No one wants to think about the possibility of the recent swine flu outbreak turning into a pandemic, but a well-known scripture is one we use often as Mormons: If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear. Preparation can help in times of uncertainty, even fear.

We thought we would pass along helpful information (a series of fact sheets) about preparing for a pandemic as provided on the Church’s emergency preparedness section of its Provident Living website. There’s much else on these sites that can help with general preparedness as well.

A powerful but relatively simple piece of advice that is often shared is to have a supply of food, medicine, and other necessities on hand (at least a couple of weeks’ worth, if not more) in case you are unable to get to a store (or stores are unable to provide what you need). Even a stressful period in one’s personal life could make such a supply helpful.

We live in wonderful, but also uncertain, times. Let’s not panic, but let’s try to be prepared.

(For your convenience, we have included the pandemin preparedness fact sheets from the website below.)