of desolation. But we do say there is no promise of safety and no promise of security except for those who love the Lord and who are seeking to do all that he commands.” (Bruce R. McConkie, Ensign May 1979, p. 93)

• “As long as I can remember, we have been taught to prepare for the future and to obtain a year’s supply of necessities. . . . I believe the time to disregard this counsel is over. With the events in the world today, it must be considered with all seriousness. . . . Create a plan if you don’t already have one, or update your present plan . . . We are not in a situation that requires panic buying, but we do need to be careful in purchasing and rotating the storage that we’re putting away.” (L. Tom Perry, Ensign, Nov. 1995, 36)

• “This morning I would like to discuss food storage.  Let me suggest three or four things we can do.  Start by taking an inventory – take a physical count of all of your reserves.  This would be a great family home evening project if you’re prepared.  If not, it may be terribly embarrassing to you in front of your family. Imagine how the powerful testimony you bear concerning a living prophet must sound to your children, who know that as a family head you have been counseled for years to have a year’s reserve of food on hand.  We need to know where we are.  Every family should take an inventory – get all the facts. Second, decide what is needed to bring your present reserve levels to a year’s supply.  Then make a list and prepare a plan.  Consider first, what are the basics? – wheat (or grain from your locale), sugar or honey, dried milk, salt, and water.  Most of us can afford such basics.  Buy them from your monthly food budget allowance.  The Church discourages going into debt to buy for storage. Now that you know where you are and where you need to be, the third step is to work out a time schedule for when you will reach your goal.  I suggest that one year from today we ought to have a year’s supply of food in all active – and many inactive – members’ homes in the Church.  Where food storage violates the law of your land, then abide the law.  However, even in those cases we can plant gardens and fruit trees and raise rabbits or chickens.  Do all you can within the laws of your community, and the Lord will bless you when the time of need comes.” (Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone, “Food Storage,” Ensign, May 1976)

• “I bear my humble witness to you that the great God of heaven will open doors and means in a way we never would have supposed, to help all those who truly want a years supply…All we have to do is to decide, commit to it, and then keep the commitment. Miracles will take place…” (Vaughn J. Featherstone, Ensign, May 1976, pg. 116)

• “If you have paid your debts, if you have a reserve, even though it be small, then should storms howl about your head, you will have shelter for your wives and children and peace in your hearts.” (President Gordon B. Hinckley, Priesthood Session, General Conference, October 1998)

• “When it starts raining, it is too late to begin building the ark.  We need to listen to the Lord’s spokesman.  We need to calmly continue to move ahead and prepare for what will surely come. We need not panic or fear, for if we are prepared, spiritually and temporally, we and our families will survive any flood.  Our arks will float on a sea of faith if our works have been steadily and surely preparing for the future.” (Elder W. Don Ladd, Conference Report, October 1994, p. 37)

• “Are we wise stewards of our money? Do we spend less than we earn? Do we avoid unnecessary debt? Do we follow the counsel of the Brethren to ‘store sufficient food, clothing, and where possible fuel for at least one year’ [First Presidency letter, June 24, 1988]? Do we teach our children to value and not waste what they have? Do we teach them to work? Do they understand the importance of the sacred law of tithing? Do we have sufficient education and adequate employment? Do we maintain good health by living the Word of Wisdom? Are we free from the adverse effects of harmful substances?” (Joseph B. Wirthlin, Conference Report, Apr. 1999, 101; or “Inspired Church Welfare”, Ensign, May 1999, 78).

• “The Lord’s way of self-reliance involves in a balanced way many facets of life, including education, health, employment, family finances, and spiritual strength.” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Providing in the Lord’s Way”, Ensign, Nov. 2011)

• “Without self-reliance one cannot exercise … innate desires to serve. How can we give if there is nothing there? Food for the hungry cannot come from empty shelves. Money to assist the needy cannot come from an empty purse. Support and understanding cannot come from the emotionally starved. Teaching cannot come from the unlearned. And most important of all, spiritual guidance cannot come from the spiritually weak.” (Marion G. Romney, “The Celestial Nature of Self-Reliance”, Ensign, June 1984)

• “… One of the three areas emphasized in the mission of the Church is to perfect the Saints, and this is the purpose of the welfare program. This is not a doomsday program, but a program for our lives here and now, because now is the time for us to perfect our lives.” (Marion G. Romney, “The Celestial Nature of Self-Reliance”, Ensign, June 1984)

• “Doctrine and Covenants 29:34–35, tells us there is no such thing as a temporal commandment, that all commandments are spiritual. It also tells us that man is to be ‘an agent unto himself.’ Man cannot be an agent unto himself if he is not self-reliant. Herein we see that independence and self-reliance are critical keys to our spiritual growth.” (Marion G. Romney, “The Celestial Nature of Self-Reliance”, Ensign, June 1984)

• “Like two sides of a coin, the temporal and spiritual are inseparable.” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Providing in the Lord’s Way”, Ensign, Nov. 2011)

• “Today is the time to prepare—not during the crisis. What are we doing today to engraven in our souls the gospel principles that will uphold us in times of adversity?” (Elder Walter F. González, “Today is the Time”, Ensign, Nov. 2007)

• “Our Heavenly Father …. has lovingly commanded us to ‘prepare every needful thing’ (D&C 109:8) so that, should adversity come, we may care for ourselves and our neighbors and support bishops as they care for others. We encourage Church members worldwide to prepare for adversity in life by having a basic supply of food and water and some money in savings. …. We encourage you to store as much as circumstances allow.” (The First Presidency, All is Safely Gathered In: Family Home Storage)

• “We are carrying a message of self-reliance throughout the Church. Self-reliance cannot [be obtained] when there is serious debt hanging over a household. One has neither independence nor freedom from bondage when he is obligated to others.” (Gordon B. Hinckley Conference Report, Oct. 1998, 71; or “To the Boys and to the Men”, Ensign, Nov. 1998, 53).

• “Another important way we help our children learn to be provident providers is by establishing a family budget. We should regularly review our family income, savings, and spending plan in family council meetings. This will teach our children to recognize the difference between wants and needs and to plan ahead for meaningful use of family resources.” (Robert D. Hales, “Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually“, Ensign, May 2009)

• “By avoiding debt and saving money now, we are prepared for full-time Church service in the years to come.” (Robert D. Hales, “Coming to Ourselves: The Sacrament, the Temple, and Sacrifice in Service”, Ensign, May 2012)

• “The foundation of provident living is the law of the tithe. The primary purpose of this law is to help us develop faith in our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Tithing helps us overcome our desires for the things of this world and willingly make sacrifices for others. Tithing is the great equitable law, for no matter how rich or poor we are, all of us pay the same one-tenth of our increase annually (see D&C 119:4), and all of us receive blessings so great “that there shall not be room enough to receive [them]” (Malachi 3:10).” (Robert D. Hales, “Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually“, Ensign, May 2009)

• “Some of us feel embarrassed, ashamed, less worthwhile if our family does not have everything the neighbors have. As a result, we go into debt to buy things we can’t afford—and things we do not really need. Whenever we do this, we become poor temporally and spiritually. We give away some of our precious, priceless agency and put ourselves in self-imposed servitude. Money we could have used to care for ourselves and others must now be used to pay our debts. What remains is often only enough to meet our most basic physical needs. Living at the subsistence level, we become depressed, our self-worth is affected, and our relationships with family, friends, neighbors, and the Lord are weakened. We do not have the time, energy, or interest to seek spiritual things.” (Robert D. Hales, “Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually“, Ensign, May 2009)

• “All of us have an “imperative duty” to assist our youth in preparing for lifelong service by helping them become self-reliant. In addition to the spiritual self-reliance we have been discussing, there is temporal self-reliance, which includes getting a postsecondary education or vocational training, learning to work, and living within our means.” (Robert D. Hales, “Coming to Ourselves: The Sacrament, the Temple, and Sacrifice in Service“, Ensign, May 2012)

• “Independence and self-reliance are critical to our spiritual and temporal growth. Whenever we get into situations which threaten our self-reliance, we will find our freedoms threatened as well. If we increase our dependence on anything or anyone except the Lord, we will find an immediate decrease in our freedom to act. As President Heber J. Grant declared, ‘Nothing destroys the individuality of a man, a woman, or a child as much as the failure to be self-reliant’ (“Address,” Relief Society Magazine, Oct. 1937, p. 627)” (L. Tom Perry, Conference Report, Oct. 1991, 88; or “Becoming Self-Reliant”, Ensign, Nov. 1991, 64–65)

• “Man has been placed on earth to work out his salvation both temporally and spiritually. If all that had been needed for his eternal progression was spiritual in nature, this earth life would not have been necessary.” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine p. 141-142)

• “A great many have taken this counsel, and they are prepared…Who is deserving of praise? The persons who take care of themselves, or the ones who always trust in the great mercies of the Lord to take care of them? It is just as consistent to expect that the Lord will supply us with fruit when we do not plant the trees; or that, when we do not plow and sow and are saved the labor of harvesting, we should cry to the Lord to save us from want, as to ask Him to save us from the consequences of our own folly, disobedience and waste…”The Lord has said, ‘Gather and save the produce I put within your reach, and prepare against a day of want.” (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, vol. 12, p. 244)

• “all things temporal and all things spiritual . . . are associated with the Gospel.” (Teachings: John Taylor, Chapter 19: Temporal Blessings and the Law of Tithing)

• “Our primary purpose was to set up, in so far as it might be possible, a system under which the curse of idleness would be done away with, the evils of a dole abolished, and independence, industry, thrift and self respect be once more established amongst our people. The aim of the Church is to help the people to help themselves. Work is to be re-enthroned as the ruling principle of the lives of our Church membership” (Heber J. Grant, in Conference Report, Oct. 1936, 3).

• “We may find a time when we may need this wheat that our sisters are storing up; let us not be too confident about our affairs, and do what we can by way of helping them.” (Lorenzo Snow, Daughters In My Kingdom, Chapter 4: A Wide and Extensive Phere of Action)

• “Men and women who humbly plod along, doing their duty… who help look after the poor; and who honor the holy Priesthood, who do not run into excesses, who are prayerful in their families, and who acknowledge the Lord in their hearts, they will build up a foundation that the gates of hell cannot prevail against.” (Joseph F. Smith, (Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed., Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1939, pp. 7–8.)

• “If there is any one thing that will bring peace and contentment into the human heart, and into the family, it is to live within our means.” (Heber J. Grant, Teachings: Heber J. Grant, Principles of Financial Security)

• “Nothing destroys the individuality of a man, a woman, or a child as much as the failure to be self-reliant” (Heber J. Grant, Relief Society Magazine, Oct. 1937, p. 627)

• “How on the face of the earth could a man enjoy his religion when he had been told by the Lord how to prepare for a day of famine, when, instead of doing so, he had fooled away that which would have sustained him and his family.” (George Albert Smith, JD, vol. 12, p. 142.)

• “It is something to supply clothing to the [poorly] clad, to furnish ample food to those whose table is thinly spread, to give activity to those who are fighting desperately the despair that comes from enforced idleness, but after all is said and done, the greatest blessings that will accrue from the Church [welfare program] are spiritual. Outwardly, every act seems to be directed toward the physical: remaking of dresses and suits of clothes, canning fruits and vegetables, storing foodstuffs, choosing fertile fields for settlement—all seem strictly temporal, but permeating all these acts, inspiring and sanctifying them, is the element of spirituality.” (David O. McKay, Conference Report, Oct. 1936, p. 103.)

• “While it is sincerely hoped that members do not get caught up in any hysteria or obsessive preparations for disasters, the Church continues its long-standing practice of encouraging members to be self-reliant and reasonably prepared.” (Bishop H. David Burton, Presiding Bishop, “Conversation,” Ensign, Sept. 1999, 78.)

• “The closed door is a poignant reminder that ‘this life is the day for men to perform their labors’. …The fact that the five foolish virgins knocked, expecting to enter the marriage supper, indicates one of two things: (1) they thought they could prepare themselves after the Bridegroom came, or (2) knowing that they at first had not been prepared to enter, they were hoping for mercy. Either way, the door was shut” (Elder Lynn G. Robbins, “Oil in Our Lamps,” Ensign, June 2007, 47).

• “How often do Church members arise early in the morning to do the will of the Lord? How often do we say, “Yes, I will have home evening with my family, but the children are so young now; I will start when they are older”? How often do we say, “Yes, I will obey the commandment to store food and to help others, but just now I have neither the time nor the money to spare; I will obey later”? Oh, foolish people! While we procrastinate, the harvest will be over and we will not be saved. Now is the time to follow Abraham’s example; now is the time to repent; now is the time for prompt obedience to God’s will.” (Spencer W. Kimball, “The Example of Abraham”, June 1975).

• “Let’s not forget one of the most important lessons learned through the year’s supply program is the lesson of obedience.” (Burke Peterson, Church News, April 12, 1975)

• “Not only should you have a strong spiritual home, but you should have a strong temporal home. Avoid financial bondage by getting out of debt as soon as you can. Pay as you go and live within your income. There is wisdom in having on hand a year’s supply of food, clothing, and fuel if possible, and in being prepared to defend your family and your possessions and in taking care of yourself. I believe a man should prepare for the worst while working for the best. Some people prepare and don’t work, while others work and don’t prepare. Both are needed if you would be of maximum service to your God, your family, and your country.” (Ezra T. Benson, Talk given at the New England Rally for God, Family, and Country, Boston, Massachusetts, July 4, 1972)

• “We encourage you to be more self-reliant so that, as the Lord has declared, ‘notwithstanding the tribulation which shall descend upon you, … the church may stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world’. The Lord wants us to be independent and self-reliant because these will be days of tribulation. He has warned and forewarned us of the eventuality.” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson, (2014), 262–74)

• “Let us ever keep in mind that all material things are but a means to an end, that the end is spiritual, although the Lord is anxious and willing to bless his people temporally. He has so indicated in many of the revelations. He has pointed out, time and time again, that we should pray over our crops, over our livestock, over our households, our homes, and invoke the Lord’s blessings upon our material affairs. And he has promised that he will be there and ready and willing to bless us… The Lord will not do for us what we can and should do for ourselves. But it is his purpose to take care of his Saints. Everything that concerns the economic, social, and spiritual welfare of the human family is and ever will be the concern of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson, (2014), 262–74)

• “Brothers and sisters, peace and contentment come into our hearts when we live within our means. God grant us the wisdom and the faith to heed the inspired counsel of the priesthood to get out of debt, to live within our means, and to pay as we go—in short, to ‘pay thy debt, and live.’” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson, (2014), 262–74)

• “We live in a most exciting and challenging period in human history. As technology sweeps through every facet of our lives, changes are occurring so rapidly that it can be difficult for us to keep our lives in balance. To maintain some semblance of stability in our lives, it is essential that we plan for our future. I believe it is time, and perhaps with some urgency, to review the counsel we have received in dealing with our personal and family preparedness. We want to be found with oil in our lamps sufficient to endure to the end. President Spencer W. Kimball admonished us: ‘In reviewing the Lord’s counsel to us on the importance of preparedness, I am impressed with the plainness of the message. The Savior made it clear that we cannot place sufficient oil in our preparedness lamps by simply avoiding evil. We must also be anxiously engaged in a positive program of preparation.’ He also said: ‘The Lord will not translate one’s good hopes and desires and intentions into works. Each of us must do that for himself.’” (L. Tom Perry, “If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear,” General Conference, October 1995)

• “We teach emphatically the importance of self-reliance, the importance of education, of equipping our people so they can earn a living; the importance of saving and being prudent in the management of their affairs; the importance of setting something aside, a reserve, to take care of their needs if there should come a rainy day in their lives,” says President Hinckley (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [1997], 585).

• “Our emphasis on this subject is not grounds for crisis thinking or panic. Quite the contrary, personal and family preparedness should be a way of provident living, an orderly approach to using the resources, gifts, and talents the Lord shares with us. So the first step is to teach our people to be self-reliant and independent through proper preparation for daily life.” (Victor L. Brown, Essentials of Home Production and Storage, 1978)

• “Priesthood bearers are led by these promises to prepare themselves and their families for the Lord’s appearing. There is no need to be anxious about events leading up to the Second Coming. Let us instead be filled with gratitude for our understanding of what lies ahead. Let us appreciate that we are in charge of our own world, being the Lord’s agents over that which He has entrusted to us. The formula is simple: Be faithful. Unencumber your life. Lay up in store.” (Keith B. McMullin, Lay Up In Store, Ensign, May 2007)

• “The prepared family has sufficient stores to take care of basic needs for a minimum of one year. Further, they are, where possible, actively involved in the growing, canning, and sewing, and production of their year’s supply.” (Victor L. Brown, General Conference, October 1975)

• “Not only should we have strong spiritual homes, but we should have strong temporal homes. We should avoid bondage by getting out of debt as soon as we can, pay as we go, and live within our incomes. There is wisdom in having on hand a year’s supply of food, clothing, fuel (if possible), and in being preparing to defend our families and our possessions and to take care of ourselves. I believe a man should prepare for the worst while working for the best.” (Ezra T. Benson, Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 263-264)

• “The Lord has warned and forewarned us against a day of great tribulation and given us counsel, through His servants, on how we can be prepared for these difficult times. Have we heeded His counsel? Be faithful, my brothers and sisters, to this counsel and you will be blessed—yes, the most blessed people in all the earth. You are good people. I know that. But all of us need to be better than we are. Let us be in a position so we are able to not only feed ourselves through the home production and storage, but others as well. May God bless us to be prepared for the days which lie ahead, which may be the most severe yet.” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson, (2014), 262–74)

• “The Lord desires his Saints to be free and independent in the critical days ahead. But no man is truly free who is in financial bondage.” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson, (2014), 262–74)

• “A little dip in the economy found the membership without oil for their lamps. Immediately it was necessary for those not adequately prepared to turn to the Church for assistance. The results indicate that training of families in basic principles of self-reliance and independence over the past years has not been as effective as it should have been. With such alarming results we must remind ourselves that the Church welfare system was never designed or intended to care for the healthy member who, as a result of his poor management or lack of preparation, has found himself in difficulty. It was designed to assist the membership in case of a large, physical disaster, such as an earthquake or a flood. It was designed to assist the ill, the injured, the incapacitated, and to rehabilitate them to a productive life. In far too many cases, members who should be making use of their own preparedness provisions are finding that there is nothing there and that they have to turn to the Church.” (L. Tom Perry, “The Need to Teach Personal and Family Preparedness,” April 1981)

• “It is time to ask ourselves, What has created the problem of placing such a heavy burden on the Church to supply our welfare needs? My analysis of this problem would lead me to believe that, as leaders, we have spent far too much time in administering relief and far too little in prevention by having our families prepared to administer to their own needs. It is time to teach the basics—again. It is time to make the number one priority of our welfare efforts personal and family preparedness. We must prepare now so that in time of need more of our members will be able to draw upon their own preparedness and not have to seek assistance from the Church.” (L. Tom Perry, The Need to Teach Personal and Family Preparedness, April 1981)

• “No self-respecting Church member will voluntarily shift the responsibility for his own maintenance to another. Furthermore, a man not only has the responsibility to care for himself; he also has the responsibility to care for his family.” (Marion G. Romney, The Basics of Church Welfare, address to the Priesthood Board, 6 Mar. 1974, p. 2.)

• “The home must be the heart of the welfare program. We must focus our training of personal and family preparedness to reach the family organization. We must teach that every family should be headed by an executive committee comprised of a husband and wife who will set aside sufficient time to plan for their family needs. If it is a single-parent family or an individual living alone, there is still need to organize time and thought to establish goals for meeting needs. It must start here.” (L. Tom Perry, The Need to Teach Personal and Family Preparedness, April 1981)

• “The foundation of the Church welfare program is personal and family preparedness. The organizational support is in place to train and prepare the membership in this basic responsibility. What is needed is for each priesthood and Relief Society leader to place the proper priority on this important work.” (L. Tom Perry, The Need to Teach Personal and Family Preparedness, April 1981)

• “We have always dignified work and reproved idleness. Our books, our sermons, our leaders, including particularly our present President, have glorified industry. The busy hive of the honeybee Deseret–has been our emblem. Work with faith is a cardinal point of our theological doctrine, and our future state–our heaven–is envisioned in terms of eternal progression through constant labor.” (Stephen L. Richards, In Conference Report, Oct. 1939, p. 65.)

