I presented this devotional for our zone on May 25. I did it using PowerPoint which doesn't copy well to blogspot, so I will copy the pictures, etc. in the middle of the text of my devotional. I hope you find it helpful and interesting.
A side note: After the devotional, two of the sister missionaries who serve together in the SPC lab told me that they had JUST been talking about patriarchal blessings in the lab before coming into the devotional. They said it was a perfect addition to their conversation. Sweet!
Using Your Patriarchal Blessings…
At All Stages Of Your Life!
I started preparing for this devotional with a plan…but in
preparing for that topic….I felt directed to another topic….and while watching
a video related to that second topic…a comment was made about patriarchal
blessings….and then that familiar feeling came ---That was the topic that I
should speak about today. ** It seems like an unusual topic for people of our
age. It is so connected in our mind to
youth and young adults starting off their lives and trying to find their
direction. However, I realized that our
blessings are not just for our early lives and the blessings and promises don’t
end at our death. We should be actively
using them in our lives regardless of what stage we are in.
So, like Sister Bonnie Cardon stated in her conference talk
in October of 2021: “ Find your
patriarchal blessing, blow off the dust if you must, but study it often.” And
then “ Don’t delay finding out what the Lord wants to tell you now about who
you are.” She was directing her remarks to the youth, but
it applies to all of us. At all times in
our lives, it is important to find out what the Lord wants to tell you NOW
about who you are. ***
President
Monson in a 1986 Conference address stated: (you can find the link to this talk on www.churchofjesuschrist.org--Thomas S. Monson 1986 General Conference)
I would
like to share three ways that we can refine our study and use of our
patriarchal blessings, but before I do, I would like to share a story with you
of how I came to learn about these ways.
A number
of years ago, I was teaching Gospel Doctrine in my ward and we were studying
the Doctrine and Covenants. I was
preparing a lesson which was centered on several of the sections directed at
individuals. This was before Come Follow
Me. You probably remember the Sunday School Manual had a suggested outline of
4-5 pages with historical information, scriptures to focus on, questions to
ask.
As I was
preparing, there was a question listed in the middle of the lesson: “What
written record do you have from the Lord directed at you?” The answer was simple: “patriarchal
blessing.” However, it wasn’t tied into
the main objective of the lesson and didn’t lead into the next topic in the
manual, so I decided to leave it out. I
don’t like to ask questions that have only one answer and don’t require much
thinking. As I made that decision, I felt like I should include it—so I wrote it in. Sunday morning as I was reviewing the lesson
an outline, I crossed it out. Again, the impression to ask the question
returned but I worried about the time.
However, as I was teaching later that morning, I came to that part with
the crossed out question and decided to ask—almost in passing, “What written
record do you have from the Lord directed at you?” The answer was given by many
class members, “patriarchal blessing,” but then person added a comment about
blessings, and then there was another and another. The next 45 minutes was an amazing discussion
about patriarchal blessings taught by the members of my class. I could only stand in amazement as I and the
class were taught so many great ideas and bore such sweet testimonies about
their blessings and its impact in their lives.
As the class came to a close, I bore my testimony about the power of the
spirit to teach us. I said, “Through out
the whole Church today, we are probably the only one who discussed patriarchal
blessings but that was the lesson we were meant to have.” How sweet it was to be a part of.
I
received so many comments about that lesson in phone calls and notes over the
following weeks as class members tried the things which had been
discussed. I hope that some of these
ideas are helpful to you as “you dust off your blessing:”
1. 1. Make a chart with the following three
categories:
Directions
Warnings Promises/Blessings
Read through your blessing and put the related
statements into the proper column. I had
never read my blessing specifically looking for warnings until this time. It was an insightful exercise.
2. 2. Take your
blessing and make it into a personal Section of the Doctrine and Covenants. Use the heading of your blessing to make the
top section and then put each sentence into its own verse. Occasionally, you might want to combine two
sentences into the same verse. Do what
makes sense to you. One person commented
that doing this led to her memorizing individual sections—verses of her
blessing—which has been very helpful to her. Below is an example.
