Ask and ye shall receive.

I was recently called into my ward's Relief Society Presidency. This was my first presidency lesson.

ASKING QUESTIONS

My mother-in-law once was challenged to pray about what one thing she could change about her life to bring her family closer together. She got a very clear answer: nightly family dinner. This practice did indeed bring her family together.

Nephi asks his father to ask the Lord.
Image here.

Earlier this summer, I felt inspired to pray about what skills Heavenly Father would like me to learn by September. It had never occurred to me to ask such a question before in prayer, but I did end up getting an answer! An answer I've been busy working on.

When Nephi broke his bow, he built a new bow and then asked his father to ask the Lord where to find food. He did find food for his hungry family. 

We got the Word of Wisdom because Emma Smith asked Joseph Smith if he would please ask the Lord if chewing tobacco was really okay. It wasn't until Joseph Smith asked the Lord about this that we got the Word of Wisdom. 

The moral of these stories: there are some things the Lord can't tell us unless we ASK. Asking the right questions is imperative to getting the most out of prayer and out of life.

In my own life, I recently realized that I've been praying all wrong. As an example, what good is a prayer that pleads, "Help me get out of debt," when I'm not changing anything about how I live my life? A better thing to pray would be to ask, "How do You want me to get out of debt? What resources have You sent me to use to get out of debt? What one thing can I do today or this week to reduce my debt?"

Framing the debt issue in the form of actionable questions enables the Lord to answer us in more specific ways, and gives us the opportunity to act by the Spirit.

Almost every issue can be handled this way--through questions that empower both God and the asker to give and get far more helpful responses through prayer. 

EXAMPLES: 

Image here.

Instead of praying, "help my kids be good!" we could pray, "What one thing can I do today to help my children make better choices?"

Instead of praying, "bless me with a missionary experience today!" we can ask, "Who am I supposed to share the gospel with today, and how am I supposed to do it?"

Instead of praying, "make me happy," we could ask, "What action items could I take today to increase my own happiness?"

There is an unlimited number of questions we can ask the Lord, and we can expect to receive answers. A great scripture about this is in 1 Nephi 15:7-11:

 8 And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord?
 9 And they said unto me: We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.
 10 Behold, I said unto them: How is it that ye do not keep the commandments of the Lord? How is it that ye will perish, because of the hardness of your hearts?
 11 Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you.

We are constantly invited to inquire of the Lord. What questions have you asked Him lately?

RECEIVING ANSWERS

Asking questions of the Lord is the first step to developing better prayer. The second step is learning better how to receive an answer.

Take ten minutes and go into a quiet place. Close your eyes, take some deep breaths, and in prayer, ask the Lord to remind you what it feels like when He tells you "yes." The scriptures describe this feeling as a burning in the bosom. You may feel some kind of warmth in your chest, or feelings of comfort and peace. Then, thank the Lord for the reminder, and ask for a reminder of what "no" answers feel like. 

Image here.

Compare and contrast. Go back and forth with yes and no until you feel confident in your ability to decipher a yes or no answer to prayer very quickly. The answers God sends us are very, very subtle at times. Setting aside time to practice feeling those feelings on my own time has helped me become a lot faster at discerning God's answers to my prayers when it really counts. 

Another technique I have used to improve the success of my prayers has been to write down the things I want to ask the Lord ahead of time, and then actually ask Him with my pen and paper at the ready. This talk by Elder Don R. Clarke of the Seventy talks about the importance of writing down spiritual impressions. When I write down the answers I get from the Lord right away, as soon as I get them, I am better able to act on them in a timely manner. 

One of the most important things about receiving prayerful revelation is that we act on our prayers right away. When we act without delay, we are showing God that we take Him and His divine, all-loving counsel seriously. The more we act in faith on the answers we receive, the more answers He can and will give us.

I have a testimony of asking questions in prayer, and I know that when we ask empowering questions of the Lord, He answers them. I know that when we practice asking better questions, listening intently, and acting immediately, we are blessed with powerful, insightful, personal revelation that has the power to change and bless our lives and the lives of our families and those around us. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

solipsism; or, you're so vain.

