Why?

This blog is to help you in preparing for an emergency. It also contains other information that you might find spiritually up-lifting. This is not an official website of "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". This site is maintained by Barry McCann (barry@mail.com)

Sunday, March 31, 2013

“I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live”


“No words in Christendom mean more to me than those spoken by the angel to the weeping Mary Magdalene and the other Mary when, on the first day of the week, they approached the tomb to care for the body of their Lord. Spoke the angel: ‘Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen.’ ”

—Thomas S. Monson
He Is Risen!” Apr. 2010 General Conference

Good And Evil

“Evil has been trying to win since the very first day in the Garden of Eden. It always cloaks itself in disguise. It tries to make itself look just like good. And then it tries to flip it. It tries to make evil look good and good look evil.”

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Canning Homemade Dog Food – Recipe and Instructions!


Our pup, dropping me a hint that he'd like more.
When I make dog food, I make it using one type of meat per batch.  So we'll make a batch of dog food using beef, and another for chicken parts (we save the less desirable parts from the chickens we butcher and turkeys we eat when we have enough of these random parts we grind them up and make a batch of dog food with them) but we don't combine them.  So when we came across some extra meat this fall we didn't want it to go to waste and made some dog food out of it.  It is fairly cost efficient and much more healthy than the stuff you by at the store.  As a nice side effect, it also boosts our stock of dog food we keep at the house in case of an emergency and if push comes to shove it's completely safe for humans to eat too.
After a successful hunting season, we took the parts of our deer that weren't used for steaks, sausage, or jerky and trimmed them up again.  This includes the liver and some other organ meats - we love to eat venison heart so the dogs didn't get that.  We cut all the tendon out, any bone, and any abnormally large chunks of fat.  Anything eatable that was cut out of the dog food was fed to the dogs in small amounts as snacks, treats, or mixed in with their regular food.  They even got the bone marrow from the bigger bones.  The ONLY thing that was thrown out on this deer, was the rib cage, spine, and lower intestinal tact, all devoid of meat - everything else was used.
 Since I wanted to can this batch of Dog Food, it was important to not have too much fat in the recipe - I know the dogs need fat as part of their diet, but too much and you run the risk of it going rancid even when canned.  So we included some fat but not too much.  I just eye balled this, as we tossed the meat into a large stock pot with some water.  We cooked all the meat with water for just over an hour in a giant canning/dog food making session.  This created a "meat stock" we used later. The venison meat made roughly 20 quart sized jars of dog food.
I also cooked up some veggies. Carrots and spinach (the next time it will be carrots and green beans, I have heard green beans are a better fiber for moving things along in their intestinal track) it is just stuff we had from the garden so it was all grown at home.  I added those in for vitamins and minerals.  Then added some hard boiled eggs from my chickens WITH the shells for calcium.


I also cooked up some rice (overcook the rice with more water than is needed so it can't swell, if you are not planning on canning the dog food - please disregard this step) as this is usually very easy for dogs to process, and its dirt cheap.
Then we added some cider vinegar - to keep the acidity level up (this discourages bacteria growth when canned) and because I have read it is good for their joints.  Our older German Shepherd needs everything good for joints.  We also added a little bit of garlic - which in small amounts can improve palatability for the dogs and helps repeal insects.  I have heard garlic can be bad but after doing some reading on the subject and talking to my vet, I decided this small amount of garlic is harmless and may even be beneficial as there are people who say adding some garlic in their diet can help to discourage mosquitoes and ticks.
We mixed all that together.  Then we ran it all through a meat grinder - on medium - with a course grind blade.
Next we prepared the jars and pressure canner for canning.
We kept the ground up dog food warm - and then added back in some of the "meat stock" which was also being kept warm on the stove . This is what is commonly known as a hot pack in the world of canning. In retrospect - we found out the hard way, that too much liquid causes the seals to fail. So all the jars we've done since then have been a tad more on the dry side.
Leaving just about 2 inches of headspace in the jars, we filled them and processed them in our pressure canner at 10 lbs for 90 minutes following the recommendation in our canning book for 'ground beef'. Don't forget to adjust for your altitude!  If I had been canning 'pint jars' instead of 'quart jars' it would've been for 75 minutes.  UPDATE: Due to what I have learned on canning safety I have switched to canning this recipe at 15 lbs for the entire 90 minutes, this adds a little bit more insurance for me that I am doing everything I can to produce a safe end product.  I love hearing that ping of a successfully sealed jar!

