Sprouts! Sprouts! Sprouts!

Recently our family has learned to love sprouts. My two year old will stand at the fridge and beg for "sprouts, sprouts, sprouts" until someone gets them out of the fridge and gives him some. He eats them by the handfuls. We all do. Some of our favorites are Lentil sprouts. This is good, because they are also some of the easiest to sprout!

There has been so much research on the nutritional and health benefits of sprouting that you could spend hours upon hours reading about it on the web. Sprouts are the most nutritious food you can find. They are packed full of enzymes.

Enzymes?

We hear a lot about these little guys but what are they really? And why do we need them? Enzymes play a big part in the digestion of food, assist in the elimination of Carbon Dioxide in the lungs, attack wastes and build up of excessive food, and neutralize poisons that may enter our body. All of this keeps the immune system strong and prepared for any invasion that may occur. Also enzymes are most important to our cells, they bring the energy needed to our cells. If not for enzymes no cellular activity could occur. Heavenly Father knew we needed enzymes for survival. He gave each of us a reserve of them when we were born. These enzymes are called endogenous enzymes. They are stored in our stomach, gall bladder, and bones. But.....they are only a reserve. We can, and most of us have, depleted our bodies of this reserve. The reason why is because most of us do not eat enough of the things that contain enzymes: fresh, raw fruits, vegetables, greens, nuts, and seeds. (These should make up about 50% of our diet in order to keep our enzyme reserve full.) Every time we eat something that does not contain it's own enzymes our mind sends a signal that tells our digestive system that, in order to digest this meal, it is going to need to use some enzyme reserves because there is not enough enzymes present to assist in the digestion.

I have one suggestion to make that can help in the preservation of our enzyme reserve. Start each meal with a large fresh salad full of dark leafy greens, any salad veggies, sprouts (our favorite), and most importantly a healthy dressing! This will at least give your body some exogenous enzymes (enzymes stored in fresh, raw, fruits and veggies) with which to use to digest your meal, at least saving on it's own enzymes to be used for other important functions previously mentioned.

Why Sprout?

Once a grain, seed, or nut is soaked and begins to sprout it is no longer a grain. It changes to a vegetable! Sprouts are the most nutritious of fresh foods. So logically they are packed FULL of enzymes. Sprouts are predigested which means that the starches and the proteins are already broken down into amino acids which are easily absorbed resulting in quick, long-lasting energy. This is helpful and is backed by a long history of proof. It is said that the Roman Soldiers knew and took advantage of sprouting. They would soak grains in one leather pouch hanging at their side and sprout the grains in the other. They would snack on the sprouted grains all day as they marched and marched and marched, never stopping to eat a meal. Yet they were known for their strength and fierce fighting. Did you know that you can live a very long time on 1/2 cup of sprouted organic wheat a day? It's true.

How do you sprout?

Well, as with anything, there are the simple instructions and then there are many variables in the process. However, sprouting is really quite simple. I am still learning and I am not an expert but I will share with you my knowledge or trial and error. I will refer to the seed, nut, grain, or legume, as a seed just to simplify my instructions. Sprouting basically consists of three parts. First, soaking. You will soak your seeds overnight any where from 6-12 hours depending on the type. Second, you will drain your seeds and rinse them, making sure they are drained well, no sitting water. Third, you will let them sit for several days being sure to rinse and drain well each morning and evening until they are grown to the desired length. The general rule of thumb is that the seed contains the most nutrients when the tail of the sprout is no longer than the seed itself. However, they are very nutritious for you at any stage.

The amount of days that they have to spend sprouting varies. Lentils are easy and are done in about 24 hours or sometimes less. Bean sprouts take a lot longer around 5 days. Just remember to keep rinsing and draining WELL each morning and night until they are to the point you want them to be at.

Lentils we eat just as you start to see the tail budding, YUMMY!

Bean sprouts we like to wait until they are about two inches long because we like to put these on our Chinese stir-frys.

Our salad and sandwich mixes we let get quite long because we like the long texture on our salads and sandwiches.

This is a picture of our Broccoli sprouts.

I don't have any wheat sprouts going right now to show you a picture, but these we eat about the time that the tail gets the size of the grain.

Please, please learn to sprout! It is very easy, inexpensive, and it is a great preparedness trick. In fact I got out our 72 hour kits and revamped them a little the other day. I put in a pint jar filled with filtered water wrapped in a hand towel, a piece of cheesecloth (for draining and sprouting), and a sandwich bag with organic wheat and simple instructions for sprouting written on the sandwich bag. There you have it, your 72 hours worth of food! Actually I put enough wheat in the sandwich bag to last much longer than that but you would have to locate more water. Because we have a water filter I was planning on this not being a problem for us. Now of course I have other tricks up my sleeve for 72 hour kit food, but that is another post!