• “ …Priesthood and Relief Society, working together, bring the family to a realization that personal and family preparedness is living the gospel.” (L. Tom Perry, The Need to Teach Personal and Family Preparedness, April 1981)

• “Relief Society stands for self-reliance.” (Gordon B. Hinckley, In The Arms of His Love”, October 2006)

• “Let us work for what we need. Let us be self-reliant and independent. Salvation can be obtained on no other principle. Salvation is an individual matter, and we must work out our own salvation in temporal as well as in spiritual things.” (Marion G. Romney, In Welfare Services Meeting Report, 2 Oct. 1976, p. 13.)

• “It is the rule of our financial and economic life in all the world that interest is to be paid on borrowed money. May I say something about interest? Interest never sleeps nor sickens nor dies; it never goes to the hospital; it works on Sundays and holidays; it never takes a vacation; it never visits nor travels; it takes no pleasure; it is never laid off work nor discharged from employment; it never works on reduced hours. … Once in debt, interest is your companion every minute of the day and night; you cannot shun it or slip away from it; you cannot dismiss it; it yields neither to entreaties, demands, or orders; and whenever you get in its way or cross its course or fail to meet its demands, it crushes you.” (Reuben J. Clark, In Conference Report, Apr. 1938, p. 103.)

• “Fathers, another vital aspect of providing for the material needs of your family is the provision you should be making for your family in case of an emergency. Family preparedness has been a long-established welfare principle. It is even more urgent today. I ask you earnestly, have you provided for your family a year’s supply of food, clothing, and, where possible, fuel? The revelation to produce and store food may be as essential to our temporal welfare today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah. Also, are you living within your income and saving a little? Are you honest with the Lord in the payment of your tithes? Living this divine law will bring both spiritual and material blessings. Yes, brethren, as fathers in Israel you have a great responsibility to provide for the material needs of your family and to have the necessary provisions in case of emergency.” (Spencer W. Kimball, To The Fathers In Israel, General Conference, April 1988)

• “If we will just do as the Brethren have counseled and live each day as it comes, providently and righteously, there will be no need for drastic adjustments in preparation to meet future challenges.” (Victor L. Brown, “Preparation for Tomorrow”, October 1982)

• “Just as the virgins did not know that the bridegroom would come in the night when their lamps would be needed, we do not know when serious problems such as illness or unemployment will come into our lives.” (Victor L. Brown, “Preparation for Tomorrow”, October 1982)

• “Many of these problems exist today because we did not prepare yesterday. These problems are not insurmountable to those who are prepared. Neither do they come as a surprise to those who have been listening. Here are just a few of the areas upon which we have received counsel: In 1935, President George Albert Smith said, ‘This very day upon which we meet here to worship [the Sabbath] has become the play-day of this great nation—the day set apart by thousands to violate the commandment that God gave long, long ago, and I am persuaded that much of the sorrow and distress that is afflicting and will continue to afflict mankind is traceable to the fact that they have ignored his admonition to keep the Sabbath day holy.’ (in Conference Report, Oct. 1935, p. 120.)” (Victor L. Brown, “Preparation for Tomorrow”, October 1982)

• “Let us avoid debt as we would avoid a plague; where we are now in debt let us get out of debt.” (J. Reuban Clark, in Conference Report, Apr. 1937, p. 26.)

• “Work is the law of life; it is the ruling principle in the lives of the Saints. We cannot, while physically able, voluntarily shift the burden of our own support to others. Doles abound in evils. Industry, thrift, and self-respect are essential to salvation.” (Bruce R. McConkie, “Stand Independent Above All Creatures”, April 1979)

• “For thirty years the leaders of this church have been telling us to store food and to prepare for a rainy day. We have listened, many have paid no attention, and now suddenly disaster begins to strike and some of those who have been slothful are running to the banks and taking out their savings, and buying … foodstuffs.” (Harold B. Lee, Welfare agricultural meeting, 4 Apr. 1970.)

• “Spiritual preparedness follows the same steady course we have been alluding to: we can only build tomorrow on that which we attain today. Yet we need not wait until tomorrow to enjoy the fruits of our current spiritual development. If we consistently follow the teachings of the Savior, we need not walk in darkness; rather, we will enjoy the light of life.” (Victor L. Brown, “Preparation for Tomorrow”, October 1982)

• “As parents, we must teach and practice both physical and spiritual preparedness. Let us make every effort to avoid the remorse which comes from not following the counsel of the Lord and his anointed. Let us follow the admonition and example of President Kimball when he says, ‘Do it.’” (Victor L. Brown, “Preparation for Tomorrow”, October 1982)

• “We must maintain our own health, sow our own gardens, store our own food, educate and train ourselves to handle the daily affairs of life. No one else can work out our salvation for us, either temporally or spiritually. We are here on earth to care for the needs of our family members. Wives have claim on their husbands for their support, children upon their parents, parents upon their children, brothers upon each other, and relatives upon their kin.” (Bruce R. McConkie, “Stand Independent Above All Creatures”, April 1979)

• “Let us not look back to this day twenty or thirty years from now and ask, ‘How many of today’s problems could have been avoided if we had only followed the counsel given in the 1980s?’ Let us instead follow the Brethren and apply welfare services principles to today’s problems, thereby bringing about our preparation for tomorrow. By so doing, we can move forward with happiness, cheerfulness, and confidence.” (Victor L. Brown, “Preparation for Tomorrow”, October 1982)

• “We would be wise to remember that all things unto the Lord are spiritual, ‘and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men.’” (David A. Bednar, “The Spirit and Purposes of Gathering”, Brigham Young University–Idaho Devotional, October 2006)

• “There are too many in the Church who seem to be totally dependent, emotionally and spiritually, upon others. They subsist on some kind of emotional welfare. They are unwilling to sustain themselves. They become so dependent that they endlessly need to be shored up, lifted up, endlessly need encouragement, and they contribute little of their own. I have been concerned that we may be on the verge of doing to ourselves emotionally (and therefore spiritually) what we have been working so hard for generations to avoid materially. If we lose our emotional and spiritual self-reliance, we can be weakened quite as much, perhaps even more, than when we become dependent materially… If we are not careful we can lose the power of individual revelation. The Lord said to Oliver Cowdery, and it has meaning for all of us: ‘Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me. But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong.’ (D&C 9: 7–9) Has it occurred to you that many problems can be solved by reading the scriptures? We should all personally be familiar with the revelations. As part of your emotional self-reliance, read the scriptures.” (Boyd K. Packer, “Self-reliance”, Brigham Young University, May 2, 1975)

• “I stand before the Church this day and raise the warning voice. It is a prophetic voice, for I shall say only what the apostles and prophets have spoken concerning our day. It is the voice of Jesus on the Mount of Olives, of John on the Isle of Patmos, of Joseph Smith during the mobbings and murders of Missouri. It is a voice calling upon the Lord’s people to prepare for the troubles and desolations which are about to be poured out upon the world without measure. For the moment we live in a day of peace and prosperity but it shall not ever be thus. Great trials lie ahead. All of the sorrows and perils of the past are but a foretaste of what is yet to be. And we must prepare ourselves temporally and spiritually.” (Bruce R. McConkie, “Stand Independent Above All Creatures”, April 1979)

• “Thus, speaking of temporal things—of lands and houses and crops, of work and sweat and toil, of the man Adam eating his bread in the sweat of his face—the Lord says: ‘If you will that I give unto you a place in the celestial world, you must prepare yourselves by doing the things which I have commanded you and required of you’. Then he commands both the Church and its members ‘to prepare and organize’ their temporal affairs according to the law of his gospel, ‘that through my providence,’ saith the Lord, ‘notwithstanding the tribulation which shall descend upon you, that the church may stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world; that you may come up unto the crown prepared for you, and be made rulers over many kingdoms, saith the Lord God’.” (Bruce R. McConkie, “Stand Independent Above All Creatures”, April 1979)

• “We will see the day when we live on what we produce.” (Marion G. Romney, ‘Church Welfare Services’ Basic Principles, Ensign, May 1976)

• “Maintain a year’s supply. The Lord has urged that his people save for the rainy days, prepare for the difficult times, and put away for emergencies, a year’s supply or more of bare necessities so that when comes the flood, the earthquake, the famine, the hurricane, the storms of life, our families can be sustained through the dark days. How many of us have complied with this? We strive with the Lord, finding many excuses: We do not have room for storage. The food spoils. We do not have the funds to do it. We do not like these common foods. It is not needed — there will always be someone to help in trouble. The government will come to the rescue. And some intend to obey but procrastinate.” (Spencer W. Kimball, The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p.375)

• “The Church, which administers the gospel, and the Saints who have received the gospel, must be independent of all the powers of earth, as they work out their salvation—temporally and spiritually—with fear and trembling before the Lord!” (Bruce R. McConkie, “Stand Independent Above All Creatures”, April 1979)

• “It is one of the sad heresies of our time that peace will be gained by weary diplomats as they prepare treaties of compromise, or that the Millennium will be ushered in because men will learn to live in peace and to keep the commandments, or that the predicted plagues and promised desolations of latter days can in some way be avoided. We must do all we can to proclaim peace, to avoid war, to heal disease, to prepare for natural disasters—but with it all, that which is to be shall be.” (Bruce R. McConkie, “Stand Independent Above All Creatures”, April 1979)

• “…it will not surprise me, if times get harder and tighter, if somewhere along the line you will be required to give up what you yourselves have or part of it in your cellars. It will be fortunate if you have put away enough so that you can spare some and still be able to live.” (Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, April 1946, p.71)

• “Cash is not food, it is not clothing, it is not coal, it is not shelter; and we have got to the place where no matter how much cash we have, we cannot secure those things in the quantities which we may need…. All that you can be certain you will have is that which you produce.” (Spencer W. Kimball, General Conference, April 1978)

• “Man is so constituted that he must be either provident or improvident. Sometimes the Latter-day Saints have been criticized, for being provident. Man is what I would call a seasonable animal, by which I mean that his living comes from things that are produced only a part of the year. We produce in the summer, and we consume in the winter. We are like bees and the squirrels. The improvident hive perishes. The improvident squirrel dies, and the improvident man, except for the help which he gets, perishes. Now, there is no excuse for calling a man a hoarder because he is provident enough to put away in the summer what he must needs have in the winter; and remember, that has been the thesis that we have talked about during all the time that we have had the welfare plan.” (Reuben J. Clarke, Church News, March 2, 1946)

• “You do not need to go into debt, may I add, to obtain a year’s supply. Plan to build up your food supply just as you would a savings account. Save a little for storage each pay-check. Can or bottle fruit and vegetables from your gardens and orchards. Learn how to preserve food through drying and possibly freezing. Make your storage a part of your budget. Store seeds and have sufficient tools on hand to do the job. If you are saving and planning for a second car or a TV set or some item which merely adds to your comfort or pleasure, you may need to change your priorities. We urge you to do this prayerfully and do it now.” (Ezra T. Benson, General Conference, October 1980)

• “Brothers and sisters, peace and contentment come into our hearts when we live within our means. God grant us the wisdom and the faith to heed the inspired counsel of the priesthood to get out of debt, to live within our means, and to pay as we go—in short, to ‘pay thy debt, and live.’” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson, (2014), 262–74)

• “Avoid the philosophy that yesterday’s luxuries have become today’s necessities. They aren’t necessities until we make them so. Many enter into long-term debt only to find that changes occur; people become ill or incapacitated, companies fail or downsize, jobs are lost, natural disasters befall us. For many reasons, payments on large amounts of debt can no longer be made. Our debt becomes as a Damocles sword hanging over our heads and threatening to destroy us.” (Thomas S. Monson, General Conference, April 2006)

• “I hope, and this is my brief message to you today, that no one ever reads one word about that terrible flood and the sadness that it has brought-the loss of life, the loss of livestock, the destruction of farms, the suffering that has come to those good people–I say again, I hope no one here will ever read another word about that disaster without saying quietly to himself, ‘No moment will ever pass when I will not be prepared as the Brethren tell me to do.’ One year’s supply of commodities, well cared for, well selected, is a minimum. It’s the minimum, and every family, if they have only been married a day or a week, should begin to have their year’s supply. Now that’s basic, and we mean it! There should be no family under the sound of my voice who isn’t already prepared for whatever eventuality may come. We can’t anticipate it, of course. We don’t know where another dam is going out, or where a river is going to flood, or whether an earthquake is going to come, or what’s going to happen. We just are always prepared because the Lord said, ‘If ye are prepared ye shall not fear’. And the only way to have peace and security is to be prepared. May the Lord bless us that not one family of us will go from this room without a determination from this moment forward that there will never be a time when we will not be prepared to meet the hazards that could come.” (Spencer W. Kimball, Pure Religion p. 266-267; June 10, 1976 5 days after Teton Dam Broke)

• The welfare program is spiritual. In 1936, when the program was introduced, President David O. McKay made this astute observation: ‘The development of our spiritual nature should concern us most. Spirituality is the highest acquisition of the soul, the divine in man; ‘the supreme, crowning gift that makes him king of all created things.’ It is the consciousness of victory over self and of communion with the infinite. It is spirituality alone which really gives one the best in life. It is something to supply clothing to the scantily clad, to furnish ample food to those whose table is thinly spread, to give activity to those who are fighting desperately the despair that comes from enforced idleness, but after all is said and done, the greatest blessings that will accrue from the Church [welfare program] are spiritual. Outwardly, every act seems to be directed toward the physical: re-making of dresses and suits of clothes, canning fruits and vegetables, storing foodstuffs, choosing of fertile fields for settlement—all seem strictly temporal, but permeating all these acts, inspiring and sanctifying them, is the element of spirituality,’ (In Conference Report, Oct. 1936, p. 103.)” (Marion G. Romney, The Celestial Nature of Self-reliance, November 1982)

• “As the Saints of the Most High we shall strive to ‘stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world’ (D&C 78:14). Our only hope is to free ourselves from the bondage of sin, to rid ourselves from the chains of darkness, to rise above the world, to live godly and upright lives. Relying always on the Lord, we must become independent of the world. We must be self-reliant. Using the agency God has given us, we must work out our own economic and temporal problems.” (Bruce R. McConkie, “Stand Independent Above All Creatures”, April 1979)

• “It is the aim of the Church to help the Saints to care for themselves and, where need be, to make food and clothing and other necessities available, lest the Saints turn to the doles and evils of Babylon. To help care for the poor among them the Church must operate farms, grow vineyards, run dairies, manage factories, and ten thousand other things—all in such a way as to be independent of the powers of evil in the world.” (Bruce R. McConkie, “Stand Independent Above All Creatures”, April 1979)

• “We do not know when the calamities and troubles of the last days will fall upon any of us as individuals or upon bodies of the Saints. The Lord deliberately withholds from us the day and hour of his coming and of the tribulations which shall precede it—all as part of the testing and probationary experiences of mortality. He simply tells us to watch and be ready. We can rest assured that if we have done all in our power to prepare for whatever lies ahead, he will then help us with whatever else we need.” (Bruce R. McConkie, “Stand Independent Above All Creatures”, April 1979)

• “We do not say that all of the Saints will be spared and saved from the coming day of desolation. But we do say there is no promise of safety and no promise of security except for those who love the Lord and who are seeking to do all that he commands. It may be, for instance, that nothing except the power of faith and the authority of the priesthood can save individuals and congregations from the atomic holocausts that surely shall be. And so we raise the warning voice and say: Take heed; prepare; watch and be ready. There is no security in any course except the course of obedience and conformity and righteousness. For thus saith the Lord: ‘The Lord’s scourge shall pass over by night and by day, and the report thereof shall vex all people; yea, it shall not be stayed until the Lord come; …Nevertheless, Zion shall escape if she observe to do all things whatsoever I have commanded her,’ saith the Lord. ‘But if she observe not to do whatsoever I have commanded her, I will visit her according to all her works, with sore affliction, with pestilence, with plague, with sword, with vengeance, with devouring fire,’ (D&C 97:23, 25– 26.)” (Bruce R. McConkie, “Stand Independent Above All Creatures”, April 1979)

• “For over forty years, in a spirit of love, members of the Church have been counseled to be thrifty and self-reliant; to avoid debt; pay tithes and a generous fast offering; be industrious; and have sufficient food, clothing, and fuel on hand to last at least one year. Today there are compelling reasons to reemphasize this counsel. We heard it done effectively in that great welfare meeting this morning. May I add just a word. Members of the Church are feeling the economic pinch of higher taxes and inflation coupled with conditions of continuing recession. Some have come to their bishops seeking assistance to pay for house payments, car loans, and utilities. Unfortunately, there has been fostered in the minds of some an expectation that when we experience hard times, when we have been unwise and extravagant with our resources and have lived beyond our means, we should look to either the Church or government to bail us out. Forgotten by some of our members is an underlying principle of the Church welfare plan that ‘no true Latter-day Saint will, while physically able, voluntarily shift from himself the burden of his own support.’ (Reuben J. Clark, Conference Report, Oct. 1973, p. 106)

• “I am filled with awe, with an overwhelming sense of duty to prepare my life (and to the extent that I can, to help prepare the lives of the members of the Church) for that long- prophesied day, for that transfer of authority, for the time when we will make a presentation of the Church to Him whose Church it is. When Christ comes, the members of His Church must look and act like members of His Church are supposed to look and act if we are to be acceptable to Him. We must be doing His work, and we must be living His teachings. He must recognize us quickly and easily as truly being His disciples. As President J. Reuben Clark Jr. (1871–1961), former First Counselor in the First Presidency, once advised: our faith must not be difficult to detect.” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Preparing for the Second Coming”, December 2013)

• “Yes, if in that great, final hour we say we are believers, then we had surely better be demonstrating it. The Shepherd knows His sheep, and we must be known in that great day as His followers in deed as well as in word.” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Preparing for the Second Coming”, December 2013)

• "It is important that we not be like Jonah, who went to wait for the destruction of Nineveh; but rather, that we work effectively and ceaselessly on the ‘Ninevehs’ of our lives, precisely because we do believe that human history will have a cataclysmic end, even though we do not know when. Thus, there must be balance in our life-style in responding to this powerful doctrine of the second coming. The chiliast, one who believes in a second coming of Christ that will usher in a millennial reign, has special challenges in reading signs. First, he is urged to notice lest he be caught unawares. Second, he must be aware of how many false readings and alarms there have been in bygone days, even by the faithful. For instance, has any age had more wonders in the sky than ours, with satellites and journeys to the moon? Has any generation seen, as has ours, such ominous vapors of smoke, with its mushroom clouds over the pathetic pyres of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Yet there is more to come. Our task is to react and to notice without overreacting, to let life go forward without slipping into the heedlessness of those in the days of Noah.”(Neal A. Maxwell, Q & A: Questions and Answers, January 1971)

• “We have given a great deal of thought to these statements and other similar ones, and we have tried to visualize in our minds and project what would happen in the future under various social and economic conditions. Let me share the panorama of conditions that could befall each of us individually and the Church collectively… Condition One is characterized by a relatively stable economy, modest unemployment, and only limited natural disasters—a condition much like that which we now experience in this and many other countries… Condition Two is characterized by more serious health, social, and economic stress. This could include a depressed economy with serious unemployment, or perhaps localized natural disasters… Under Condition Three, circumstances would be very serious. The economy would be very depressed, perhaps even suffering a near breakdown. Unemployment would be widespread. There would probably be widespread social disunity. This condition could be the result of either economic problems such as severe crop loss, broad-scale natural disasters, or possibly international conflict. Under such circumstances, the Church, relying on its present resources, would very likely not be able to provide any more assistance than that rendered under Condition Two, and therefore could not meet the total welfare needs of the people. The sobering fact is, brothers and sisters, that presently the productive capacity from which we could distribute commodities to needy families and individuals is about $45 million. Therefore, if the time comes that we move out of Condition One into a widespread Condition-Two situation, we are well beyond the current capacity of the Church alone to meet the temporal needs of the Saints. I would like to stress that this preparedness includes more than temporal preparedness. … Families and individuals would need to be prepared emotionally and physically to weather this condition. Members would have greater need than ever to rely on each other for strength and support. These examples and figures, though only projections, illustrate quite graphically that our temporal salvation will come only in following the counsel of the Brethren to be prepared as families and individuals, as wards and as stakes. As we apply their counsel, we make of Zion a refuge and a standard of righteous living as commanded by the Lord in these words: ‘Verily I say unto you all: Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations; And that the gathering together upon the land of Zion, and upon her stakes, may be for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm.’” (Victor L. Brown, “The Church and Family In Welfare Services”, April 1976)