The finished product.
And just in case you are wondering homemade dog food doesn't stink.  In fact it smells like a roast cooking in the oven.  It will make you hungry. Our dogs LOVE it - whenever we feed it every dish is licked perfectly clean when they are done.  We don't prep this dog food exclusively but we do make it when we have scrap meat like I mentioned above and add it into a rotation.  It helps me know that I am doing everything I can as a responsible pet owner to provide for them in the event of a disaster.
Pet Food-What to Store and How" is another article I have written for American Preppers Network that also addresses all types of store bought dog and cat food, if making your own is not your thing.  I have covered how to store it to get the maximum amount of storage life out of it, techniques for usage, and even some new ideas for food - like freeze-dried dog food. Click Here!
Here is the recipe - I got the original one from The Canning Granny Blog  (blog for all things canning and preserving) and made a few modifications due to my preference for a higher meat ratio and needing less liquid.
This will do a single batch of 6 or so pint jars.
  • 3.5 Cups of Meat
  • 2 Cups of Rice
  • 2-3 Large Cooked Carrots
  • Half a bag of Cooked Spinach or a Handful of Cooked Green Beans
  • One Boiled Egg still in the shell
  • 2-3 TBS of Cider Vinegar
  • 1 TBS of Garlic Powder
  • 1 Cup of "Meat Stock"
If you want to forgo the pressure canning  you can partition out serving sizes, stick them into little freezer bags or FoodSaver bags, vacuum them and then freeze them. This recipe would even make good RAW meals for your dog if you aren't canning it. Each morning simply get a bag of food out and it will be thawed and ready to serve in the evening. No wheat, no corn, no preservatives, or other goofy crap that Dog Food companies like to add.
According to The Canning Granny, one pint of this dog food will feed a 100lb dog for a day, fed half in the morning and half in the evening.  Of course, this will vary from dog to dog as they have different energy needs so like any dog food you will have to keep an eye on your dogs weight.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

“Too often we bask in our comfortable complacency

“Too often we bask in our comfortable complacency and rationalize that the ravages of war, economic disaster, famine, and earthquake cannot happen here. Those who believe this are either not acquainted with the revelations of the Lord, or they do not believe them. Those who smugly think these calamities will not happen, that they somehow will be set aside because of the righteousness of the Saints, are deceived and will rue the day they harbored such a delusion. The Lord has warned and forewarned us against a day of great tribulation and given us counsel, through His servants, on how we can be prepared for these difficult times. Have we heeded His counsel?

President Benson

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Pet Food – What to Store and How


The best way to protect your household from the effects of a disaster is to be prepared. If you own pets you are responsible to prepare for them as well.  Many disasters could cut off your access to more pet food from the store.  A prolonged power outage could keep the stores closed, or they may already be sold out.  Storing some extra food for pets is essential for their health and well-being.  
As a pet and livestock owner I have researched and tested various ways to store pet food.  The easiest approach is to store what your dog or cat currently eats, that way you can keep the food in rotation and nothing is ever wasted.  Start by building up a three-month supply of pet food and work your way up from there.  Here are some recommendations and options for storing emergency pet food.
Store Dry Kibble in the Bag 