You're so vain, you probably think this blog is about you.

I'll never forget it. It was one of the most mind-shattering moments of my life.

It was 2008. Springtime. I lived in Orem, Utah. I had to get to school. I got on the bus feeling nervous and self-conscious. My hair wasn't dry. My heels were starting to show some wear and tear from overuse (back in the day when I only wore heels. Ha!). I sat down and noticed a woman sitting there a few seats past me.

She was overweight, dressed in ill-fitting clothing, and looked pretty unkempt. I thought: "That poor lady! She is probably sitting here thinking the same thing I'm thinking... that everyone on this bus is judging me this whole bus ride." I stopped and had my moment of realization. I had been too busy being self-conscious about my own self to really care about what that lady was up to. 

Good old Provo transportation. Image here.

Realization #1: People are way more wrapped up in their own lives than they are wrapped up in yours.

Then I realized, I hadn't judged this lady, besides to observe her general state, and my reaction to her was one of sympathy and solidarity.

Realization #2: Not everyone who observes you is judging you.

Then I realized, even though this lady was possibly sitting there feeling so self-conscious about herself, it didn't matter. I didn't know her name. I had no idea where she lived. I had no idea who she was. Even if I had been all judgey-pants about her, it wouldn't have mattered, because then she was going to get off the bus and continue her normal life, and I would get off the bus and continue my normal life, and we'd probably never interact again. And this hadn't even been an actual "interaction."

Realization #3: Even if people judge you, in most cases, they don't even know your name and won't even care or remember tomorrow.

And now that I am blogging on solipsism, years and years later, I'll add realization #4:

Realization #4: This giant realization in my life was in itself solipsistic!

Oh well. I'll take it. The overall experience left me significantly less solipsistic, at least in my own mind. (See what I did there?)

What is solipsism?

This is the best explanation of solipsism I've read so far (from this article, which is worth reading if you care about, you know, solipsism). Emphasis mine:

Solipsism is to doubt the existence of the world that the person perceives and retreating to the only thing the person does not doubt; her own conscious mind.

In the context of the nature of existence and justified belief, Solipsism is the position that the mind is the only thing that can be known to be true and that knowledge of anything outside the mind is unjustified. 

That is just a fancy way of saying that solipsism means “I believe I’m the only one that is right base on what only I know; so you must be wrong even if you can prove you are right.” 

This is a very informative post from someone else on why solipsism matters. Worth a read. He uses a relevant illustration in this post:

Journaling in my presence? He must
be journaling about ME!!!!
Image here.

Consider Ian Ironwood's tremendous adventure in female solipsism, which he explored by the simple device of writing in a notebook in the presence of a number of women.

The lesson of the story is that every single aspect of the response from a group of 14 women (13 co-workers and a boss) was based on a) her solipsistic belief that I was writing about her based solely on the fact that she didn't know WHAT or WHOM I was writing about b) her belief in the absence of evidence that my stubborn silence was proof that I was writing about her and c) the belief that every other woman in the group was conspiring against her over the imaginary book for some reason.

Read the entire thing. It may sound absurd, but speaking as a published author, I assure you that you could easily replicate his experience in very nearly any group of women today.

The writer goes on to list a solipsism test you can expose your friends to in your spare time. But essentially, solipsism is the term for egoistic self-absorption that makes a person--but more typically, a woman--think that everything that happens, everything that people think and say, is All. About. Her.

My moment on the bus that day shook me from (at least some of--most of?) my solipsism when I realized: not everyone on the bus was thinking about me. This bus ride was actually not about me at all for the vast majority of people. Ironically, I came to that conclusion by solipsistically observing my own thoughts and projecting them onto everyone else ("well, if I don't really care how that lady looks because I am too busy obsessing over my own life, then surely other people are too busy obsessing over their lives to care that much about how I look! Because my personal experiences totally merit being projected onto everyone else!"). Okay. It was still a solipsistic realization. But since that moment, I found myself becoming significantly more objective and less ego-centric in my daily life.