• “President David O. McKay used to tell a story about a railroad engineer. Let me share it with you as recorded by President Harold B. Lee: ‘The engineer pulled his train into a station one dark night, and a timid passenger inquired of the engineer if he wasn’t frightened to pull his train out in the dark with 400 or 500 passengers’ lives at stake. The engineer said, pointing up to the bright headlight, ‘I want to tell you one thing: when I pull out of this station I won’t be running in darkness one foot of the way. You see that light a thousand yards ahead? I run my engine just to the edge of the light, and when I get there it will still be on a thousand yards ahead.’ Having said that, President McKay added: ‘I want to tell you something. Through all this dark night of uncertainty, I want to tell you that this Welfare Program will not be running in the dark one foot of the way. You remember it. We can only see the next October as the first circle of light. We have told you what to do six months from now. By the time we get there the light will be on ahead of us, but every step of the way that light will be there. You teach your people to follow the light and they will be safe on Zion’s hill when the destructive forces come in the world.’ (Welfare Agricultural Meeting, 5 Apr. 1969.).” (Victor L. Brown, “Preparation for Tomorrow”, October 1982)

• “For nearly six thousand years, God has held you in reserve to make your appearance in the final days before the Second Coming of the Lord. Every previous gospel dispensation has drifted into apostasy, but ours will not. True, there will be some individuals who will fall away; but the kingdom of God will remain intact to welcome the return of its head—even Jesus Christ. While our generation will be comparable in wickedness to the days of Noah, when the Lord cleansed the earth by flood, there is a major difference this time. It is that God has saved for the final inning some of his strongest children, who will help bear off the Kingdom triumphantly. And that is where you come in, for you are the generation that must be prepared to meet your God.” (Ezra T. Benson, Brigham Young University Speeches, March 4, 1979)

• “I believe that the Ten Virgins represent the people of the Church of Jesus Christ and not the rank and file of the world. All of the virgins, wise and foolish, had accepted the invitation to the wedding supper; they had knowledge of the program and had been warned of the important day to come. They were not the gentiles or the heathens or the pagans, nor were they necessarily corrupt and reprobate, but they were knowing people who were foolishly unprepared for the vital happenings that were to affect their eternal lives. They had the saving, exalting gospel, but it had not been made the center of their lives. They knew the way but gave only a small measure of loyalty and devotion. I ask you: What value is a car without an engine, a cup without water, a table without food, a lamp without oil? Rushing for their lamps to light their way through the blackness, half of them found them empty. They had cheated themselves. They were fools, these five unprepared virgins. Apparently, the bridegroom had tarried for reasons that were sufficient and good. Time had passed, and he had not come. They had heard of his coming for so long, so many times, that the statement seemingly became meaningless to them. Would he ever come? So long had it been since they began expecting him that they were rationalizing that he would never appear. Perhaps it was a myth. Hundreds of thousands of us today are in this position. Confidence has been dulled and patience worn thin. It is so hard to wait and be prepared always. But we cannot allow ourselves to slumber. The Lord has given us this parable as a special warning. At midnight, the vital cry was made, ‘Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.’ …At midnight! Precisely at the darkest hour, when least expected, the bridegroom came. When the world is full of tribulation and help is needed, but it seems the time must be past and hope is vain, then Christ will come. The midnights of life are the times when heaven comes to offer its joy for man’s weariness. But when the cry sounds, there is no time for preparation. The lamps then make patterns of joy on the hillside, and the procession moves on toward the house of banqueting, and those without lamps or oil are left in darkness. When they have belatedly sought to fulfill the requirements and finally reach the hall, the door is shut. In the daytime, wise and unwise seemed alike; midnight is the time of test and judgment—and of offered gladness. The foolish asked the others to share their oil, but spiritual preparedness cannot be shared in an instant. The wise had to go, else the bridegroom would have gone unwelcomed. They needed all their oil for themselves; they could not save the foolish. The responsibility was each for himself. This was not selfishness or unkindness. The kind of oil that is needed to illuminate the way and light up the darkness is not shareable. How can one share obedience to the principle of tithing; a mind at peace from righteous living; an accumulation of knowledge? How can one share faith or testimony? How can one share attitudes or chastity, or the experience of a mission? How can one share temple privileges? Each must obtain that kind of oil for himself. The foolish virgins were not averse to buying oil. They knew they should have oil. They merely procrastinated, not knowing when the bridegroom would come. In the parable, oil can be purchased at the market. In our lives the oil of preparedness is accumulated drop by drop in righteous living. Attendance at sacrament meetings adds oil to our lamps, drop by drop over the years. Fasting, family prayer, home teaching, control of bodily appetites, preaching the gospel, studying the scriptures—each act of dedication and obedience is a drop added to our store. Deeds of kindness, payment of offerings and tithes, chaste thoughts and actions, marriage in the covenant for eternity—these, too, contribute importantly to the oil with which we can at midnight refuel our exhausted lamps.” (“Midnight is so late for those who have procrastinated.” (Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, pp. 253–56.))

• “The Lord has promised that He will preserve His people in the last days. The question each member of the Church should be able to answer is, How can I be numbered among those the Lord will protect? That question is answered very clearly in the Doctrine and Covenants: It is a matter of individual worthiness. The Lord has said, ‘If ye are prepared ye shall not fear’. The preparation needed is to repent, to receive the gospel, and to become sanctified through following its precepts. In the early days of this dispensation, the Saints were persecuted because of their lack of faithfulness. The Lord has said that those who are ‘not purified shall not abide that day’ of His coming. The Saints have been warned not to entangle themselves in sin. After suffering much distress at the hands of mobs in Missouri, the Saints were promised that they would prevail against their enemies from that ‘very hour’ and never cease if they would ‘observe all the words’ the Lord spoke to them (italics added). The same is true today. Although there may be individual exceptions, in general the faithful Saints will be preserved from their enemies and from the judgments that God will pour out on the world. These same principles were taught in the October 1940 General Conference by Elder Joseph Fielding Smith: ‘We have the means of escape through obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Will we escape? When I see, even among the Latter-day Saints the violation of the laws of the Lord, I fear and I tremble. I have been crying repentance among the Stakes of Zion for thirty years, calling upon the people to turn to the Lord, keep His commandments, observe the Sabbath Day, pay their honest tithing, do everything the Lord has commanded them to do, to live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God. By doing this we shall escape the calamities. I am going to repeat what I have said before, for which I have been severely criticized from certain quarters, that even in [the United States] we have no grounds by which we may escape, no sure foundation upon which we can stand, and by which we may escape from the calamities and destruction and the plagues and the pestilences, and even the devouring fire by sword and by war, unless we repent and keep the commandments of the Lord, for it is written here in these revelations. So I cry repentance to the Latter-day Saints, and I cry repentance to the people of the United States, as well as to the people of all the earth. May we turn to live in accordance with divine law, and keep the commandments the Lord has given,’ Joseph Fielding Smith.” (Section 29 Prepare against the Day of Tribulation, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, (2002), 59–63.)

What does the Second Coming have to do with preparedness?

In April 2004, Elder Dallin H. Oaks said, "While we are powerless to alter the fact of the Second Coming and unable to know its exact time, we can accelerate our own preparation and try to influence the preparation of those around us."

The following quotes from L.D.S. prophets and apostles have been compiled in an effort to persuade all men and women to learn about the signs of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and to inspire all to temporally and spiritually prepare for His coming. Each of these quotes can be found on the L.D.S. Church’s official website: http://www.lds.org.

• “For nearly six thousand years, God has held you in reserve to make your appearance in the final days before the Second Coming of the Lord. Every previous gospel dispensation has drifted into apostasy, but ours will not. True, there will be some individuals who will fall away; but the kingdom of God will remain intact to welcome the return of its head—even Jesus Christ. While our generation will be comparable in wickedness to the days of Noah, when the Lord cleansed the earth by flood, there is a major difference this time. It is that God has saved for the final inning some of his strongest children, who will help bear off the Kingdom triumphantly. And that is where you come in, for you are the generation that must be prepared to meet your God. All through the ages the prophets have looked down through the corridors of time to our day. Billions of deceased and those yet to be born have their eyes on us. Make no mistake about it--you are a marked generation. There has never been more expected of the faithful in such a short period of time as there is of us. Never before on the face of this earth have the forces of evil and the forces of good been as well organized. Now is the great day of the devil's power, with the greatest mass murderers of all time living among us. But now is also the great day of the Lord's power, with the greatest number ever of priesthood holders on the earth. And the showdown is fast approaching. Each day the forces of evil and the forces of good pick up new recruits. Each day we personally make many decisions that show where our support will go. The final outcome is certain-- the forces of righteousness will finally win. What remains to be seen is where each of us personally, now and in the future, will stand in this fight-- and how tall we will stand. Will we be true to our last-days, foreordained mission?" (Ezra T. Benson, Brigham Young University Speeches, March 4, 1979)

• “[True Millennials] know who they really are. They are devout disciples of Jesus Christ who instinctively seize every opportunity to help themselves and others prepare for the millennial reign of our Savior. Ask your Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, how He feels about you and your mission here on earth. If you ask with real intent, over time the Spirit will whisper the life-changing truth to you. Record those impressions and review them often, and follow through with exactness. I promise you that when you begin to catch even a glimpse of how your Heavenly Father sees you and what He is counting on you to do for Him, your life will never be the same! ...A True Millennial is a man or woman whom God trusted enough to send to earth during the most compelling dispensation in the history of this world. A True Millennial is a man or woman who lives now to help prepare the people of this world for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and His millennial reign. Make no mistake about it—you were born to be a True Millennial.” (Russell M. Nelson, Becoming True Millennials, January 2016)

• "Despite the lack of righteousness in the world today, we live in a sacred, holy time. Prophets, with loving and longing hearts, have described our day for centuries." (Quentin L. Cook, "See Yourself In The Temple," April 2016 General Conference)
• "In these latter days, we know there will be earthquakes in diverse places. Perhaps one of those diverse places will be in our own homes, where emotional, financial, or spiritual 'earthquakes' may occur. Priesthood power can calm the seas and heal fractures in the earth. Priesthood power can also calm the minds and heal fractures in the hearts of those we love." (Russell M. Nelson, "The Price of Priesthood Power," April 2016 General Conference)

• “We are living in the prophesied time ‘when peace shall be taken from the earth’, when ‘all things shall be in commotion’ and ‘men’s hearts shall fail them’… [The] signs of the Second Coming are all around us and [are] increasing in frequency and intensity.” (Dallin H. Oaks, “Preparation For the Second Coming”, April 2004 General Conference)

• “Too often we bask in our comfortable complacency and rationalize that the ravages of war, economic disaster, famine, and earthquake cannot happen here. Those who believe this are either not acquainted with the revelations of the Lord, or they do not believe them. Those who smugly think these calamities will not happen, that they somehow will be set aside because of the righteousness of the Saints, are deceived and will rue the day they harbored such a delusion. The Lord has warned and forewarned us against a day of great tribulation and given counsel, through His servants, on how we can be prepared for these difficult times. Have we heeded His counsel?” (Ezra T. Benson, “Prepare for the Days of Tribulation”, October 1980)

• “We encourage you to be more self-reliant so that, as the Lord has declared, ‘notwithstanding the tribulation which shall descend upon you, … the church may stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world’. The Lord wants us to be independent and self-reliant because these will be days of tribulation. He has warned and forewarned us of the eventuality.” (Ezra T. Benson, “Prepare for the Days of Tribulation”, October 1980)

• “While we are powerless to alter the fact of the Second Coming and unable to know its exact time, we can accelerate our own preparation and try to influence the preparation of those around us.” (Dallin H. Oaks, Preparation for the Second Coming, General Conference, April 2004)

• “The Lord has said: ‘For if you will that I give unto you a place in the celestial world, you must prepare yourselves by doing the things which I have commanded you and required of you. …‘Behold, this is the preparation wherewith I prepare you, and the foundation, and the ensample which I give unto you, whereby you may accomplish the commandments which are given you; ‘That through my providence, notwithstanding the tribulation which shall descend upon you, that the church may stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world.’ And he further said, ‘If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.’” (Victor L. Brown, “The Church and the Family in Welfare Services”, April 1976)

• “Should the Lord decide at this time to cleanse the Church—and the need for that cleansing seems to be increasing—a famine in this land of one year’s duration could wipe out a large percentage of slothful members, including some ward and stake officers. Yet we cannot say we have not been warned.” (Ezra T. Benson, Conference Report, April 1965, pp. 121-125.)

• “I know these are unpleasant things. It is not a pleasant thing even for me to stand here and tell you that this is written in the Scriptures. If the Lord has a controversy with the nations, He will put them to the sword. Their bodies shall lie unburied like dung upon the earth. That is not nice, is it, but should we not know it? Is it not our duty to read these things and understand them? Don’t you think the Lord has given us these things that we might know and we might prepare ourselves through humility, through repentance, through faith, that we might escape from these dreadful conditions that are portrayed by these ancient prophets? That is why I am reading them. I feel just as keenly as you do about the condition, and I pray for it to come to an end, but I want it to come to an end right.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Signs of the Times, pp. 154–55)

• “We look to you stake presidents, bishops, and Relief Society presidents to teach the people the basic principles of self-reliance and independence. It is of critical importance that the members of the Church be converted to this principle. If the Church as a whole would practice these teachings, we would have no need to fear regardless of problems that will undoubtedly arise... There will come a time when there isn’t a store.” (Spencer W. Kimball, “Family Preparedness”, April 1974 General Conference)

• “The most often mentioned event in the entire Bible is that wonderful, yet awful experience that we will have when Jesus Christ shall come to judge our world. There are many important gospel doctrines mentioned in the Bible only briefly, and some not at all. The new birth is mentioned in the Bible nine times; baptism is mentioned 52 times, repentance is mentioned 89, but the second coming of Christ is mentioned over 1,500 times in the Old Testament and 300 times in the New Testament. If God thought this subject that important, he must have wanted us to do something about it” (Sterling W. Sill, in Conference Report, Apr. 1966, 19).

• “I will make a few remarks upon these passages as I read them. It seems that this is a dispensation peculiar in its nature, differing from former dispensations. It is a dispensation of mercy and of judgment— of mercy to those who receive the message of mercy, but of judgment to those who reject that message. In other words it is a dispensation in which the Gospel has been revealed from heaven, the servants of God called to labor in the vineyard for the last time, and in which the Lord intends to pour out great and terrible judgments upon the nations of the wicked after they have been warned by the sound of the everlasting Gospel. We are told in the revelation I have just read, that vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth; that it is a day of wrath, burning, desolation, weeping, mourning and lamentation, and that as a whirlwind these things shall come upon the inhabitants of the earth. Where shall these great and severe judgments begin? Upon what people does the Lord intend to commence this great work of vengeance? Upon the people who profess to know his name and still blaspheme it in the midst of his house. They are the ones designated for some of the most terrible judgments of the latter days. This should be warning to the Latter- day Saints; and not only those who are parents, but those who are children should diligently consider whether they are numbered among those who are mentioned in the 10th paragraph, which I have read. Upon my house, saith the Lord, shall it begin, first upon those among you who have professed my name and have not known me and have blasphemed against me in the midst of my house.” (Orson Pratt, January 26, 1873; Journal of Discources, Vol. 15, p. 330.)

• “I… testify, that unless the Latter-day Saints will live their religion, keep their covenants with God and their brethren, honor the priesthood which they bear, and try faithfully to bring themselves into subjection to the laws of God, they will be the first to fall beneath the judgments of the Almighty, for his judgments will begin at his own house. Therefore, those who have made a covenant with the Lord by baptism, and have broken that covenant, who profess to be saints and are not, but are sinners, and covenant- breakers, and partakers of the sins of Babylon, most assuredly will ‘receive of her plagues,’ for it is written that the righteous will barely escape.” (Joseph F. Smith, Conference Report, April 1880, p. 96)

• “This is the last and great dispensation in which the great consummation of God’s purposes will be made, the only dispensation in which the Lord has promised that sin will not prevail. The Church will not be taken from the earth again. It is here to stay. The Lord has promised it and you are a part of that Church and kingdom—the nucleus around which will be builded the great kingdom of God on the earth. The kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God on the earth will be combined together at Christ’s coming—and that time is not far distant. How I wish we could get the vision of this work, the genius of it, and realize the nearness of that great event. I am sure it would have a sobering effect upon us if we realized what is before us.” (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988, p. 19.)

• “I do not want to be a calamity howler. I don’t know in detail what’s going to happen in the future. I know what the prophets have predicted. But I tell you that the welfare program, organized to enable us to take care of our own needs, has not yet performed the function that it was set up to perform. We will see the day when we live on what we produce.” (Marion G. Romney, Conference Reports, April 1975, p. 165.)

• “We have had many calamities in this past period. It seems that every day or two there is an earthquake or a flood or a tornado or distress that brings trouble to many people. I am grateful to see that our people and our leaders are beginning to catch the vision of their self-help… Now I think the time is coming when there will be more distresses, when there may be more tornadoes, and more floods, … more earthquakes. … I think they will be increasing probably as we come nearer to the end, and so we must be prepared for this.” (Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Reports, April 1974, pp. 183–84.)

• “We encourage families to have on hand this year’s supply; and we say it over and over and over and repeat over and over the scripture of the Lord where He says, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” How empty it is as they put their spirituality, so-called, into action and call him by his important names, but fail to do the things which he says.” (Spencer W. Kimball, Chapter 11: Provident Living: Applying Principles of Self-Reliance and Preparedness, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, (2006), 114–23)

• “Let’s do these things because they are right, because they are satisfying, and because we are obedient to the counsels of the Lord. In this spirit we will be prepared for most eventualities, and the Lord will prosper and comfort us. It is true that difficult times will come —for the Lord has foretold them—and, yes, stakes of Zion are ‘for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm.’ But if we live wisely and providently, we will be as safe as in the palm of His hand.” (Spencer W. Kimball, Chapter 11: Provident Living: Applying Principles of Self-Reliance and Preparedness, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, (2006), 114–23)

• “In all that we have said regarding family and individual preparedness, we must never lose sight of the fact that this entire responsibility comes to us from the Lord. He is our Father. It is through his love for us that he so teaches us. All that we have said must be undergirded by a spirit that is in harmony with his teachings. He is our source of inspiration as a Church, as families, and as individuals. He has promised us that if we are prepared, we need not fear. May we be blessed as leaders and as members to follow his counsel to be prepared, I pray humbly in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.” (Victor L. Brown, “The Church and Family in Welfare Services”, April 1976)

• “In his vision of the future, Enoch saw that great tribulations would make necessary a means of preserving the Lord’s people upon the earth in the last days. That means is to gather the elect in Zion (see Moses 7:61–62). The Doctrine and Covenants declares that in addition to the true “center place,” the stakes of Zion would also be “for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth” (D&C 115:6).” (Enrichment B Establishing Zion, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, (2002), 369–374)

• “The giant earthquake, and the tsunami it sent crashing into the coasts around the Indian Ocean, is just the beginning and a part of what is to come… You remember the words from the Doctrine and Covenants which now seem so accurate: ‘And after your testimony cometh wrath and indignation upon the people. For after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that shall cause groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon the ground and shall not be able to stand. And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds. And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men’s hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people.’ But you and I know that the Lord has prepared places of safety to which he is eager to guide us….It will be our choice whether or not to move up or stay where we are. But the Lord will invite and guide us upward by the direction of the Holy Ghost. …I did not plan to speak to you about the hard times that are ahead and they are real, and they are coming.” (Henry B. Eyring, “Raise The Bar”, BYU-Idaho Devotional, January 25, 2005

• “The Prophet Joseph Smith taught the same principle when he said that ‘without Zion, and a place of deliverance, we must fall; because the time is near when the sun will be darkened, and the moon turn to blood, and the stars fall from heaven, and the earth reel to and fro. Then, if this is the case, and if we are not sanctified and gathered to the places God has appointed, with all our former professions and our great love for the Bible, we must fall; we cannot stand; we cannot be saved; for God will gather out His Saints from the Gentiles, and then comes desolation and destruction, and none can escape except the pure in heart who are gathered,’ (History of the Church, 2:52.).” (Enrichment B Establishing Zion, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, (2002), 369–374)

• “We ought to have the building up of Zion as our greatest object. When wars come, we shall have to flee to Zion. The cry is to make haste. The last revelation says, Ye shall not have time to have gone over the earth, until these things come. …The time is soon coming when no man will have any peace but in Zion and her stakes. I saw men hunting the lives of their own sons, and brother murdering brother, women killing their own daughters, and daughters seeking the lives of their mothers. I saw armies arrayed against armies. I saw blood, desolation, fires. The Son of Man has said that the mother shall be against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother. These things are at our doors. They will follow the Saints of God from city to city. Satan will rage, and the spirit of the devil is now enraged. I know not how soon these things will take place; but with a view of them, shall I cry peace? No! I will lift up my voice and testify of them. How long you will have good crops, and the famine be kept off, I do not know; when the fig tree leaves, know then that summer is nigh at hand.” (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 3:390–91.)

