Becoming self-reliant in the area of home storage has been challenging and rewarding for our family. Having sufficient clothing and shelter has been the easy part for us, but having a year's supply of food has been a different story.

      Before my husband, Randy, and I were married, our friends in our singles ward gave us a "food storage" shower. We received gifts that looked lovely on the shelf, but were used soon after marriage.In our second year of marriage, we bought our first home and tried our hand at gardening. Because we were inexperienced, our crop consisted of a three-foot row of peas, radishes, three tomato plants, and a few herbs. That summer we also began what we consider to be an important step in our food storage endeavor. We started home canning.

      We heard that peaches and tomatoes were easy, so we began there. Both these fruits were inexpensive at peak season and readily available for us. The jars were donated by family and we borrowed a water bath canner. With help from Utah State Extension Services and others we were on our way!

      In our third year of marriage, our food storage consisted of a few jars of peaches, a couple of 25-pound bags of flour and some miscellaneous specials found at the grocery store. We really wanted to have more, but it seemed almost impossible. We couldn't afford to make a huge purchase at once. It also seemed that anytime we did buy extra, we would always end up using it without replacement. At times it was very frustrating and very easy to just put food storage goals in the cellar of our attention.

      The following year, in our second home with our second child, we began purchasing food storage. For us it was wonderful. We set aside a fixed amount of money each month and then purchased the items. Items and retailers were researched and an exchange of recipes and ideas began flowing. We actually made some progress in our home storage. We were far from a year's supply, but it felt great to be actively working on this worthy goal.

      Circumstances in our fifth year of marriage took us to Prince Edward Island, Canada. It was here that the importance of home storage became most meaningful to us. Out of the "security" of saints in Salt Lake City, we were now in a place where we felt an incredible need to be self-reliant and also to help our small branch develop that principle.

      We prayerfully used some savings to purchase a year's supply of basic commodities. Now, in our sixth year of marriage, we have begun in earnest home preserving and gardening. We purchased a pressure canner and water bath canner during the last year, as well as a used freezer.

      From this summer's harvest we put up green beans, new potatoes, applesauce, apple pie filling, peaches, peach butter, a variety of jams, beef, chicken, soup, chili, tomatoes, tomato sauce, squash, raspberries, raspberry vinegar, barbeque sauce, plums, plum butter, and Prince Edward Island mussels.

      What we find rewarding is, of course, the satisfaction from the actual labor involved with home production and storage. We also feel a sense of security knowing that our basic needs would be met if an emergency should present itself. We know from past experience from a sudden employment change just how wonderful it is to have commodities on hand. We went a month-and-a-half without a paycheck and it was comforting to know we could get by on our food storage.

      But we are not the only ones who have benefited from our home storage. Many times we have been able to help a neighbor in need whether it was with a quick meal or a simple bag of food depending on circumstances. We have involved our children in these times of service, both when given anonymously and otherwise.

      The blessings of home production and storage may all seem temporal, but as with all the Lord's commandments, there are spiritual blessings as well. We have been blessed in our family with greater gratitude for the abundance we enjoy and a better understanding of our stewardship responsibilities. Gardening has increased our feeling of reverence for His creations and the miracle of life. Most important, we feel, is a greater understanding of faith and sacrifice and peace of mind in doing His will.

      - Robyn Wright is a Primary counselor in the Charlottetown Branch, Saint John New Brunswick Stake.