Signs of Solipsism

If people are talking and their conversation slows or stops when you come near, do you automatically assume that they were talking about you?

Rationalization hamster, a
common consequence of solipsism.
Image here.

If you read a critical yet unspecific line on a friend's Facebook page or blog, do you automatically assume that it is all about you?

If you see someone writing in their journal and occasionally looking up at you as they do it, do you assume they must be writing about you, even if you are complete strangers?

If someone makes a comment about the costs of the medical system from the obese, and you are obese (just as an example), do you automatically assume that the comment was a personal slam against you and feel a need to defend yourself? (Other examples would be someone bringing up a study on this or that and you thinking that the other person bringing it up was a commentary all about you.)

All of these are signs of solipsism--the practice of assuming that everything everyone else is up to and thinking and doing all day long is all about you. (There is more to solipsism than just that, but for the purposes of this article, that's the aspect I'm going to focus on.)

Since my realization that day, I have found myself jumping far less to the conclusion that people are commenting or thinking about me me me all the same. My default assumption is now to give people the benefit of the doubt and assume that they are actually not talking about me, because really, why would they? When my brother died, a total two people bothered to check on me. That was two years ago. Even this blog only gets a handful of hits every day ( I think yesterday's post got all of seven entire views, yay! Probably only half of them were mine!), and essentially no one I know locally in real life except basically my mom even reads it. So why would people who can't even be bothered to read my blog or check in on me when my brother dies bother yakking about me in real life?

And even if they are yakking about me in real life... so?

Decreasing my solipsism in these matters has made a huge positive difference in my life. But, easier said than done.

Why solipsism matters

Solipsism matters--I'm writing about it on this blog about energy healing--because it is a crucial determinant in how happy people are. In how happy women are. The more solipsistic you are, the less happy you will be--and the less grounded in actual observable reality. Solipsism is a part of the matrix that seems inborn to the female psyche, but doesn't have to stay that way. Solipsism cripples logic and rational thinking. It encourages selfish thinking, self-centered thinking, irrational thinking, and emotional rationalization (or "hamster-wheeling") and such thinking and behavior is not really called for. From the scriptures we learn that putting our own egos aside in the service of others is the way to happiness: to dwell in a solipsistic state is to put the ego on a pedestal and spend our time and energy rationalizing it all. To embrace solipsism is to waste valuable time and energy making flawed assumptions about objective reality.

On an energetic level, highly solipsistic people tend to be very energetically turbulent, because they allow their perceptions of what other people may or may not be thinking or saying or doing about them them them to influence them, regardless of objective reality. I suspect it is literally impossible to be energetically grounded and engaged in solipsistic thinking at the same time. Being grounded is so important to energetic health. It's time to ditch the solipsism.

How to decrease solipsistic tendencies

It's easy to say that you're not going to assume everyone is always thinking and talking about you you you all the time, but it's less easy to implement that, or to clear the feelings associated with assuming that everyone is just gossiping about you you you all day long.

The obvious and most effective way to clear solipsistic tendencies is through energy work--clear the emotions associated with past solipsism, and then go through and change the subconscious belief programs associated. The subconscious belief programs are sometimes not what you would completely expect. For example, I would consider "Everyone hates me" to be a solipsistic program, but less obviously so than a program of, "People are always talking about me" or something like that. You'd want your theta practitioner to first determine how many subconscious programs are contributing to your solipsism, and then identify them and pull and replace as they are identified.

Obviously, you can do this without energy work as well; I did. Just deciding to no longer make assumptions that everything is about me me me is a good place to start. It's like an affirmation. Some people choose to use energy work to change their thought patterns in the course of a few minutes; some people decide to repeat affirmations over and over for years until the same change is effected. Both ways can be effective. Some people just wake up one day and decide to change how they think--that's kind of what happened to me. There are a number of ways to escape the limiting tunnel-vision that is solipsism.