I work right next to a Purina Mill, and have had several in-depth conversations with the employees in packaging on how to best store dry kibble.  Surprisingly, they all say the best way you can store dry kibble is right in the bag.  Here is another article (click here) which helps to explain the science behind dry pet food storage.  If you look on the back or bottom of a dry food bag you will find a ‘Best Buy Date’ or "Expiration Date", this date could be several years out.  ‘Natural’ pet food formulas tend to not last as long due to their lack of preservatives.  The date on the back of the food bag means that the manufacturer will not guarantee optimum freshness and nutritional quality past that date.  It’s doesn’t mean that it will suddenly rot and go bad after that date.  It usually just indicates that nutritional value could be lost after that point in time, so the goal is to use the pet food by then.
Containers:  Pet food manufactures want their product to keep as long as possible and they have provided you with one of the best containers for it.  The bag keeps the food dry, dark and even allows it to breathe slightly. This is important because even dry pet food contains moisture, fats and oils; it is for this reason that repackaging dry pet food in Mylar or other vacuum sealed bags for long-term storage is not recommended.  Few containers and/or storage methods are appropriate for processed food which contains fat and oils.  The wrong storage container could cause a greasy film to build up on the container's sides that will go rancid, cause the food to be distasteful and hasten food spoilage of any new food you add to the container.  Even if you seal the dry food up in bags with oxygen absorbers and silica packets the fat and oils in dry kibble will still go rancid.  Keeping dry pet food sealed up in the bag it comes in, is the best way to preserve it.  If further protection is needed it is recommended that you place the entire unopened bag into another container like preferably a metal bin, or an airtight plastic container.  As soon as you open a bag of dry pet food oxidation starts to occur at a rapid pace.  Once opened, most commercial pet food will last less than six months so it's best to use it in that time.  
The best option for storing dry kibble is to build up a supply and rotate it out for use before exceeding the manufacturers date on the bag.  Use the oldest bag first and purchase new bags just like normal to replace them, rotate the older bags to the front.  Keep an eye on the food's appearance and smell, if the kibble goes bad before the date on the bag; return the bag to the manufacturer or place of purchase. Keep dry kibble in a dark, dry area protected from extreme temperature swings.
Store Canned Pet Food 

Just like the date on the dry food bag, the date canned pet food means the manufacturer will only guarantee the nutritional quality listed up to that point in time.  Canned pet food can last anywhere from 2-5 years according to most manufacturers.  Some people claim it should be nutritionally valid for up to 10 years.
A year’s supply of canned pet food is fairly inexpensive to acquire, will last longer and takes up less space than dry kibble.  Rotate the supply by using the oldest food first and putting the new stuff in the back.  Once a supply has been acquired continue using and purchasing pet food like usual, this way you are continuously renewing your supply.  If a disaster were to strike on any given day cutting off the flow of new food, there would be still a year’s worth of stored pet food left to use.  Keep canned pet food in a dark cool area protected from extreme temperature swings.
finished productMake Your Own Pet Food 
There are many different recipes for homemade dog and cat food available on the internet.  After all, store-bought pet food didn’t appear on the market until the 1930s so up to that point in time everyone just made their own pet food or fed their pets whatever they ate.  One of the ways you can preserve homemade pet food is by canning it.  Making your own pet food is an especially healthy option for pets as it lacks many of the unhealthy additives and preservatives that most commercial pet food contains.  
The only drawback to canning the pet food is that the canning recipes have not been scientifically tested for safety, so there is a greater margin of risk.  This is an option I would only recommend to someone who has had experience with canning and knows how to mitigate the risks involved with using an untested canning recipe.
Another “homemade” option is just to stock extra amounts of the ingredients used to make their food.  This usually consists of rice, meat and some veggies, all these items are easy to add to long-term storage in a house or 'bug out location'.  Just make sure there is enough food stored for both humans and animals.
Store Freeze Dried Pet Food Another option you may not hear about real often is freeze-dried pet food, it's available on the market.  It is usually formulated with high quality raw food, and then freeze-dried for convenience and longer storage times.  Freeze-dried pet food is expensive just like human freeze-dried food is, but it could be a viable lightweight, long-term storage option for emergency pet food.  Below I have linked to a few types of freeze-dried pet food, click on the blue text to see the product.  I currently use freeze-dried dog food while camping with my own dogs so I can tell you first hand that it's easy to prepare and they love every bite.
Most of the freeze-dried pet food products available on the market would need to be repackaged inMylar as the plastic packages it comes in are not meant for long-term storage.  Adding some oxygen absorbers and silica packets to the mix would also be a good precaution.  Unlike dry kibble, freeze-dried pet food is completely suitable for this storage method.  I don’t think the manufacturers were thinking that preppers would stash their products away for years at a time, so repackaging is necessary. 
IMG_5670 copy 
This is freeze-dried dog food, rehydrated. 

