Vital Records Binder (We all need one of these:)!!

The 'Emergency Preparedness Coordinator' in my ward(CHURCH) is absolutely AMAZING. Every week she comes to church with a new recipe to hand out that you can make from items in your food storage. NOT only does she bring a copy of the recipe for EVERYONE, she makes it and brings it for everyone to try. Like I said, she is AMAZING!! A few years ago I had the opportunity to work with her in Activity Days (a fun group for girls ages 8-11), I have never met someone so dedicated to MAGNIFYING her calling. ('Callings' in our church are various jobs that we do on a volunteer basis, we are not paid to do these jobs- including our Bishops, Stake Presidents, etc... we do these to help do our part to make the church run smoothly and through our service we grow closer to our Savior).

A few weeks ago Sister McDavitt (the emergency preparedness coordinator) started a 'Vital Records Binder' challenge. Each week she sends out a reminder of what we are to be putting in our binder. I wanted to share this because I think it is such a good idea and it is something we would all need in an emergency. I have purchased my binders and will hopefully be getting all caught up on each of the weeks goals today. I decided to do 2 binders, one for our family, and one to give to my sister & Brother-in-law that will be responsible for caring for our kids in the event something were to happen to both my husband and I.

*If you have any other ideas of things that could be put in the binder please share those with us!

(I copied this information from an email that she sent out, we haven't completed this project yet, so remember to check back next week to see what you should be adding to your binder next)

If you had to suddenly leave your home due to impending natural disaster, and had only a few minutes to gather everything you would need, including important papers, family history, and treasured pictures, how long would it take you?
Vital financial records should be kept in a safe place. Copies of these documents should be available for taking with you if you have to leave your home in an emergency. As an alternative, you could scan these documents into your computer and take a disc or flash drive instead of paper copies. This year, we are going to assemble a Vital Records Binder that will contain the important information you would need and want to take with you. We will do it week by week through a small task each week—“…by small and simple things are great things brought to pass.”

*WEEK ONE- Locate or purchase a 2” binder with 50 - 100 plastic page protectors. Purchase tabbed dividers, if desired, to divide the book into sections. Store the Ward Emergency Plan in the binder. (Note: we will be distributing the 2009 plan soon. For now, put in the 2007 plan if you have a copy)

*WEEK TWO- Locate birth certificates for all family members. Make copies and put in binder.

*WEEK THREE- Locate Social Security cards for all family members. Make copies and put in binder.

*WEEK FOUR- Make copies of driver’s licenses and put in binder

*WEEK FIVE- Make copies of passports and put in binder.

*WEEK SIX- Make copies of important phone numbers and addresses and put in binder. Include family, friends, doctors, dentist, business and other important numbers.

Recently my husband and I have felt very strongly that it is time we take getting our families year supply of food storage very seriously. We have been building up our food storage over the years, but as you rotate food out it is sometimes hard to remember to replace it. I would say that we have about 2-3 months worth of food storage right now. Our goal is to have our entire years supply of food storage by December 31st, 2009. I can only imagine the peace of mind that will come from KNOWING that no matter what may happen we can feed our family for an entire year. With all that is going on in the world you just never know when disaster might strike. I am looking forward to fulfilling the council from our Prophets to 'prepare every needful thing'.

Love,

Brittany

Family Home Storage

"Our Heavenly Father created this beautiful earth, with all its abundance, for our benefit and use. His purpose is to provide for our needs as we walk in faith and obedience. He has lovingly commanded us to “prepare every needful thing” (see D&C 109:8) so that, should adversity come, we can care for ourselves and our neighbors and support bishops as they care for others.
"We encourage members world-wide to prepare for adversity in life by having a basic supply of food and water and some money in savings.
"We ask that you be wise as you store food and water and build your savings. Do not go to extremes; it is not prudent, for example, to go into debt to establish your food storage all at once. With careful planning, you can, over time, establish a home storage supply and a financial reserve."—The First Presidency, All Is Safely Gathered In: Family Home Storage, Feb. 2007, 1

Visit www.providentliving.org to find out more information about Family Preparedness, also if you would like to learn more about our faith, you can visit, www.mormon.org (The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints 'Mormons')

HBO "Big Love" controversy...

I have received TONS of emails in regards to HBO's upcoming episode that is going to depict Temple ceremonies of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I wanted to share the article written by the leaders of our Church in regards to this situation. I believe that our Church leaders are handling this in the most Christ like and appropriate way possible.