Conclusion

Solipsism is in part the tendency to assume that everyone else is preoccupied with you, that everything people write or say or do is about you. It is not a conscious mindset--it's more like the default position to which all women are set, to one degree or another. It is an opposite of the conscious mindset. Not all women are equally solipsistic. Solipsism elevates the ego while denigrating the importance of objective reality, and prevents true energetic health. Solipsism can be avoided or minimized through a raising of consciousness and energy work.

How to tell if you are an empath

What is an empath?

If you google the definition of "empath," what comes up is the assertion that an empath is "a person with the paranormal ability to apprehend the mental or emotional state of another individual," and chiefly found in science fiction (ha!). Empaths are essentially people who are very sensitive to the inner workings of those around them--often people, but also including things like animals, even insects or nature itself. I've even heard of mechanical empaths, who have an uncanny understanding of the inner workings of machines.

Image here.

How to tell if you are an empath:

The easiest way to tell if you are an empath is to muscle test on it, or just listen to your gut.

Do you feel shy or overwhelmed in crowds? Do you feel others' emotions very deeply? Do you sometimes lose track of whose emotions you're feeling--yours, or someone else's?

Do you easily gain weight? (Sometimes empaths put on weight as a subconscious way to protect themselves from the emotions of others.)

Image here.

Are you easily affected by the weather? Can you sense when a storm is coming because you start getting crabby, for example? Do you always feel better when the sun is shining?

Are animals (or insects) attracted to you?

Do you feel like you can sense what other people are thinking or feeling?

Do total strangers come up to you and feel comfortable talking with you?

Do you often experience synchronicity or deja vu?

Can you reliably tell when someone is lying, just based on your gut feelings?

Do you feel drawn to the healing arts? To metaphysical and holistic healing?

Do you have an addictive personality--do you struggle with issues of addiction (be it to food, the internet, sugar, your cell phone, or drugs or alcohol or pornography)?

Do you love freedom and travel?

Are you always looking for answers?

You don't have to answer all of these questions "yes" to be an empath, but the more you feel positive responses toward, the more likely you are one!

Types and Levels of Empath

Image here.

My experience has been that there are a number of different types of empath--empaths with skills in the regions of things like claircognizance, versus telepathy, versus precognition, versus emotional or physical healing, versus nature, versus animals, etc. You can be an empath in one area and not another. Actually most people are between 1-5 types of empath, as kind of a signature mix of skills that is unique to that person. I personally have 5 different empath types represented in myself, but I recently was talking to a woman who was dealing with 6 different types of empathetic skills all struggling to manifest simultaneously! Intense!

My experience has also been that people can be different "levels" of empath, if that makes sense. I rank it on a 1-10 scale, with 10 being very, very magnified empathetic skills, and 1 being on the low end of the scale, obviously. So where I have 5 types of empathetic skills represented, I rank at an overall 9 on my scale. But my emotional healing empath abilities are a 9, my precognition is a 3, my nature empathy is a 7, etc. You can discover how advanced all your skills are through muscle testing or intuition.

Conclusion


Let's be real: if you are looking at my blog, the chances are high you are an empath. Empaths are totally drawn to this holistic, metaphysical healing stuff. If you're interested in learning more about being an empath, I'm doing some classes on it next week. You can register here.

Classes for Empaths

Hello everyone!! Wanted to announce some upcoming classes--this is short notice, but these classes will be taking place next week. All classes will have recordings available for those who cannot make the live class.