Some tips:

*I have various types of sprouting trays and I have found that I like my plain old quart canning jars with sprouting lids best. They seem to be the most successful for me. I talked to the ladies at Gingers Cafe (a raw foods restaurant in Springville) and they said that they use glass jars with the most success as well. These are also the cheapest! YEA!!!

*I have found that when it comes to storing your sprouts they last longest in these glass jars as well. I have tried sandwich bags, with no success and tupperware with almost no success. LOL They just don't last as long. I think it is because there is no air circulation. You will want to put a regular lid on your glass jar, punch holes in it for air to circulate, and your sprouts will last upwards to a week and a half without wilting or spoiling (going slimy)!

*I am finding that as a general rule of thumb you sprout bigger items like lentils, mung beans, and wheat, overnight for around 10-12 hours and smaller seeds like alfalfa, radish, and salad type sprouts for the lesser time of 6-8 hours. Broccoli is in the middle and needs to soak for around 8-10 hours.

*As you read you will find some people saying sprouts need to be in a dark place and some will say they need light. Some will also say they need dark until they start to leaf (if you are doing longer sprouts) and then they need light. I have found that they do better if I don't worry about this and just keep them on my counter out of direct sunlight so they don't get too hot.

*I have found that a good rule of thumb for the amounts you should put in a jar are this: For bigger seeds use about 1/3 cup per quart jar. For smaller seeds use 2 tablespoons per quart jar. You need to fill the jar 3/4 to all the way filled with water. Some people say you should use warm, purified/filtered water. I always use filtered water because I have a filter but I have never warmed it. It comes out of the tap a bit cold and I use it because I'm all about easy and it seems to work. You are welcome to experiment with WARM water do not use hot! Let me know if it seems to be worth your time!

*If you see white cotton like, stuff that reminds you of mold growing on your sprouts, don't freak out! LOL I only say this because I did. In fact I threw a few batches of sprouts away before I finally set down and read to find out what I was doing wrong. I learned that this happens with some seeds just as they are beginning to sprout. Give them a day or so and you will see the "cotton" disappear.

I hope you all have a Happy New Year!

What now? (Part 3)

During the lecture we attended, Roger literally spent hours discussing Socialism. Something he said hit home to me because I have had the same thing said to me on more than one occasion. I want to share it. He was talking to his daughter and he found out that she was going to vote for Obama. He said he was so stunned he was speechless for a few moments. He got his composure and asked her why. She told him she was voting for Obama because he was going to pay for her car, or her house, something like that, and that he was going to make it so that everyone had health care. He explained to us that these were all socialistic plans, that they weren’t good things. He said to her it’s Socialism. Her reply was so what if it is socialism what’s so wrong about that? Ummm, Houston we have a PROBLEM, a serious one!

I feel like people are buying into Obama’s campaign of “Hope” because they are misinformed. They see him as being so compassionate and caring. His whole web site is about providing something to the poor for nothing and implementing this government program and that welfare benefit. He also has a lot of information in there about benefitting the minority groups. All of this sounds so..... Heavenly. No poor, no minorities, everyone healthy and cared for. Sounds a lot like Zion right? That is what I have heard people jokingly say but the sad thing is I think most of the people in the United States believe it. Don’t believe it, it’s just another ploy that Satan uses to lull us away from the truth. People fail to see Obama for what he is. He is a socialist. Socialists seek power. Marx, Stahlin, Mao, and Hitler were great examples in history of Socialist leaders. We could learn much from studying the outcome of their leadership.

I was able to find an AMAZING article in the Jan. 1979 Ensign titled “To Prepare a People.” This article talks quite in depth about the law of consecration. As I mentioned before you can see some similarities in the law of consecration and the “claims”, if you will, of socialism: no poor, no sick, no illiterate. The Ensign article goes into detail about five principles that the Lord’s United Order is based upon. Among these is the fact that the individual who enters into this United Order does so voluntarily. The church will then give them back what is needed for their family; their needs and their just wants. This is determined by the bishop and the individual. The rest is then put in a storehouse to be divided among those who are in need. In this way there is no poor among us. However, there are distinct differences between the Lord’s United Order and Obama’s Socialistic plan (or ultimately The United World Order). I only single Obama out because he is our President Elect and his plans will be the one’s we need to be aware of. I don’t mean to sound like I think everyone one else is innocent of this socialistic nature, in fact quite the contrary. I feel like we have ALL been being taught socialistic tendencies for a VERY LONG time now without our even realizing it!

The Ensign article goes on to say and I quote: “The Lord’s economic system differs in significant ways from other methods of relieving poverty. These other methods include philanthropy-an outright gift to the poor by an agency or benefactor; government-sponsored programs-attempts to redistribute the wealth among citizens by taxing the more affluent to provide for the less affluent; and communalism-the pooling of private property and money to community ownership so that each member holds equal ownership in community goods.”

