Self-Reliance Tip of the Week - Who Lost the Tribes? April 17, 2014

What's Your Tribe?

When many people think about the "great and terrible" day of the Lord, they mostly associate it with the "terrible". They think of all of the floods, earthquakes, and other perilous times. I would like to check in the one of the "greats".

We need to have a well-rounded understanding of the many things that have been foretold, even from the beginning of time, of the things that will transpire before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

The Return of the 10 Tribes

There is WAY more to this subject than I can possibly squeeze into a single email. But my purpose in bringing it up is to encourage further study because it is JUST SO COOL!!!

Who are the 10 tribes? Where are they from? Where are they now? Who cares if they come back?

So, here goes -  after the Children of Israel inherited the "land of their inheritance" when they left Egypt and wandered for a while (kind of like me in Walmart)...they became wicked (not like me in Walmart). The Lord told them, "I'm gonna use the Assyrians to paddle your behind so you can remember to keep my commandments." Some of the time, this looming threat helped them behave. If the Assyrians ever invited you to a party, you would find a way to graciously decline - and then run as fast as you could the other way. They played games like "Cut the head off the enemy", or "BBQ'd Enemy" for lunch. So it isn't hard to understand why their descendants STILL play those party games. Get those kids a paper donkey and a blindfold!!! Any questions why Jonah would rather jump into a raging sea, than teach repentance to them? The Israelites didn't repent and the Lord allowed the Assyrians to come in and clean house...with a bulldozer.

Many were killed, many became prisoners, and some decided they better ask God for an escape. All we know is, "The Lord heeded their cries and led them away into the north countries."

 In Doctrine and Covenants 133 it talks of their return. It says at their return they will "smite rocks and ice shall flow down at their presence." If we think about the loss of the rainbow in the last days, that ice is going to come in handy. They will take on the army of Gog (who will be the strongest force on the earth). This army will "become prey unto them." (I hear a hiney kickin'...) Marching from the north countries, on an ice highway, to the New Jerusalem - dang Gina...that's awesome. They will bring treasures and records to the children of Ephriam (what tribe does your blessing tell you you're from?) So many amazing things will happen, that the people of the world will no longer tell their children about the people of Moses crossing the Red Sea on dry ground because this story will be EVEN COOLER!!! (Jeremiah 16 :14-15) I will "accept" that party invite.

I know you're dying for more...here is a little taste to get you started: https://www.lds.org/manual/old-testament-student-manual-kings-malachi/enrichment-d?lang=eng

#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#

A friend of mine happened to drop by THREE CASES of tomatoes the other day - it's time to learn how to can tomatoes!! I did a Google search and found this site:

http://www.pickyourown.org/pressure_canning_tomatoes.htm

I followed the easy instructions. Three days later, I'm almost done :). I did about 16 quarts and a few pints. It is a lot of work for one day, but it really pays off when I can twist and pop and do whatever I want with those tomatoes. Then I started dreaming of salsa...can I "can" my own fresh tomato salsa?

Because tomatoes have high acidity, you don't have worry about botulism if you do it right. When you begin to add other low acidity ingredients, it changes the ph and there becomes a higher botulism risk. So I did some digging. I am still in the experimenting phase with this, so you might get an update on this later, but you are safer if you use tried and true recipes. Here is a list of recipes from the Georgia Cooperative Extension. They tell you what you can alter, and what you can't because that ph thing can be tricky! I did the "Tomato Salsa with Paste Tomatoes" recipe. After trying it, the oregano was a little too much for my liking. That's why we experiment. It really didn't cost me anything because the tomatoes were free.

http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/uga/sensational_salsa.pdf

Give it a go and let me know how it works for you!