New Members

How important did you consider education before you joined the church? As you begin to work towards an LDS-mindset to life, think about your education. The church encourages its youth, and in fact, all its members, to get as much education as possible, both formally, and through personal learning.

The responsibility for getting an education begins with you. While it’s easier to be well-educated if you were raised in a home that values it or if you’re a naturally good student, in the end, you’re the one who is affected, and so it’s your responsibility, regardless of what you’re learning about education at home or how good you are at school.

“Because of our sacred regard for each human intellect, we consider the obtaining of an education to be a religious responsibility. Yet opportunities and abilities differ. I believe that in the pursuit of education, individual desire is more influential than institution, and personal faith more forceful than faculty.

"Our Creator expects His children everywhere to educate themselves. He issued a commandment: “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 88:118.) And He assures us that knowledge acquired here will be ours forever. (See D&C 130:18–19.)”-- Russell M. Nelson, “Where Is Wisdom?,” Ensign, Nov 1992, 6

This means that going to a bad school or having an uneducational home isn’t an excuse. We have to take responsibility for educating ourselves. If your school is poor, you can find ways to make the curriculum harder. I once took a class on current events. I love current events and didn’t realize it was a fluff class designed for people who aren’t going to graduate unless they pass a social studies class. When I learned that we’d be doing nothing but rewriting a newspaper article in our own words each day, I went to the teacher. I was unable to change classes, but we decided I could instead choose an important long-running current event, research it, analyze it, and write a paper on it. In this way, I was able to get a good education in that class, even though the class itself was silly. When I had teachers who were unwilling to work with me, I assigned myself research projects. I tried to read extra books on the subject and talk to people who knew more about it. I also studied subjects my school didn’t offer by visiting museums or talking with my parents. When I struggled, I sought help in prayer and from others.

Doing well in school, and learning on our own, are spiritual accomplishments, even when we’re learning history or math. God is the author of all good knowledge. Of course, we must not let our academic life destroy our spiritual one. It’s important to use the same prayerful judgment in deciding what to believe academically as we did in deciding what church to join. Spiritual learning is also a priority.

Have you, since beginning to learn about the church, visited a long-time member and stared in awe at her food storage? Does it seem impossible to you that you could reach that level of readiness? You needn’t build your entire food storage in a few days. You can gradually build it over time, buying a little extra each time you shop and storing it away. You can also save to make a few bulk purchases each year.

President Gordon B. Hinckley said, "We can begin ever so modestly. We can begin with 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" He warned people not to panic, but simply to get started.

The church has a wonderful website that guides you through the process of building a beginning food storage. The Provident Living site offers lessons you can use to get your family interested in helping you with this project. It explains how long food can be kept and how much you need to survive. This won’t let you eat as you always do, but it will keep you alive and healthy.

The commandment to keep food storage isn’t a doomsday commandment. Most people who store food use it as a part of the surviving the challenges of everyday life. Unemployment is easier to survive if you have plenty of food and don’t have to shop. Illness or weather might make it hard to go to a store, but having food stored up can get you through a few difficult weeks. A local disaster, of course, makes food storage essential. Food storage also reduces the cost of feeding your family. Having all you need already on hand allows you to shop sales or a variety of stores, one each week, buying only that which is less expensive at that store. It also allows you to buy in bulk.

If you have a small home, you may have to be creative in your storage. Your new LDS friends won’t blink an eye if food storage is part of your décor. When we moved to a small cottage, I placed a large number of cartons under the edge of a counter facing the living room. If members even comment on it, they say, “Oh, that’s where you keep some of your food storage.” Non-members might ask, but that only opens up conversational opportunities. Search out odd corners and inconvenient closets, under the bed space, and even cartons-as-furniture to find a spot for all you want to store. Grow at least a little food, even if it’s in a flower pot, to provide living food storage.

Start small, and keep building, a little at a time. You’ll soon have your full supply.