• “The scriptures testify that in the days prior to the Second Coming of the Savior the world will be torn with war, upheaval, natural calamities, judgments, and turmoil. So great will be the turbulence of these times that people’s hearts will fail them. Have you been tempted, when you have read of the devastations to come, to wish that you will not live to see them? If so, then you understand only one aspect of the prophetic promises. Again and again the Lord has made promises that should give you faith and hope.” (Enrichment B Establishing Zion, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, (2002), 369–374)

• “Zion is primarily a condition, not a place. There are places called Zion, but they are so called only because they have been or will be gathering places for Zion people. As you have read, the Prophet Joseph Smith said, ‘Without Zion, and a place of deliverance, we must fall,’ and ‘We ought to have the building up of Zion as our greatest object’.” (Stephen L. Richards, History of the Church, 2:52).

• “Are you ready to gather to Zion? Do you have the building up of Zion as your greatest object? Where do you start? Where do you go? The answer is very simple if you remember the basic definition of Zion. It is a state of the heart, and that is the place you must begin. It is a matter of utmost urgency in our day, for the Lord has said, ‘Vengeance cometh speedily upon the ungodly as the whirlwind; and who shall escape it?’ Isn’t that what you’d like to know—who shall escape the day of judgment? The Lord gave the answer, and it is of the utmost importance for us to understand it.” (Enrichment B Establishing Zion, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, (2002), 369–374)

• “The building of Zion requires the personal prerequisite of striving to develop purity of heart. The example of ancient prophets shows that it is possible to become a Zion people and even to build a Zion society. The destiny of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is to prepare a Zion people and to again build a Zion society, beginning at Jackson County, Missouri, with the New Jerusalem. The Church is working directly to assist the Saints in fulfilling this duty. If, as the Prophet Joseph Smith counseled, the Saints ‘have the building up of Zion as [their] greatest object’ (History of the Church, 3:390), then the Saints can see the fulfillment of Moroni’s prophecy to Joseph Smith, that ‘the Gospel in all its fullness [would] be preached in power, unto all nations that a people might be prepared for the Millennial reign’ (History of the Church, 4:537).” (Enrichment B Establishing Zion, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, (2002), 369–374)

• “We are blessed to live in a time when the priesthood keys are on the earth. We are blessed to know where to look and how to listen for the voice that will fulfill the promise of the Lord that He will gather us to safety. I pray that we will have humble hearts, that we will listen, that we will pray, and that we will wait for the deliverance of the Lord that is sure to come as we are faithful.” (Henry B, Eyring, “Finding Safety in Counsel”, General Conference, April 1997).

• “We are blessed to know where to look and how to listen for the voice that will fulfill the promise of the Lord that He will gather us to safety. I pray for you and for me that we will have humble hearts, that we will listen, that we will pray, that we will wait for the deliverance of the Lord which is sure to come as we are faithful.” (Henry B. Eyring, “Finding Safety in Counsel”, General Conference, April 1997)

• “The Savior has always been the protector of those who would accept His protection. He has said more than once, ‘How oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not’. The Lord expressed the same lament in our own dispensation after describing the many ways in which He calls us to safety: ‘How oft have I called upon you by the mouth of my servants, and by the ministering of angels, and by mine own voice, and by the voice of thunderings, and by the voice of lightnings, and by the voice of tempests, and by the voice of earthquakes, and great hailstorms, and by the voice of famines and pestilences of every kind, and by the great sound of a trump, and by the voice of judgment, and by the voice of mercy all the day long, and by the voice of glory and honor and the riches of eternal life, and would have saved you with an everlasting salvation, but ye would not!’. There seems to be no end to the Savior’s desire to lead us to safety. And there is constancy in the way He shows us the path. He calls by more than one means so that it will reach those willing to accept it. And those means always include sending the message by the mouths of His prophets whenever people have qualified to have the prophets of God among them. Those authorized servants are always charged with warning the people, telling them the way to safety.” (Henry B. Eyring, “Finding Safety in Counsel”, General Conference, April 1997)

• “In our own time, we have been warned with counsel of where to find safety from sin and from sorrow. One of the keys to recognizing those warnings is that they are repeated. For instance, more than once in these general conferences, you have heard our prophet say that he would quote a preceding prophet and would therefore be a second witness and sometimes even a third. Each of us who has listened has heard President Kimball give counsel on the importance of a mother in the home and then heard President Benson quote him, and we have heard President Hinckley quote them both. The Apostle Paul wrote that ‘in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established’. One of the ways we may know that the warning is from the Lord is that the law of witnesses, authorized witnesses, has been invoked. When the words of prophets seem repetitive, that should rivet our attention and fill our hearts with gratitude to live in such a blessed time.” (Henry B. Eyring, “Finding Safety in Counsel”, General Conference, April 1997)

• “Looking for the path to safety in the counsel of prophets makes sense to those with strong faith. When a prophet speaks, those with little faith may think that they hear only a wise man giving good advice. Then if his counsel seems comfortable and reasonable, squaring with what they want to do, they take it. If it does not, they consider it either faulty advice or they see their circumstances as justifying their being an exception to the counsel. Those without faith may think that they hear only men seeking to exert influence for some selfish motive.” (Henry B. Eyring, “Finding Safety in Counsel”, General Conference, April 1997)

• “Another fallacy is to believe that the choice to accept or not accept the counsel of prophets is no more than deciding whether to accept good advice and gain its benefits or to stay where we are. But the choice not to take prophetic counsel changes the very ground upon which we stand. It becomes more dangerous. The failure to take prophetic counsel lessens our power to take inspired counsel in the future. The best time to have decided to help Noah build the ark was the first time he asked. Each time he asked after that, each failure to respond would have lessened sensitivity to the Spirit. And so each time his request would have seemed more foolish, until the rain came. And then it was too late.” (Henry B. Eyring, “Finding Safety in Counsel”, General Conference, April 1997)

• “Brothers and sisters, in general conference we offer our testimonies in conjunction with other testimonies that will come, because one way or another God will have his voice heard. ‘I sent you out to testify and warn the people,’ the Lord has said to his prophets. ‘And after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes,….of thundering,….lightnings, and….tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds… And angels shall…[cry] with a loud voice, sounding the trump of God.’ Now, these mortal angels come to this pulpit have, each in his or her own way, sounded ‘the trump of God.’ Every sermon given is always, by definition, both a testimony of love and a warning, even as nature herself will testify with love and a warning in the last days.” (Jeffrey R. Holland, General Conference, April 2011)

• “It is time to get our houses in order… There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “To The Boys and Men”, General Conference, Priesthood Session, October 1998)

• “We will need to have developed and nurtured faith in Jesus Christ long before Satan hits us, as he will, with doubts and appeals to our carnal desires and with lying voices saying that good is bad and that there is no sin. Those spiritual storms are already raging. We can expect that they will worsen until the Savior returns. However much faith to obey God we now have, we will need to strengthen it continually and keep it refreshed constantly. We can do that by deciding now to be more quick to obey and more determined to endure. Learning to start early and to be steady are the keys to spiritual preparation. Procrastination and inconsistency are its mortal enemies.” (Henry B. Eyring, “Spiritual Preparedness: Start Early and Be Steady”, General Conference, October 2005)

• “If we decide now to be a full-tithe payer and if we are steady in paying it, blessings will flow throughout the year, as well as at the time of tithing settlement. By our decision now to be a full-tithe payer and our steady efforts to obey, we will be strengthened in our faith and, in time, our hearts will be softened. It is that change in our hearts through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, beyond the offering of our money or goods, that makes it possible for the Lord to promise full-tithe payers protection in the last days. We can have confidence that we will qualify for that blessing of protection if we commit now to pay a full tithe and are steady in doing it.” (Henry B. Eyring, “Spiritual Preparedness: Start Early and Be Steady”, General Conference, October 2005)

• “These signs of the Second Coming are all around us and seem to be increasing in frequency and intensity. For example, the list of major earthquakes in The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2004 shows twice as many earthquakes in the decades of the 1980s and 1990s as in the two preceding decades (pp. 189–90). It also shows further sharp increases in the first several years of this century. The list of notable floods and tidal waves and the list of hurricanes, typhoons, and blizzards worldwide show similar increases in recent years (pp. 188–89). Increases by comparison with 50 years ago can be dismissed as changes in reporting criteria, but the accelerating pattern of natural disasters in the last few decades is ominous.” (Dallin H. Oaks, Preparation for the Second Coming, General Conference, April 2004)

• “Brothers and sisters, as the Book of Mormon teaches, ‘this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; … the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors’. Are we preparing? “In His preface to our compilation of modern revelation the Lord declares, ‘Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh’. The Lord also warned: ‘Yea, let the cry go forth among all people: Awake and arise and go forth to meet the Bridegroom; behold and lo, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Prepare yourselves for the great day of the Lord’. Always we are cautioned that we cannot know the day or the hour of His coming. In the 24th chapter of Matthew Jesus taught: ‘Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up’. ‘But would have been ready’. ‘Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh’. What if the day of His coming were tomorrow? If we knew that we would meet the Lord tomorrow—through our premature death or through His unexpected coming—what would we do today? What confessions would we make? What practices would we discontinue? What accounts would we settle? What forgivenesses would we extend? What testimonies would we bear? If we would do those things then, why not now? Why not seek peace while peace can be obtained? If our lamps of preparation are drawn down, let us start immediately to replenish them.” (Dallin H. Oaks, Preparation for the Second Coming, General Conference, April 2004)

• “We are living in the prophesied time ‘when peace shall be taken from the earth’, when “all things shall be in commotion” and ‘men’s hearts shall fail them’. There are many temporal causes of commotion, including wars and natural disasters, but an even greater cause of current ‘commotion’ is spiritual.” (Dallin H. Oaks, Preparation for the Second Coming, General Conference, April 2004)

• “I speak with a feeling of great urgency. I have seen what the days of tribulation can do to people.” (Ezra T. Benson, “Prepare for the Days of Tribulation”, October 1980)

• “What is the state of our personal preparation for eternal life? The people of God have always been people of covenant. What is the measure of our compliance with covenants, including the sacred promises we made in the waters of baptism, in receiving the holy priesthood, and in the temples of God? Are we promisers who do not fulfill and believers who do not perform? Are we following the Lord’s command, ‘Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly’?” (Dallin H. Oaks, Preparation for the Second Coming, General Conference, April 2004)

• President Joseph Fielding Smith noted that “one of the great failings of mankind is to ignore warnings of punishment for sin. In all ages of the world it has been the peculiar belief of men that the sayings of the prophets were to be fulfilled in times still future. That is true of the people today. We have had ample warning of the nearness of the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. The signs are upon us in all their power. … In this revelation we are given the warning that the summer is passing and if we are heedless of the warning we will find the summer past, the harvest ended and our souls not saved. While no man knows the day or the hour, yet if we are taken unawares, we will be without excuse, for the signs are ample and we now see them being fulfilled.” (Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:195.)

• “One reason for their anxiety to know the signs is here stated. The separation of the spirits from the bodies is, even to those who are Christ’s own, a ‘bondage,’ which is ended only by a glorious resurrection, and they were interested in knowing by what signs they might recognize that their day of redemption was drawing near, when spirit and body should be united. The departed saints are, we may be sure, looking for the signs of the coming of the Lord, with an intense interest as the saints still in mortality. Jesus graciously showed them ‘how the day of redemption shall come, and also the restoration of scattered Israel.’ The two events are inseparably connected.” ((Smith and Sjodahl, Commentary, p. 259.) Section 45 “Looking Forth for the Great Day of the Lord”, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, (2002), 91–98.)

• “We cannot provide against every contingency. But we can provide against many contingencies. Let the present situation remind us that this we should do. As we have been continuously counseled for more than 60 years, let us have some food set aside that would sustain us for a time in case of need. But let us not panic nor go to extremes. Let us be prudent in every respect.” (Gordon B. Hinckley, General Conference, October 2002).

• “The Lord has promised that He will preserve His people in the last days. The question each member of the Church should be able to answer is, How can I be numbered among those the Lord will protect? That question is answered very clearly in the Doctrine and Covenants: It is a matter of individual worthiness. The Lord has said, ‘If ye are prepared ye shall not fear’. The preparation needed is to repent, to receive the gospel, and to become sanctified through following its precepts. In the early days of this dispensation, the Saints were persecuted because of their lack of faithfulness. The Lord has said that those who are ‘not purified shall not abide that day’ of His coming. The Saints have been warned not to entangle themselves in sin. After suffering much distress at the hands of mobs in Missouri, the Saints were promised that they would prevail against their enemies from that ‘very hour’ and never cease if they would ‘observe all the words’ the Lord spoke to them (italics added). The same is true today. Although there may be individual exceptions, in general the faithful Saints will be preserved from their enemies and from the judgments that God will pour out on the world. These same principles were taught in the October 1940 General Conference by Elder Joseph Fielding Smith: ‘We have the means of escape through obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Will we escape? When I see, even among the Latter-day Saints the violation of the laws of the Lord, I fear and I tremble. I have been crying repentance among the Stakes of Zion for thirty years, calling upon the people to turn to the Lord, keep His commandments, observe the Sabbath Day, pay their honest tithing, do everything the Lord has commanded them to do, to live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God. By doing this we shall escape the calamities. I am going to repeat what I have said before, for which I have been severely criticized from certain quarters, that even in [the United States] we have no grounds by which we may escape, no sure foundation upon which we can stand, and by which we may escape from the calamities and destruction and the plagues and the pestilences, and even the devouring fire by sword and by war, unless we repent and keep the commandments of the Lord, for it is written here in these revelations. So I cry repentance to the Latter-day Saints, and I cry repentance to the people of the United States, as well as to the people of all the earth. May we turn to live in accordance with divine law, and keep the commandments the Lord has given,’ Joseph Fielding Smith.” (Section 29 Prepare against the Day of Tribulation, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, (2002), 59–63.)

• “We live in an age when, as the Lord foretold, men’s hearts are failing them, not only physically but in spirit. Many are giving up heart for the battle of life. Suicide ranks as a major cause of the deaths to college students. As the showdown between good and evil approaches with its accompanying trials and tribulations, Satan is increasingly striving to overcome the Saints with despair, discouragement, despondency, and depression. Yet, of all people, we as Latter-day Saints should be the most optimistic and the least pessimistic. For while we know that ‘peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion,’ we are also assured that ‘the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst’.” (Ezra T. Benson, In Conference Report, Oct. 1974, p. 90; or Ensign, Nov. 1974, p. 65.)

• “It seems that safety in times of judgment is directly connected to the acceptance of prophets.” (Chapter 55: Revelation 12–16, New Testament Student Manual, 2014)

• “We have a great welfare program with facilities for such things as grain storage in various areas. It is important that we do this. But the best place to have some food set aside is within our homes, together with a little money in savings. The best welfare program is our own welfare program. Five or six cans of wheat in the home are better than a bushel in the welfare granary.” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “To The Men of The Priesthood”, General Conference, 2002)

• “In these days of our generation, many of you are asking: Where is safety? The word of the Lord is not silent. He has admonished us: ‘But my disciples shall stand in holy places, and shall not be moved; but among the wicked, men shall lift up their voices and curse God and die.’ The Lord has told us where these ‘holy places’ are: ‘And it shall come to pass among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor must needs flee unto Zion for safety.’ Where is Zion? During the various periods of time or dispensations, and for specific reasons, the Lord’s prophets, his ‘mouthpieces,’ as it were, have designated gathering places where the Saints were to gather. After designating certain such places in our dispensation, the Lord then declared: ‘Until the day cometh when there is found no more room for them; and then I have other places which I will appoint unto them, and they shall be called stakes, for the curtains or the strength of Zion. Thus, clearly the Lord has placed the responsibility of directing the work of gathering in the hands of his divinely appointed leaders. May I fervently pray that all Saints and truth-seekers everywhere will attune their listening ears to these prophet-leaders. …As one studies the Lord’s commandments and attending promises upon compliance therewith, one gets some definite ideas as to how we might ‘stand in holy places,’ as the Lord commands—if we will be preserved with such protection as accords with his holy purposes, in order that we might be numbered among the ‘pure in heart’ who constitute Zion, as I have read from the Lord’s own words.” (Harold B. Lee, In Conference Report, Oct. 1968, pp. 61–62.)

• “We do not know when the calamities and troubles of the last days will fall upon any of us as individuals or upon bodies of the Saints. The Lord deliberately withholds from us the day and hour of his coming and of the tribulations which shall precede it—all as part of the testing and probationary experiences of mortality. He simply tells us to watch and be ready. We can rest assured that if we have done all in our power to prepare for whatever lies ahead, he will then help us with whatever else we need… We do not say that all of the Saints will be spared and saved from the coming day of desolation. But we do say there is no promise of safety and no promise of security except for those who love the Lord and who are seeking to do all that he commands. It may be, for instance, that nothing except the power of faith and the authority of the priesthood can save individuals and congregations from the atomic holocausts that surely shall be. And so we raise the warning voice and say: Take heed; prepare; watch and be ready. There is no security in any course except the course of obedience and conformity and righteousness.” (Bruce R. McConkie, In Conference Report, Apr. 1979, pp. 132–133; or Ensign, May 1979, p. 93.)

• “We are not going to be saved in the kingdom of God just because our names are on the records of the Church. It will require more than that. We will have to have our names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and if they are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life then it is an evidence we have kept the commandments. Every soul who will not keep those commandments shall have his name blotted out of that book” (Joseph Fielding Smith, in Conference Report, Oct. 1950, 10).

• “If the great and dreadful day of the Lord were near at hand when Elijah came 130 years ago, we are just one century nearer it today. But some will say: ‘But no! Elijah, you are wrong! … Surely you made a mistake!’ So many seem to think and say, and judging by their actions they are sure, that the world is bound to go on in its present condition for millions of years before the end will come. Talk to them; hear what they have to say—these learned men of the world. ‘We have had worse times,’ they say. ‘You are wrong in thinking there are more calamities now than in earlier times. There are not more earthquakes, the earth has always been quaking, but now we have facilities for gathering the news which our fathers did not have. These are not signs of the times; things are not different from former times.’ And so the people refuse to heed the warnings the Lord so kindly gives to them, and thus they fulfill the scriptures.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, In Conference Report, Apr. 1966, pp. 13, 15.)

• “But what if you have faithfully stored a year’s supply and it’s washed away in a flood or carried away by a tornado or burned up in a fire? ‘I found that the mental security of having a year’s food and fuel supply was even more important than the physical security,’ says Ruth V. Tingey of Lincoln, Massachusetts. ‘If our year’s supply had been destroyed, then, having been prepared and having helped others to have their supply of food, I would have felt free to ask for their support, and they would have given it without bitterness. When the Lord promises that if we are prepared we shall not fear, I think he means regardless.’” (Marvin K. Gardner, When Disaster Strikes: Latter-day Saints Talk about Preparedness, Ensign, January 1982)

• “The Savior will stand in the midst of his people, and shall reign over all flesh. We have discovered in our study that the wicked, or all things that are corruptible, will be consumed and therefore will not be permitted to be on the earth when this time comes” (Church History and Modern Revelation, 2 vols. [1953], 1:264; see Isaiah 40:4; 64:1; D&C 133:22– 24, 40, 44).

