3 Ways To Get More Out Of Your Patriarchal Blessing
When was the last time you listened to your patriarchal blessing? Have you ever read it aloud? How often do you read your blessing? Your patriarchal blessing is a letter from God. It will help guide and shape your choices and life! As President Monson put it. "A patriarchal blessing contains chapters from your book of eternal possibilities." As a missionary, I viewed helping the converts and less-actives I worked with to receive their patriarchal blessing as a vital step in preparation for the Temple.
President Monson taught, "Your blessing is not to be folded neatly and tucked away. It is not to be framed or published. Rather, it is to be read. It is to be loved. It is to be followed. Your patriarchal blessing will see you through the darkest night."
Faithful study of your patriarchal blessing can provide insight and guidance for your whole life, so the question becomes, how can I get more out of my patriarchal blessing? Here are three ways to get more out of your patriarchal blessing!
1st. To get more out of your Patriarchal Blessing the first step is to receive it!
The requirements to get a patriarchal blessing are simple. Be a Baptized and Confirmed member of the Church who is keeping your baptismal covenant. Your membership in the Church is the only thing that is required. Therefore, if you do not have one ask your bishop, he can help prepare you to receive your blessing!
A large cultural issue that is prevalent within the church is “wait till you will understand it.” So, I did that, I waited for over ten years after I was baptized to get my patriarchal blessing.
Guess what? Even at 18 years old I did not understand it, at 27, I still learn “new” things! I regret that I let others discourage me from getting my patriarchal blessing. To think I could have had a personal letter from my Father that I could turn to when I was a young teenager and I had a crisis of faith. I made it through it, but how many youths do not?
It is just foolishness. Your patriarchal blessing will be of value if you get it at 8, 18 or 88. The only difference is how long you live without the guidance it gives. Considering all the challenges and trials that await the teenage years why do we discourage our youth from receiving it? So what if they don’t understand it? The little bits they do will help them prepare and survive the most dangerous phase of membership in the pre-endowment stage. Consider the words of a Prophet:
"Your patriarchal blessing is your passport to peace in this life. It is a Liahona of light to guide you unerringly to your heavenly home"
Thomas S. Monson.
2nd. Highlight your Patriarchal Blessing.
When I was a missionary, I copied my Patriarchal Blessing and started to highlight it — as with all scripture marking, developing a personal system is best. In addition, with the varied nature of each patriarchal blessing, it would be impossible to make an all-encompassing system. That being said, here are a few things that I highlighted.
- Christlike attributes
- Things the Lord wants me to do
- Blessings He has promised me
- Life events
- Quotes (anything in my blessing that uses “” marks)
I then use these markings to develop goals. Am I doing the things He wants me to do? Am I striving to develop the attributes He told me I have? How am I progressing towards the life events it dictates, am I preparing for a mission? For the Temple? Or to raise a family?
An important thing to remember with your blessing is that it is eternal. President Monson taught, "Just as life is eternal, so is a patriarchal blessing. What may not come to fulfillment in this life may occur in the next. We do not govern God’s timetable."
3rd. Read/Listen to your Patriarchal Blessing
I drive a lot, and I realized I was listening to the Book of Mormon, and I was finishing it every 3-4 months. However, I realized I was only reading my patriarchal blessing every couple of months, not give it nearly the time it deserves.
Therefore, I have decided I will record it so I can then listen to it as I prepare, or drive to church on Sunday. Allowing me to be immersed in my patriarchal blessing weekly! It also gave me an exciting experience, I both read my blessing aloud, and now I listen to my blessing. Both listening and reading it aloud are things that I usually did not do that have allowed me to get more out of my blessing.
Read the blessings of your forebears.
Do you know you can request a copy of a deceased direct-line ancestor's patriarchal blessing? Moreover, did you know that you can read your blessing online? https://apps.lds.org/pbrequest is the link, so you either read yours online or get a copy of your ancestors.
I was interested in reading your perspectives regarding patriarchal blessings. Not much is said of this very unique intersection of heaven and earth. Even less is offered from those of us that have occasion to actively participate in the transcendent event whereby the blessing is generated. You might be interested in speaking to active patriarchs to get further insight into what they think on the topic.
I appreciate this article. I myself have made two copies of my PB. One is a smaller copy I keep in the front of my scriptures so it's with me at all times. The other is on my nightstand, highlighted, underlined and full of notes. I've started doing the same with my husband's and children's PB, and have sent for and received my father's and grandmother's through LDS.org. I have come to know how much our lives are intertwined and connected. It's given me a greater appreciation for the Atonement and it's role in our lives.
Sister Vick, I'm an ordained patriarch in the New England area. Loved your insight and appreciation for your blessing. They are special and personal to each of Heavenly Fathers children. As such, as I'm sure your aware, there is no restrictions, only guidance governing who can read an others blessing. I personally, counsel those to whom I give a blessing to be careful with the advice or interpretation from others as to their blessing. The true interpretation can only come from the Holy Ghost to the individual of whom the blessing is given.
I have found that the same passage in my blessing has referred to different times of my life. It has given me a more"whole life" viewing of it and made me wonder about other passages and how they will benefit me spiritually.
I have found your article very interesting. I loved the idea of recording one's PB so it is possible to listen to it weekly.
