my patriarchal blessing is rehearsed

[krisholy2992]

I'm going through some very tough times in my life, but I'm selfish about my views about anything in the gospel or in life in general. I only care how everything is for me and is for me alone and not anyone else. Our salvation is very personal and extremely individual no matter what paragraphs or words may be similar.

Even with my children I can only guide them to seek things out for themselves to find out any truths about anything and that they ultimately will need to ask the Lord and find out for themselves. We are all here to help each other out in anyway that we are able to. PB's are not the only thing we are supposed to be using to guide us into our future. We are given a variety of tools and each other to carry out what we need to do on a personal level.

I will leave this place called earth alone literally speaking of course, not spiritually, and with what ever knowledge I've attained or not attained about the gospel or any other subject under the sun.

To me it's completely irrelevent what anyone elses PB is about because theirs will not help me make sense out of my life only mine will if I look for it in an extremely personal way.

The only thing that I can share with you is that it is by the Holy Ghost that you will attain any real answer to your question, which is a valid one, I assure you. Life is always about finding questions, learning how to ask those questions, and then seeking out the answer to those questions. When you feel you've found the answer then ask God if its right, the Holy Ghost will let you know if you really are serious about getting to the real answer and if you even really want it to be answered.

The gospel and my life is truly about me and how I react to my world around me and those other individuals who are also simply children of God just as I am. I know that everyone is capable of making a mistake or many, but like it says in the scripture he who is without sin cast the first stone.

The gospel is perfect, but we as human beings are not. The Lord said that we should forgive 70 x 70 and he is the only one that has the power or authority to do the actual forgiving of serious to minor things. Let the Lord deal with it and decide what it is you want to get out of the gospel and its doctrine, and its okay to be competely selfish in this cause. It is all about what you want out of it life or the gospel.

If I did'nt have the gospel in my life right now I would not have the peace that the Holy Ghost has been able to give me. Is what you could be giving up really worth a few paragraph and words? Only you can make that call, just the same way that I have had to do. Forgive and forget, lifes to short, but don't ever stop questioning everything, just make sure your looking for the real answer not something that will give you an excuse to give up on what you may need in the future. You never know when the gosple and the doctrine will come in handy in your future. Find out how you can become a little selfish about what you really need to know for your own personal salvation and understand nobody is perfect or we all would be, then what is the point of life.

Kris, and to me this is the plain and simple facts as I see them. I know you will find the answer you seek, but what answer are you really seeking? Are you trying to disprove what you know to be true or are you seeking the answer to build up your testimony stronger. Only you can answer that one for youself.

I care about you cause if we are truly all children of God that makes you my sister and that is how me and my sisters that I grew up with talk about things.

[Alma 5:45-46]

It seems that you are under the impression that every word in your patriarchal blessing must be divinely inspired and direct revelation from the Lord. That isn't always the case and it doesn't need to be. The patriarch has the authority to pronounce blessings upon you that are his own words. The words the patriarch pronounces upon your head the Lord will honor, if you fulfill them through your faithfulness. Therefore, it is up to you to live up to them and receive your blessing.

[krisholy2992]

I agree with you Alma 5:45-46. I like your perspective on what I said. You make a truly valid point.

[avatar4321]

I'm not sure I'd be too concerned if I was in the same situation. I think it's rather natural for siblings to have similiar promises.

I've seen similiar promises in my siblings blessings. But for the most part they are completely different. What really impresses me is that a complete stranger can tell me specific details about my life that even I didn't recognize at the time and really held no significance until years later.

[Finrock]

Greetings Funkyfool!

I would like to make some observations and then give you my advice. It seems from your posts that your dilemma at this point is not that your patriarchal blessing is similar or even almost exactly like your brothers, but rather that you haven't a testimony to stand on or the foundation of your faith is on shaky ground. This isn't the end of the world, of course. All of us must go through a period of gaining our faith or our testimony. However, I think this quote of yours, and others similar to it, is telling:

im not a praying/fasting person.

Taken with other things that you have posted, you are essentially saying that you aren't someone who is interested or motivated at this point in your life in obedience. This, also, isn't the end of the world. I think it is quite common and correctable. But, consider what Christ said: "If any man will do [the Father's] will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God..." (John 7:17).

Suppose you are laying in your bed and you want to go to the store and the store is a few blocks from your home. If you really want to get to the store to buy you a delicious slurppy (for instance), then at some point you are going to have to get up and start walking, running, or doing some form of locomotion. If you don't, and you continue to lay in bed, then, obviously, you would never get to enjoy your delicious slurppy.

My point is this. If you want to know the answers to your questions that you have posed then you are going to have to start obeying God's commandments. So, "...dispute not because [you] see not, for [you] receive no witness until after the trial of your faith" (Ether 12:6). My advice then is to start being a person who does pray and who does fast. Not only that, start being a person who obeys God. You have a desire. The seed is planted within you. You must now start nourishing that seed through your obedience. As you obey, you will be blessed, and your faith will grow and you will know that what you've been taught is good and true. Remember, there are no shortcuts, but if you have a desire to know truth, then you can. Also, in the end, you are only giving up pride and vanity in order to receive true and lasting happiness. That sounds like a bargain to me!

Kind Regards,

Finrock

[ruthiechan]

Funky Fool,

Define yourself for who you ARE, not by who you are not.