SO YOU'RE AN EMPATH 101: Being An Empath 

Do you ever feel like you are taking on other people's emotions? Like the things you feel aren't always your things? Are you overwhelmed in crowded spaces or when close to lots of people? Are you very sensitive to the weather, or to music or noise? Do you have a weight problem? Are you shy? Sign up for this class to learn more about your nature as an empath, to discover what type(s) of empath you are (there are multiple types of empaths and some people are more than one type!), and specific challenges you may face depending on what type of empath you are. -$29 

Wednesday July 22, 2015, 10 AM  - 12 PM EST

SO YOU'RE AN EMPATH 201: Thriving As An Empath 

So you're an empath. What do you do about that? This class will delve into specifics of grounding, shielding, and developing boundaries and safe ways to interact with others and the world around you. Being an empath can be very draining, but it doesn't have to be! Sign up for this class to develop healthier ways to cope with the immense amount of empathetic information you as an empath have to process every day. - $45
Wednesday, July 22, 2015, 1 PM - 3 PM EST

SO YOU'RE AN EMPATH 301: Serving As An Empath 

How do you use your unique empath traits to serve others? How do you turn what can be an overwhelming "gift" into an actual gift that serves both you and those around you? Learn how to channel your gifts in healthy and helpful ways. - $45
Thursday, July 23, 2015, 10 AM - 12 PM EST

OR register for all three classes in the complete Empath Class package for $107 (a 10% discount):

I'm also now making available some recordings of previous classes. The class on muscle testing and receiving intuitive answers is of particular interest to empaths (but not necessary for the classes for empaths):

Muscle Testing and Receiving Intuitive Answers 

$29 

This two-hour class will give you the tools to muscle test effectively, as well as receive intuitive answers to your energetic questions. You will need to come well-hydrated; you will need to know which way is north where you are; and you will need to not wear leather.



Opening the Mind's Eye 

$57 

This hour-and-a-half class will help students open the mind's eye to "see" things like the human aura, energetic shields and markers, and chakras. This is an introductory class.




Intro to the Theta State 

$57 

This class teaches three ways to access the "theta" state, or waking REM. This is the brain state for effective healing. Practice going into and coming out of the theta state while awake, and learn a few things to do in that state for easy healing.

Email me with questions! awinegarduzett at gmail dot com. You know the drill. 

inner light and the light of souls

I once had the opportunity to spend a lot of time talking about energy work with a guy who seemed very, very skeptical of the idea that souls give off light--particularly light that is discernible to the mortal eye under certain circumstances. 

However, this idea is both A) scriptural and B) backed up by accounts of people who have passed through the veil and returned.

Image here.

The scriptures have a lot to say about light and its relationship with Christ and His followers. The implication of the scriptures is that Christ is the "light which shineth, which giveth you light," and that when we follow Him we receive a portion of that light in ourselves. That light helps us judge righteously, helps us more fully live the gospel.

Even people who claim to not see auras and stuff will still often claim to be able to recognize fellow Mormons by the "light in their eyes." This is obviously not a light like your overhead lighting fixture has lights--it is a metaphysical light discerned not by the physical eye but by the spiritual eye. Weirdly, I'm pretty sure the guy who was so weirded out by this whole concept has experienced the recognition of inner light in others, but was just, I don't know, disturbed or something by the concept of it being an actual real thing that some people experience more often than others. Or the concept of inner light being something you can quantify.

There are seriously dozens and dozens of scriptures about light and related ideas in the scriptures, and I invite you to study the scriptures with a focus on light. But here are just a few before I move on to the NDE I recently read about and the survivor's commentary on the inner light of souls:

Doctrine and Covenants 88:11
11 And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings;

Doctrine and Covenants 84:45
45 For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:6
6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Image here.

Doctrine and Covenants 6:21
21 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I am the same that came unto mine own, and mine own received me not. I am the light which shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not.

 This is the Bible Dictionary entry on the Light of Christ.

This morning I got on Facebook and found an article about a man who died, came back, and decided to become a healer. Here is his observation on the light of spirits:

"They were souls, souls that emanated light, each one had a different amount of light, some had so much light it was like looking into to sun, others had very little light but were right there," said Hermosillo as he sipped on a cup of water. 

[...] 