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

“We encourage you to grow all the food... Pres. Benson

“We encourage you to grow all the food that you feasibly can on your own property. Berry bushes, grapevines, fruit trees—plant them if your climate is right for their growth. Grow vegetables and eat them from your own yard.”

(Ensign, May 1976, p. 124) President Benson


Monday, March 25, 2013

Spencer Kimball 1977

“It is the sad truth that if prophets and people are unreachable, the Lord generally does nothing for them. Having given them free agency, their Heavenly Father calls, persuades, and directs aright His children, but waits for their up-reaching hands, their solemn prayers, their sincere, dedicated approach to Him. If they are heedless, they are left floundering in midnight’s darkness when they could have the noonday sun.”

Spencer Kimball 1977

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Beware of Pride - President Benson

My beloved brethren and sisters, I rejoice to be with you in another glorious general conference of the Church. How grateful I am for the love, prayers, and service of the devoted members of the Church throughout the world.



May I commend you faithful Saints who are striving to flood the earth and your lives with the Book of Mormon. Not only must we move forward in a monumental manner more copies of the Book of Mormon, but we must move boldly forward into our own lives and throughout the earth more of its marvelous messages.


This sacred volume was written for us—for our day. Its scriptures are to be likened unto ourselves. (See 1 Ne. 19:23.)
The Doctrine and Covenants tells us that the Book of Mormon is the “record of a fallen people.” (D&C 20:9.) Why did they fall? This is one of the major messages of the Book of Mormon. Mormon gives the answer in the closing chapters of the book in these words: “Behold, the pride of this nation, or the people of the Nephites, hath proven their destruction.” (Moro. 8:27.) And then, lest we miss that momentous Book of Mormon message from that fallen people, the Lord warns us in the Doctrine and Covenants, “Beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old.” (D&C 38:39.)

I earnestly seek an interest in your faith and prayers as I strive to bring forth light on this Book of Mormon message—the sin of pride. This message has been weighing heavily on my soul for some time. I know the Lord wants this message delivered now.

In the premortal council, it was pride that felled Lucifer, “a son of the morning.” (2 Ne. 24:12–15; see also D&C 76:25–27; Moses 4:3.) At the end of this world, when God cleanses the earth by fire, the proud will be burned as stubble and the meek shall inherit the earth. (See 3 Ne. 12:5, 3 Ne. 25:1; D&C 29:9; JS—H 1:37; Mal. 4:1.)

Three times in the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord uses the phrase “beware of pride,” including a warning to the second elder of the Church, Oliver Cowdery, and to Emma Smith, the wife of the Prophet. (D&C 23:1; see also D&C 25:14; D&C 38:39.)

Pride is a very misunderstood sin, and many are sinning in ignorance. (See Mosiah 3:11; 3 Ne. 6:18.) In the scriptures there is no such thing as righteous pride—it is always considered a sin. Therefore, no matter how the world uses the term, we must understand how God uses the term so we can understand the language of holy writ and profit thereby. (See 2 Ne. 4:15; Mosiah 1:3–7; Alma 5:61.)

Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart, or core, is still missing.

The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means “hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.” It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us.

Pride is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God’s. When we direct our pride toward God, it is in the spirit of “my will and not thine be done.” As Paul said, they “seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.” (Philip. 2:21.)

Our will in competition to God’s will allows desires, appetites, and passions to go unbridled. (See Alma 38:12; 3 Ne. 12:30.)

The proud cannot accept the authority of God giving direction to their lives. (See Hel. 12:6.) They pit their perceptions of truth against God’s great knowledge, their abilities versus God’s priesthood power, their accomplishments against His mighty works.

Our enmity toward God takes on many labels, such as rebellion, hard-heartedness, stiff-neckedness, unrepentant, puffed up, easily offended, and sign seekers. The proud wish God would agree with them. They aren’t interested in changing their opinions to agree with God’s.

Another major portion of this very prevalent sin of pride is enmity toward our fellowmen. We are tempted daily to elevate ourselves above others and diminish them. (See Hel. 6:17; D&C 58:41.)

The proud make every man their adversary by pitting their intellects, opinions, works, wealth, talents, or any other worldly measuring device against others. In the words of C. S. Lewis: “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. … It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone.” (Mere Christianity, New York: Macmillan, 1952, pp. 109–10.)