This is so upsetting to members of the LDS Church because our Temples are so sacred to us. Temples are places we go to to feel closer to our Father in Heaven and to make sacred covenants with him. We believe that Temples are some of the holiest places on earth. It is very upsetting to think that a TV station is going to air on national television ceremonies that we consider to be so special and personal. I think what is equally upsetting is that HBO does not have their facts straight. HBO's show 'Big Love', is NOT a show about the LDS(Mormon) Faith and the ceremonies that they are wanting to show will not be accurate. I encourage everyone, LDS or not to please send a response to HBO asking them to NOT air this show. It is incredibly disrespectful to our Faith. I am so sad that HBO is planning to air this episode, I feel that it is so inappropriate and unprofessional on their part. I hope that through our responses we can help them to change their minds.

Please click HERE to contact HBO and share your opinion with them on why this episode should not be aired!

With Love,
Brittany

Response From The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints...
SALT LAKE CITY 9 March 2009

Like other large faith groups, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sometimes finds itself on the receiving end of attention from Hollywood or Broadway, television series or books, and the news media. Sometimes depictions of the Church and its people are quite accurate. Sometimes the images are false or play to stereotypes. Occasionally, they are in appallingly bad taste.

As Catholics, Jews and Muslims have known for centuries, such attention is inevitable once an institution or faith group reaches a size or prominence sufficient to attract notice. Yet Latter-day Saints – sometimes known as Mormons - still wonder whether and how they should respond when news or entertainment media insensitively trivialize or misrepresent sacred beliefs or practices.

Church members are about to face that question again. Before the first season of the HBO series Big Love aired more than two years ago, the show’s creators and HBO executives assured the Church that the series wouldn’t be about Mormons. However, Internet references to Big Love indicate that more and more Mormon themes are now being woven into the show and that the characters are often unsympathetic figures who come across as narrow and self-righteous. And according to TV Guide, it now seems the show’s writers are to depict what they understand to be sacred temple ceremonies.

Certainly Church members are offended when their most sacred practices are misrepresented or presented without context or understanding. Last week some Church members began e-mail chains calling for cancellations of subscriptions to AOL, which, like HBO, is owned by Time Warner. Certainly such a boycott by hundreds of thousands of computer-savvy Latter-day Saints could have an economic impact on the company. Individual Latter-day Saints have the right to take such actions if they choose.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as an institution does not call for boycotts. Such a step would simply generate the kind of controversy that the media loves and in the end would increase audiences for the series. As Elder M. Russell Ballard and Elder Robert D. Hales of the Council of the Twelve Apostles have both said recently, when expressing themselves in the public arena, Latter-day Saints should conduct themselves with dignity and thoughtfulness.
Not only is this the model that Jesus Christ taught and demonstrated in his own life, but it also reflects the reality of the strength and maturity of Church members today. As someone recently said, “This isn’t 1830, and there aren’t just six of us anymore.” In other words, with a global membership of thirteen and a half million there is no need to feel defensive when the Church is moving forward so rapidly. The Church’s strength is in its faithful members in 170-plus countries, and there is no evidence that extreme misrepresentations in the media that appeal only to a narrow audience have any long-term negative effect on the Church.

Examples:
During the Mitt Romney election campaign for the presidency of the United States, commentator Lawrence O’Donnell hurled abuse at the Church in a television moment that became known among many Church members as “the O’Donnell rant.” Today, his statements are remembered only as a testament to intolerance and ignorance. They had no effect on the Church that can be measured.
When the comedy writers for South Park produced a gross portrayal of Church history, individual Church members no doubt felt uncomfortable. But once again it inflicted no perceptible or lasting damage to a church that is growing by at least a quarter of a million new members every year.

When an independent film company produced a grossly distorted version of the Mountain Meadows Massacre two years ago, the Church ignored it. Perhaps partly as a result of that refusal to engender the controversy that the producers hoped for, the movie flopped at the box office and lost millions.

In recent months, some gay activists have barraged the media with accusations about “hateful” attitudes of Latter-day Saints in supporting Proposition 8 in California, which maintained the traditional definition of marriage. They even organized a protest march around the Salt Lake Temple. Again, the Church has refused to be goaded into a Mormons versus gays battle and has simply stated its position in tones that are reasonable and respectful. Meanwhile, missionary work and Church members in California remain as robust and vibrant as ever, and support for the Church has come from many unexpected quarters — including some former critics and other churches.

Now comes another series of Big Love, and despite earlier assurances from HBO it once again blurs the distinctions between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the show’s fictional non-Mormon characters and their practices. Such things say much more about the insensitivities of writers, producers and TV executives than they say about Latter-day Saints.
If the Church allowed critics and opponents to choose the ground on which its battles are fought, it would risk being distracted from the focus and mission it has pursued successfully for nearly 180 years. Instead, the Church itself will determine its own course as it continues to preach the restored gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world.