As for the souls projecting light, Hermosillo said the light came with meaning for each soul.
"The light was a reflection of who they were on Earth, so if an individual was judgmental, hateful, had vanity and ego, they had a little bit of light," said Hermosillo. "Those who were kind, loving, helped others in their community, just good souls, they were shining brighter.

[...] 

As for the lights, Hermosillo said the brightness told a story a story about each soul. Some were bright, others dim, but Alex said he also saw what he called, 'the great lights.'
"Buddha, Jesus, Mary, even Martin Luther King's and Mother Teresa, they had so much more light, I saw them, I could see them."

We all project our inner light, the reflection of how much we have made our souls like Christ. This was an interesting read this morning.

watch out for energies shifting!

Two nights ago I woke up to find that something major had happened to my home--an energetic meridian had shifted on the earth's surface, leading to the creation of basically a negative whirlpool of energy in my own bedroom. I'd woken up to the most horrific nightmare I may have ever had, and I thought--something put that in my mind. When I looked around the room, I realized that there were plenty of entities that would have been up to the task of implanting some nightmares in my home. I cast them out, and then did some repair work on the new portal (which is now gone).

I bring this up because when I inspected the homes of several loved ones shortly thereafter, I realized that they, too, had developed brand new energetic hotspots in their houses overnight--some good, but more not good. If you are noticing a serious shift in the energetic makeup of your house and home, it may be due to a meridian shift that has opened up your house to things that it is not normally open to.

Just as the human body has energetic meridians,
so does the earth. Right now the earth's energetic lines
are undergoing a major shift. This shift is creating
new energetic hotspots where they didn't exist
before. Image here.

THE PROBLEM

Unclean entities entering the home through new "portals" created by shifts in the earth's electromagnetic field.

HOW TO FIX IT

Follow the instructions in D&C 50 for casting out unclean entities, and then pray for the entrance those things have been using to seal up. It may take a few prayers or really just extra faith. I had to try a few different things to get mine to close up. You can muscle test on if there are unclean things in your home, or if the portal has been closed, or if there is something more that needs to be done to restore your home's energy to its highest potential.

If you feel an energy shift in your home and suspect this has something to do with it, you can always reach out with questions. It is so important to keep our homes as places where we can easily feel the Holy Ghost.

ONE MORE THING

I once upon a time had the super misfortune of having some long-term houseguests who somehow were inviting unclean things into my home every day. I would close up the energy holes letting things in, but these guests would just open them again. Not intentionally, of course--they don't believe in energy things--but somehow, I'm not really sure how, they managed to invite evil spirits into my home every day until the very last of the guests left. The earth's energy shifts are not the only things that create negative portals in a home; sometimes they are created by the actual people living in the home. This is one reason it is so important to be selective in who you let stay with you, and why it is so important to be cautious yourself of what activities are going on in your home that could be opening up energetic windows and allowing in negative things.

CONCLUSION

Be mindful of the energy in your home as the earth begins some major energetic shifting. Here's an article detailing some of the shifts we are currently undergoing. If your home does not feel like a haven of peace and light, consider investigating for the presence of unwanted energy patterns.

why I haven't been blogging on preparedness

Hey all. So I've been blogging only sporadically this year. A few days ago I woke up and felt impressed to make some changes on my blog and then share why.

I just went ahead and took down some of the posts that some people might consider "fear-mongering." That was never my intention with blogging on world events or preparedness. In the past, I had felt that I should leave my posts on world events and preparedness up, because I just felt that someone out there still needed to read them. Today, I've taken many of them down.

We are all in different places in our lives. Some of us are ready to face certain things without fear, and others are not. For me, reading about things like diseases or changes on the world stage are not fear-inducing, and frankly, I felt that I had made it clear in my posts that there is no reason to fear if we are spiritually prepared. That is always true, incidentally: Spiritual preparedness is the most important type of preparedness anyone can do. But looking back over the posts in questions, I could see how people would skim over those parts or put more stock in the raw information rather than the conclusion that the answer here is cleansing the inner vessel, and coming close to Jesus Christ.