3. 3. This is the one
that I needed to be reminded of because I think it is such a great idea and has
the power to make a difference in the lives of your children and
grandchildren. One of the class members
made the suggest of taking a journal or notebook and writing one line of your
b blessing on the top of a page….skipping a few pages…and doing the next line
until you have written out your whole blessing in this manner. Then as you see things fulfilled in your life
or you have thoughts and impressions about those sections you would write those
experiences under the corresponding sentence. Using a word doc can also serve the same
purpose as a journal. Then when you are gone, you have left a legacy of your
blessing and how it had been fulfilled in many ways throughout your life.
One of the things we did after my mom passed away
was to gather as a family and read my mother’s patriarchal blessing
together. This was of course the first
time that we had ever read it, but my dad felt it was important to share. It was a sweet experience and it led to some
discussion about parts of it and how that fit our mother and how we saw it
fulfilled in her life. How great it
would have been to share her own testimony about the impact of that blessing in
her life.
I am sure you all have sweet experiences to share
about your own blessing and how it has impacted your life for good. Record
those in a way to leave a living testimony to those who follow behind you.
I hope
that one or more of these ideas will be helpful to you as you seek to use your
blessing more fully and in different ways in your life.
I would
like to end by sharing one of the stories related to my patriarchal blessing
that I am leaving for my children and grandchildren.
I was 15
when I received my patriarchal blessing.
Sidenote: One of the things I
remember is my sense of relief after getting my blessing that there was no
mention of Genealogy. I guess I had
heard enough stories about that being mentioned in people’s blessings that I
guess I thought I would be off the hook for that. Of course, I have grown up since then and
have come to enjoy family history in ways I never understood as a 15-year-old. Back
to my story: One section of my blessing
reminded me that Adam and Eve were commanded to multiply and replenish the
earth and this commandment was still in force. Then later, I was reminded to
marry in the temple so that children born to me will be mine throughout all
eternity. At 15, of course. Well-known
doctrine. However, at 25 after a few years with miscarriages and infertility,
it becomes a little more complicated. During this time in our lives, these
lines gave me direction. It was important for us to be engaged in ways to bring
children into our home. We could do what
we could do to be obedient to this commandment.
God was in charge of the outcomes. During a time of frustration and
trial, there was a sense of underlying peace—we were seeking to be obedient and
God was in charge. How that help us and
me, through month after month of heartache.
After being married for five years, we gave
birth to our first daughter, Jessica.
Three years later we adopted our
first son, Scott. Scott was sealed to us
in the Jordan River Temple on a beautiful Saturday morning in April of
1987.
These two photos were combined in the same slide.
The top is a photo of Jessica and Scott about a month
after he joined our family.
The photo below was taken on the day of
Scott's sealing in the Jordan River Temple.
The room was filled with our
families and many friends and ward members who loved us and loved Scott. The sealer took about 20 minutes before Scott
and Jessica came into the room talking about parenting in the way that sealers
often talk about marriage before a sealing.
At one point, he said, “Adam and Eve were commanded to multiply and
replenish the earth and that commandment still applies today. As you carry your young son in your arms, you are
fulfilling that commandment and he will be yours for all eternity.” On an already emotional day, my heart was
overcome by these familiar words. A
sealer, who we did not know and certainly had never read my blessing, had reminded
me once again of words and promises from my Heavenly Father spoken in my
patriarchal blessing. Once again the
decision to adopt Scott was confirmed in my heart as THE plan for my life and
his—not a second choice or backup plan.
And so it
was as we added each of our other children
These three photos were combined on one screen as well.
Ben soon after he arrived
Tosha soon after she arrived
Jena on the day of her sealing
—Ben, Tosha, and Jena. I know that we were obedient to the
commandment to multiply and replenish the earth and God blessed us in ways far
beyond our wildest dreams.
And
because I am doing devotional, here are our kids in 2010 before we started
adding our three in-laws and ten grandchildren….
So, dust
off your blessing and use it in your lives—and make a record for those you
follow you.