Brother Nelson then goes on to explain the differences by stressing that the Lord’s United Order is wholly voluntary. It is not a supplemental assistance program it IS the economic system. Each person owns there own property, it is not owned by the whole community, but by an individual who has the title. And, to quote the last two differences: “5. The united order is not socialism. The “equality” spoken of in the united order is based on (1) family size, (2) family circumstances, (3) family wants (these are to be “just”), and (4) family needs. As Pres. J. Reuben Clark observed, “Obviously, this is not a case of ‘dead level’ equality.” 6. The united order will only be implemented by revelation to the prophet of the Church, not by legislation or some political program.” (My emphasis added!)

My conclusion is this, yes obviously there are similarities between the Lord’s law and the New World Order being cunningly pushed today, Satan knows what he is doing. But the Lord has given us ways in which we can know His kingdom. We have an article in the Ensign teaching us how we can know the difference. I encourage you to click on this link and go read the article. It lists many scriptures and other references for you to read and learn more. I also encourage you to read The Red Scarf Girl if you want to learn more about the evils of Socialism. It is an easy read but it is great for creating awareness. It is written by a woman, who was raised in Communist China when Mao was ruler.

What does this have to do with preparedness you ask? Well I am of the opinion that our Constitution was given to our founding fathers from God, our Heavenly Father. If we needed to have the freedoms it grants us, not just to restore the gospel, but also to preach and teach it, we are going to need to continue to have those freedoms to continue to live it and preach it and teach it. Are we and our children prepared to defend it? Do we have the knowledge and the testimony, of the Constitution that we need to have? Do we have the faith and the courage that those who wrote our Constitution had? Are we as the Nephites in the Book of Mormon who loved their freedom so much that they would lay down their lives to protect it and their families? If not then we aren’t yet prepared!

What rung are we really on? (Part 2)

As mentioned in my last post I’m going to give you the names of the types of governments that each of these previously explained rungs represent and then a bit of history.
Rung 1- As I mentioned is likened to Zion
Rung 2- Is a Republic
Rung 3- Is a Democracy
Rung 4- The very beginnings of Socialism
Rung 5- Deep in the trenches of Socialism
Rung 6- Tyranny begins
Rung 7- Elite Tyranny or Feudalism
Rung 8- Absolute Tyranny or Fascism You’ve also heard it called Stalinism or Marxism (hero worship)

According to my survey you who voted for rungs 5 or 6 are right on with what Roger had found was the general consensus of the people who had attended his lectures up to the one Karl and I attended.
Rung 5 states that more and more land becomes federally owned with more and more regulations placed upon it. In the Constitution, Provision 105, from Article 1, Section 8, Paragraph 17 it says that Congress has complete jurisdiction over land it purchases in the state upon consent of the state legislature, but that these lands must be used for the: “erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock yards, and other needful buildings”
Quoting Cleon Skousen from his amazing book called The Making of America, “At the present time, vast areas within the boundaries of these states are permanently designated as part of the federal domain for national forests, national parks, national monuments, coal and oil reserves, lands leased for profit to ranchers or farmers, and huge tracts of land with valuable resources completely locked up as “wilderness areas.” It is interesting to me that the Constitution does not specify this type of purpose as being a reason for the federal government to own land. Also very interesting is the fact that this bending of the Constitution started with the admittance of Ohio into the union clear back in 1803 and got worse when the western states were acquired from Mexico. Just for your information 66% of Utah is owned by the federal government! 87% of Nevada wow! In 1959 Alaska was only allowed to occupy 4% of their state! At the time the Making of America was published the federal government owned 35% of our land, land they shouldn’t even be allowed to own because they aren’t using it for the specified reasons.
It does not end there, we have heard of legislation proposed to “protect” our National Forests. This legislation limits the number of visitors, adds all kinds of restrictions, and even closes off certain areas. This type of legislation is becoming more and more common place. Isn’t it interesting how something we don’t even think twice about can be so blatantly against the Constitution. More to the point, that it can be something that leads us away from a Republic or a Democracy and into Socialism.
Level five also states that the federal government controls more and more businesses and agencies. A brief look at our country and this is easily seen. Just look at the BIG push for a Federal Health Care System and haven’t we heard from our new President Elect much about his Federal Education System. In the last several months we have witnessed our government taking ownership of a large part of our monetary system in the “Bail Out” plan and to make matters worse they had us as citizens (at least a lot of us) begging for it! They are on the verge of giving the auto industry “loans”, when the auto dealers fail then who owns that industry? Hmmmm, I don’t know about you, but I find this very Alarming!

There can be little doubt in the certainty that we have already ran headlong into Socialism, like it or not. It has been pretty obvious for years now. Roger explains that an observation of history shows us that nations move down this ladder all the time, but seldom move up. When they do move up it is not without a bloody revolution. We can see this in the founding of our own country but he pointed out several other examples. In the interest of time I will not go into details about these, but you can examine this in much of the Bible and Book of Mormon.

