E-Book: LDS Preparedness Manual

Prepping involves a lot of self-education on a wide variety of topics. The prepper often needs to be a true Renaissance Man or Woman. I have books on specific topics, but it also helps to have books that collect together a multitude of prepping topics to show how things fit together or remind you of items that you may have overlooked or not thought about.  

    One of these "generalist" prepping books is the the LDS Preparedness Manual (PDF) (Version 8.0 - 2012). I've linked to this book before, but to an earlier version. This 2012 edition is the latest version. It is also available through Amazon or from the publisher if you would prefer a bound version. Of you can print the PDF and put it in a 3-ring binder for easy reference.  

    I would note that although this volume indicates is the second volume ("Handbook 2") of a set: the first volume was intended for leaders of a church ward or stake (similar to a parish and diocese, respectively) whereas the second volume--the one linked to above--is for individuals and families. However, comparing the table of contents between the two, it appears that Handbook 1 and Handbook 2 cover many of the same topics.

    And speaking of topics, the Handbook 2 covers various topics:

• Why prepare?
• Mental and spiritual preparedness.
• Food storage--what to store and how to cook it (this is by far the bulk of the book)
• 72-Hour Kits and Bug-Out Kits
• Evacuation
• Communication
• Financial topics
• Storing medicines and what medicines to store.
• Defense.
• Heating, cooking and lighting.
• Clothing.
• Emergency shelter.
• Sanitation.
• Testing your preparations.
• Special considerations for babies and children.
• Articles and preparations for pandemics.
• Prepare for terrorist/nuclear attacks.
• Miscellaneous articles on various topics.  

At 500 pages, it is able to cover a lot of topics fairly well, and some topics to a great depth. For instance, the food storage section runs from page 44 to page 157 by itself. The article on "A High-Mobility 72 Hour Kit" is one of the best and most detailed explanations of what to pack and why for bugging out and organizing it in a easy way by layers: (1) your clothes and what to carry on your person; (2) a sling bag and its contents; (3) a small backpack (something the size of an assault pack) and what to carry in it; (4) individual weapons and tools; and (5) tools for your vehicle. And there is a detailed checklist of items to take for bugging out as well as things to do before you bug out. For staying at home, there is a detailed list of items to have on hand for everything from clothing to communications, important documents to entertainment and educational supplies, medicines, kitchen supplies, and more. 

    In such an expansive volume, there are a few sections that are a bit weak. Being a gun-guy and interested in self-defense, I tend to check out the articles or chapters pertaining to such topics. In this case I felt the two articles on defense and defensive firearms were underwhelming. The article on "Defense" was obviously written by someone that either (a) didn't know much about the topic or (b) didn't believe it appropriate to share useful information to the general public. The article on selecting preparedness firearms was better, but reminded me of Tappan's book on survival guns by recommending too many firearms for too many individual tasks. 

    The intended audience are member of the LDS Church and consequently there are references to scripture and teachings of past Church authorities. But the vast majority of the book is going to be useful to anyone interested in prepping. Certainly, it appears to be a valuable resource for anyone getting into prepping and has a lot of articles and checklists that would be useful to the experienced prepper.