In the pre-earthly council, Lucifer placed his proposal in competition with the Father’s plan as advocated by Jesus Christ. (See Moses 4:1–3.) He wished to be honored above all others. (See 2 Ne. 24:13.) In short, his prideful desire was to dethrone God. (See D&C 29:36; D&C 76:28.)

The scriptures abound with evidences of the severe consequences of the sin of pride to individuals, groups, cities, and nations. “Pride goeth before destruction.” (Prov. 16:18.) It destroyed the Nephite nation and the city of Sodom. (See Moro. 8:27; Ezek. 16:49–50.)

It was through pride that Christ was crucified. The Pharisees were wroth because Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, which was a threat to their position, and so they plotted His death. (See John 11:53.)

Saul became an enemy to David through pride. He was jealous because the crowds of Israelite women were singing that “Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” (1 Sam. 18:6–8.)

The proud stand more in fear of men’s judgment than of God’s judgment. (See D&C 3:6–7; D&C 30:1–2; D&C 60:2.) “What will men think of me?” weighs heavier than “What will God think of me?”

King Noah was about to free the prophet Abinadi, but an appeal to his pride by his wicked priests sent Abinadi to the flames. (See Mosiah 17:11–12.) Herod sorrowed at the request of his wife to behead John the Baptist. But his prideful desire to look good to “them which sat with him at meat” caused him to kill John. (Matt. 14:9; see also Mark 6:26.)

Fear of men’s judgment manifests itself in competition for men’s approval. The proud love “the praise of men more than the praise of God.” (John 12:42–43.) Our motives for the things we do are where the sin is manifest. Jesus said He did “always those things” that pleased God. (John 8:29.) Would we not do well to have the pleasing of God as our motive rather than to try to elevate ourselves above our brother and outdo another?

Some prideful people are not so concerned as to whether their wages meet their needs as they are that their wages are more than someone else’s. Their reward is being a cut above the rest. This is the enmity of pride.

When pride has a hold on our hearts, we lose our independence of the world and deliver our freedoms to the bondage of men’s judgment. The world shouts louder than the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. The reasoning of men overrides the revelations of God, and the proud let go of the iron rod. (See 1 Ne. 8:19–28; 1 Ne. 11:25; 1 Ne. 15:23–24.)

Pride is a sin that can readily be seen in others but is rarely admitted in ourselves. Most of us consider pride to be a sin of those on the top, such as the rich and the learned, looking down at the rest of us. (See 2 Ne. 9:42.) There is, however, a far more common ailment among us—and that is pride from the bottom looking up. It is manifest in so many ways, such as faultfinding, gossiping, backbiting, murmuring, living beyond our means, envying, coveting, withholding gratitude and praise that might lift another, and being unforgiving and jealous.

Disobedience is essentially a prideful power struggle against someone in authority over us. It can be a parent, a priesthood leader, a teacher, or ultimately God. A proud person hates the fact that someone is above him. He thinks this lowers his position.

Selfishness is one of the more common faces of pride. “How everything affects me” is the center of all that matters—self-conceit, self-pity, worldly self-fulfillment, self-gratification, and self-seeking.

Pride results in secret combinations which are built up to get power, gain, and glory of the world. (See Hel. 7:5; Ether 8:9, 16, 22–23; Moses 5:31.) This fruit of the sin of pride, namely secret combinations, brought down both the Jaredite and the Nephite civilizations and has been and will yet be the cause of the fall of many nations. (See Ether 8:18–25.)

Another face of pride is contention. Arguments, fights, unrighteous dominion, generation gaps, divorces, spouse abuse, riots, and disturbances all fall into this category of pride.

Contention in our families drives the Spirit of the Lord away. It also drives many of our family members away. Contention ranges from a hostile spoken word to worldwide conflicts. The scriptures tell us that “only by pride cometh contention.” (Prov. 13:10; see also Prov. 28:25.)

The scriptures testify that the proud are easily offended and hold grudges. (See 1 Ne. 16:1–3.) They withhold forgiveness to keep another in their debt and to justify their injured feelings.

