Mormons Prepare for Y2K Worst

.c The Associated Press

By C.G. WALLACE

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - As the countdown dwindles, people across the country
are scrambling to stock their larders ahead of Jan. 1, preparing, sometimes
frantically, for potential Y2K disasters that range from a harsh winter
storm to societal breakdown.

But not at Salt Lake City's Temple Square, home of the Mormon Church, where
the calm of knowing you're prepared is the dominant sentiment.

For decades, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
have been encouraged to store a year's worth of food in their homes, not just
for Y2K, but for any hard times.

Seventy percent of Utah's residents are Mormon. Church officials don't
know exactly how many families stockpile food, but it's clearly a popular
practice to judge by the advertisements in Utah newspapers for bulk food
sales.

The church has a significant food reserve, one it showcases in a section
of downtown Salt Lake City called Welfare Square.

A dairy, cannery, thrift shop and bakery operate under the shadow of a
100-foot tall grain silo filled with 300,000 bushels of wheat - just in
case.

It's one of 60 such silos the church has throughout the country, along
with church-owned farms, ranches and factories that produce everything from
canned peaches to peanut butter to beef. The church even makes its own
soap.

Every year, Deseret Dairy in Welfare Square produces 900,000 pounds of
powered milk and 850,000 pounds of cheddar cheese.

Some of the products are given away to the Mormon needy through the
church's 105 Bishop's Storehouses, essentially grocery stores without the cash
registers. Some of it goes overseas to help in times of crisis. But
there's always extra socked away should anything go awry - from massive power
outages to the Second Coming.

Mormons believe that after a period of turmoil, Jesus will return to Earth
to reign for 1,000 years. Church leaders make no claims that this will
start with the year 2000 and say their emphasis on preparedness doesn't stem
from any specific event.

But if things go haywire, "you're going to be living in a good place -
that is, if you've been good to your neighbors," said Kathryn Kidd, a Mormon
who, along with her husband, co-authored the new book, "Food Storage for
the Clueless."

"The prophets have told us to be prepared. We just want to be ready for
any event - some people think it's the Second Coming, some think it's flood
and drought, most are just following orders," Kidd said from her home in
Sterling, Va., a Washington suburb.

Mormon emergency preparations don't stop at food. Thousands of tons of
surplus clothing donated to the church's Deseret Industries thrift stores
are sorted, baled and kept in a downtown warehouse in case of fire or
flood.

The second floor of the same building is lined with shelves overloaded
with medical equipment, from wheelchairs to first aid kits to donated dialysis
machines.

There is even a supply of ropes, tarps and tents - so many that when a
tornado roared through downtown Salt Lake City in August, the city turned
to the church for help.

"Utah is probably one of the best prepared states in the nation when it
comes to personal preparedness," said Chris Kramer, public information
officer for the Utah Department of Public Safety. "You don't see that in
other parts of the country. There's an emphasis on self-reliance in the
culture here."

Soon after the tornado hit, members of Mormon congregations armed with
chain saws, work gloves and hard hats were the first to come to the aid of
neighborhoods littered with uprooted trees and debris. They followed
emergency plans designed by the church, procedures that are well rehearsed
by local congregations.

"The community has a long history of pulling together in times of
disaster, and of course the church is definitely a factor," said Jim Chesnutt,
public affairs specialist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency region
that includes Utah and five other states.

Chesnutt said he wasn't the only one at FEMA surprised by the speed with
which communities in the tornado's path were patched up.

"We had to hustle our inspectors out there before everything was cleaned
up," he said.

The emphasis on preparedness comes from the early days of the faith. To
escape persecution, Mormons kept moving farther west, from New York to
Ohio, then to Missouri and Illinois. They eventually made the trek to the
then-unsettled frontier of Utah, where they set up headquarters.

"One of the reasons we store food is so we can always help our neighbors.
It is not a matter of selfishly hoarding," said Mormon church spokesman
Dale Bills. "You can't stand around and watch people go without."