I lost it.
I lost my blessing.
No, not in “Esau traded it for a mess of pottage” sort of way. I mean I lost my actual copy of my patriarchal blessing that I got 34 years ago. So don’t get all worried about my soul. (But I do enjoy a nice bowl of lentils.)
How does one lose his patriarchal blessing? It baffles me. A few weeks ago I felt the need to read it again, and went to get it. It was gone. My EC had made me a small copy to fit in my scriptures, and it wasn’t there.
So I went to Option 2: The original copies of all our family’s blessings are in a folder locked in our safe. They weren’t there. My EC looked all over, but couldn’t find the folder. The plot thickens…
Option 3: Years ago I typed it into my computer so I could have a digital copy. It was gone too. Granted, that was many years, and many computers ago.
Both back-up plans failed.
I have read my blessing so many times that I could probably recreate it with about 75% accuracy. (Hmm – that might be an interesting thing to attempt.)
Of course, not having access to it made me want to read it even more, so I ordered myself a new one. (Not a new blessing, but a copy of the original blessing. A new blessing would be cool though, for comparison sake. I do have a friend who is almost 90 years-old who is preparing to receive his blessing. I’m curious to know what the Lord would say to someone He is going to be seeing relatively soon.)
Where was I? Oh, the correct pronunciation of “Patriarchal.” I wrote an entire post about it here: “Looking for the ‘Art’ in ‘Patriarch.'”
(I know I wasn’t really talking about pronunciation, but I had to slip it in as a public service.)
My EC offered to order a copy for me through LDS.org, but I wanted to do it myself. It took about two minutes. In case you were not aware of this option, here is what you do.
1) Go to LDS.org.
2) Find this:
If you have never received a patriarchal blessing, or have not read yours in a long time, you might be asking yourself what all the fuss is about. Elder Russell M. Nelson described it like this:
“Jesus Christ’s Church provides patriarchal blessings to give each recipient a vision for his or her future as well as a connection with the past, even a declaration of lineage back to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
President Monson said, “A patriarchal blessing is a revelation to the recipient, even a white line down the middle of the road, to protect, inspire, and motivate activity and righteousness. A patriarchal blessing literally contains chapters from your book of eternal possibilities.”
That quote comes from a great talk entitled, “Your Patriarchal Blessing: A Liahona of Light.” I recommend that you watch the whole talk, it’s bonafide. (Link here.)
Who wouldn’t want that? A vision of our future? A personal Liahona for protection and motivation?
That’s why I needed to recover my blessing. I missed it.
Do you want to know what it says? Fat chance. I hold it sacred, and very personal. I flinch whenever I hear someone quote their blessing in a talk or lesson. (yes, the irony of me losing mine has been pointed out. Thanks.)
I have had friends and family members serve as patriarchs. It has been so impressive to me to witness the dedication and efforts these brethren and their wives go to to remain pure vessels so they can do the Lord’s work. It is a 24/7 responsibility to be worthy enough to serve as a conduit between the Holy Ghost and other people. I am grateful to them, and their efforts.
If you already received your patriarchal blessing, give it a look. If you haven’t read it for a while, see what it says to you today. It is a lot like looking at the ocean – depending on the day, the light, and where you are standing, it can appear very different.
If you haven’t received a patriarchal blessing, get to it. Call the Executive Secretary in your ward and make an appointment to see the bishop. Get on LDS.org and read everything you can find on the subject. After the bishop gives you a recommend for the blessing, contact the patriarch and make an appointment. I would suggest that you prepare yourself leading up to it by praying like crazy, doing things that bring the Spirit into your life, and fasting the day of.
You’ll be glad you reached out to the Lord. He has something wonderful waiting for you.
It is a gift. (And keep track of your copy.)
I’m late to the party, but I just wanted to say that men can also request their priesthood line of authority from the Church now.
I have been reading mine a lot the last few months and this past weekend I read it specifically looking for words and phrases that were repeated, as well as things I am commanded to do. I had never done that before and really got a lot out of it. It has given me a lot to ponder and pray about.
I typed mine into Evernote so I can read it on my phone whenever I need. Although I think I may go back and scan it so I can see it too. Not sure why that matters to me, but it kind of does.
I had to comment though because we just did FHE last night about the Liahona. My son is 7 so we went geocaching and we talked about the Liahona’s in our life and then we discussed Patriarchal blessings.
Glad you can get a new copy!
I love Patriarchal Blessings. My dad passed away 13 years ago, and the day of his funeral my mom gave all my sibs a copy of his blessing. I know they are personal and direction from God to a specific person, however, a lot of times they contain good advice that you can adopt in your life even if it isn’t your blessing.
I’m with you, I get uncomfortable when people quote their blessing in church talks, but I also try to understand the good advice that I can receive from their (hopefully) inspiration to share.
