Getting Help from Your Patriarchal Blessing

I found this thoughtful article regarding Patriarchal blessings and knew you would enjoy it.

Understanding, fulfilling your patriarchal blessing, By Alison M. Young-Herron, For Mormon Times

Our patriarchal blessings are very personal and very sacred. It is an amazing privilege and a priceless opportunity to receive individualized instruction, comfort and promise, through a choice servant of the Lord who has been ordained for just that purpose. I sincerely hope I can respect the sacred nature of our patriarchal blessings as I share some personal experiences with my own, in an effort to help others better understand and fulfill theirs as well...read full article.

A few ideas from her article:

• Read it aloud with conviction
• Change the "you" to "I"
• Restate the future tense in present tense
• Make each statement a positive affirmation

I, too, had a similar experience to Alison's. So I say amen to her testimony.

I am deeply grateful for the strength, guidance, and inspiration that I now receive from my patriarchal blessing. I also understand a little better, one more reason that things like family scripture study, singing hymns in church and at home, and bearing our testimonies are so effective in teaching us, comforting us, and protecting us from temptation.

There is a certain tangible power in saying and singing things out loud. When our spoken words come from our Heavenly Father, his Only Begotten Son, their appointed servants, and their inspired followers, that power is greatly multiplied and becomes a mighty force for good. It is a gift beyond our comprehension. And it is available to any of us, if we seek to be worthy of it, and strive to use it righteously.

I sincerely encourage you to make your own patriarchal blessing more real and meaningful to you than it has been before. Find a quiet place and read—out loud and with conviction—about what your Heavenly Father has in store for you.

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