• “I believe that the Ten Virgins represent the people of the Church of Jesus Christ and not the rank and file of the world. All of the virgins, wise and foolish, had accepted the invitation to the wedding supper; they had knowledge of the program and had been warned of the important day to come. They were not the gentiles or the heathens or the pagans, nor were they necessarily corrupt and reprobate, but they were knowing people who were foolishly unprepared for the vital happenings that were to affect their eternal lives. They had the saving, exalting gospel, but it had not been made the center of their lives. They knew the way but gave only a small measure of loyalty and devotion. I ask you: What value is a car without an engine, a cup without water, a table without food, a lamp without oil? Rushing for their lamps to light their way through the blackness, half of them found them empty. They had cheated themselves. They were fools, these five unprepared virgins. Apparently, the bridegroom had tarried for reasons that were sufficient and good. Time had passed, and he had not come. They had heard of his coming for so long, so many times, that the statement seemingly became meaningless to them. Would he ever come? So long had it been since they began expecting him that they were rationalizing that he would never appear. Perhaps it was a myth. Hundreds of thousands of us today are in this position. Confidence has been dulled and patience worn thin. It is so hard to wait and be prepared always. But we cannot allow ourselves to slumber. The Lord has given us this parable as a special warning. At midnight, the vital cry was made, ‘Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.’ …At midnight! Precisely at the darkest hour, when least expected, the bridegroom came. When the world is full of tribulation and help is needed, but it seems the time must be past and hope is vain, then Christ will come. The midnights of life are the times when heaven comes to offer its joy for man’s weariness. But when the cry sounds, there is no time for preparation. The lamps then make patterns of joy on the hillside, and the procession moves on toward the house of banqueting, and those without lamps or oil are left in darkness. When they have belatedly sought to fulfill the requirements and finally reach the hall, the door is shut. In the daytime, wise and unwise seemed alike; midnight is the time of test and judgment—and of offered gladness. The foolish asked the others to share their oil, but spiritual preparedness cannot be shared in an instant. The wise had to go, else the bridegroom would have gone unwelcomed. They needed all their oil for themselves; they could not save the foolish. The responsibility was each for himself. This was not selfishness or unkindness. The kind of oil that is needed to illuminate the way and light up the darkness is not shareable. How can one share obedience to the principle of tithing; a mind at peace from righteous living; an accumulation of knowledge? How can one share faith or testimony? How can one share attitudes or chastity, or the experience of a mission? How can one share temple privileges? Each must obtain that kind of oil for himself. The foolish virgins were not averse to buying oil. They knew they should have oil. They merely procrastinated, not knowing when the bridegroom would come. In the parable, oil can be purchased at the market. In our lives the oil of preparedness is accumulated drop by drop in righteous living. Attendance at sacrament meetings adds oil to our lamps, drop by drop over the years. Fasting, family prayer, home teaching, control of bodily appetites, preaching the gospel, studying the scriptures—each act of dedication and obedience is a drop added to our store. Deeds of kindness, payment of offerings and tithes, chaste thoughts and actions, marriage in the covenant for eternity—these, too, contribute importantly to the oil with which we can at midnight refuel our exhausted lamps.” (“Midnight is so late for those who have procrastinated.” (Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, pp. 253–56.))

• “The righteous will need patience and faith in Jesus Christ in order to withstand the evil that will prevail in the last days. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf explained: ‘Patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well! Patience is a godly attribute that can heal souls, unlock treasures of knowledge and understanding, and transform ordinary men and women into saints and angels. Patience is truly a fruit of the Spirit. Patience means … delaying immediate gratification for future blessings. It means reining in anger and holding back the unkind word. It means resisting evil, even when it appears to be making others rich. Patience means accepting that which cannot be changed and facing it with courage, grace, and faith. It means being ‘willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us], even as a child doth submit to his father’. Ultimately, patience means being ‘firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord’ every hour of every day, even when it is hard to do so. In the words of John the Revelator, ‘Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and … faith [in] Jesus’” (“Continue in Patience,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2010, 57–59).” (Chapter 55: Revelation 12–16, New Testament Student Manual, 2014)

• “Those who undertake a study of the last days should use the scriptures as their primary source. To one who seeks in righteousness with a humble heart, the scriptures will speak clearly of the events of the last days and of the path one should follow in these days.” (Enrichment H The Last Days, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, (2002), 397–405)

• “In the scriptures four words seem closely related to the concept of Zion: gathering, preparation, defense, and refuge. The tribulations and judgments that will be poured out upon the world prior to the Second Coming will be so extensive and devastating that if the Lord did not prepare a means of preservation, His people too would perish. But He has prepared a means for His people to escape those terrible times; that means is Zion. Enoch was told that the Lord would preserve His people in the tribulations of the last days by gathering His elect to Zion where they could gird up their loins (prepare themselves) and look forward to His coming. In an earlier revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants, the Savior called the elders of the Church to gather the elect so their hearts could be prepared for the day of tribulation. In 1838 the Lord explained that the gathering to Zion and her stakes was to be for defense and refuge from the coming storm that will be poured out on the earth. These commands and promises are found also in section 45. The Saints are to gather to Zion, a place of safety, peace, and refuge. Even though the rest of the world is in a state of horrible warfare, in Zion there will be peace and joy.” (Section 45 “Looking Forth for the Great Day of the Lord”, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, (2002), 91–98)

• “… The Lord has placed the responsibility for directing the work of gathering in the hands of the leaders of the Church to whom he will reveal his will where and when such gatherings would take place in the future. It would be well—before the frightening events concerning the fulfilment of all God’s promises and predictions are upon us, that the Saints in every land prepare themselves and look forward to the instruction that shall come to them from the First Presidency of this Church as to where they shall be gathered and not be disturbed in their feelings until such instruction is given to them as it is revealed by the Lord to the proper authority.” (Harold B. Lee, In Conference Report, Apr. 1948, p. 55.)

• “Is this passage figurative, or will the wicked really burn? President Joseph Fielding Smith said: ‘It is not a figure of speech that is meaningless, or one not to be taken literally when the Lord speaks of the burning. All through the scriptures we have the word of the Lord that at his coming the wicked and the rebellious will be as stubble and will be consumed. Isaiah has so prophesied. … Surely the words of the Lord are not to be received lightly or considered meaningless.’ ((Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:238.)” Section 29 Prepare against the Day of Tribulation, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, (2002), 59–63)

• “The world is rapidly coming to its end, that is, the end of the days of wickedness. When it is fully ripe in iniquity the Lord will come in the clouds of heaven to take vengeance on the ungodly, for his wrath is kindled against them. Do not think that he delayeth his coming. Many of the signs of his coming have been given, so we may, if we will, know that the day is even now at our doors… The day of the coming of the Lord is near. I do not know when. … I sincerely believe it will come in the very day when some of us who are here today [5 April 1936] will be living upon the face of the earth. That day is close at hand. It behooves us as Latter-day Saints to set our houses in order, to keep the commandments of God, to turn from evil to righteousness, if it is necessary, and serve the Lord in humility and faith and prayer.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 3:2–3.)

• “The Saints are now living in the ‘last days’. This is a period of wickedness and tribulations, of calamity and great distress, but it is also a period of restoration, in which the Lord is bringing to pass a restitution of the powers and blessings of all former times. In this day and age, the Lord’s work will triumph, and it will eventually fill the whole earth. This generation stands at the end of the sixth ‘day’ of the earth’s history. Now is the ‘Saturday evening’ of time preceding the great millennial Sabbath of the earth. It is for this generation to prepare the way for the Second Coming of the Lord. Modern Saints must obey the principles of the gospel and know the signs of the times, so that they may endure the trials and difficulties of this dispensation, recognize the signs of His coming, and be prepared to receive Him as His own people when He comes. The Doctrine and Covenants clarifies prophecies of the past concerning the last days, and it gives many additional prophecies by which the Saints can recognize the time of the Lord’s coming, that it might not ‘overtake [them] as a thief’. It not only teaches how to recognize the imminence of the Lord’s coming, but it also makes very clear what one must do to be prepared to receive the Lord when He comes.” (Enrichment H The Last Days, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, (2002), 397–405)

• “In the scriptures the Lord has given signs that will be shown to the inhabitants of the earth, so that those who watch can be prepared for the great events of the last days, including His return to the earth in power and glory. Those who know the signs and who follow the counsel given through the Lord’s prophets will be prepared to deal with the challenges of this momentous time and will be ‘looking forth for the great day of the Lord to come’. They will not be taken by surprise but will be anxiously awaiting the Lord’s coming.” (Enrichment H The Last Days, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, (2002), 397–405)

• “The Saints, having the opportunity to be enlightened by the teachings of the Doctrine and Covenants as well as other scriptures, should learn the signs of the times and watch them closely to recognize the time of the Lord’s return. Although no one knows the day nor the hour, nor will anyone until the Lord comes, yet in watching for the signs and giving heed to the Lord’s prophets one may stay in constant readiness to receive the Lord.” (Enrichment H The Last Days, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, (2002), 397–405)

• “Many things have taken place during the past one hundred and thirty-six years to impress faithful members of the Church with the fact that the coming of the Lord is near. The gospel has been restored. The Church has been fully organized. The priesthood has been conferred upon man. The various dispensations from the beginning have been revealed and their keys and authorities given to the Church. Israel has been and is being gathered to the land of Zion. The Jews are returning to Jerusalem. The gospel is being preached in all the world as a witness to every nation. Temples are being built, and ordinance work for the dead, as well as for the living, is performed in them. The hearts of the children have turned to their fathers, and the children are seeking after their dead. The covenants which the Lord promised to make with Israel in the latter days have been revealed, and thousands of gathered Israel have entered into them. Thus the work of the Lord is advancing, and all these things are signs of the near approach of our Lord.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, In Conference Report, Apr. 1966, pp. 12–13)

• “…To call the attention of the Latter-day Saints, and indeed if I had the power, the attention of all the world to the fact that God is speaking through the elements. The earthquakes, the sea heaving itself beyond its bounds, bringing such dire destruction as we have seen are the voice of God crying repentance to this generation, a generation that only in part has heeded the warning voice of the servants of the Lord.” (Melvin J. Ballard, In Conference Report, Oct. 1923, p. 31.)

• “‘Do you think there is calamity abroad now among the people?’ Not much. All we have yet heard and all we have experienced is scarcely a preface to the sermon that is going to be preached. When the testimony of the Elders ceases to be given, and the Lord says to them, ‘Come home; I will now preach my own sermons to the nations of the earth,’ all you now know can scarcely be called a preface to the sermon that will be preached with fire and sword, tempests, earthquakes, hail, rain, thunders and lightnings, and fearful destruction. What matters the destruction of a few railway cars? You will hear of magnificent cities, now idolized by the people, sinking in the earth, entombing the inhabitants. The sea will heave itself beyond its bounds, engulfing mighty cities. Famine will spread over the nations, and nation will rise up against nation, kingdom against kingdom, and states against states, in our own country and in foreign lands.” (Brigham Young, In Journal of Discourses, 8:123.)

• “Although the Lord’s Church in the last days will continue to be built up in time of severe opposition and dire calamities and judgments, the Lord has promised that He will preserve His people. It is part of the Lord’s testing of His children in mortality to allow them to remain in the midst of difficulty to see if they will be true to Him in times both of prosperity and of distress.” (Enrichment H The Last Days, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, (2002), 397–405)

• “The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that the Saints should not expect to escape all of the latter-day judgments while the wicked suffer. Many of the righteous will experience difficulty and suffering because of weaknesses of the flesh and still be saved in the kingdom of God (see History of the Church, 4:11). Though they will ‘hardly escape’, the Lord has promised that He will preserve His people in the midst of the judgments that will eventually destroy the wicked. While in the midst of tribulations, the Saints must remember that the Lord’s counsel is to be patient and have faith that they will receive His reward when He comes. He will soon pour out His wrath and indignation upon the wicked nations of the earth to save His people Israel. Until that time, He counsels the Saints to be calm and confident in the knowledge that He is God and all flesh is in His hands. He will ‘rend’ the kingdoms of the world and “exert the powers of heaven” to preserve the Saints.” (Enrichment H The Last Days, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, (2002), 397–405)

• “The Lord has promised that He will preserve His people in the last days. The question each member of the Church should be able to answer is, How can I be numbered among those the Lord will protect? That question is answered very clearly in the Doctrine and Covenants: It is a matter of individual worthiness. The Lord has said, ‘If ye are prepared ye shall not fear’. The preparation needed is to repent, to receive the gospel, and to become sanctified through following its precepts. In the early days of this dispensation, the Saints were persecuted because of their lack of faithfulness. The Lord has said that those who are ‘not purified shall not abide that day’ of His coming. The Saints have been warned not to entangle themselves in sin.” (Enrichment H The Last Days, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, (2002), 397–405)

• “…The Church, which administers the gospel, and the Saints who have received the gospel, must be independent of all the powers of earth, as they work out their salvation— temporally and spiritually—with fear and trembling before the Lord! Be it remembered that tribulations lie ahead. Peace has been taken from the earth, the angels of destruction have begun their work, and their swords shall not be sheathed until the Prince of Peace comes to destroy the wicked and usher in the great Millennium.We must maintain our own health, sow our own gardens, store our own food, educate and train ourselves to handle the daily affairs of life. No one else can work out our salvation for us, either temporally or spiritually. We are here on earth to care for the needs of our family members. Wives have claim on their husbands for their support, children upon their parents, parents upon their children, brothers upon each other, and relatives upon their kin. It is the aim of the Church to help the Saints to care for themselves and, where need be, to make food and clothing and other necessities available, lest the Saints turn to the doles and evils of Babylon. To help care for the poor among them the Church must operate farms, grow vineyards, run dairies, manage factories, and ten thousand other things—all in such a way as to be independent of the powers of evil in the world. We do not know when the calamities and troubles of the last days will fall upon any of us as individuals or upon bodies of the Saints. The Lord deliberately withholds from us the day and hour of his coming and of the tribulations which shall precede it—all as part of the testing and probationary experiences of mortality. He simply tells us to watch and be ready.We can rest assured that if we have done all in our power to prepare for whatever lies ahead, he will then help us with whatever else we need. We do not say that all of the Saints will be spared and saved from the coming day of desolation. But we do say there is no promise of safety and no promise of security except for those who love the Lord and who are seeking to do all that he commands.” (Bruce R. McConkie, In Conference Report, Apr. 1979, pp. 131–33; or Ensign, May 1979, p. 92–93.)

• “Throughout history the Lord has counseled His people to prepare for the time of His coming and to warn the world to do the same. The same preparations that are needed to endure the tribulations of the last days will be needed to endure the presence of the Lord when He comes. At the time of the Lord’s coming the parable of the ten virgins will be fulfilled and those who ‘have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide … shall abide the day’.” (Enrichment H The Last Days, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, (2002), 397–405)

• “The time is not far distant when great judgments will be poured out upon the wicked inhabitants of the earth. Every Prophet who has looked forward to our day has seen and predicted that the wicked would be destroyed. Their destruction means the destruction of Satan’s power. The righteous will be left, and because of their righteousness the Lord will have mercy upon them; they, exercising their agency in the right direction, will bring down His blessings upon them to such an extent that Satan will be bound.” (George Q. Cannon, Gospel Truth, 1:86–87)

• “We have the means of escape through obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Will we escape? When I see, even among the Latter-day Saints the violation of the laws of the Lord, I fear and I tremble. I have been crying repentance among the Stakes of Zion for thirty years, calling upon the people to turn to the Lord, keep His commandments, observe the Sabbath Day, pay their honest tithing, do everything the Lord has commanded them to do, to live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God. By doing this we shall escape the calamities. I am going to repeat what I have said before, for which I have been severely criticized from certain quarters, that even in [the United States] we have no grounds by which we may escape, no sure foundation upon which we can stand, and by which we may escape from the calamities and destruction and the plagues and the pestilences, and even the devouring fire by sword and by war, unless we repent and keep the commandments of the Lord, for it is written here in these revelations. So I cry repentance to the Latter-day Saints, and I cry repentance to the people of the United States, as well as to the people of all the earth. May we turn to live in accordance with divine law, and keep the commandments the Lord has given.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, In Conference Report, Oct. 1940, p. 117.)

• “It seems to me that of all the signs of the times (and they are ominous and on every side) this is one of the significant signs of the times—that the Church of Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God, is massing its forces, getting ready for that which is to follow. …I say this is in a sense one of the signs of the times. I see thousands listening; and I would like to say to you young men that those of us who are growing older will pass on. We must pass the torch to you. You must have the faith to hold it high… I hope that every young man under the sound of my voice will resolve tonight, ‘I am going to keep myself clean. I am going to serve the Lord. I am going to prepare every way I can for future service, because I want to be prepared when the final battle shall come. And some of you young men are going to engage in that battle. Some of you are going to engage in the final testing time, which is coming and which is closer to us than we know… I want to say to you, brethren, that in the midst of all the troubles, the uncertainties, the tumult and chaos through which the world is passing, almost unnoticed by the majority of the people of the world, there has been set up a kingdom, a kingdom over which God the Father presides, and Jesus the Christ is the King. That kingdom is rolling forward, as I say, partly unnoticed, but it is rolling forward with a power and a force that will stop the enemy in its tracks while some of you live… I urge all of us to set our houses in order, to set our lives in order, to be prepared for that which lies ahead; and God will bless and sustain us in our efforts.” (Hugh B. Brown, In Conference Report, Oct. 1967, pp. 115–16.)

• “Before this earth becomes a fit habitat for the Holy One, it must be cleansed and purified. The wicked must be destroyed; peace must replace war; and the evil imaginations in the hearts of men must give way to desires for righteousness. How shall this be brought to pass? There are two ways: (1) By plagues and pestilence and wars and desolation. The wicked shall slay the wicked, as did the Nephites and the Lamanites in the day of the extinction of the Nephites as a nation. Plagues will sweep the earth, as the Black Death ravaged Asia and Europe in the fourteenth century. The carcasses of the dead will be stacked in uncounted numbers to rot and decay and fill the earth with stench. (2) Then, at his coming, the vineyard will be burned. The residue of the wicked will be consumed” (Bruce R. McConkie, The Millennial Messiah, 378).

• “All we have yet heard and we have experienced is scarcely a preface to the sermon that is going to be preached. When the testimony of the Elders ceases to be given, and the Lord says to them, ‘Come home; I will now preach my own sermons to the nations of the earth,’ all you now know can scarcely be called a preface to the sermon that will be preached with fire and sword, tempests, earthquakes, hail, rain, thunders and lightnings, and fearful destruction. What matters the destruction of a few railway cars? You will hear of magnificent cities, now idolized by the people, sinking in the earth, entombing the inhabitants. The sea will heave itself beyond its bounds, engulfing mighty cities. Famine will spread over the nations and nation will rise up against nation, kingdom against kingdom and states against states, in our own country and in foreign lands; and they will destroy each other, caring not for the blood and lives of their neighbors, of their families, or for their own lives” (Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, 111–12).

• “In Matthew, chapter 24, we learn of ‘famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes…’ . The Lord declared that these and other calamities shall occur. These particular prophecies seem not to be conditional. The Lord, with his foreknowledge, knows that they will happen. Some will come about through man’s manipulations; others through the forces of nature and nature’s God, but that they will come seems certain. Prophecy is but history in reverse —a divine disclosure of future events. Yet, through all of this, the Lord Jesus Christ has said: ‘… if ye are prepared ye shall not fear’.” (Ezra T. Benson, Prepare Ye, Ensign, January 1974)

• “Here then is the key—look to the prophets for the words of God, that will show us how to prepare for the calamities which are to come. For the Lord, in that same section, states: ‘What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.’ (D&C 1:38.)

• “Again, the Lord warned those who will reject the inspired words of his representatives, in these words: ‘… and the day cometh that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles, shall be cut off from among the people.’” (Ezra T. Benson, Prepare Ye, Ensign, January 1974)

• “How on the face of the earth could a man enjoy his religion when he had been told by the Lord how to prepare for a day of famine, when, instead of doing so, he had fooled away that which would have sustained him and his family.” (George Albert Smith, JD, vol. 12, p. 142.)

• “When will all these calamities strike? We do not know the exact time, but it appears it may be in the not-too-distant future. Those who are prepared now have the continuing blessings of early obedience, and they are ready. Noah built his ark before the flood came, and he and his family survived. Those who waited to act until after the flood began were too late.” (Ezra T. Benson, Prepare Ye, Ensign, January 1974)

• “In the very nature of things, the signs of the times will not cease until the Lord comes. Those that involve chaos and commotion and distress of nations will continue in the future with even greater destructive force. Men’s hearts will fail them for fear in greater degree hereafter than heretofore. Wars will get worse. Moments of armistice and peace will be less stable. Viewed in the perspective of years, all worldly things will degenerate. There will be an increasing polarization of views. There will be more apostasy from the Church, more summer saints and sunshine patriots who will be won over to the cause of the adversary. Those who support the kingdom because of the loaves and the fishes will find other bread to eat. While the faithful saints get better and better, and cleave more firmly to the heaven- sent standards, the world will get worse and worse and will cleave to the policies and views of Lucifer” (McConkie, Millennial Messiah, 404).