Today, I recognize that even though I personally did not find those posts fear-inducing, other people are frightened by world events and talk of the negative entities in our world. So I took those posts down and if you want to read about NDE comparisons of plagues and pestilences, or need to know more about various negative influences in the world today, email me and I'll send you the posts. They are saved as drafts exactly as originally posted so you can still have access to the original information if you specifically request it.

I did leave up my post on the Shemitah and also my posts on how-tos, such as how to store your long-term food storage in practically free food safe plastic containers, and various stuff I have stocked up on. If I feel prompted I may remove my Shemitah post as well. But so far it has been the most comprehensively-researched post on the topic that I've seen anywhere, as I recall. So it stays for now. I hope talk of the Jewish calendar and Hebrew tradition doesn't send anyone into a fear-induced tailspin.

My family is still prepping. We still feel led by the Spirit. My swarm of bees actually showed up within 15 hours of a heartfelt prayer on if we really needed to prep, or if it were all in our minds. When we took the question to God, the answer was Deseret--an answer we took to mean yes.

Not all prepping is fear-induced. This is not all root chakra issues. Sometimes God prompts those who are financially able to prepare on behalf of others. I know God always takes care of me and I don't really feel like most of my preps are actually for my family. In storing them, I have felt prompted to store them in ways that will make them easily distributed to others.

Many people are not feeling any sort of urgency to prepare, and that is fine and further, it is not a sign that they are somehow not spiritual enough or anything like that. God asks us to do what we are able and willing to do. If you don't have a permanent home and you don't have spare time and money, you may not be specifically asked to obtain a year's supply of food, or a nice tent, or whatever. God meets us where we are at. If we have desires to serve, He leads us to ways we will be able to serve. That means something different for everybody.

God is orchestrating things so that we are all where we need to be when we need to be there. I have been personally told about the nature of a number of world events I will personally see come to pass. I have been told these things in my patriarchal blessing and in personal revelation. I've been told some things I personally need to do to get ready for all that. But, notably, none of my family members' PBs have anything to do with the stuff my PB is about. We all have different missions. Part of my mission is to prepare for upcoming events I have been shown--prepare for myself and for others--and I want to recognize that that is just not part of everyone's mission. If you're living paycheck to paycheck, it might just not be in your mission to stock up on random goods in order to give to others in times of need. And that is fine. You may not feel any sort of urgency to prepare temporally at all. And that is fine too.

The only important thing here is that we are all following the Spirit and following the prophet. The prophets have warned us of things that will come if our nation does not repent. This is one reason why we are in the middle of the Hastening of the Work. We each have a responsibility to warn our neighbors (see D&C 88:81 and this talk by Elder Eyring). This will mean different things for each of us.

The prophets have encouraged us to prepare temporally through things like food, water, and money storage. Are you praying about what things you need to acquire or do to be prepared for whatever is coming for you personally? Again: we all have different missions. For all I know, I'm prepping for my husband's job loss or a severe thunderstorm that takes out the power to my neighborhood for three weeks. There are situations in all of our lives--and our neighbors' lives--that require preparedness. If we listen to the Spirit and ask in faith what we should be doing to prepare for ourselves and for others, we will be led to the proper steps to take and information to acquire.

God has told us that He has never given us a temporal commandment--all His commandments are spiritual (see D&C 29:34). As the Church's website states, "Members of the Church have been counseled for many years to be prepared for adversity. Preparation, both spiritual and temporal, can dispel fear. With the guidance of Church leaders, individual members and families should prepare to be self-reliant in times of personal or widespread emergency." Preparedness dispels fear and as a Church we have been counseled to engage in prayerful preparation.

Regardless, my purpose has never been to "fear-monger" or anything like that. God asks us to prepare in every way, to prepare every needful thing. I don't know that I will be blogging much about preparedness in the coming days or weeks or months; I still feel it's important, but I also feel that The Lord will preach His own sermons. I urge you to pray about whether or not preparedness is something that is important for you and your family.