After my oldest son had his blessing, I read first my dads, then mine, then his. It struck me how it felt like a story with a beginning, middle and an end. We live in exciting times.
Thanks for the post, I have tried to track down my grandparents blessings, maybe it’s easier now than when I was trying. I would love to read my dads parents blessings, too.
Funny, my daughter just worked on a Personal Progress experience having to do with Patriarchal Blessings, and she encouraged me to to do it, too. But I had mine. 🙂 Reading it was just what I needed.
On another note, you can also request the patriarchal blessings of your ancestors who have received one and have passed on. It is really cool.
-catania
I am currently serving a mission in Ukraine. We just discussed Patriarchal Blessings in Gospel Essentials class on Sunday and several new members were very interested in what they are. Wow! Thanks for the post and the talk. What a great resource on blessings. I can now give them a copy this talk. They are on their way to get their “Letter”.
I was JUST talking about getting my OWN patriarchal blessing! Thank you for writing about this – gives me the motivation I needed to go get it! (I have been nervous about receiving it)!
Dani
http://www.letyourlightshineforhim.blogspot.com
This was a timely post for me. I had the opportunity on Sunday to read my grandparents Patriarchal Blessings and it was a profound experience for many reasons. One reason in particular was that it gave me insight into my family and the character of my grandparents. I saw them in a completely new light and felt renewed love and respect for them and my faithful ancestors.
I love my Patriarchal Blessing and read it very frequently (I’m a slow learner and need all the help I can get!)
I have been lucky not to have lost my Patriarchal Blessing (well, so far). I am a genealogy nut and have had the opportunity to send a request to have several of my ancestors Patriarchal Blessings sent to me.
There is something very special about reading the blessings of those who have come before me. It has a way of showing more of who they are as people.
I have also found that it bring a more spiritual and emotional connections to those ancestors.
It is an amazing opportunity that I would suggest everyone look into.
One of the very best jobs of my mission in the Church History Mission was manning the Patriarchal Blessing office next to Archive Library. This was in 2004-06 before the new building was built & before they were available online. Lots of sweet people would come in to replace “lost” blessings or to get blessings of ancestors. And lots of requests came in the mail. I received 6 requests from men in jail. The Spirit was very strong in that little room. Also on the mission we heard a Stake Patriarch speak on P.B. and my favorite quote was, “It can be interpreted only by that same spirit that it was given.”
One of my greatest testimonies is my Blessing. I had been a member for 6 yrs. and was 27 years old. It is 2 type written pages long and when I received it I thought no way. But it has pretty much all come to pass.
Wow, good to know!
My grandmother never got hers. When she was in her 70’s, I suggested she get it, but she thought she was too old. I told her she could at least let them name her lineage. But she was humble, and just didn’t think she was important enough or something, so never did. I think it would have really been a huge blessing in her life, even at her age. I really wish she would have gotten it.
We had a 5th Sunday combined meeting with our patriarch and I was hit with insight and enlightenment. I had naively thought that I knew what patriarchal blessings were all about and that I had read, studied and inwardly digested mine. Wrong.
Of the things he highlighted that I thought were awesome was that the patriarch is a prophet,seer and revelator to the person who is receiving the blessing )obvious when I think about it, I just hadn’t thought about it like that) and that the blessing is not only personal revelation but continuing revelation like scripture. New things being brought to light even if the words on the paper don’t change. I love thinking about that.
The best bit for me was about the blessing being a covenant. Not just one big covenant but lots of little ones. I used to think about my patriarchal blessing requiring blanket coverage of righteousness. As long as I am worthy all the things will come to pass. I now see myself as much more of an active participant, studying various promises separately and seeing what I need to do as my part of the covenant and the blessings coming to pass. A bit like that story about pres Eyring being a peacemaker… he worked at it after it was mentioned in his patriarchal blessing.
Strange, I was putting some things in a book case yesterday and mine fell out. I am going to find some quiet time tonight and remind myself of what it says.
One of the sweetest times of my life was when my husband and oldest son received their blessing on the same day.
Okay – strange parallel universes….. I have been looking for mine for over two weeks. I felt the need to pull it out again and can’t find it. The ONE spot I keep it in. Never move it. Ever. It’s gone.
Did not know it was that simple to request a copy. Will be doing today.
And why is it when you can’t find it that you want to desperately read it, but when it’s sitting safe and sound, it’s easy to forget about?
Huh. Kind of like fasting. I can go days without eating, but come fast sunday, I feel like I’m gonna die if I don’t have a snack.
Everything promised in my patriarchal blessing has come to pass already. Leaves me a little worried…
You might be surprised at something you might understand a bit differently in a year or two. And like in the scriptures, much advice and direction in a blessing is timeless.