Do You Have a Plan for Studying your Patriarchal Blessing?

WHY REPEAT WHAT I'VE ALREADY SAID? Under this blog's search box, put in Patriarchal Blessing, and many of my previous posts, that are so labeled, will come up especially from the year 2012. Read them and see if anything there pops out to you as something you'd like to use in your study. My mother worked for Lockheed in Burbank California during the WWII years. She used her gifts, skills and talents as well as her current passionate interest to create my birth announcement. It shows different ways of looking at a project. We might do the same with our blessing. If we read it like scripture (that is prayerfully) the Lord will not only state explictly our talents and gifts, but sometimes subtly whisper them as we read. If we are currently passionate about a topic that is not covered in our blessing, not to worry. These blessings are not meant to be a dictatorial declaration, or a list of what to do and not to do. God has granted us AGENCY. It has been my experience that men and women will only read their blessings occassionaly. I didn't really understand mine when I first received it as a 24 year old newlywed. I divorced that husband and we had no children. But I am eternally grateful for him introducing me to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has since married two more times and is not an active member. So, when I married my second husband and was sealed to him in the Washington D.C. temple, and began more vigorously journaling, I reformated my blessing when re-typing it so that it reflected my name change. Now I read it, and when it says "husband" I think of him. I challenge you to look at each sentence in your blessing with an eye for different elevations. Is it temporal? then look at it from a spiritual view. Or if it is scriptorial, look at it by studying it in our Study Helps located in the Scriptures. Or maybe it is just puzzling to you, study each word as a noun, verb, adjective and see where the action words lead when so modified. Yep, look at it from a new elevation. I became fascinated by chiasmus and found the "center" of my blessing using that method of scriptural structure. Have I become a geek? Some might say so. But, I still find myself with that burning witness as a I read my personal scripture or come close to tears when I realize that God is talking to me. May He do the same for you.

Valentine's Day 2024

What’s in a Name?

Romeo is quoted as saying to Juliet, “A Rose by any other name…” and we all swoon! Well at least the women do. Shakespeare wrote poetry and the names he used remain in the public mind hundreds of years later. A name is very symbolic and has meaning. Were you named for an ancestor? I was named Beverly because the name Barbara was already taken in my family. I only found this out a few years ago.

Russell M Nelson talks about the Blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant in his book “Daily Joy” p. 286 “Patriarchal Blessings reveal our linkage to the great patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We are the seed of Abraham through whom all the nations of the earth will be blessed. That identity merits our precious priority, which in turn brings to us the blessings of heaven. The ultimate blessings of the Abrahamic covenant are conferred in a holy temple.” Make a list of ALL the names you find in your patriarchal blessing. The first time I did this, I forgot the man who gave me the blessing. Now, study out the meaning of each of those names. Looking in the Bible Dictionary we find that Abram meant exalted father, but when he received his divine calling from God he received a new name: Abraham, meaning Father of a multitude. Have you received a new name?

The Power of Scripture

Patriarchal blessing as scripture Although not about Patriarchal blessings I found Elder Richard G. Scott’s Talk on ““The Power of Scripture” Ensign, Nov 2011 page 6-8 especially uplifting because he emphasizes the words of the prophets. “Throughout the ages, Father in Heaven has inspired select men and women to find, through the guidance of the Holy Ghost, solutions to life’s most perplexing problems.” He continues, “He has inspired those authorized servants to record those solutions as a type of handbook for those of His children who have faith in His plan of happiness and in His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.” “Because scriptures are generated from inspired communication through the Holy Ghost, they are pure truth. We need not be concerned about the validity of concepts contained in standard works since the Holy Ghost has been the instrument which has motivated and inspired those individuals who have recorded the scriptures.” “Scriptures are like packets of light that illuminate our minds and give place to guidance and inspiration from on high. They can become the key to open the channel to communion with our Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.” “Learning, pondering, searching, and memorizing scriptures is like filling a filing cabinet with friends, values, and truths that can be called upon anytime, anywhere in the world.

