Plan 9

"The revelation to store food may be as essential to our temporal salvation today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah." - Ezra Taft Benson

Sister Lindell taught the combined RS/EQ lesson on emergency preparedness and food storage. The Bishopric asked her to discuss the new pamphlet that is distributed by the Southwest Utah Public Health Department. Click here for link to the Plan 9 pamphlet. This pamphlet discusses 9 essential items to help you shelther-in-place in the event of an emergency.

1. water
2. food
3. clothes
4. medications
5. flashlight
6. can opener (manual)
7. radio (battery powered)
8. hygiene items
9. first aid

Sister Lindell gave a scenario for us to consider: Would we be prepared if we were quarantined in our home, and were asked to move everyone to an above ground room with the least amount of windows/doors. Bring a battery-powered radio so you will know when it is ok to leave the room. You'll need to cover all windows and vents, and put wet towels under the doorways. Are we prepared? Do we have our 72 hour kits in one place (such as a backpack for each person) that we can grab them easily/quickly to take into the room with us?

Other topics Sister Lindell touched on were:
-We should have a disaster plan for our family. If our kids were at school, our spouse was at work, and we needed to gather for an emergency, do we have a designated meeting place? Do we have both a local and an out-of-state emergency contact that we can all get in touch with?

-the most important resource to store is WATER (if the water is out, do we have enough water stored for hygiene/toilets as well as cooking/drinking?)

Brother Hafen closed the lesson by stressing the importance of being prepared. President Obama has declared September to be national emergency preparedness month, the Dixie Center is holding an emergency preparedness convention on Sept 11th, and local leaders have put together this pamphlet Plan 9 along with other resources. It is obviously a priority for everyone to be prepared.

As LDS members, we have been counseled by prophets to be prepared; NOW is the time we need to work on getting our emergency preparedness kits and plans together.