I want to relate one more bit of history that Roger taught us before I close this post. My story begins in Germany in 1920 where they had a Republic type government. In 1924 The Nazi party became a new very socialistic party. By 1932 It was the single dominate party (hmmm, sound familiar). How did this happen? Well Hitler got massive amounts of money, almost all of it outside of the country. (You might want to research where Obama got a lot of his campaign money.) Hitler outspent his opponent 100 to 1. He was a VERY GOOD orator. His campaign was based on two things: HOPE and CHANGE (Again, sound familiar?). He promised the people everything. He even went so far as to promise every German girl a husband!
There was a recession in the economy and Germany flooded the market with massive amounts of money. This created a massive inflation, had people begging the government to do something, anything to help them. Because Hitler was such a good orator, had friends in high places or should we say dark places, and promised them what? HOPE and CHANGE, in 1933 he became their leader. This is rung 7 of the ladder, but it wasn’t good enough for Hitler. He still had more up his sleeve. He and his “elite few” created a crises, silenced all the opposition, controlled the media, and then Hitler convinced the “elite few” to turn all of the governmental power over to him. In 1934 they were in Absolute Tyranny or standing on rung 8.
We would do well to learn from this short blip from history. I hope as you read you recognized many of the same things happening in our country right now. Germany went from rung 5 or 6, where we are at right now, to rung 8 in less than 3 years! Now what can we do with this information? Well that is a whole other post! Look for part 3 soon!

Down the "ladder" one rung at a time. (Part 1)

For years now I have been amazed at the indifference, and even more shocking the support, of most people to the goings on of our government. The first time I remember being really concerned was when it became legal to ticket a person if they chose not to wear their seat belt. I did not really understand a whole lot about our Constitution back then but even so I still remember thinking; how do they have the right to give you a ticket because you choose not to protect yourself? It doesn’t hurt anyone else; it doesn’t put anyone but yourself in danger. How can that be legal? That event transpired several years ago and I have to tell you since then I have done a lot of learning and have become very passionate about supporting our Constitution. On this journey, among many other things, I have learned that the seat belt law is just one cherry in a huge pie of legislation passed that has blatantly went against our Constitution. That contract is sooooo vital to our freedom. It is very sad, but the plain truth is, we were never taught why the Constitution is so vital. We may have been taught when it was signed, if we can even remember that, incidentally it was not July 4th 1776! We may have even been told a couple of the names of the signers. However, we mostly hear now how it is an out dated old contract that we have out grown and that it is holding us back. We hear many statements about how it needs to be done away with and a new form of government (aka New World Order) needs to be put in place. This is very concerning to me and should be to all of us.

Karl and I attended a political awareness seminar a few weeks ago by Roger K. Young. Some of you might be familiar with him because of all the preparedness and last days stuff he has done over the years, or you might have read his books. Anyhow his focus was on government, a lot of what he spoke of I already knew, but he had a few visuals that made it easy to comprehend. He started by explaining the events that are going on in the world, for example and just to name a few, the bail out plan that just passed, the election of a new very socialistic president, who does not try to hide it. I am going to quote Roger because he was able to express what I had been feeling very accurately when he said, “What bothers me worse than the things that have been happening is how many good people are embracing it!”
Roger went on the talk about the different types of governments. He likened them to a ladder that has 8 rungs or levels. I am going to briefly explain them. After you have read this post I would like you to answer the survey question on the right side bar of the blog.
1. The top rung on the ladder, the most pure government is where people govern themselves. This is the best and purest form of freedom, but it only works if the people are good. This rung of government could be likened to Zion.
2. The people group together to make a limited government, put in place for the protection of their unalienable rights. They elect representatives for these groups.
3. It then moves from limited government with everyone having equal say to “majority rules.”
4. Down the rung, moving closer to the bottom we have a government that has taken control of itself, in other words most power is given to the government with people having little say. The peoples individual vote doesn’t really impact a whole lot.
5. The government owns large portions of property and production. More and more land becomes federally owned and they start to limit access and put more regulations on it. They become in control of more and more agencies and businesses.
6. The government owns and controls everything. There is still some control of local governments with limited personal rights. We become indentured servants.
7. The people are slaves to the government because it now owns all property and the people work the land for the government. An elite few run the government. People have little personal rights. You begin to see huge class divisions: kings, princes, dukes etc.
8. The last rung of government is where you see one person in charge. There is not even an elite group but one person. An example of this is Hitler.

After I have several votes on my survey I will do another post explaining what the names of these types of governments are and share some stories in relation to these from history. It is very interesting and I think we should all be aware.

Lemons!

I have had several people want to know what I know about preserving lemons! It is one of those little treasures that make me giddy with excitement! LOL Just like when my sister-in-law found me the crocks I'd been wishing for, but that's another post!

