Letter From the Editor

Apr 2006 Issue

by Danielle Ellis

On a list of the uncertainties of life, the idea of “emergency preparedness” looms like the elephant in the living room that nobody wants to acknowledge. We all know we should be “prepared,” but what does that really mean? Where do we start, and how do we know when we’ve accomplished the goal?

That’s what this issue of Desert Saints Magazine is here to clear up. Far from the ambiguous request for Americans to stock up on duct tape a few years ago, there are specific supplies to acquire, checklists you can use, spiritual preparations, emotional preparations, food storage, emergency supplies and family contingency plans. These will all help your family to be prepared for any emergency, no matter what form it takes or what its fallout is.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned in studying and putting together this issue is that if we are not prepared all the time, because that’s just the way we live, when the emergency comes, we will have a big problem. The first emergency may be a storm, earthquake or whatever. But if we are not prepared, the second emergency is when we realize we don’t have what we need to take care of our families.

Take the counsel of prophets. Keep your lamps filled with figurative and literal oil all the time. You will have the peace of mind that comes only from doing what the Lord has commanded, as well as the peace of mind that comes only from knowing you can take care of your family, even if the world falls apart tomorrow.

All the best,