Years ago I religiously attended cooking classes offered by a health food store specializing in helping families eat healthy and stay healthy. The store, which was owned by a Seventh Day Adventist, carried items such as grinders, juicers, dehydrators, wheat, etc. I learned how to make wonderful whole wheat bread, pizza crust, cinnamon rolls, blender pancakes, and more.

The thing that really stands out in my mind was the time I ordered 250 pounds of wheat to add to our food storage. The owner assured me that they always had wheat in stock and I didn't need to stockpile it. I then explained that I was a Latter-day Saint and was storing it as part of our year supply. The expression on her face immedietely changed as she exclaimed, "You Mormons are so dumb! You buy a ton of wheat to store in your basement, never to be touched again until some so called time of need. If that time ever really arrives, you'll all die anyways because you don't know how to use it."

I was relieved to tell her that wheat was actually a major staple in our household. We owned a wheat grinder and made everything, except playdo and pie crust, with whole wheat flour. She relaxed a bit and from that time forth respected my decision to store wheat. However, it has always bothered me that her perception of Latter-day Saints was actually pretty accurate. How many of us store wheat in our garage but don't use it? What would happen if the time came when we really did need to use our storage? Though it's true it's better to store wheat than not, we may face some very serious consequences if we don't learn to use the foods we store.