Why a blog?

For several months, I have been sharing information from many sources with some of my friends and ward members about food storage and emergency preparation. Instead of emailing all of this information, I decided that this blog might be a better way to have all the information in one place. It also allows me to add videos and other information that might be valuable to many of you. Most of the information is readily available on the web. Most of it is not new. Most of it is not my original idea or even my work. For many years I have been collecting, studying and trying to keep up with all the things that my family might need in any emergency situation. I hope that in some small way, this blog will be helpful to you and your family.

Plus...this news release from the Church:

SALT LAKE CITY 14 August 2008 Church Public Affairs is asking Church members to share their experiences with maintaining food storage by posting video, text or other content on personal blogs, video-sharing sites, social media sites, or other Internet sites. Members can then e-mail a link to their story to publicaffairs-slc@ldschurch.org. The Newsroom site may link to some of them in an upcoming Web package on the Church welfare program, but in any case the stories may be beneficial to others who read them on the Web.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has long encouraged its members to store extra food to provide for possible future needs caused by economic hardship, disasters or other emergencies. Encouraging individual members to be prepared is part of the Church’s overall welfare plan

Please feel free to share any ideas which you may have, ask any questions, and give me any ideas for topics which you feel may be valuable to your preparedness. Hopefully if someone finds items on sale, etc., this will be a place to share that information. If you feel the information is valuable, please feel free to share any or all of it with your friends and neighbors. The more people that are prepared in any emergency situation, the better off we will all be.

Although I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and have a strong testimony of its truthfulness, and fully support the teachings of the church regarding preparation,this blog is solely my own and is not affiliated or endorsed by the church.

It is my intention is to send out an email notification anytime something new is posted on the Blog. If you wish to be part of this notification, please send me an email at morgill@byu.net

Naming the Blog!

A special thank you to Bishop Paul Keele for our blog name. While serving as the Bishop of the Truckee River Ward in Reno, Nevada, Bishop Keele would always encourage us to "think outside the box." As a ward, we were always encouraged to try other ways to activate people, to search out the 'one,' to be better Home Teachers and Visiting Teachers, to find better ways to share and to live through our actions, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Thus we start this Emergency Preparation Blog with the name--"THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOAT." (Thanks Bishop Keele!) When Noah was building his Ark he only had one thing to worrry about - the flood. The Lord had told him that a flood was coming that would cleanse the earth and his boat was the means for saving his family and any others who would be obedient. In our day and age, we cannot just worry about our "boat."

We need to think beyond the boat to the many challenges that have been foretold of in the scriptures and by our Prophets. We need to think outside the boat for ways to acquire our 72 hours kits, our year's supply of food, for ways to physically, spiritually and emotionally prepare ourselves and our families for these last days. It is my hope that this blog will help all of us be better prepared for whatever lies ahead. Elder Perry states:

“The need for preparation is abundantly clear. The great blessing of being prepared gives us freedom from fear, as guaranteed to us by the Lord in the Doctrine and Covenants: “If ye are prepared ye shall not fear” (D&C 38:30).

Food Storage Supper