I have a wonderful book called Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning. In it I learned a little trick that is sooo easy it's almost scary. Picture this: You have been living on your food storage for months and months, eating beans and wheat. Just when everyone thinks they can't stand it one more day you pop out some FRESH LEMONS! Yes, for real!

Here is the process:

You must use Organic lemons. Bring them home, rinse them in water. Place them in a glass jar. (mine was gallon sized) Place distilled water over them and let them soak. Drain and refill them once a day for three days with distilled water. On the third day boil your distilled water, let it cool. Take each lemon and quarter it 3/4 of the way through, but not all the way so it is still in tact at the bottom. Place 1 tsp. of salt in each lemon and place them in the jar. When the jar is filled with the lemons pour the cooled water over the lemons, put a lid on the jar, and place the jar in a cool, dark place!

That's it! It's that simple. I have had a jar of lemons in my food storage room for about a month. It still looks beautiful, so I hope that means the process really works. The recipe says that these will last a VERY LONG time. I will let you decide for yourself what that means.

I have thought often that citrus will be few and far between as food gets harder and harder to come by. We can't grow it around here. I was very happy when I found this easy, no hassle trick. I am glad to be able to share it.

Enjoy making you little treat. I hope you smile every time you see your beautiful lemons on the shelf.

Places of Safety

For this post I thought I would shift gears a little and focus on the most important part of preparedness, Spiritual Preparedness.

We have all been taught that as part of the last days there is to be a gathering of the saints to places of safety, or places of refuge. It is shown repeatedly in history that before Jesus destroys the wicked he removes his people. A few examples would be at the times of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah or when Lehi was told to flee Jerusalem. My mind is even brought to think of Noah and his family gathering to the ark. Of these places of safety Harold B. Lee has said: “Thus, clearly, 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 fulfillment 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 in given to them as it is revealed by the Lord to the proper authority.”

I have spent hours and hours pondering on this concept and wondering if it could ever come to that in my life time. I ask myself; will I be ready to go if that time does come? I mentioned earlier in my blog that I have felt a change in the tone of the leadership of my church. As I have heard a few of their talks and thought about this concept of gathering to places of refuge I can’t help but wonder if they aren’t preparing us for this time. If not this, then something that could be quite difficult to do. It has caused me to really ponder my testimony of the Prophet. Is it strong enough? Is your testimony of the prophet strong enough? If they asked us to pack up our belonging and leave tomorrow, would we have the faith to go? This is a hypothetical question. I’m not making any predictions. I use this example only because I know it has inspired me to deeply examine my testimony of our living prophet.

It seems we should all have an unshakeable testimony of our prophet and it is obviously very important since the smallest child in our church is taught the familiar saying “Follow the Prophet”. We have had it pretty easy. What has our prophet asked us to do? Read the Book of Mormon before a certain deadline, attend the temple, make sure we get out and vote. We did those things, right? More recently though he asked us to do what we could to support and pray for the passing of Proposition 8. Sadly, and shockingly, we saw a few members fail to follow this commandment. If we fail on something so simple and so in line with an age old gospel principle how can we expect to have faith to follow the prophet when he is instructed to give us hard commandments?

I encourage you to examine your testimony, read the scriptures and find out what they say about the prophets, search the church web site and learn what has been said about following the prophets there.

I would like to share a little of what I have learned that has helped me build my testimony of our true and living prophet of God. In pondering whether or not I would follow the prophet and leave my home the question that kept coming to mind was; “How can I know that he (the prophet) hasn’t gone astray?” I asked Heavenly Father that question and then I turned to the scriptures and two of them brought me the reassurance I needed: Deu. 18: 20 and D&C 64:39-40, not to mention one of the most popular statements taken out of scriptures from Declaration 1 wherein President Woodruff states: “The Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as President of this Church to lead you astray. It is not in the programme. It is not in the mind of God. If I were to attempt that, the Lord would remove me out of my place, and so He will any other man who attempts to lead the children of men astray from the oracles of God and from their duty.”

In the last several month I have received more witnesses of the importance of following the Prophet. One of the most comforting talks on this subject to me was published in the June 2008 Ensign by our new 1st counselor, President Eyering. In his talk entitled Safety in Counsel he said “The Savior holds responsible those to whom He delegates priesthood keys. With those keys comes the power to give counsel that will show us the way to safety. Those with keys are responsible to warn even when their counsel might not be followed. In our own time we have been warned with counsel on 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 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. The Apostle Paul wrote, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (2 Corinthians 13:1). 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.”
I found it comforting that part of the Prophet’s mission is to “show us the way to safety” this, added to my testimony that the Lord will not allow a prophet to lead us astray, brought me comfort. Once again in another part of the talk he says: “God offers us counsel not just for our own safety but for the safety of His other children, whom we should love. There are few comforts so sweet as to know that we have been an instrument in the hands of God in leading someone else to safety. That blessing generally requires the faith to follow counsel when it is hard to do.”
This statement let me know that eventually the prophet will be required to ask us to follow things that will be hard to do and that it will take faith on my part, but I have to find the faith to do it, not just for me, Elder Eyering teaches, but “for the safety of His other children, whom we should love.” I see these others as being my children and I do love them more than life itself.