The proud do not receive counsel or correction easily. (See Prov. 15:10;Amos 5:10.) Defensiveness is used by them to justify and rationalize their frailties and failures. (See Matt. 3:9; John 6:30–59.)

The proud depend upon the world to tell them whether they have value or not. Their self-esteem is determined by where they are judged to be on the ladders of worldly success. They feel worthwhile as individuals if the numbers beneath them in achievement, talent, beauty, or intellect are large enough. Pride is ugly. It says, “If you succeed, I am a failure.”

If we love God, do His will, and fear His judgment more than men’s, we will have self-esteem.

Pride is a damning sin in the true sense of that word. It limits or stops progression. (See Alma 12:10–11.) The proud are not easily taught. (See 1 Ne. 15:3, 7–11.) They won’t change their minds to accept truths, because to do so implies they have been wrong.

Pride adversely affects all our relationships—our relationship with God and His servants, between husband and wife, parent and child, employer and employee, teacher and student, and all mankind. Our degree of pride determines how we treat our God and our brothers and sisters. Christ wants to lift us to where He is. Do we desire to do the same for others?

Pride fades our feelings of sonship to God and brotherhood to man. It separates and divides us by “ranks,” according to our “riches” and our “chances for learning.” (3 Ne. 6:12.) Unity is impossible for a proud people, and unless we are one we are not the Lord’s. (See Mosiah 18:21;D&C 38:27; D&C 105:2–4; Moses 7:18.)

Think of what pride has cost us in the past and what it is now costing us in our own lives, our families, and the Church.

Think of the repentance that could take place with lives changed, marriages preserved, and homes strengthened, if pride did not keep us from confessing our sins and forsaking them. (See D&C 58:43.)

Think of the many who are less active members of the Church because they were offended and their pride will not allow them to forgive or fully sup at the Lord’s table.

Think of the tens of thousands of additional young men and couples who could be on missions except for the pride that keeps them from yielding their hearts unto God. (See Alma 10:6; Hel. 3:34–35.)

Think how temple work would increase if the time spent in this godly service were more important than the many prideful pursuits that compete for our time.

Pride affects all of us at various times and in various degrees. Now you can see why the building in Lehi’s dream that represents the pride of the world was large and spacious and great was the multitude that did enter into it. (See 1 Ne. 8:26, 33; 1 Ne. 11:35–36.)

Pride is the universal sin, the great vice. Yes, pride is the universal sin, the great vice.

The antidote for pride is humility—meekness, submissiveness. (See Alma 7:23.) It is the broken heart and contrite spirit. (See 3 Ne. 9:20; 3 Ne. 12:19; D&C 20:37; D&C 59:8; Ps. 34:18; Isa. 57:15; Isa. 66:2.) As Rudyard Kipling put it so well:


The tumult and the shouting dies;

The captains and the kings depart.

Still stands thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget, lest we forget.
(Hymns, 1985, no. 80.)

God will have a humble people. Either we can choose to be humble or we can be compelled to be humble. Alma said, “Blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble.” (Alma 32:16.)

Let us choose to be humble.

We can choose to humble ourselves by conquering enmity toward our brothers and sisters, esteeming them as ourselves, and lifting them as high or higher than we are. (See D&C 38:24; D&C 81:5; D&C 84:106.)

We can choose to humble ourselves by receiving counsel and chastisement. (See Jacob 4:10; Hel. 15:3; D&C 63:55; D&C 101:4–5; D&C 108:1; D&C 124:61, 84; D&C 136:31; Prov. 9:8.)

We can choose to humble ourselves by forgiving those who have offended us. (See 3 Ne. 13:11, 14; D&C 64:10.)

We can choose to humble ourselves by rendering selfless service. (SeeMosiah 2:16–17.)

We can choose to humble ourselves by going on missions and preaching the word that can humble others. (See Alma 4:19; Alma 31:5; Alma 48:20.)

We can choose to humble ourselves by getting to the temple more frequently.

We can choose to humble ourselves by confessing and forsaking our sins and being born of God. (See D&C 58:43; Mosiah 27:25–26; Alma 5:7–14, 49.)

We can choose to humble ourselves by loving God, submitting our will to His, and putting Him first in our lives. (See 3 Ne. 11:11; 3 Ne. 13:33;Moro. 10:32.)