• “Let us not be dissuaded from preparing because of a seeming prosperity today, or a so- called peace.” (Ezra T. Benson, Prepare Ye, Ensign, January 1974)

• “‘The time is about ripe,’ said President Lee, ‘for the demonstration of the power and efficacy of the Lord’s Plan which He designed as ‘a light to the world, and to be a standard for my people, and for the Gentiles to seek to it.’’ (Deseret News, Church section, December 20, 1941, p. 7; see also D&C 45:9.) May we ever remember the Lord’s promise: ‘… if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.’ Let us live the gospel fully, and may we recognize the infallibility of God’s inspired word— whether by his “… own voice …” or the “voice of [his] my servants, it is the same.” (D&C 1:38.) The days ahead are sobering and challenging. Oh, may we be prepared spiritually and temporally, I pray humbly in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.” (Ezra T. Benson, Prepare Ye, Ensign, January 1974)

• “The coming of the Son of Man never will be—never can be till the judgments spoken of for this hour are poured out: which judgments are commenced. Paul says, ‘Ye are the children of the light, and not of the darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief in the night.’ It is not the design of the Almighty to come upon the earth and crush it and grind it to powder, but he will reveal it to His servants the prophets. Judah must return, Jerusalem must be rebuilt, and the temple, and water come out from under the temple, and the waters of the Dead Sea be healed. It will take some time to rebuild the walls of the city and the temple, and etc.; and all this must be done before the Son of Man will make His appearance. There will be wars and rumors of wars, signs in the heavens above and on the earth beneath, the sun turned into darkness and the moon to blood, earthquakes in divers places, the seas heaving beyond their bounds; then will appear one grand sign of the Son of Man in heaven. But what will the world do? They will say it is a planet, a comet, etc. But the Son of man will come as the sign of the coming of the Son of Man, which will be as the light of the morning cometh out of the East” (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 286–87).

• “I will prophesy that the signs of the coming of the Son of Man are already commenced. One pestilence will desolate after another. We shall soon have war and bloodshed. The moon will be turned into blood. I testify of these things, and that the coming of the Son of Man is nigh, even at your doors. If our souls and our bodies are not looking forth for the coming of the Son of Man; and after we are dead, if we are not looking forth, we shall be among those who are calling for the rocks to fall upon them” (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 160).

• “One of the great incentives which encourages and entices men to live lives of personal righteousness, is the doctrine of the Second Coming of the Messiah. Many revelations speak of the signs which shall precede our Lord’s return; others tell of the tragic yet glorious events which shall attend and accompany his return to earth; and still others recite the good and ill which shall befall the living and the dead at that time. All this is preserved in holy writ so that men will be led to prepare themselves for the day of the Lord, the day when he shall take vengeance upon the ungodly and pour forth blessings upon those who love his appearing” (Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 1:674– 75).

• “Treasure up the Lord’s word. Possess it, own it, make it yours by both believing it and living it. For instance: the voice of the Lord says that if men have faith, repent, and are baptized, they shall receive the Holy Ghost. It is not sufficient merely to know what the scripture says. One must treasure it up, meaning take it into his possession so affirmatively that it becomes a part of his very being; as a consequence, in the illustration given, one actually receives the companionship of the Spirit. Obviously such persons will not be deceived where the signs of the times and the Second Coming of the Messiah are concerned” (McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 1:662).

• “The precise time of Christ’s coming has not been made known to man. By learning to comprehend the signs of the times, by watching the development of the work of God among the nations, and by noting the rapid fulfilment of significant prophecies, we may perceive the progressive evidence of the approaching event: ‘But the hour and the day no man knoweth, neither the angels in heaven, nor shall they know until he comes'. His coming will be a surprise to those who have ignored His warnings, and who have failed to watch. ‘As a thief in the night’ will be the coming of the day of the Lord unto the wicked” (James E. Talmage, The Articles of Faith, 362–63).

• “Now brethren and sisters, the great day of the Lord is coming. It is going to be a terrible day. The wicked are going to be destroyed, and when I say the wicked I do not mean everybody outside the Mormon Church. There will be countless millions of people not of this Church spared because they are not ripe in iniquity and to them we will preach the everlasting Gospel and bring them unto Christ” (Charles A. Callis, in Conference Report, Apr. 1935, 18).

• “As the forces around us increase in intensity, whatever spiritual strength was once sufficient will not be enough. And whatever growth in spiritual strength we once thought was possible, greater growth will be made available to us. Both the need for spiritual strength and the opportunity to acquire it will increase at rates which we underestimate at our peril” (Henry B. Eyring, “Always,” Ensign, Oct. 1999, 9).

• “Four matters are indisputable to Latter-day Saints: (1) The Savior will return to the earth in power and great glory to reign personally during a millennium of righteousness and peace. (2) At the time of His coming there will be a destruction of the wicked and a resurrection of the righteous. (3) No one knows the time of His coming, but (4) the faithful are taught to study the signs of it and to be prepared for it,” (Dallin H. Oaks, “Preparation for the Second Coming,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2004, 7).

• “Paul next compared the Second Coming of Christ to the unexpected arrival of a thief, a comparison earlier used by Jesus Christ. Paul taught that because the followers of Jesus Christ ‘are not in darkness’ they will not be caught off guard by the Lord’s return. Paul compared the disciples of Jesus Christ to a ‘sober’ person who is awake and alert. These disciples are unimpaired by the drunkenness of worldly living that prevents the wicked from recognizing the nearness of the Lord’s coming. In modern-day scripture, the Lord has taught: ‘And again, verily I say unto you, the coming of the Lord draweth nigh, and it overtaketh the world as a thief in the night—therefore, gird up your loins, that you may be the children of light, and that day shall not overtake you as a thief”.” (Chapter 46: 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians, New Testament Student Manual, 2014)

• “The ten virgins obviously represent members of Christ’s Church, for all were invited to the wedding feast and all knew what was required to be admitted when the bridegroom came. But only half were ready when he came” (Dallin H. Oaks, Preparation for the Second Coming).

• “And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins. For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived—verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day. And the earth shall be given unto them for an inheritance” (Joseph Smith, D&C 45:56–58; see also D&C 63:54).

• “The kind of oil that is needed to illuminate the way and light up the darkness is not shareable. How can one share obedience to the principle of tithing; a mind at peace from righteous living; an accumulation of knowledge? How can one share faith or testimony? How can one share attitudes or chastity, or the experience of a mission? How can one share temple privileges? Each must obtain that kind of oil for himself. …In the parable, oil can be purchased at the market. In our lives the oil of preparedness is accumulated drop by drop in righteous living. Attendance at sacrament meetings adds oil to our lamps, drop by drop over the years. Fasting, family prayer, home teaching, control of bodily appetites, preaching the gospel, studying the scriptures—each act of dedication and obedience is a drop added to our store. Deeds of kindness, payment of offerings and tithes, chaste thoughts and actions, marriage in the covenant for eternity—these, too, contribute importantly to the oil with which we can at midnight refuel our exhausted lamps” (Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle [1972], 255–56).

• “The closed door is a poignant reminder that ‘this life is the day for men to perform their labors’. …The fact that the five foolish virgins knocked, expecting to enter the marriage supper, indicates one of two things: (1) they thought they could prepare themselves after the Bridegroom came, or (2) knowing that they at first had not been prepared to enter, they were hoping for mercy. Either way, the door was shut” (Elder Lynn G. Robbins, “Oil in Our Lamps,” Ensign, June 2007, 47).

• “There is a danger in the word someday when what it means is ‘not this day.’ ‘Someday I will repent.’ ‘Someday I will forgive him.’ ‘Someday I will speak to my friend about the Church.’ ‘Someday I will start to pay tithing.’ ‘Someday I will return to the temple.’ ‘Someday …’ The scriptures make the danger of delay clear. It is that we may discover that we have run out of time” (Henry B. Eyring, “This Day,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2007, 89).

• “In the Savior’s time, a ‘talent’ was a unit of weight and also a large sum of money. In modern usage, the word “talent,” as used in this parable, has come to represent any spiritual gift or any skill or ability given to us by God, and the parable teaches that we are responsible to use these gifts wisely and profitably. The Second Coming is represented by the arrival, ‘after a long time,’ of a master who had entrusted his servants with talents. The servant who doubled his two talents received the same commendation as the one who doubled his five talents; each was expected to try to improve on what he had been given. Thus, in the end, only the servant who did nothing with his talent was rejected by his master. President James E. Faust (1920–2007) of the First Presidency explained that the Lord will hold all people accountable for what they do with their talents: ‘Some of us are too content with what we may already be doing. We stand back in the ‘eat, drink, and be merry’ mode when opportunities for growth and development abound. We miss opportunities to build up the kingdom of God because we have the passive notion that someone else will take care of it. The Lord tells us that He will give more to those who are willing. They will be magnified in their efforts. … But to those who say, ‘We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have’. The Lord entrusts all of His servants, including every priesthood holder, with spiritual talents. … While we are not all equal in experience, aptitude, and strength, we have different opportunities to employ these spiritual gifts, and we will all be accountable for the use of the gifts and opportunities given to us’ (“I Believe I Can, I Knew I Could,” Ensign, Nov. 2002, 50).” (Chapter 8: Matthew 24–25; Joseph Smith—Matthew, New Testament Student Manual, 2014).

• “These things are about to come to pass upon the heads of the present generation, notwithstanding they are not looking for it, neither do they believe it. Yet their unbelief will not make the truth of God of none effect. The signs are appearing in the heavens and on the earth, and all things indicate the fulfillment of the Prophets… Why should not God reveal His secrets unto His servants the Prophets, that the Saints might be led in paths of safety, and escape those evils which are about to engulf a whole generation in ruin?” (Wilford Woodruff, in History of the Church, 6:27).

• “We are seeing the signs of our times as foretold by the prophets and by the Master himself… Brothers and sisters, this is the day the Lord is speaking of. You see the signs are here” (Harold B. Lee, in Conference Report, Oct. 1973, 168, 170; or Ensign, Jan. 1974, 128–29).

• “Living in these difficult times, brothers and sisters, requires each one of us to maintain a positive, hopeful perspective about the future… More and more people are expressing great alarm at what appears to be an acceleration of worldwide calamity. As members of the Church, we must not forget the Savior’s admonition: ‘Be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass.’ My message to you today, my brothers and sisters, is simply this: the Lord is in control. He knows the end from the beginning” (M. Russel Ballard, in Conference Report, Oct. 1992, 41–42; or Ensign, Nov. 1992, 31–32).

• “I prophesy, in the name of the Lord God of Israel, anguish and wrath and tribulation and the withdrawing of the Spirit of God from the earth await this generation, until they are visited with utter desolation. This generation is as corrupt as the generation of the Jews that crucified Christ; and if He were here to-day, and should preach the same doctrine He did then, they would put Him to death” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 328).

• “Our missionaries are going forth to different nations, and … the Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done” (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 4:540).

• “This commission to take the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people is one of the signs by which believers will recognize the nearness of the Savior’s return to earth” (Ezra T. Benson, in Conference Report, Apr. 1984, 63; or Ensign, May 1984, 43).

• “When such witness among the nations is made complete, ‘then shall the end come’; and the nations ‘shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory’” (James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ, 777).

• “When our Lord returns, there shall be—among the wicked and ungodly—such wailing and mourning as has never before been known on earth, for the summer will be over, the harvest past, and their souls not saved” (Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:439).

• “The time for the Second Coming of Christ is as fixed and certain as was the hour of his birth. It will not vary as much as a single second from the divine decree. He will come at the appointed time. The Millennium will not be ushered in prematurely because men turn to righteousness, nor will it be delayed because iniquity abounds. ‘… [Jesus Christ] knows the set time and so does his Father” (Bruce R. McConkie, The Millennial Messiah, 26–27).

• “This is the great event that will wind up the latter days. Christ will come to establish an earthly kingdom over the earth for a thousand years. ‘So great shall be the glory of his presence that the sun shall hide his face in shame’. ‘The presence of the Lord shall be as the melting fire that burneth, and as the fire which causeth the waters to boil’; ‘element shall melt with fervent heat’ and ‘the mountains [shall] flow down at [Christ’s] presence’. At this time, the righteous Saints will be ‘quickened’ and will join those ‘who have slept in their graves,’ who will also be caught up to meet Christ ‘in the midst of the pillar of heaven’. Christ will descend to earth ‘in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven’. With the coming of Christ, the millennial era of peace, harmony, and righteousness will begin. Satan will have ‘no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in righteousness, and the Holy One of Israel reigneth’.” (Joseph Smith–Matthew, The Pearl of Great Price Student Manual, (2000), 42–51)

• “As in the days of Noah, people will also be preoccupied with the cares and the pleasures of the world (see Matthew 24:37). Ironically, most therefore will even miss such signs as God gives pertaining to Jesus’ glorious second coming” (Neal A. Maxwell, Sermons Not Spoken [1985], 62)

• “It is no accident that the scriptures have preserved for us certain precious insights about the times in which Noah lived. Those were times, we read, that were ‘filled with violence’ (Genesis 6:11), and corruption abounded. There was apparently a sense of self-sufficiency, a condition to which Jesus called attention. (Matthew 24:36–41) Jesus said this condition would be repeated in the last days. The people of Noah’s time were desensitized to real dangers. So we may become in our time. Noah and those with him had to let go of their world or perish with it!” (Neal A. Maxwell, Wherefore, Ye Must Press Forward, 13).

• “The servants of God are angels in one sense, sent forth to gather the house of Israel from the four corners of the earth; and the Elders of this Church in their labors have fulfilled, partly, the sayings of the Savior, when they have found two working in the field, one has received the Gospel and been gathered, and the other left; two working in a mill, one has been taken and the other left; two lying in a bed, the one has been taken and the other left. But no doubt these sayings will have their final and complete fulfilment about the time of the second coming of the Savior” (Heber C. Kimball, in Journal of Discourses, 10:103).

• “Those who treasure up his word will not be deceived as to the time of that glorious day, nor as to the events to precede and to attend it. (Jos. Smith 1:37.) The righteous will be able to read the signs of the times. To those in darkness he will come suddenly, unexpectedly, ‘as a thief in the night,’ but to ‘the children of light’ who ‘are not of the night, nor of darkness,’ as Paul expressed it, that day will not overtake them ‘as a thief.’ They will recognize the signs as certainly as a woman in travail foreknows the approximate time of her child’s birth.” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 688).

• “Each passing year brings us nearer the date of the Lord’s coming in power and glory. True, the hour and the day when this great event is to take place, no man knoweth; but all the promised signs indicate that it is not far distant. Meanwhile the duty of the Saints is to watch and work and pray, being valiant for truth, and abounding in good works. Despite the uneasiness and discontent in many parts of the earth, the suspicions and jealousies among the nations, the mounting wave of lawlessness and crime, and the seeming spread of the elements of destruction … those who continue to stand in holy places can discern through it all the handworking of the Almighty in consummation of His purposes and in furtherance of His will. That which, viewed with the natural eye, is portentous and dreadful, causes no apprehension to those who have faith that whatever happens, the Lord God omnipotent reigneth” (in Clark, Messages of the First Presidency, 5:256).

• “And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ. …” (Ether 2:9, 10, 12.) The world is spiraling downward at an ever-quickening pace. I am sorry to tell you that it will not get better. It is my purpose to charge each of you as teachers with the responsibility —to put you on alert. These are days of great spiritual danger for our youth. I know of nothing in the history of the Church or in the history of the world to compare with our present circumstances. Nothing happened in Sodom and Gomorrah which exceeds in wickedness and depravity that which surrounds us now. Words of profanity, vulgarity, and blasphemy are heard everywhere. Unspeakable wickedness and perversion were once hidden in dark places; now they are in the open, even accorded legal protection. At Sodom and Gomorrah these things were localized. Now they are spread across the world, and they are among us.” (Boyd K. Packer, “The One Pure Defense”, Teaching Seminary Preservice Readings Religion 370, 471, and 475, (2004), 7–12)

• “This people know enough to be righteous, honest, pure, and virtuous; and those who will not practice that which they know to be good will become habituated to folly and vice… When the time comes that the Lord says, ‘Arise, and to your tents, O Israel;’ then men must be pure inside and out; they must be for God, or they will have no part in the blessings conferred upon the righteous. We sometimes talk about cutting men off from the Church. Now I want you to know what is the use of retaining dead limbs upon a tree. If such limbs are allowed to continue, they impart death to the branches.” (Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 9, p. 154, June 19, 1862)

• “Great and grand as is this people, mighty as are the works that have been accomplished through the blessings of God through his servants in these days, there is too little real prayer among the Latter-day Saints, too many prayerless homes, and hence the spread of spiritual contagion among some of us. Thank the Lord not among many, relatively speaking. I have faith in my people, for I know that they are the Lord’s people, and I am proud to be one of them; but when the cry shall come, as come it shall: ‘To your tents, O Israel,’ for there are struggles ahead, the Lord knows where to find those who have been faithful.” (James E. Talmage, Conference Report, October 1921, p. 188.)

• “It is my opinion that we Latter-day Saints, because of the knowledge we have received in the revelations, are better prepared to meet the perplexities of our times than are any other people. ‘For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide … shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day.’ …Each one of us who is a member of the Church has had hands laid upon his head and has been given, as far as an ordinance can give it, the gift of the Holy Ghost. … If I receive the Holy Ghost and follow his guidance, I will be among those who are protected and carried through these troubled times. And so will you, and so will every other soul who lives under his direction” (Marion G. Romney, “‘If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear,’” Ensign, July 1981, 3, 5).

• “How often do Church members arise early in the morning to do the will of the Lord? How often do we say, “Yes, I will have home evening with my family, but the children are so young now; I will start when they are older”? How often do we say, “Yes, I will obey the commandment to store food and to help others, but just now I have neither the time nor the money to spare; I will obey later”? Oh, foolish people! While we procrastinate, the harvest will be over and we will not be saved. Now is the time to follow Abraham’s example; now is the time to repent; now is the time for prompt obedience to God’s will.” (Spencer W. Kimball, “The Example of Abraham”, June 1975).

• “We encourage you to be more self-reliant so that, as the Lord has declared, ‘notwithstanding the tribulation which shall descend upon you, … the church may stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world’. The Lord wants us to be independent and self-reliant because these will be days of tribulation. He has warned and forewarned us of the eventuality.” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson, (2014), 262–74)

• “Let us ever keep in mind that all material things are but a means to an end, that the end is spiritual, although the Lord is anxious and willing to bless his people temporally. He has so indicated in many of the revelations. He has pointed out, time and time again, that we should pray over our crops, over our livestock, over our households, our homes, and invoke the Lord’s blessings upon our material affairs. And he has promised that he will be there and ready and willing to bless us… The Lord will not do for us what we can and should do for ourselves. But it is his purpose to take care of his Saints. Everything that concerns the economic, social, and spiritual welfare of the human family is and ever will be the concern of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson, (2014), 262–74)

• “The Lord has warned and forewarned us against a day of great tribulation and given us counsel, through His servants, on how we can be prepared for these difficult times. Have we heeded His counsel? Be faithful, my brothers and sisters, to this counsel and you will be blessed—yes, the most blessed people in all the earth. You are good people. I know that. But all of us need to be better than we are. Let us be in a position so we are able to not only feed ourselves through the home production and storage, but others as well. May God bless us to be prepared for the days which lie ahead, which may be the most severe yet.” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson, (2014), 262–74)

• “Let our anxiety be centered upon this one thing, the sanctification of our own hearts, the purifying of our own affections, the preparing of ourselves for the approach of the events that are hastening upon us. … Seek to have the spirit of Christ, that we may wait patiently the time of the Lord, and prepare ourselves for the times that are coming” (Brigham Young, Deseret News, 1 May 1861, 65).

• “As we contemplate the lessons of this parable [parable of the ten virgins], we realize that all ten virgins had oil in their lamps. Five were wise and kept the oil replenished so they would always have sufficient. The other five were foolish and shortsighted. Consequently, they were found wanting when the bridegroom came. We also learn from the parable that preparation necessary to help them meet the immediate circumstances was a simple, everyday task. The arrival of the bridegroom did not require unusual or elaborate preparation. Our preparation should be deliberate and structured to meet today’s problems. We should prepare ourselves one step at a time as the Lord so inspires us.” (Victor L. Brown, “Preparation for Tomorrow”, October 1982)

• “President David O. McKay used to tell a story about a railroad engineer. Let me share it with you as recorded by President Harold B. Lee: ‘The engineer pulled his train into a station one dark night, and a timid passenger inquired of the engineer if he wasn’t frightened to pull his train out in the dark with 400 or 500 passengers’ lives at stake. The engineer said, pointing up to the bright headlight, ‘I want to tell you one thing: when I pull out of this station I won’t be running in darkness one foot of the way. You see that light a thousand yards ahead? I run my engine just to the edge of the light, and when I get there it will still be on a thousand yards ahead.’ Having said that, President McKay added: ‘I want to tell you something. Through all this dark night of uncertainty, I want to tell you that this Welfare Program will not be running in the dark one foot of the way. You remember it. We can only see the next October as the first circle of light. We have told you what to do six months from now. By the time we get there the light will be on ahead of us, but every step of the way that light will be there. You teach your people to follow the light and they will be safe on Zion’s hill when the destructive forces come in the world.’ (Welfare Agricultural Meeting, 5 Apr. 1969.).” (Victor L. Brown, “Preparation for Tomorrow”, October 1982)

• “And I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom. Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand; Of things both in heaven and in earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdom— That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the mission with which I have commissioned you… And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” (D&C 88:77–80, 118.)