Elder Eyering then taught me another important concept that I need to have faith in as well, when he said: “Keys are delegated down a line that passes from the prophet through those responsible for ever-smaller groups of members, closer and closer to families and to individuals. That is one of the ways by which the Lord makes a stake a place of safety.” I need to have as much faith in my local stake leaders when they are acting in behalf of the Lord as my Prophet. Elder Eyering teaches this but the scriptures also say that bishops will be exposed if the have went astray.
The next few paragraphs were again just reassuring us that if we want to be safe we will follow the prophet when he speaks, knowing that he WILL lead us to places of safety.
“Our Heavenly Father loves us. He sent His Only Begotten Son to be our Savior. He knew that in mortality we would be in grave danger, the worst of it from the temptations of a terrible adversary. That is one of the reasons the Savior has provided priesthood keys, so that those with ears to hear and faith to obey could go to places of safety.
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. 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.
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 either consider it 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."
Now whether these “places of safety” will be a physical place or just spiritual steps along our journey in life, I don’t know. I do know this. I like safety and so I add my prayer to that of Elder Eyering’s:
“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.”
I encourage you to read this talk here for yourself. It is amazing! Elder Eyering teaches several other concepts and shares touching stories. I think at this point I will bring this really long post to an end but I am going to leave you with a few links to other recent talks that have helped me solidify my testimony of the prophet as well.

Give Heed unto the Prophet's Words By, Elder Quintin L. Cook
The True and Living Church By, President Eyering

More About Anti-Plague

As mentioned earlier I am going to post some information about the Anti-Plague formula that I spoke of in my pandemic post. Anti-Plague is a formula that Dr. Christopher was inspired to tell people in Arizona to use for the plagues. Its main ingredient is Garlic and Raw Apple Cider Vinegar. Most of us have heard the story of the four thieves. I’ve heard two versions one says that they, as a punishment for their crimes, were to take care of the bodies of the dead who had succumbed to the plague in the late 1700’s. The other says that they stole belongings from off the dead during the plague. Either way the thieves lived through the plague and later explained how they survived. They used a combination of aromatic vinegar and garlic which they applied liberally to themselves.

Garlic has numerous healing properties. From common skin problems to tuberculosis and asthma. In researching garlic I have learned many remedies for treating the human body effectively and without side-effects. Well okay harmful side effects. Everyone knows that garlic is pretty smelly, but I also learned how to lessen the effects of the odor just by adding parsley to the preparation.

I also learned that you can grow garlic almost anywhere and harvest it in all season except winter! I was excited about that! It might be that we should consider planting this wonderful healing modality in our yards as a means of becoming more self-sufficient.

Recently I was inspired by a friend of mine to order the ingredients and make Anti-Plague myself. First off I didn’t realize that the kind I had been buying pre-made was missing one of the main herbs from the recipe. Secondly, it is considerably less expensive. (It costs around $32 + shipping to order a pint of the pre-made stuff versus around $65-$75 to make a whole gallon yourself.) However the draw back to this is that what you save in money you use in time. However, I still think that you end up with a much higher quality product. For one, it has all the ingredients from Dr. Christopher’s original formula and secondly it does not have to go through any extra processing in order to appease the FDA. (Processing always always is a trade off. You kill any possible germs, that is correct, but you also kill ALOT of the healing properties and ALL enzymes in a product.) If you are making the Anti-Plague yourself you can be confidant in knowing that the environment in which it is prepared is clean and safe. Thus you don’t need to process it, ensuring a more nourishing, healing product.

After receiving all the ingredients needed to make my Anti-Plague I proceeded to make my own. Well, this was a process! The recipe I had was not very clear and was obviously written for a more mathematically minded person that myself. Also I had to interpret the “Herbalist” lingo. Finally after hours of experimenting and a couple of mistakes that resulted in my starting over, bummer! I accomplished my goal! I have since made three gallons of Anti-Plague and currently have ½ gallon on my shelves to show for it! LOL This is perfectly fine with me. I felt impressed to give some to my parents, and two of my brothers. I feel much better knowing people I love and care about have ½ gallon of this stuff on their shelves to help protect themselves and their families in times of sickness and, just in case, plague. The other brother? Well his wife is doing awesome in this preparedness thing and actually took it upon herself to order the stuff and learned to make it with me! Yea Jeneil! (I am so proud of her, can you tell?)
I have posted my revised and, I hope, easier (as easy as Anti-Plague can get that is!) version of the recipe in the post below this one or you can click on the label that says Health Preparedness on the left hand column. Just so you know, I don’t just make this and put it on my shelf. However, that is better than not having it. We use it ALL the time. If my children start coughing or having a runny nose, if they start complaining of a sore throat, achy body, ear aches, almost anything, we start them on the Anti-Plague. Karl reaches for it any time he feels a sinus infection coming on and, since he is very prone to lung issues such as pneumonia, he also reaches for it at any sign of this. Often times it only takes one or two doses other times in more serious sicknesses or if you let the sickness go to long before beginning treatment you have to be more aggressive with it. You cannot take too much. There is nothing is this formula that will cause harm to you. You may get diarrhea. This needs to be watched because you want to avoid dehydration but it also could be a sign that your body is expelling the toxins that were making you sick in the first place.

