"Farewell, Tranquil Mind"

In D&C 38: 30 the Lord promises us that "if ye are prepared ye shall not fear." Without such a promise we might well fear the disasters of the world in which we live. Andrew F. Krepinevich has written about some of the awful possibilities in 7 Deadly Scenarios, which Bret Stephens reviews in "Farewell, Tranquil Mind" in a recent edition of The Wall Street Journal.

"Mr. Krepinevich's concern is with the worst that can plausibly happen to the U.S. . . . within the next decade. What's plausible?" He spins out possible scenarios involving nuclear bombs being detonated in U.S. cities, a global avian-flu pandemic that "sends a desperate human tide coming up from Mexico" and others.

The Lord has counseled us to prepare both spiritually and temporally. "Prepare ye, prepare ye, for that which is to come . . . ." (D&C 1: 12)

Danger to the Food Supply

A February 10 article by Jim Carlton in The Wall Street Journal documents that "Shrinking Water Supplies Imperil California Farmers." This is not good news for any of us who rely on California to produce much of our fresh produce. The article reports that "California is locked in the third year of one of its worst droughts on record, with reservoirs holding as little as 22% of capacity." As a result, "managers said they plan to sideline 9,000 of 11,000 acres they used to plant with tomatoes, onions, broccoli, and other vegetables."

This is the time to put a little food supply away in our homes if we have not done so already. Begin now to put aside the food your family normally eats until you have a three-month supply of those items. Then begin to think about longer-term storage items.

The Arbor - March 2009

The March issue of The Arbor includes articles from two sisters who have overcome addiction through their reliance on the Savior and testimony from a priesthood of the efficacy of the Addiction Recovery Program.

Job Search Success Stories

It is fun to read the job search success stories the Church has now posted in the employment section of providentliving.org. Even though some of them are from other parts of the world, the principles they illustrate are good anywhere, including here in the Pittsburgh PA Welfare Region.

The Arbor - February 2009

The February edition of The Arbor includes articles on the importance of faith, repentance, and new year's resolutions.

Addiction Recovery Program group leaders may make copies for participants. Priesthood leaders may also make copies for people who would benefit, but The Arbor should not be posted on bulletin boards, other public viewing areas, nor handed out in general church meetings.

If you would like to be added to the mailing list, please send name and e-mail address to: lillrosek@charter.net. In the subject line type “Additions to the Arbor Mailing List”

Indy Net

The Indiana Regional Bishops' Storehouse is one of the major storehouse that supplies smaller storehouses like the one in Brecksville, OH, which in turn supplies most of the Pittsburgh PA Welfare Region. Such regional storehouses contain supplies the Church sends to respond to major disasters. (The regional storehouse that would send supplies to address a disaster in the Pittsburgh Region is in Washington, DC.)

The Indiana storehouse sponsors a monthly "meeting" for ham radio operators who want to check in to test their contact with the storehouse for communication purposes in preparation for a disaster. The Indy Storehouse Radio Net meets the first Friday of each month at 7:00 AM Eastern Time, 1200 UTC, 3.875 Mhz, LSB. All those who are interested are invited to participate.

What Americans Fear

In her weekly column on the opinion page of today's Wall Street Journal, Peggy Noonan wrote,

Lately I think the biggest thing Americans fear, deep down—the thing they'd say if you could put the whole nation on the couch and say, "Just free associate, tell me what you fear"—is, "I am afraid we will run out of food. And none of us have gardens, and we haven't taught our children how to grow things. Everything is bought in a store. What if the store closes? What if the choke points through which the great trucks travel from farmland to city get cut off? I have two months of canned goods. I'm afraid."

Come, listen to a prophet's voice.