crisis. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved July 17, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/crisis

1.	a stage in a sequence of events at which the trend of all future events, esp. for better or for worse, is determined; turning point.

2.	a condition of instability or danger, as in social, economic, political, or international affairs, leading to a decisive change.

3.	a dramatic emotional or circumstantial upheaval in a person’s life.

4.	Medicine/Medical. a. the point in the course of a serious disease at which a decisive change occurs, leading either to recovery or to death. b. the change itself.

5.	the point in a play or story at which hostile elements are most tensely opposed to each other.

You hear it on the news all the time.  We’re experiencing the effects of the “Mortgage Crisis.”  Today I heard a story that suggested we may be on the edge of the impending “Credit Card Crisis” because people are beginning to default on their credit cards due to the downturn in the economy. One of these individuals had separated from his spouse because of the trouble the money problems had caused in his relationship.  Will these financial crises lead to an impending “Divorce Crisis” or “Family Crisis.”  Financial trouble is the number one reason people get divorced so I expect we will see an increase in broken families.

The good news is that the word crisis implies a change will occur as a result of this tribulation.  Now, I know it may just be that people are misusing the word, but hopefully there will be some change as a result.  Trouble is that citizens of the USA take on too much debt. The Lord knows all about these kinds of troubles.  His servants have been warning members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for quite some time to avoid debt.

“We encourage you wherever you may live in the world to prepare for adversity by looking to the condition of your finances. We urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt. . . . If you have paid your debts and have a financial reserve, even though it be small, you and your family will feel more secure and enjoy greater peace in your hearts.”
—The First Presidency, All Is Safely Gathered In: Family Finances, Feb. 2007, 1

You can find out more about living providently at www.providentliving.org.

It seems to me that the largest debtor in the U.S. is also the largest lender in the U.S.: That would be the U.S. Government.  Lets hope they don’t default on their loans because it would probably mean war with China since they hold nearly half of U.S. Treasury Bonds. But if the banks default on their loans (i.e. more bank failures) I’m sure the government will find funds to cover this mess by taking on more debt.