In normal sickness between one and four tablespoons a day is a general dosage. You will be able to tell if you are getting enough or not by the way you feel. You can, and I recommend, that you take one tablespoon a day. This builds your immune system which makes it so that you will be more likely to withstand the plagues. In times of plague the descriptions I have read say you should take a tablespoon an hour. It is usually recommended to do half dosage with young children under ten. Warning: This stuff does not taste good! The vinegar and garlic, as you can imagine, does not smell appealing or taste that way, but none the less it does work and so you have to decide whether or not it is worth getting your children to take it but as for our house, they take it! I have found that the easiest way is to put it in an amber glass jar, a small one with a dropper and then just drop the syrup towards the back of their mouth. My seven year old will just take it, no complaining, no juice, just swallows it and goes on her way. Incidentally so does my baby, he is almost two. My older children whine and moan and complain, then they get a glass of juice, swallow the Anti-Plague, drink their juice to wash it down, and go on their way. They do get used to it if you start them early enough. But, I will willingly admit that I’m not used to it and I’m the worst in my family. In fact you should ask them one day about my Anti-Plague taking procedure! LOL

Anti-Plague Recipe

Anti-Plague Formula

Ingredients to make a gallon:

34 ozs. Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
22 ozs. Glycerin
22 ozs. Raw, unfiltered, honey
3 lbs. Fresh Garlic
8 Ozs. Cut comfrey root concentrate
4 Ozs. Cut wormwood concentrate
4 Ozs. Cut lobelia leaf concentrate
4 Ozs. Cut marshmallow root concentrate
4 Ozs. Cut oak bark concentrate
4 Ozs. Cut black walnut bark concentrate
4 Ozs. Cut mullein leaf concentrate
4 Ozs. Cut skullcap leaf concentrate
4 Ozs. Cut hydrangea root concentrate
5 Qrts Distilled Water

First peel the 3 pounds of fresh garlic. Place in a blender and blend in three parts. One third garlic to approximately 11 ounces of raw apple cider vinegar. Do not blend all the way to a liquid, pulse until all cloves are just blended. Place all of the garlic juice in quart jars (usually about 2 and a 1/2 to 3 quarts) and let it sit in a dark place for three days. You will use the full 34 ounces of vinegar in making the garlic juice. If at the very end of the process you are lacking a full gallon, don’t be afraid to add extra raw apple cider vinegar to make the formula equal to its full gallon. After three days you need to extract the juice from your vinegar by squeezing out the liquid. I use my wheat grass juicer and run the garlic mixture through it, this doesn’t chop or grate, it simply squeezes. You don’t need a wheat grass juicer, use your imagination.

Each herb concentrate must be made individually. After the concentrate is prepared then and only then, it may be mixed with the other concentrates. To make the concentrates you need to start by soaking them. Use 4 ounces of the herb and soak it in two cups distilled water. With the exception of the Comfrey, you will use 8 ounces of this herb, and so will need four cups distilled water. The root concentrates will need to soak over night. I also soak my black walnut bark overnight. The rest of the herbs need to be soaked for four hours. After soaking place the herb in a stainless steel sauce pan or double broiler, cover and simmer on very low heat for a half an hour. Strain the liquid and place into a clean sauce pan. This time place the herb back on the stove to simmer again at very low heat but this time uncovered. Simmer it down to where there is only four ounces of the herb left. This is your concentrate. Repeat until all nine herbs have been through the same process.

Once all the concentrates have been made and your garlic juice has been prepared then you mix your herb concentrates, your garlic juice, your honey, and your glycerin and stir until everything is dissolved and mixed well together. Place the anti-plague in glass jars and store in a cool, dark place. If you have fridge space, your Anti-Plague will store longer. Also if you can get amber glass jars (dark glass) it is also better for your Anti-Plague because the light can break down the formula after a while.

After your formula is put away and safely stored notice the feeling of intense satisfaction that comes from knowing you are one step closer to being prepared for the plagues.

The Pandemic

It has come to my attention, while visiting with some of my friends and family that not everyone is aware of the pandemic that is a growing concern. I have been reading on the church website all of the information they have placed there to help us PREPARE for a pandemic. I have been to classes and watched videos of people who are VERY preparedness minded and each of them have stated that “it is not a matter of if, but when the pandemic occurs.” One of them has even stated that the center for disease control expected the outbreak a year ago.