• “Anciently, the Lord blessed Father Abraham with a promise to make his posterity a chosen people. References to this covenant occur throughout the scriptures. Included were promises that the Son of God would come through Abraham’s lineage, that certain lands would be inherited, that nations and kindreds of the earth would be blessed through his seed, and more. While some aspects of that covenant have already been fulfilled, the Book of Mormon teaches that this Abrahamic covenant will be fulfilled only in these latter days! It also emphasizes that we are among the covenant people of the Lord. Ours is the privilege to participate personally in the fulfillment of these promises. What an exciting time to live!” (Russel M. Nelson, “The Gathering of Scattered Israel”, October 2006)

• “As prophesied by Peter and Paul, all things were to be restored in this dispensation. Therefore, there must come, as part of that restoration, the long-awaited gathering of scattered Israel. It is a necessary prelude to the Second Coming of the Lord. This doctrine of the gathering is one of the important teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints. The Lord has declared: ‘I give unto you a sign … that I shall gather in, from their long dispersion, my people, O house of Israel, and shall establish again among them my Zion.’ The coming forth of the Book of Mormon is a sign to the entire world that the Lord has commenced to gather Israel and fulfill covenants He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We not only teach this doctrine, but we participate in it. We do so as we help to gather the elect of the Lord on both sides of the veil.” (Russel M. Nelson, “The Gathering of Scattered Israel”, October 2006)

• “The choice to come unto Christ is not a matter of physical location; it is a matter of individual commitment. People can be ‘brought to the knowledge of the Lord’ without leaving their homelands. True, in the early days of the Church, conversion often meant emigration as well. But now the gathering takes place in each nation. The Lord has decreed the establishment of Zion in each realm where He has given His Saints their birth and nationality. Scripture foretells that the people ‘shall be gathered home to the lands of their inheritance, and shall be established in all their lands of promise.’ ‘Every nation is the gathering place for its own people.’ The place of gathering for Brazilian Saints is in Brazil; the place of gathering for Nigerian Saints is in Nigeria; the place of gathering for Korean Saints is in Korea; and so forth. Zion is ‘the pure in heart.’ Zion is wherever righteous Saints are. Publications, communications, and congregations are now such that nearly all members have access to the doctrines, keys, ordinances, and blessings of the gospel, regardless of their location. Spiritual security will always depend upon how one lives, not where one lives. Saints in every land have equal claim upon the blessings of the Lord.” (Russell M. Nelson, “The Gathering of Scattered Israel”, October 2006)

• “We would be wise to remember that all things unto the Lord are spiritual, ‘and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men.’” (David A. Bednar, “The Spirit and Purposes of Gathering”, Brigham Young University–Idaho Devotional, October 2006)

• “The gathering of scattered Israel is one of the fundamental principles of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord gathers his people when they accept him and keep His commandments. The Tenth Article of Faith states: ‘We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory’ (Articles of Faith 1:10). Thus on a grand and global scale, the house of Israel is being gathered together in these latter days before the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. This supernal spiritual process variously is described in the scriptures as gathering out the wheat from the tares (see D&C 86:7), separating the righteous from the wicked (see Alma 5:57), dividing the sheep from the goats (see Matthew 25:32-33), and assembling the outcasts of Israel and gathering together the dispersed of Judah (see Isaiah 11:12). The spirit of gathering is an integral part of the restoration of all things in this the dispensation of the fullness of times. And as Elder Russell M. Nelson taught us in our recent general conference, the elect of the Lord are being gathered on both sides of the veil (see “The Gathering of Scattered Israel,” Ensign, November 2006, 79).” (David A. Bednar, “The Spirit and Purposes of Gathering”, Brigham Young University–Idaho Devotional, October 2006)

• “I stand before the Church this day and raise the warning voice. It is a prophetic voice, for I shall say only what the apostles and prophets have spoken concerning our day. It is the voice of Jesus on the Mount of Olives, of John on the Isle of Patmos, of Joseph Smith during the mobbings and murders of Missouri. It is a voice calling upon the Lord’s people to prepare for the troubles and desolations which are about to be poured out upon the world without measure. For the moment we live in a day of peace and prosperity but it shall not ever be thus. Great trials lie ahead. All of the sorrows and perils of the past are but a foretaste of what is yet to be. And we must prepare ourselves temporally and spiritually.” (Bruce R. McConkie, “Stand Independent Above All Creatures”, April 1979)

• “Our spiritual preparation consists in keeping the commandments of God, and taking the Holy Spirit for our guide, so that when this life is over we shall find rest and peace in paradise and an ultimate inheritance of glory and honor in the celestial kingdom. Our temporal preparation consists in using the good earth in the way the Lord designed and intended so as to supply all our just wants and needs. It is his purpose to provide for his Saints for all things are his, but, he says, it must needs be done in his own way.” (Bruce R. McConkie, “Stand Independent Above All Creatures”, April 1979)

• “Thus, speaking of temporal things—of lands and houses and crops, of work and sweat and toil, of the man Adam eating his bread in the sweat of his face—the Lord says: ‘If you will that I give unto you a place in the celestial world, you must prepare yourselves by doing the things which I have commanded you and required of you’. Then he commands both the Church and its members ‘to prepare and organize’ their temporal affairs according to the law of his gospel, ‘that through my providence,’ saith the Lord, ‘notwithstanding the tribulation which shall descend upon you, that the church may stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world; that you may come up unto the crown prepared for you, and be made rulers over many kingdoms, saith the Lord God’.” (Bruce R. McConkie, “Stand Independent Above All Creatures”, April 1979)

• “The Church, which administers the gospel, and the Saints who have received the gospel, must be independent of all the powers of earth, as they work out their salvation—temporally and spiritually—with fear and trembling before the Lord!” (Bruce R. McConkie, “Stand Independent Above All Creatures”, April 1979)

• “Be it remembered that tribulations lie ahead. There will be wars in one nation and kingdom after another until war is poured out upon all nations and two hundred million men of war mass their armaments at Armageddon. Peace has been taken from the earth, the angels of destruction have begun their work, and their swords shall not be sheathed until the Prince of Peace comes to destroy the wicked and usher in the great Millennium. There will be earthquakes and floods and famines. The waves of the sea shall heave themselves beyond their bounds, the clouds shall withhold their rain, and the crops of the earth shall wither and die. There will be plagues and pestilence and disease and death. An overflowing scourge shall cover the earth and a desolating sickness shall sweep the land. Flies shall take hold of the inhabitants of the earth, and maggots shall come in upon them. ‘Their flesh shall fall from off their bones, and their eyes from their sockets’ (D&C 29:19). Bands of Gadianton robbers will infest every nation, immorality and murder and crime will increase, and it will seem as though every man’s hand is against his brother. We need not dwell more upon these things. We are commanded to search the scriptures where they are recounted with force and fervor, and they shall surely come to pass.” (Bruce R. McConkie, “Stand Independent Above All Creatures”, April 1979)

• “It is one of the sad heresies of our time that peace will be gained by weary diplomats as they prepare treaties of compromise, or that the Millennium will be ushered in because men will learn to live in peace and to keep the commandments, or that the predicted plagues and promised desolations of latter days can in some way be avoided. We must do all we can to proclaim peace, to avoid war, to heal disease, to prepare for natural disasters—but with it all, that which is to be shall be.” (Bruce R. McConkie, “Stand Independent Above All Creatures”, April 1979)

• “Knowing what we know, and having the light and understanding that has come to us, we must—as individuals and as a Church—use our talents, strengths, energies, abilities, and means to prepare for whatever may befall us and our children. We know that the world will go on in wickedness until the end of the world, which is the destruction of the wicked. We shall continue to live in the world, but with the Lord’s help we shall not be of the world. We shall strive to overcome carnality and worldliness of every sort and shall invite all men to flee from Babylon, join with us, and live as becometh Saints.” (Bruce R. McConkie, “Stand Independent Above All Creatures”, April 1979)

• “As the Saints of the Most High we shall strive to ‘stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world’ (D&C 78:14). Our only hope is to free ourselves from the bondage of sin, to rid ourselves from the chains of darkness, to rise above the world, to live godly and upright lives. Relying always on the Lord, we must become independent of the world. We must be self-reliant. Using the agency God has given us, we must work out our own economic and temporal problems.” (Bruce R. McConkie, “Stand Independent Above All Creatures”, April 1979)

• “We do not know when the calamities and troubles of the last days will fall upon any of us as individuals or upon bodies of the Saints. The Lord deliberately withholds from us the day and hour of his coming and of the tribulations which shall precede it—all as part of the testing and probationary experiences of mortality. He simply tells us to watch and be ready. We can rest assured that if we have done all in our power to prepare for whatever lies ahead, he will then help us with whatever else we need.” (Bruce R. McConkie, “Stand Independent Above All Creatures”, April 1979)

• “We do not say that all of the Saints will be spared and saved from the coming day of desolation. But we do say there is no promise of safety and no promise of security except for those who love the Lord and who are seeking to do all that he commands. It may be, for instance, that nothing except the power of faith and the authority of the priesthood can save individuals and congregations from the atomic holocausts that surely shall be. And so we raise the warning voice and say: Take heed; prepare; watch and be ready. There is no security in any course except the course of obedience and conformity and righteousness. For thus saith the Lord: ‘The Lord’s scourge shall pass over by night and by day, and the report thereof shall vex all people; yea, it shall not be stayed until the Lord come; …Nevertheless, Zion shall escape if she observe to do all things whatsoever I have commanded her,’ saith the Lord. ‘But if she observe not to do whatsoever I have commanded her, I will visit her according to all her works, with sore affliction, with pestilence, with plague, with sword, with vengeance, with devouring fire,’ (D&C 97:23, 25– 26.)” (Bruce R. McConkie, “Stand Independent Above All Creatures”, April 1979)

• “One way or another, I think virtually all of the prophets and early apostles had their visionary moments of our time—a view that gave them courage in their own less-successful eras. Those early brethren knew an amazing amount about us. Prophets such as Moses, Nephi, and the brother of Jared saw the latter days in tremendously detailed vision. Some of what they saw wasn’t pleasing, but surely all those earlier generations took heart from knowing that there would finally be one dispensation that would not fail. Ours, not theirs, was the day that gave them ‘heavenly and joyful anticipations’ and caused them to sing and prophesy of victory. Ours is the day, collectively speaking, toward which the prophets have been looking from the beginning of time, and those earlier brethren are over there still cheering us on! In a very real way, their chance to consider themselves fully successful depends on our faithfulness and our victory. I love the idea of going into the battle of the last days representing Alma and Abinadi and what they pled for and representing Peter and Paul and the sacrifices they made. If you can’t get excited about that kind of assignment in the drama of history, you can’t get excited!” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Preparing for the Second Coming”, December 2013)

• “The Lord has long spoken of the necessary preparations for His Second Coming. To Enoch, He declared, ‘Righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, … and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth.’ The prophet Daniel prophesied that in the latter days the gospel would roll forth unto the ends of the earth as a “stone [that is] cut out of [a] mountain without hands.’ Nephi spoke of the latter-day Church as being few in number but spread upon all the face of the earth. The Lord declared in this dispensation, ‘Ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect.’” (Neil L. Andersen, “Preparing the World for the Second Coming”, General Conference, April 2011)

• “I testify of the majesty, but most of all, of the certainty of this magnificent event. The Savior lives. He will return to the earth. And whether on this side of the veil or the other, you and I will rejoice in His coming and thank the Lord that He sent us to earth at this time to fulfill our sacred duty of helping prepare the world for His return.” (Neil L. Andersen, “Preparing the World for the Second Coming”, General Conference, April 2011)

• “Let me add another element to this view of the dispensation that I think follows automatically. Because ours is the last and greatest of all dispensations, because all things will eventually culminate and be fulfilled in our era, there is, therefore, one particular, very specific responsibility that falls to those of us in the Church now that did not rest quite the same way on the shoulders of Church members in any earlier time. Unlike the Church in the days of Abraham or Moses, Isaiah or Ezekiel, or even in the New Testament days of James and John, we have a responsibility to prepare the Church of the Lamb of God to receive the Lamb of God—in person, in triumphant glory, in His millennial role as Lord of lords and King of kings. No other dispensation ever had that duty.” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Preparing for the Second Coming”, December 2013)

• “In the language of the scriptures, we are the ones designated in all of history who must prepare the bride for the advent of the Bridegroom and be worthy of an invitation to the wedding feast. Collectively speaking—whether it is in our lifetime or our children’s or our grandchildren’s or whenever—we nevertheless have the responsibility as a Church and as individual members of that Church to be worthy to have Christ come to us, to be worthy to have Him greet us, and to have Him accept and receive and embrace us. The lives we present to Him in that sacred hour must be worthy of Him!” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Preparing for the Second Coming”, December 2013)

• “I am filled with awe, with an overwhelming sense of duty to prepare my life (and to the extent that I can, to help prepare the lives of the members of the Church) for that long- prophesied day, for that transfer of authority, for the time when we will make a presentation of the Church to Him whose Church it is. When Christ comes, the members of His Church must look and act like members of His Church are supposed to look and act if we are to be acceptable to Him. We must be doing His work, and we must be living His teachings. He must recognize us quickly and easily as truly being His disciples. As President J. Reuben Clark Jr. (1871–1961), former First Counselor in the First Presidency, once advised: our faith must not be difficult to detect.” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Preparing for the Second Coming”, December 2013)

• “Yes, if in that great, final hour we say we are believers, then we had surely better be demonstrating it. The Shepherd knows His sheep, and we must be known in that great day as His followers in deed as well as in word.” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Preparing for the Second Coming”, December 2013)

• “From the standpoint of food production, storage, handling, and the Lord’s counsel, wheat should have high priority. … Water, of course, is essential. Other basics could include honey or sugar, legumes, milk products or substitutes, and salt or its equivalent. The revelation to produce and store food may be as essential to our temporal welfare today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah.” (Ezra T. Benson, Ensign, Nov. 1980, p. 33.)

• It is important that we not be like Jonah, who went to wait for the destruction of Nineveh; but rather, that we work effectively and ceaselessly on the ‘Ninevehs’ of our lives, precisely because we do believe that human history will have a cataclysmic end, even though we do not know when. Thus, there must be balance in our life-style in responding to this powerful doctrine of the second coming. The chiliast, one who believes in a second coming of Christ that will usher in a millennial reign, has special challenges in reading signs. First, he is urged to notice lest he be caught unawares. Second, he must be aware of how many false readings and alarms there have been in bygone days, even by the faithful. For instance, has any age had more wonders in the sky than ours, with satellites and journeys to the moon? Has any generation seen, as has ours, such ominous vapors of smoke, with its mushroom clouds over the pathetic pyres of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Yet there is more to come. Our task is to react and to notice without overreacting, to let life go forward without slipping into the heedlessness of those in the days of Noah.”(Neal A. Maxwell, Q & A: Questions and Answers, January 1971)

• “It has been asked, and well it might be, how many of us would have jeered, or at least been privately amused, by the sight of Noah building his ark. Presumably, the laughter and the heedlessness continued until it began to rain—and kept raining. How wet some people must have been before Noah’s ark suddenly seemed the only sane act in an insane, bewildering situation!” (Neal A. Maxwell, Q & A: Questions and Answers, January 1971)

• “To ponder signs without becoming paranoid, to be aware without frantically matching current events with expectations and using energy that should be spent in other ways—these are our tasks. Perhaps, ironically, the recent secular ‘prophecies’ about coming cataclysms may create a fresh interest in the doctrine of the second coming of Christ. The youth and all members of the Church need to accept the reality of Christ’s return in majesty and power before that event occurs; for, as C. S. Lewis put it, it will do men little good to kneel down when it is no longer possible to stand up, for when the ‘Author of the play comes on stage, the play is over!’ (Neal A. Maxwell, Q & A: Questions and Answers, January 1971)

• “While the iron curtains rise and thicken, we eat, drink, and make merry. While armies are marshalled and march and drill, and officers teach men how to kill, we continue to drink and carouse as usual. While bombs are detonated and tested, and fallout settles on the already sick world, we continue in idolatry and adultery. While corridors are threatened and concessions made, we live riotously and divorce and marry in cycles like seasons. While leaders quarrel, and editors write, and authorities analyze and prognosticate, we break the Sabbath as though no command had ever been given. While enemies filter into our nation to subvert us and intimidate us and soften us, we continue with our destructive thinking: ‘It can’t happen here.’ Will we ever turn wholly to God? Fear envelopes the world which could be at ease and peace. In God is protection, safety, peace. He has said, ‘I will fight your battles.’ But his commitment is on condition of our faithfulness.” (Ezra T. Benson, Conference Report, October 1961, p.69)

• “Let’s not forget one of the most important lessons learned through the year’s supply program is the lesson of obedience.” (Burke Peterson, Church News, April 12, 1975)

• “It will not be long until calamities will overtake the human family unless there is speedy repentance. It will not be long before those who are scattered over the face of the earth by millions will die like flies because of what will come. Our Heavenly Father has told us how it can be avoided, and that is our mission, in part, to go into the world and explain to people how it may be avoided, and that people need not be unhappy as they are everywhere but that happiness may be in their lives — because when the Spirit of God burns in your soul, you cannot be otherwise than happy.” (George Albert Smith, in Conference Report, Apr. 1950, 169)

• “We live in a most exciting and challenging period in human history. As technology sweeps through every facet of our lives, changes are occurring so rapidly that it can be difficult for us to keep our lives in balance. To maintain some semblance of stability in our lives, it is essential that we plan for our future. I believe it is time, and perhaps with some urgency, to review the counsel we have received in dealing with our personal and family preparedness. We want to be found with oil in our lamps sufficient to endure to the end. President Spencer W. Kimball admonished us: ‘In reviewing the Lord’s counsel to us on the importance of preparedness, I am impressed with the plainness of the message. The Savior made it clear that we cannot place sufficient oil in our preparedness lamps by simply avoiding evil. We must also be anxiously engaged in a positive program of preparation.’ He also said: ‘The Lord will not translate one’s good hopes and desires and intentions into works. Each of us must do that for himself.’” (L. Tom Perry, “If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear,” General Conference, October 1995)

• “The time is coming when those who do not obey the Lord will be separated from those who do. Our safest insurance is to continue to be worthy of admission to His holy house. How blessed we are to have temples available. The greatest gift you could give to the Lord at this or any other time of year is to keep yourself unspotted from the world, worthy to attend His holy house. His gift to you will be the peace and security of knowing that you are worthy to meet Him, whenever that time shall come.” (Russell M. Nelson, Christ the Savior is Born, BYU Speeches, December 2002)

• “Our emphasis on this subject is not grounds for crisis thinking or panic. Quite the contrary, personal and family preparedness should be a way of provident living, an orderly approach to using the resources, gifts, and talents the Lord shares with us. So the first step is to teach our people to be self-reliant and independent through proper preparation for daily life.” (Victor L. Brown, Essentials of Home Production and Storage, 1978)

• “The doctrine of the Second Coming of the Messiah provides one of the great incentives to prepare and live right. Heavenly Father knows that promised rewards encourage His children to do works of righteousness and promised penalties create a dread of doing evil. Such are the revelations pertaining to the Second Coming of our Lord. These revelations speak of signs and wonders on earth and in the heavens. They point to troublesome times and pending events vast in scope and duration. And most important, we receive these supernal promises: ‘The Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst… Through my providence, notwithstanding the tribulation which shall descend upon you, … the church may stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world.’ And ‘if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.'”(Keith B. McMullin, Lay Up In Store, Ensign, May 2007)

• “Priesthood bearers are led by these promises to prepare themselves and their families for the Lord’s appearing. There is no need to be anxious about events leading up to the Second Coming. Let us instead be filled with gratitude for our understanding of what lies ahead. Let us appreciate that we are in charge of our own world, being the Lord’s agents over that which He has entrusted to us. The formula is simple: Be faithful. Unencumber your life. Lay up in store.” (Keith B. McMullin, Lay Up In Store, Ensign, May 2007)

• “Even in the most severe of times, problems and prophecies were never intended to do anything but bless the righteous and help those who are less righteous move toward repentance” (Howard W. Hunter, New Era, Jan. 94, p. 6).