Patriarchal Blessing like a Liahona

The Liahona Guides our footsteps

In Alma 37:40 We read about the Liahona, a special device that the Lord gave to Lehi to guide them through the wilderness. Our Patriarchal blessing leads us through the wilderness of life showing us the course which we travel, warning us of pitfalls, temptations and giving us directions about how to proceed. It gives us a view of how our Heavenly Father sees us: our potential, special gifts and talents that we might have as well as how we might deal with our fellow man during our journey in mortality. The Liahona worked by Faith "And it did work for them according to their faith in God." It is the same with our patriarchal blessings. Read each line with faith and take step by step action to show God that you are listening to Him. Faith is a principal of action. What Will Then Happen? As it says in Alma 37, miracles were "wrought by the power of God, day by day." Today, look for that little miracle that God has wrought in your life. See it?

Intention, Resolution, Goal, Which one is it?

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we seek to become more like our Savior. That's our intent. When we write down specific areas that we'd like to be more like Him, that is called a resolution. Characteristics of Christ might include humility, knowledge, patience, obedience, diligence and charity. A Goal is selecting a specific topic then breaking it down into steps that can be measured and achieved by a certain time. These too, must be written down.

NOW IS A GOOD TIME

If you do not have a journal, now would be a good time to start one. It can be a three ring binder type of notebook with notebook paper (I found this good, because when I make a mistake, I can just rewrite rather than having a lot of cross outs in a bound -type journal). It is also suggested using a black pen not a pencil for posterity's sake. There are many types of spiral bound notebooks available, too. Deseret Book has many journals to purchase, some quite beautiful, to help when studying a specific course of scripture study. God gave us individual gifts, talents and the agency to choose what works best for us. Have fun deciding, but most importantly is the choice to ACT, now.

 I use my Patriarchal Blessing to set my personal goals for the year. After prayerfully reading it once a day over a period of time in December, I notice that certain words or phrases pop out at me. I use these for the basis of some personal scripture study. I discover ideas for my New Year’s goals that seem to present themselves to me under inspiration. We all know what we ought to be doing. It doesn’t take a magician to tell us these things. I then write down my goals with several dates for meeting smaller steps towards a major goal. Keeping these at the front of my journal helps to keep me on track. I seldom try to resolve to do more than five different things at a time. Too many goals make me just want to give up.

At the six month mark around the beginning of summer, I review how I am doing, and determine whether I need to make what I call “Course Corrections.”

Over the years, I have accomplished much towards becoming the kind of person I believe Heavenly Father wants me to be. Using my own patriarchal blessing helps me to eliminate distracting topics in life that lure me away from my life mission as stated therein.

Patriarchal Blessings are Your Personal 2025 Scriptures

One way to retype your blessing is ONE paragraph 
as a CHAPTER. Then ONE sentence as a VERSE.

Our Ward leadership has asked us to study our patriarchal blessings in 2025. This is a renewed opportunity to read with understanding hearts and minds what God's will for us is, as stated in this, our personal scripture.

Whether short or long, our blessing has some hidden insights to guide us during these last days before the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. It will help us be prepared. It was given for this very purpose: to guide us, give us joy and hope, to increase our faith and let us know our role in His latter-day work. We are His children and He knows us intimately. He can see around the corners and knows the beginning from the end. He is, after all, omniscient.

I have studied my own blessing diligently since 1999, using it to set annual goals and more importantly, to see how I'm measuring up in doing what Heavenly Father wants me to be doing. In 2012, I began this blog to help others gain insights into their own personal scripture. At that time blogs were blossoming everywhere on every topic. My efforts viewed through the lens of 25 years, seem to be a little repetitious and long, However, I still find new and exciting things in my own studies and just like in studying the Bible's Old and New Testament, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price, each reading draws me closer to the Spirit and revelation distills upon my soul.

Ever few days I will suggest a thought that may be helpful to you. Today's idea is to look for phrases or actual scriptures quoted by the patriarch who gave you this blessing. Ponder and ask yourself why did God want you to view this as especially "your" scripture.

If there is no phrases like that go to the very ending of your blessing and see what is so special about those last couple sentences.