Many people seem to think that all of this is a sarcastic presumption. “How can anyone predict when an outbreak is going to occur?” I felt like this was a legitimate question and so I began to search for WHY this big push for pandemic preparedness. The best information I came across that explains it in terms that the lay man can understand is a video I watched from BYU-Idaho. I urge all of you to click on the link and watch it. We are watched it for FHE last night. My children have heard us talking about the pandemic and have seen us preparing for it, but I think this helped them more fully understand what a pandemic is and why it is important to follow the suggestions of preparation that are on the church website.

Here are the links:
Click here for the video from BYU-Idaho You will have to scroll down to where
it says pandemic video, click here.
Click here for the information on the LDS Church web site. There are two links here, read
the information on both.

Now that we know what the pandemic is and that the threat is real. Judging from history and, not to mention, prophecies of the last days, what are you going to do to prepare for this so that you shall not fear?

What have I done? Well first off I printed all of the information off of the church website that is applicable to my family. There is MUCH good information on the site. Then I read all of the information. Then I reread it to my husband. Then after praying about it and pondering about it we made a list of things we needed to do for our family to be prepared. On that list was N95 masks, waterproof coveralls and aprons, vinegar and hydrogen peroxide (this will be explained later), spray bottles, safety glasses, Anti-Plague (also explained further on), and plastic gloves. On that list is a note to teach our children about the pandemic and, as the church suggests on their site, about how to deal with the pandemic incase the adults are incapacitated with the disease. I also plan on placing the information that tells us how to clothe and unclothe and sanitize in our preparedness binder. (I will do a future post further explaining our preparedness binder at a later date.)

Now just a reminder, all of this is just to deal with the pandemic IF we happen to catch the pandemic. In a few minutes I will discuss all the things we plan to do and prepare for to keep it from entering our home.

First I’m going to explain why we have distilled vinegar and hydrogen peroxide. In the church information it tells us that we need Clorox to sanitize everything. If you know me you know that I am always concerned about what it best for our health. In watching a video on preparedness from a lady by the name of Rebecca Lee, I learned that by mixing a solution of 50% vinegar and water and placing it in a spray bottle and in another spray bottle mixing 50% hydrogen peroxide and water and by using one and then the other you will having a sanitizing agent that works as well, if not better, than Clorox but without all the possible health hazards that go along with it. Thus, the adding of those two items instead of Clorox to our pandemic preparedness list.

Anti-Plague, what is that, you say? Well, if any of you know me well you also know that I am very into natural healing and I have a very strong testimony of it because I have seen it work on MANY occasions and with many different sicknesses and injuries. One of the men I admire very much in natural healing is Dr. John R. Christopher. If any of you are interested in learning more about this inspired man I suggest his biography by his son David Christopher called, An Herbal Legacy of Courage, or visit http://www.herballegacy.com/. Dr. Christopher was teaching a class somewhere in Arizona, I forget where, when he was asked a question about whether there was an herb that they could take that would help them withstand the plagues prophesied about in the last days. After praying about this question he received inspiration for this formula which he called Anti-Plague and is now referred to as Super Garlic Immune. We use it often in our family. Whenever some one starts coming down with a cold or a sore throat we give it to them at the first sign of sickness. We have been purchasing it already made online from a company called Life Balm. It is about $32 for a pint. It is kind of expensive but you don’t need much. A little goes a long way. You can also make it yourself. I plan on doing a future post all about Anti-Plague so watch for that to come!

Now to address our plan to hopefully prevent our family from getting the flu. I love the idea that the church calls “Social Distancing” and that the BYU video calls “SIRQ”, Self Imposed Reverse Quarantine. So we will defiantly implement that when the pandemic becomes a concern. But in order to do this we have to plan ahead. We need to make sure we have things that are essential to our being able to STAY AT HOME. Things like food, cleaning supplies, medical or herbal supplements you may need to sustain your health, and any personal hygiene items you may need. This requires planning ahead, making a list, and acquiring these items as quickly as we financially can.

If you are interested, here are the links to the sites where I chose to order my masks, coveralls and aprons, and plastic gloves from. I ordered my masks in a large quantity to save more money. I plan to use some for gifts and keep the rest for my family. The coveralls and aprons I know nothing about. I haven’t received them in the mail as of yet. But they were affordable and waterproof. I chose not to order disposable ones because of the expense but you may consider decide to go that route instead, it is certainly an option. I should be receiving them shortly so if you would like my opinion before you order them just email me and let me know. I will email you my opinion of them.

Now before I close I want to stress that all of this is so personal to our family. We prayed that Heavenly Father would guide us in preparing our family, not yours. As a side note to this I did find information on the church site that they suggested we do that I did not find applicable to my little family and we will not be applying it in our home. So please, please, find out what Heavenly Father would have you do. He is the only one that knows what your family needs.