• “The kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God on the earth will be combined together at Christ’s coming – and that time is not far distant. How I wish we could get the vision of this work, the genius of it, and realize the nearness of that great event. I am sure it would have a sobering effect upon us if we realized what is before us.” (Gordon B. Hinckley, General Conference, October 1992)

• “More than ever before, we need to learn and apply the principles of economic self-reliance. We do not know when the crisis involving sickness or unemployment may affect our own circumstances. We do know that the Lord has decreed global calamities for the future and has warned and forewarned us to be prepared. For this reason the Brethren have repeatedly stressed a ‘back to basics’ program for temporal and spiritual welfare.” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Ezra T. Benson, Chapter 21: Principles of Temporal and Spiritual Welfare)

• “…When we really get into hard times, where food is scarce or there is none at all, and so with clothing and shelter, money may be no good for there may be nothing to buy, and you cannot eat money, you cannot get enough of it together to burn to keep you warm, and you cannot wear it.” (President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Church News, November 21, 1953, p.4)

• “If in 1936 we had told the Saints, ‘You would better prepare, because the time is coming when’ – remember, in 1936 the problem was money, – there was always enough to buy, but the problem today is something to buy, not money – if we had told you then that the time would come when you could not buy all the meat you wanted, and perhaps not any at times; that you could not get butter, and that you could not get sugar, and that you could not get clothing, and that the farmers could get no machinery, and so on down the whole list of things that you can not get now and that therefore you should prepare for a stormy day, we would have been laughed to scorn. But I say to you again, the advice then given is good today, and you would better prepare for the times ahead, that you may not be like the five foolish virgins with no oil in your lamps.” (J. Reuben Clark, Jr. “Church News,” March 2, 1946)

• “I stand before the Church this day and raise the warning voice. It is a prophetic voice, for I shall say only what the apostles and the prophets have spoken concerning our day. …It is a voice calling upon the Lord’s people to prepare for the troubles and desolations which are about to be poured upon the world without measure. For the moment, we live in a day of peace and prosperity but it shall not ever be thus. Great trials lie ahead. All of the sorrows and perils of the past are but a foretaste of what is yet to be. And we must prepare ourselves temporally and spiritually.” (Bruce R. McConkie, General Conference, April 1979)

• “We do not know when the calamities and troubles of the last days will fall upon any of us as individuals or upon bodies of the Saints. … We can rest assured that if we have done all in our power to prepare for whatever lies ahead, He will then help us with whatever else we need. … We do not say that all of the Saints will be spared and saved from the coming day of desolation. But we do say there is no promise of safety and no promise of security except for those who love the Lord and who are seeking to do all that he commands.” (Bruce R. McConkie, Ensign May 1979, p. 93)

• “In regard to … the judgments of God that are about to be poured out upon the nations, if the people will … read the predictions of the prophets concerning them, especially those referred to by the angel Moroni, when conversing with the Prophet Joseph Smith, at the opening up of this dispensation, I think they will be thoroughly satisfied and convinced, if they have any faith at all, that these coming judgments are not matters of mere speculation or supposition, nor of tradition handed down from remote ages, but that they are matters of fact, or will be ere long, when God shall consummate his designs against the wicked and ungodly of the world. For not only have prophets and inspired men declared these things, but they have been declared by the voice of the Lord, and by holy messengers sent from the presence of God, as well in modern as in ancient times.” (Joseph F. Smith, Teachings: Joseph F. Smith, Ch.44 Preparing for the Second Coming of Christ)

• “The many eruptions, earthquakes and tidal waves which have occurred … are signs which the Savior declared should foreshadow his second coming, although he said his advent should be as a thief in the night, still he gave certain signs which would indicate as surely his coming as the budding trees the coming of summer. The wise and prudent will heed the warning and prepare themselves that they be not taken unawares. Not the least of the signs of the times is this, that the gospel is being preached unto the poor, as a witness unto all nations.” (Joseph F. Smith, Teachings: Joseph F. Smith, Ch.44 Preparing for the Second Coming of Christ)

• “The Latter-day Saints … believe in the statements of the Holy Scriptures, that calamities will befall the nations as signs of the coming of Christ to judgment. They believe that God rules in the fire, the earthquake, the tidal wave, the volcanic eruption, and the storm. Him they recognize as the Master and Ruler of nature and her laws, and freely acknowledge his hand in all things. We believe that his judgments are poured out to bring mankind to a sense of his power and his purposes, that they may repent of their sins and prepare themselves for the second coming of Christ to reign in righteousness upon the earth.” (Joseph F. Smith, Teachings: Joseph F. Smith, Ch.44 Preparing for the Second Coming of Christ)

• “We firmly believe that Zion—which is the pure in heart—shall escape, if she observes to do all things whatsoever God has commanded; but, in the opposite event, even Zion shall be visited “with sore affliction, with pestilence, with plague, with sword, with vengeance, and with devouring fire” (D&C 97:26). All this that her people may be taught to walk in the light of truth and in the way of the God of their salvation. We believe that these severe, natural calamities are visited upon men by the Lord for the good of his children, to quicken their devotion to others, and to bring out their better natures, that they may love and serve him. We believe, further, that they are the heralds and tokens of his final judgment, and the schoolmasters to teach the people to prepare themselves by righteous living for the coming of the Savior to reign upon the earth, when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ. If these lessons are impressed upon us and upon the people of our country, the anguish, and the loss of life and toil, sad, great and horrifying as they were, will not have been endured in vain.” (Joseph F. Smith, Teachings: Joseph F. Smith, Ch.44 Preparing for the Second Coming of Christ)

• “I … testify, that unless the Latter-day Saints will live their religion, keep their covenants with God and their brethren, honor the priesthood which they bear, and try faithfully to bring themselves into subjection to the laws of God, they will be the first to fall beneath the judgments of the Almighty, for his judgments will begin at his own house. Therefore, those who have made a covenant with the Lord by baptism, and have broken that covenant, who profess to be saints and are not, but are sinners, and covenant-breakers, and partakers of the sins of Babylon, most assuredly will ‘receive of her plagues,’ for it is written that the righteous will barely escape [see Revelation 18:4; D&C 63:34]. This is my testimony in relation to these matters. We rely upon the word of the Lord in these things, and not upon the word of man, for not only have angels, but God Almighty has spoken from the heavens in this our own age of the world, and we know his word is true.” (Joseph F. Smith, Teachings: Joseph F. Smith, Ch.44 Preparing for the Second Coming of Christ)

• “That we as a people may be prepared not only for the judgments, but for the glory and coming of our Lord, that we may escape the calamities to be poured out upon the wicked, and receive the welcome plaudit of the faithful servant, and be counted worthy to stand in the presence of the Lord in his glorious kingdom, is my prayer. We hear about living in perilous times. We are in perilous times, but I do not feel the pangs of that terror. It is not upon me. I propose to live so that it will not rest upon me. I propose to live so that I shall be immune from the perils of the world, if it be possible for me to so live, by obedience to the commandments of God and to his laws revealed for my guidance. No matter what may come to me, if I am only in the line of my duty, if I am in fellowship with God, if I am worthy of the fellowship of my brethren, if I can stand spotless before the world, without blemish, without transgression of the laws of God, what does it matter to me what may happen to me? I am always ready, if I am in this frame of understanding mind and conduct. It does not matter at all. Therefore I borrow no trouble nor feel the pangs of fear.” (Joseph F. Smith, Teachings: Joseph F. Smith, Ch.44 Preparing for the Second Coming of Christ)

• “When it starts raining, it is too late to begin building the ark.  We need to listen to the Lord’s spokesman.  We need to calmly continue to move ahead and prepare for what will surely come. We need not panic or fear, for if we are prepared, spiritually and temporally, we and our families will survive any flood.  Our arks will float on a sea of faith if our works have been steadily and surely preparing for the future.” (Elder W. Don Ladd, Conference Report, October 1994, p. 37)

• “The greatest events spoken of by the Holy Prophets will come along so naturally as the consequences of certain causes, that unless our eyes are enlightened by the Spirit of God, and the spirit of revelation rests upon us, we will fail to see that these are the events predicted by the Holy Prophets” (George Q. Cannon, J of D, Vol 21, 264).

• “… One of the three areas emphasized in the mission of the Church is to perfect the Saints, and this is the purpose of the welfare program. This is not a doomsday program, but a program for our lives here and now, because now is the time for us to perfect our lives.” (Marion G. Romney, “The Celestial Nature of Self-Reliance”, Ensign, June 1984)

• “Doctrine and Covenants 29:34–35, tells us there is no such thing as a temporal commandment, that all commandments are spiritual. It also tells us that man is to be ‘an agent unto himself.’ Man cannot be an agent unto himself if he is not self-reliant. Herein we see that independence and self-reliance are critical keys to our spiritual growth.” (Marion G. Romney, “The Celestial Nature of Self-Reliance”, Ensign, June 1984)

• “Like two sides of a coin, the temporal and spiritual are inseparable.” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Providing in the Lord’s Way”, Ensign, Nov. 2011)

• “Today is the time to prepare—not during the crisis. What are we doing today to engraven in our souls the gospel principles that will uphold us in times of adversity?” (Elder Walter F. González, “Today is the Time”, Ensign, Nov. 2007)

• “We’re not going to survive in this world, temporally or spiritually, without increased faith in the Lord—and I don’t mean a positive mental attitude—I mean downright solid faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the one thing that gives vitality and power to otherwise rather weak individuals.” (A. Theodore Tuttle, “Developing Faith”, Ensign, Nov. 1986, 72)

• “Our Heavenly Father …. has lovingly commanded us to ‘prepare every needful thing’ (D&C 109:8) so that, should adversity come, we may care for ourselves and our neighbors and support bishops as they care for others. We encourage Church members worldwide to prepare for adversity in life by having a basic supply of food and water and some money in savings. …. We encourage you to store as much as circumstances allow.” (The First Presidency, All is Safely Gathered In: Family Home Storage)

• “All of us have an “imperative duty” to assist our youth in preparing for lifelong service by helping them become self-reliant. In addition to the spiritual self-reliance we have been discussing, there is temporal self-reliance, which includes getting a postsecondary education or vocational training, learning to work, and living within our means.” (Robert D. Hales, “Coming to Ourselves: The Sacrament, the Temple, and Sacrifice in Service“, Ensign, May 2012)

• “… God has in reserve a time, or period appointed in His own bosom, when He will bring all His subjects, who have obeyed His voice and kept His commandments, into His celestial rest. This rest is of such perfection and glory, that man has need of a preparation before he can, according to the laws of that kingdom, enter it and enjoy its blessings. This being the fact, God has given certain laws to the human family, which, if observed, are sufficient to prepare them to inherit this rest. This, then, we conclude, was the purpose of God in giving His laws to us. … All the commandments contained in the law of the Lord, have the sure promise annexed of a reward to all who obey, predicated upon the fact that they are really the promises of a Being who cannot lie, One who is abundantly able to fulfill every tittle of His word.” (Joseph Smith, Jr., Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, Jr.)

• “How careful men ought to be what they do in the last days, lest they are cut short of their expectations, and they that think they stand should fall, because they keep not the Lord’s commandments; whilst you, who do the will of the Lord and keep His commandments, have need to rejoice with unspeakable joy, for such shall be exalted very high, and shall be lifted up in triumph above all the kingdoms of this world.” (Joseph Smith, Jr., Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, Jr.)

• “When the Lord commands, do it… To get salvation we must not only do some things, but everything which God has commanded. Men may preach and practice everything except those things which God commands us to do, and will be damned at last.” (Joseph Smith, Jr., Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, Jr.)

• “As a Church and a people it behooves us to be wise, and to seek to know the will of God, and then be willing to do it; for ‘blessed is he that heareth the word of the Lord, and keepeth it,’ say the Scriptures. ‘Watch and pray always,’ says our Savior, ‘that ye may be accounted worthy to escape the things that are to come on the earth, and to stand before the Son of Man.’ If Enoch, Abraham, Moses, and the children of Israel, and all God’s people were saved by keeping the commandments of God, we, if saved at all, shall be saved upon the same principle. As God governed Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as families, and the children of Israel as a nation; so we, as a Church, must be under His guidance if we are prospered, preserved and sustained. Our only confidence can be in God; our only wisdom obtained from Him; and He alone must be our protector and safeguard, spiritually and temporally, or we fall. Any man may believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and be happy in that belief, and yet not obey his commandments, and at last be cut down for disobedience to the Lord’s righteous requirements.” (Joseph Smith, Jr., Teachings of the Presidents of the Church)

• “Do not forget, my brethren and sisters, the teachings you have heard, and which have been repeated in your hearing for so many years; I refer to the saving and storing of grain; for the day will come when you will see the wisdom of doing so, and when many of you will doubtless wish you had profited by it.  For I tell you that wars and desolation will cover the land, just as prophets have declared they would; and these are coming as plainly and as surely as the light comes in the morning, before the sun rises above the summit of yonder mountains, and before we see his rays.  So with the signs of the times at the present.  We have only to read the newspapers, and look abroad and see confusion, and see difficulties, war, and pestilence foreshadowing themselves over the land, and these things will come to pass as sure as the Lord has spoken it, and as sure as his servants have testified to these words.” (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 25, pp. 258-59; July 21, 1878)

• “A great many have taken this counsel, and they are prepared…Who is deserving of praise? The persons who take care of themselves, or the ones who always trust in the great mercies of the Lord to take care of them? It is just as consistent to expect that the Lord will supply us with fruit when we do not plant the trees; or that, when we do not plow and sow and are saved the labor of harvesting, we should cry to the Lord to save us from want, as to ask Him to save us from the consequences of our own folly, disobedience and waste…”The Lord has said, ‘Gather and save the produce I put within your reach, and prepare against a day of want.” (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, vol. 12, p. 244)

• “These things are about to come to pass upon the heads of the present generation, notwithstanding they are not looking for it, neither do they believe it. Yet their unbelief will not make the truth of God of none effect. The signs are appearing in the heavens and on the earth, and all things indicate the fulfillment of the Prophets… Why should not God reveal His secrets unto His servants the Prophets, that the Saints might be led in paths of safety, and escape those evils which are about to engulf a whole generation in ruin?” (Wilford Woodruff, in History of the Church, 6:27).

• “I… testify, that unless the Latter-day Saints will live their religion, keep their covenants with God and their brethren, honor the priesthood which they bear, and try faithfully to bring themselves into subjection to the laws of God, they will be the first to fall beneath the judgments of the Almighty, for his judgments will begin at his own house. Therefore, those who have made a covenant with the Lord by baptism, and have broken that covenant, who profess to be saints and are not, but are sinners, and covenant- breakers, and partakers of the sins of Babylon, most assuredly will ‘receive of her plagues,’ for it is written that the righteous will barely escape.” (Joseph F. Smith, Conference Report, April 1880, p. 96)

• “I know of nothing of great importance that has happened in the world that the Lord through his prophets has not advised the people of beforehand, so that they have not been left in ignorance of what was to develop, but could plan their lives, if they would, to their advantage… The case of Noah is in point, He was commanded of the Lord to build an ark in which the righteous might be preserved from the flood which was to come. Noah built the ark and preached repentance to his generation for a period of one hundred and twenty years, thus fully warning them. The people, however, were so wicked that they failed to heed the warning. Having their agency, those chose evil rather than righteousness. The rains descended, and the floods came, and only Noah and his family of eight souls were saved. All had been fully warned, but because of their willfulness and their refusal to repent they were drowned.” (George Albert Smith, Conference Report, Apr. 1945, 136 – Teachings of Presidents of the Church, George Albert Smith, p. 60)

• “I know these are unpleasant things. It is not a pleasant thing even for me to stand here and tell you that this is written in the Scriptures. If the Lord has a controversy with the nations, He will put them to the sword. Their bodies shall lie unburied like dung upon the earth. That is not nice, is it, but should we not know it? Is it not our duty to read these things and understand them? Don’t you think the Lord has given us these things that we might know and we might prepare ourselves through humility, through repentance, through faith, that we might escape from these dreadful conditions that are portrayed by these ancient prophets? That is why I am reading them. I feel just as keenly as you do about the condition, and I pray for it to come to an end, but I want it to come to an end right.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Signs of the Times, pp. 154–55)

• “One of the great failings of mankind is to ignore warnings of punishment for sin. In all ages of the world it has been the peculiar belief of men that the sayings of the prophets were to be fulfilled in times still future. That is true of the people today. We have had ample warning of the nearness of the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. The signs are upon us in all their power. … In this revelation we are given the warning that the summer is passing and if we are heedless of the warning we will find the summer past, the harvest ended and our souls not saved. While no man knows the day or the hour, yet if we are taken unawares, we will be without excuse, for the signs are ample and we now see them being fulfilled.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:195.)

• “The Lord has promised that He will preserve His people in the last days. The question each member of the Church should be able to answer is, How can I be numbered among those the Lord will protect? That question is answered very clearly in the Doctrine and Covenants: It is a matter of individual worthiness. The Lord has said, ‘If ye are prepared ye shall not fear’. The preparation needed is to repent, to receive the gospel, and to become sanctified through following its precepts. In the early days of this dispensation, the Saints were persecuted because of their lack of faithfulness. The Lord has said that those who are ‘not purified shall not abide that day’ of His coming. The Saints have been warned not to entangle themselves in sin. After suffering much distress at the hands of mobs in Missouri, the Saints were promised that they would prevail against their enemies from that ‘very hour’ and never cease if they would ‘observe all the words’ the Lord spoke to them (italics added). The same is true today. Although there may be individual exceptions, in general the faithful Saints will be preserved from their enemies and from the judgments that God will pour out on the world. These same principles were taught in the October 1940 General Conference by Elder Joseph Fielding Smith: ‘We have the means of escape through obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Will we escape? When I see, even among the Latter-day Saints the violation of the laws of the Lord, I fear and I tremble. I have been crying repentance among the Stakes of Zion for thirty years, calling upon the people to turn to the Lord, keep His commandments, observe the Sabbath Day, pay their honest tithing, do everything the Lord has commanded them to do, to live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God. By doing this we shall escape the calamities. I am going to repeat what I have said before, for which I have been severely criticized from certain quarters, that even in [the United States] we have no grounds by which we may escape, no sure foundation upon which we can stand, and by which we may escape from the calamities and destruction and the plagues and the pestilences, and even the devouring fire by sword and by war, unless we repent and keep the commandments of the Lord, for it is written here in these revelations. So I cry repentance to the Latter-day Saints, and I cry repentance to the people of the United States, as well as to the people of all the earth. May we turn to live in accordance with divine law, and keep the commandments the Lord has given,’ Joseph Fielding Smith.” (Section 29 Prepare against the Day of Tribulation, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, (2002), 59–63.)

• “How often do Church members arise early in the morning to do the will of the Lord? How often do we say, “Yes, I will have home evening with my family, but the children are so young now; I will start when they are older”? How often do we say, “Yes, I will obey the commandment to store food and to help others, but just now I have neither the time nor the money to spare; I will obey later”? Oh, foolish people! While we procrastinate, the harvest will be over and we will not be saved. Now is the time to follow Abraham’s example; now is the time to repent; now is the time for prompt obedience to God’s will.” (Spencer W. Kimball, “The Example of Abraham”, June 1975).

• “This is the last and great dispensation in which the great consummation of God’s purposes will be made, the only dispensation in which the Lord has promised that sin will not prevail. The Church will not be taken from the earth again. It is here to stay. The Lord has promised it and you are a part of that Church and kingdom—the nucleus around which will be builded the great kingdom of God on the earth. The kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God on the earth will be combined together at Christ’s coming—and that time is not far distant. How I wish we could get the vision of this work, the genius of it, and realize the nearness of that great event. I am sure it would have a sobering effect upon us if we realized what is before us.” (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988, p. 19.)

• “The Lord desires his Saints to be free and independent in the critical days ahead. But no man is truly free who is in financial bondage.” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Ezra Taft Benson, (2014), 262–74)

• “I promise you tonight in the name of the Lord whose servant I am that God will always protect and care for his people. We will have our difficulties the way every generation and people have had difficulties. Your life as a young college student or working person in the 1990s is no different than any young person’s life has been in any age of time. But with the gospel of Jesus Christ you have every hope and promise and reassurance. The Lord has power over his Saints and will always prepare places of peace, defense, and safety for his people. When we have faith in God we can hope for a better world–for us personally and for all mankind.” (Howard W. Hunter, An Anchor to the Souls of Men, Ensign, Oct. 1993, pp. 72-3)