I actually have read the patriarchal blessing of at least one of my forebears, and because I have I know that you actually DO receive a different blessing dependent on when you receive it. My great-grandfather received his late in life, and as such, many of the things listed therein are in past tense. Whereas my patriarchal blessing speaks of promises of things I COULD do, his spoke of things he was blessed to HAVE done.
So yeah, don't waste time on getting it.
It's never a waste,, even late in life. Maybe he had felt, in his old age, that he hadn't accomplished very much. That blessing could have been an answer to his deepist desires of wanting to feel like he had value and worth in the life he lived. It's never a ways of time.
Great article! I never knew that I could request ancestors blessings. I'm going to request my mother's blessing.
Great article! I love what you said about marking your Patriarchal Blessing. I lost my marked copy (I knew right where it was before I fell off a cliff, I promise! That may sound like a joke, but unfortunately, I'm serious.), but I'm glad I got another online! I get to read it and "color" it once again!
Also, I like your suggestion of reading it aloud. That sounds really neat. Thanks for this article and this website!
I spent several months searching the scriptures for the verses, or portions of verses containing the same phrases. This not only brought me greater understanding of my blessing, but a greater appreciation for the scriptures, especially those that had been quoted and became more personal to me.
I've done the same thing, I've also started to search general conference addresses!
I don't remember if it was mine or my current husband's that I requested on line, but at least half of it was incorrect as though it was a photocopy from the pages of two different blessings. I became a firm believer in keeping multiple copies.
I really like this article. It has given me more insight of getting more out of my PB. The things that am not doing and have not done in the past, identifying, marking, recording, and requesting a copy of my ancestors PB, wow! I didn’t know l could do that. Am very much grateful for this article, and am going to share it with my sisters and brothers in Zion. Thanks
I love my patriarchal blessings. I received mine at 14 years old. I didn't start to really appreciate it until I was 27. As I've reread it over the years, the understanding of certain things changed with my circumstances and then as major changes were happening in my life, I saw a word that was plural that I never saw before, nor read it that way. It was an answer to a prayer. The only thing I would disagree with in this blog, is that they aren't the same whether you are 8,18 or 88. My ex husband received his at 37. It talked mostly about what was in front of him at that stage of life. If he had received it at 18, I'm certain there would be talk of marriage and children and possibly a mission, but it didn't have anything like that. It was more for how to raise his family and the example he needs to be. I would say that no matter what age you are, that blessing is specific to you at that time of your life, not that it would be the same no matter what age.
I Love having the church messages and lessons for me to ponder each day when I check on Facebook. Due to a position as caregiver "which I love" am only able to attend Sacrament. Feels as though I'm spending more time listening and learning in church, surrounded by my fellow saints. BLESS OUR PROPHET
I received my PB when I was 21. At the time, it seemed full of promise. However, about 90% of it talks about my husband and children, and the home I would create for them. But unfortunately I never married. There was one short paragraph about family history, and that has become my passion and church calling. While I realize some blessings will come on the other side of the veil, I've always felt a little let down that most of my PB was not applicable to the life I ultimately lived.
Thanks for helping me.
It’s hard to. Because of divorce it feels like it passed me by and the blessings are gone because it ties my children & former spouse all together in my mission and purpose. I feel like I have failed every time I read it. 🙁
Please send this this article to my email address below, thanks
I missed this, I am sorry. I sent it to you via email.
One thing I did that was particularly meaningful was to cross-reference words and phrases in my Blessing with similar words and phrases in the scriptures. Being that the Holy Scriptures are written in the language of revelation, It really illuminated several points of my personal scripture.
I received my patriarchal blessing when I was eleven years old, from the same patriarch who gave Boyd K. Packer his twelve years earlier. My patriarch died three years later. I understood everything in my blessing perfectly and immediately set about doing everything it told me to do. It promised me that I would teach the gospel in far away places, and when I got my mission call, it was to a place on the other side of the planet; it could not have been farther away. It said that the Lord had given me many gifts, and I found out early on that one of them was one of the gifts that I esteem most highly, the gift of translation. I have been able to translate things in ancient languages that nobody on the planet has ever been able to translate. I have published 73 books of my ancient language discoveries. For 9 years I translated 25 languages for the Defense Department; that was all the languages they had. My conscience is clear for when I go before the Bar of Judgment. I have done all that I was told to do.
Excellent!! The same happened to me. I received my patriarchal blessing at age 14. I always knew that if I did the right things the promised blessings would come. Every thing my patriarchal blessing says happened. I am very grateful to have had this blessing in my youth. This marked every step of my life. Like you, I feel at peace knowing that I made every effort to make sure these things were fulfilled and they did. The Lord always keeps his promises. I do not have doubts
I hope I can understand all of what Heavenly Father want me too do I just sign up too get email I am inactive in the church so I am trying too learn why Heavenly Fathere
Derek, thank you for reading my blog. I think your comment cut off, what are you trying to learn?
Thanks for helping me.
Do our non-member ancestors receive a PB along with the temple work? I didn't know that PB was eternal.
We do not perform vicarious PB, that does not mean that they can't receive a PB, it simply means we don't do it.
I loved reading your article and the responses too. I am 92 years old and my blessing was short but looking back, i have completed almost everything I can. I continue trying to accomplish what I was told I could do and it is the love of my life. I too, would love to have this article sent to me. thank you so much for all you have done in this great article. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. We are Heavenly Father's children and His Beloved Son Jesus Christ was sent to earth to live and then suffered, bled and died that we might live again. How I love Them.