Preparing for the Shemitah, Jubilee, and Possible Sorrows

I've been blogging a lot about Biblical calendars--the Shemitah we are currently living through, the Jubilee that begins next year, the "half hour" or 21 years of silence following the opening of the seventh seal, and the associated Tribulation. The big question is: if all this stuff is legit--which, who knows, maybe it isn't, but maybe it is--how does one prepare?

So I decided to do a series on preparedness. And I guess this is its introductory post.

The first thing to do is identify what we are preparing for.

What situations can we expect in the coming years and why?

These are the types of situations I would tend to expect:

Based on the nature and timing of the Shemitah:

• General economic collapse, leading up to and culminating in a severe collapse on 13 September 2015 (29 Elul on the Biblical calendar) 

• Possible associated disaster, either manmade (like the 9/11 terror attacks or the Wall Street collapse on 9/28/08), or natural (no precedence that I can think of off the top of my head, but it feels like a possibility--could involve something like an earthquake or other weather event, or a plague of some sort)

Based on the nature and the timing of the Jubilee:

• Traditionally, the Jubilee marks a second consecutive year of economic disturbance, so you would expect things to be even worse economically from mid-September 2015 to mid-September 2016.

• I personally would not be surprised if the beginning of the Jubilee coincided with the Beginning of Sorrows, because it will begin the last "ten minutes" of the "half hour of silence" mentioned in the book of Revelation, as well as D&C 88:95. These "ten minutes" will last seven years--a third of the overall time involved in the "half hour."

If the Beginning of Sorrows does begin soonish--not that it has to or will, but if it did--these are the kinds of things we would expect:

Image here.

• Plagues: wiping out the world's population significantly.
• Increase in the severity and frequency of natural disasters of all kinds: ones of particular interest might include storms, earthquakes, and tidal waves.
• Societal collapse: it won't feel like Kansas anymore, Toto. Associated violence and general wandering in search of safety and resources.
• Wars and rumors of wars. Possible invasion by foreign troops in addition to local gang violence.
• Famine--partially from natural disasters ruining crops, and partially because it is no longer safe to farm

So the question is, how do we prepare for stuff like that?

I propose that there are a few different areas of necessary preparation:

- Spiritual: how strong is your faith that God can and will take care of you?
- Emotional: how strong are you emotionally? Could you emotionally handle a collapse of the current order?
- Mental: Do you know the things you'd need to know to survive if a survival situation came up in your life?
- Physical: Is your body physically fit enough to withstand a new level of physical rigor?
- Temporal: Do you have the necessary stuff to get through any potential trials comfortably? This would include things like stored food and water, water filters, cloth diapers, hand-laundering equipment, extra clothing, etc.

I'll be examining these different areas of preparation in the coming weeks. We all have a lot to prepare if there ever is an emergency in our lives--whether that emergency is a widespread societal one, or just a personal one like job loss or a death in the family.

Whether or not the coming years hold economic craziness, it is always a good idea to be prepared. This talk from President Gordon B. Hinckley in 2005 is more relevant than ever: if we are prepared we shall not fear. Read the whole talk, but he says:

Our people for three-quarters of a century have been counseled and encouraged to make such preparation as will assure survival should a calamity come. 

We can set aside some water, basic food, medicine, and clothing to keep us warm. We ought to have a little money laid aside in case of a rainy day. 

Now what I have said should not occasion a run on the grocery store or anything of that kind. I am saying nothing that has not been said for a very long time. 

So to echo the prophet: my point here is not to panic or anything like that. None of the call to prepare is somehow new. Maybe crazy things are coming and maybe not, but in either case, it pays to be prepared.

To that end, upcoming posts will be covering issues of preparedness on all levels. Time to get our houses in order!