Better to Prepare for the Storm That Never Comes

This morning, school was canceled in our area because of a projected blizzard. The storm never came, and some people mocked the situation a bit. Yet, these same people would have been mad if the storm had happened and school hadn’t been canceled. It hit me that it’s better to prepare for the storm that never comes than to not prepare for the storm that does come. While this does apply in a literal sense, it is also important to think of this in a more spiritual sense.

The Storm of Doubt

Everyone is going to have times in their lives when they face doubt. This might simply be a small trial of faith when something doesn’t turn out as expected. It might be something as small as feeling a prompting, following that prompting, and then the prompting seemingly leading to nothing.

I was recently watching a podcast about “Come Follow Me.” In the podcast, they talked about how Nephi and his brothers were told to go back and get the plates. They went back, tried to get the plates, and failed. Nephi came up with another solution. They tried and failed again. Yet, Nephi didn’t give up. I’m sure that it would have been easy to doubt at that point. Yet, Nephi had built his faith, so he was prepared for this storm.

Other times, the storm of doubt might involve hearing something that makes logical sense but goes against a gospel teaching. It might involve not understanding why a family member or friend died young. It might involve anything that makes you question your faith.

Unfortunately, much like the parable of the Ten Virgins, we often don’t know when these storms will come. If you haven’t properly built your faith before this, the storm of doubt may destroy you.

Of course, not every person is going to face every sort of storm of doubt, but we will all face them in some way. Being prepared for any storm of doubt and then not facing it is far preferable to facing the challenge and not being spiritually prepared for it.

The Storm of a Financial Challenge

Some people will never face financial challenges in their lives. Yet, many of us will face them at some point. This may involve struggling financially because of difficulty finding a job. It may involve a financial challenge when you lose your job or find yourself in a position where you otherwise aren’t making as much money as you were previously. It could involve a challenge when your spouse is seriously injured and unable to work for a time. Unfortunately, it could involve the death of a spouse and the subsequent loss of a regular income.

Other problems, such as a serious health issue, which presents a financial burden could also be your financial challenge storm. Even unforeseeable disasters, such as a fire, earthquake, or storm, which displaces your family, whether permanently or temporarily, could be your financial storm.

In the church, we are often encouraged to take the right steps to prevent a financial storm from destroying us. This includes things such as building up a strong savings, avoiding unnecessary debt, and living within our means. Being prepared for these times of financial struggle and not facing them is definitely preferable to not being prepared for them and then facing them.

Listening to the Prophets to Know the Storms

Of course, there are hundreds of other storms that we may face. On our own, it may feel impossible to plan for all of them. Fortunately, Heavenly Father has given us prophets to forewarn us of any upcoming storm. While this may at times be a direct warning letting us know what’s to come, often the warning is less direct.

For much of my teenage years, I feel like every general conference there were several talks about food storage and the importance of having other essentials on hand. It was like you couldn’t get away from the topic. Slowly, there seemed to be fewer and fewer talks about the topic. Yet, that didn’t mean that it became less important to have food storage and other essentials on hand.

Think of the 2020 Toilet Paper Pandemic Panic (AKA people suddenly wanting to stock up on toilet paper and other essentials when the COVID-19 pandemic hit). Before that, my family had a decent supply of food and other essentials. While it was nice to have that supply, we didn’t know why we were preparing for a storm or what storm we were preparing for even. Being caught without those essentials at that time when we really needed them could have been devastating. Luckily, we had followed the prophet, and we were prepared. We didn’t feel the same level of panic as some others facing this same storm.

A Prophet’s Warnings to Prepare Us for the Storm

Nowadays, we continue to be given warnings about the storms that are headed our way. Yet, like the 2020 Toilet Paper Pandemic Panic warning, these warnings may not come in the “this is what’s going to happen, and this is exactly what you need to do” format. Some of President Russell M. Nelson’s talks since becoming the president of the church include, “The Answer is Always Jesus Christ,” “Focus on the Temple,” “Make Time for the Lord,” “We Can Do Better and Be Better,” and “Think Celestial!” These titles alone give us an outline for weathering the storms that are to come. He’s also warned us that in the coming days, the Holy Ghost will be vital to our spiritual survival.

The Takeaway

Ultimately, there are going to be times in our lives when we will be 100% prepared for the storm. Then it won’t come, or at least it won’t come at that time. Being prepared when the storm doesn’t come, though, is not wasted spiritual preparedness. Unfortunately, if we are not doing what we should be doing, there may also come times when the storm comes, and we aren’t prepared. This is far more tragic, now and potentially eternally, than being prepared for the storm that never comes.