If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear

Prayerfully select and read from this message the scriptures and teachings that meet the needs of the sisters you visit. Share your experiences and testimony. Invite those you teach to do the same.

D&C 38:30: “If ye are prepared ye shall not fear.”

Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “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” (“‘If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear,’” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 36).

The First Presidency: “Members can begin their home storage by storing the basic foods that would be required to keep them alive. …

“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, 20 Jan. 2002).

President Marion G. Romney (1897–1988), First Counselor in the First Presidency: “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.’ [D&C 45:57]. …

“… 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” (“‘If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear,’” Ensign, July 1981, 3, 5).

President Brigham Young (1801–77): “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” (Deseret News, 1 May 1861, 65).

D&C 6:34, 36: “Fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail. … Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.”

What can we do to look to the future with faith and anticipation?
What might keep us from doing all we can to prepare temporally and spiritually?

Woman Slicing Fruit, by Mark Buehner