What Patriarchal Blessings Mean to Me

A patriarchal blessing is a blessing given by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood. In our day it is most often given by an ordained Patriarch, though a blessing given by a righteous father may sometimes be called patriarchal.

The First Presidency of the church wrote, "Patriarchal blessings contemplate an inspired declaration of the lineage of the recipient, and also where so moved upon by the spirit, an inspired and prophetic statement of the life mission of the recipient, together with such blessings, cautions, and admonitions as the patriarch may be be prompted to give..., it always being made clear that that realization of all promised blessings is conditioned upon faithfulness...."

Karl G Maeser described these blessings as "paragraphs from the book of one's possibilities."

I know that my own patriarchal blessing has been a comfort to me in my life, and that many of the promised blessings have already come to me.

A few years ago, when Craig Hansen was our stake patriarch, he told us that we should list the following four categories of items as we study our blessings:

1. Lineage in Israel: This tells us not only who we are descended from, but also some of our responsibilities. For example, the descendants of Ephraim are responsible in our day and age to take the gospel to the rest of Israel, and to the world.
2. Advice and Warnings: Information about what I should do and what I should watch out for in order to successfully live the life that my Father in Heaven desires of me.
3. Promises: The blessings that the Lord has in store for me if I am faithful.
4. Gifts of the Spirit: The tools, skills, abilities, and gifts that the Lord makes available to me to help me succeed in my life's tasks.

I have studied my blessing as Patriarch Hansen suggested and came away deeply touched by the depth and scope of the blessings that the Lord has in store for me. It is so with you also - we are all God's precious children.

A patriarchal blessing is a wondrous great thing! It is another witness of the love that our Father has for us.

What Genealogy and Temple Work for the Dead Means to Me

My daughter spent a semester at Nauvoo a while back, and while she was there, we helped her to research ancestors who lived there. As we learned about some of my ancestors being acquainted with some of my wife's ancestors, and about the stories of their lives, I became more and more interested in finding out more. I am realizing more and more how much I owe these ancestors, and what strong and wonderful people they were.

I am still learning more about them. For example, just this morning my wife found some information on my great great uncle, William Page, that I do not remember having heard before - he was a Pony Express rider, and at one time carried a copy of President Lincoln's inaugural address on its way to the West.

According to D&C 128:18, we cannot be made perfect without our ancestors. We need them as much as they need us. And they do need us. So many lived without the restored gospel in their lives, and had no opportunity to participate in the saving ordinances of baptism, priesthood ordination, endowments, and sealings. We believe that these ordinances are not optional, but required to enter into God's Celestial Kingdom. We also believe that they are required to be performed by mortals, and that if someone has no opportunity during mortality to perform the ordinances for themselves, they must be performed for them by mortal proxies. We have a responsibility to these ancestors, and we will be held accountable for our efforts, or our lack thereof, when we see them again after we finish this life.

Some accuse the Mormons of trying to get the dead into the Mormon church without regard to their wishes. We do not see it that way at all. Freedom of choice is essential to the plan of salvation. Those for whom we perform vicarious ordinances in the temple are free to reject or accept them. But unless we perform those ordinances, they do not have the choice. They have no way to enter into God's kingdom, or to decline the invitation to His kingdom, until the ordinances are performed in their behalf.

During the coming millennium after Christ's second coming, much of the work of that time will be in the completion of this work in behalf of all who desire it. It will bring about the salvation of the majority of our Heavenly Father's children. Otherwise, the time and effort and everything that the Lord has invested in the creation and peopling of this earth would be wasted, because His one goal with all of this is the immortality and eternal life of his children.

What My Sealing to My Family Means to Me

Elijah restored the sealing power to earth in our era. Doctrine and Covenants 2:1-3 explains that this power turns the generations to one another. Doctrine and Covenants 128:17-18 explains that the temple work (baptisms and sealings) are what will bind the generations together in the eternities.

In every righteous dispensation, God has given his servants the power that what they seal on earth will be sealed in heaven. This includes, among other things, the marriage covenant. This covenant must be sealed by this priesthood power in order to be in effect in heaven. Also, our children can be sealed to us, and we to our parents, so the the family unit may remain intact in the next life.

We are also privileged to perform these ordinances in behalf of our deceased ancestors, who can accept them if they desire.

On March 10, 1844, Joseph Smith said "If you have power to seal on earth and in heaven, then we should be wise. The first thing you do, go and seal on earth your sons and daughters unto yourself, and yourself unto your fathers in eternal glory, and go ahead ... and seal all you can, and when you get to heaven tell your Father that what you seal on earth should be sealed in heaven, according to his promise."

This is the greatest and most wonderful blessing I can imagine, to be with my wife (who is the best thing to ever happen to me) and other loved ones throughout eternity, progressing together and becoming like our Father in Heaven!

The promise that this can be makes me desire with all my heart and soul to remain true to my family, to my wife and children, to the legacy I have received from my parents and ancestors, and to my God.