Provident Living

Dear Sisters,

I will begin by introducing myself. My name is Renee Kocherhans and my family (consisting of myself, my husband, and our 2 crazy-wonderful boys) has lived here in Lehi for just over 6 years. I recently was called to be the Stake Provident Living Specialist. I am lucky enough to reside within the 1^st Ward boundaries (where I have the chance to associate with many provident-minded people from whom I have learned much). As part of this assignment I was asked to contribute to our blog and I must admit that after having had the opportunity to attend numerous well-planned, informational provident living meetings, I don’t know that I have much to add that will seem useful to many of you who are obviously far more qualified than I am to hold such a position. Please bear with me as I try to discern what Heavenly Father expects and requires of me in this position. Also, please don’t be afraid to approach me if you have ideas or suggestions.

Not long after I was set apart I attended a Women’s Conference at another stake where we had the opportunity to hear from Sister Burton, the current Relief Society General President. As she spoke to us she challenged us that when we left the conference -- rather than feeling overwhelmed by all we have “yet to do” -- to go home and pick one thing on which we would concentrate our efforts. I had already been reading a book by Wendy Ulrich that also discussed goal setting. Both of these sisters mentioned specific parts of S.M.A.R.T goal setting. The SMART system involves establishing specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-targeted goals. When I left the conference I decided to come home and reevaluate some of the goals I have been “working on” (you may be wondering what this has to do with provident living and I promise I’ll “get there”).

In all honesty, at the beginning of this year I didn’t make any New Year’s resolutions, at least not any new ones. Instead, I decided just to reuse a previous year’s list. Not because I had failed miserably but because they still applied and I have yet to “conquer” or “finish” them. I decided that I would rework my list to make my goals SMART-er and hopefully therefore also more attainable. I decided that 3 of my goals fall into the “Provident Living” category and I will share those with you in their original context and in their original order…

1) Expand food storage (Minimum 1 trip a month to Cannery)
2) Expand Emergency Preparedness knowledge, skills, and items
3) Find/Make more time for daily personal prayer and scripture study

You will notice that with the exception of the first which includes one “measurable” aspect that these are fairly vague/generalized goals without any real way to determine if I have “succeeded” which is why I could just pick up where I left off last year. You may also be wondering how I decided that the third goal applies to Provident Living. In a talk given by President Henry B. Eyring, he said, “But there is another even more important preparation we must make for tests that are certain to come to each of us. That preparation must be started far in advance because it
takes time. What we will need then can’t be bought. It can’t be borrowed. It doesn’t store well. And it has to be have been used regularly and recently… What we will need in our day of testing is a spiritual preparation.” With that and my desire to set SMART-er goals in mind I decided to start small as Sister Burton suggested. I determined that the very first thing I must do in order to even set the goals is to take inventory of what I/we already have so that I can more accurately determine what I/we need. Although this applies to each goal individually once again, I will start small. This month I will focus on taking an accurate/honest inventory of where I’m at (spiritually and in regards to my family’s food storage and emergency preparedness) which in turn will help me determine where I need to go and how I plan to get there. This will enable me to set more specific, measurable goals. I encourage each of you to consider your own individual or family’s needs in regard to provident living and then take inventory. These are some of the questions I have begun compiling as I prepare to conduct my personal inventory. Consider these and feel free to add others as you feel they are appropriate…

Basic Spiritual Provident Living Inventory Questions:
Am I saying my individual prayers (at minimum both morning and night)?
Am I reading from the scriptures daily?
Am I fulfilling my responsibilities at home?
Am I following the Word of Wisdom?
Am I obeying the commandments?
Am I attending my church meetings?
Am I fulfilling my callings to the best of my ability?
Am I paying a full-tithe and generous offerings?
Am I living my life in such a way that the Holy Ghost is my constant companion?
Am I attending the temple regularly? If not, do I have a current temple recommend? If not, what must I do to obtain/renew one?

Basic Food Storage Inventory Questions:
Do I have food storage? If so, what do I have (consider how you will inventory, ie. # of cans, weight of food stored, # of servings)? How long is its shelf life?
Do I know if my family will eat it?
Do I have a way to prepare the food I’ve stored in the event of an emergency?
Do I have water?

Basic Emergency Preparedness Questions:
Do I have a 72 hr kit? If so, when was it last updated?
Do I have a first aid kit? If so, when was it last updated? Do I know how to use the items it contains?
Do I have a “plan?” If so, when was it last updated?

As we each inventory our preparedness we will be able to more efficiently move to the next logical step in our attempts to become more provident and prepared which is to set SMART goals. Every individual/family will not have identical goals. What may be possible or necessary for some will not be for others but as long as we are trying to live more providently we will have more opportunities to feel the peace and calm that come with being “prepared.”

It is my hope that we can all live more providently and I hope you will choose to join me in my efforts to do so.

With Love,


Renee Kocherhans