Let us choose to be humble. We can do it. I know we can.

My dear brethren and sisters, we must prepare to redeem Zion. It was essentially the sin of pride that kept us from establishing Zion in the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith. It was the same sin of pride that brought consecration to an end among the Nephites. (See 4 Ne. 1:24–25.)

Pride is the great stumbling block to Zion. I repeat: Pride is the great stumbling block to Zion.

We must cleanse the inner vessel by conquering pride. (See Alma 6:2–4;Matt. 23:25–26.)

We must yield “to the enticings of the Holy Spirit,” put off the prideful “natural man,” become “a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord,” and become “as a child, submissive, meek, humble.” (Mosiah 3:19; see also Alma 13:28.)

That we may do so and go on to fulfill our divine destiny is my fervent prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Making Homemade & Herbal Vinegars

Did you ever wonder if it was possible to make your own vinegar? Well, it is and it is easier than most people think.
Making vinegar is an inexpensive project that results in a more flavorful product. Homemade vinegar can be flavored and bottled and given for unique gifts. You can make it from anything that contains sugar or a starch. Fruit, fruit juice, fruit peels - even carrot peelings, or grains. Don't use commercial juices as the pasteurization process and additives interfere with the bacteria needed to make the vinegar.
For the frugal homesteader this is an excellent way to make peelings more useful than just livestock feed or compost.

Image:Herbal Gardens

What You Will Need

You will need:
  • A glass jar, crock, or enamelware pot.
  • A piece of cheesecloth big enough to go over the container
  • A way to secure the cheesecloth to the container (kitchen twine, rubber band, etc.)
  • Peelings from clean, organic fruits or vegetables, (or what ever you are using to start it)
  • Distilled water. Chemicals in tap water will interfere with the process
  • A warm, dark place to store the vinegar while it is "working"
That's it!

How -to Make Vinegar

Sterilize the container by filling it with boiling water and letting it stand for 5 minutes. Pour the water out and add the peelings. Cover the peels with distilled water and cover with the cloth. Secure it carefully so that insects and dirt can't get in there.
The cloth allows the natural bacteria and wild yeast in the air to colonize in the vinegar, which in turn causes it to ferment. Stir once a day to make sure that the ferment is mixing with the rest of the liquid. After a few weeks you will start noticing a vinegary odor. Allow the vinegar to continue to ferment until you have the intensity that you want.
To ensure success, especially for your first time, before it is fermented, you can add a half a cup of organic unfiltered vinegar from the health-food store, or use a vinegar starter or "Mother" available on the Internet. After you have done that once, just reserve a cup or so of your own homemade vinegar to add to the next batch.
At this point you can strain through clean cheesecloth and bottle. Store in a cool, dark place. This homemade vinegar can be used as any other vinegar. Each ingredient you use will cause it to have a different flavor. For example we all know what apple cider vinegar tastes like, but peach vinegar has a much different taste, fruitier and more mellow. Experiment with different combinations and ingredients to see which you like the best.

Fruit and Herb Vinegars

Once you have your vinegar strained you can use it to make even more unique gourmet vinegars. The basic instructions for that are as follows:
In a sterilized jar place the flavoring agent (herbs, fruit, etc). Carefully pour vinegar into the jar and fill to within one half an inch of the top. Cover with plastic wrap and then a tight top, if using metal. Let the flavors blend for six weeks in a cool, dark place. Strain and bottle. Be sure and label.
You should never leave the items in the vinegar as it can cause the whole thing to spoil.
Some things to try in vinegar are:
  • raspberries
  • strawberries
  • blueberries
  • pears
  • apples
  • unsprayed rose petals
  • hot peppers
  • onion
  • dill
  • garlic
  • oregano
  • basil
  • thyme
  • lavender
  • cilantro
  • peppercorns
  • citrus peel
  • ginger root
  • pineapple
When you bottle it, make a pretty label on the computer to label it. I like to use the transparent address labels because then only the printing shows up on the glass jars. Cover the top with some calico that has been cut with pinking shears and tie with raffia. Add a brown paper tag and you are good to go. People will be amazed
!