I am the third out of eight children. We all, parents included, have some anxiety and depression issues and even mild OCD (my father and one of my brothers have Asperger's Syndrome as well). All of us write, are artistic, and musical. However, we are all talented in these areas in different ways. We could all draw a picture of a butterfly on a leaf and you'd be able to tell which person drew the picture.

Of the Patriarchal Blessings I was allowed to read, which was all but one I believe, they all said very similar things, even the same things, but yet, at the same time there were differences. Just like with drawing a butterfly on a leaf, they are all a butterfly on a leaf, but each picture has its own style and is unique in its own right, and so to is it with Patriarchal Blessings.

[Captain-Jack]

I've heard similar blessings given, but how alike are you and your brother? I've never read anyone else's blessing except my wife's, though ours are starkly different, so is my wife and I. I wouldn't be surprised at all if my brother or sister's blessings were like mine, but I also would remember how I felt during the blessing, what is on paper is only words, when you were there, I'm sure you felt the spirit. That cannot be the same from one to the next, and no one else can have claim to that.

[aranyborju]

No one is perfect, and that includes Patriarchs. Maybe he just isn't magnifying his calling. HA. I don't even know the guy!

[Hemidakota]

FF, did you talk to the Patriarch?

[funkyfool]

no, i havnt had the chance to speak with him yet. im kinda givin up. i dont care that much anymore.

i guess if i happen to run into the patriarch at some stake event, ill talk to him. But im not going out of my way.

[THIRDpersonviewer]

I didn't read too much, so I don't know what all has been said, but here is something to think about.

There are multiple people foreordained to callings in this life. For instance the Prophet. What happens is there are multiple people that are foreordained to the same calling. This is because not all will choose God. Some of the very elect will fall. Now when the time comes for the call to be extended, it will be one person not all. So the ones that have not fallen, will be the of the remaining pool to be chosen. It just symbolizes the necessity to be prepared for all things in your life.

You have been given a blessing. That blessing becomes individual when you accept it as yours. It is advice and a revelation of the possibilities in your life based on faithfulness. To be honest though, there are blessings that are repeated to all the faithful members of the Church. It is not predicated on the wording being "different."

On another note. The Patriarch has the right, privilege, power and authority to make whatever necessary changes to your blessing based on what the Lord wants you have, AFTER the physical blessing has been given. When I got mine, the Patriarch went and made some minor corrections, as impressed by the Spirit. A possibility is that he might have been impressed to alter your blessing so that it was the same as your brother's. It doesn't mean that your given blessing is invalidated. It just means that the Lord knew something like this would happen, would test your faith, and so gave you a blessing that also applies. You said your brother wouldn't be going on a mission which was in his blessing.(forgive me if I'm wrong.) Not to be judgemental but his blessing won't come to fruition if he is not faithful. Meaning that the blessing could have originally been "yours." This is the blessing the Lord wanted you to have. He still loves you just the same. He wants you to succeed. He desires you to trust him. To trust his mercy. He is your advocate. He will not fail you.

[MormonMama]

im kinda givin up. i dont care that much anymore.

This really saddens me.

[lilered]

I have read my wifes PB given by the same Patriarch that gave me mine. They are similiar in some areas but totally different in others.

Isn't it a possiblity to consider that the Lord has something in mind that is similiar for both you and your brother if you obey his commandments and be all that you can be, you can both achieve the same thing?

Another possible explanation is that we are all humans, with failings from time to time. It may be that this particuliar Patriarch is failing to obtain the spirit properly before giving a blessing and relying totally on his own intellect. Reptition then may occurr.

It may be possible to ask your Bishop for a recommend to receive a new one?

[bytor2112]

Maybe it's because you are siblings and have similar experiences and similar futures. My blessing is so specific about events that have happened and also addresses concerns that I have had. My wife's blessing is the same.

[MarginOfError]

Some elements of your situation and this discussion remind me of the time when my first fiancee and I shared our Patriarchal Blessings with each other. She handed hers to me, and when I gave her mine, she said, "That's it?" After reading them we had an interesting discussion about them and about some of their differences. The key difference we noticed was that hers was filled with specific advice and counsel while mine was actually quite non-specific. In fact, there are only two sentences and one paragraph in mine that don't sound like they could apply to just anybody.

After a long discussion, we concluded that the differences in our Blessings were based on our differences in personalities. She was not a particularly independent person and frequently had trouble coming to decisions on her own. She often needed lots of help and guidance before should could decide on a course of action. Her Blessing reflected this. I however, am very independent and don't often require much guidance in making decisions. My Blessing appeared to reflect both the Lord's understanding for how I make decisions, and a certain amount of trust to make those decisions on my own.

From your posts, I've gathered that you're a bit more on the dependent side. The sarcasm/cynicism that were singled out by some posters is often a sign of a critical thinker that isn't satisfied with knowing that things work, but also knowing how they work. These are good and healthy characteristics to have.

With that in mind, I'll say the following:

Priesthood blessings are often delivered with stylistic elements of the person acting as voice. I don't know if this is true for every priesthood holder, but when I give blessings, I don't receive inspiration of what to say every single time. Sure, sometimes I feel strong promptings to say this or that, but often times I feel like the blessing just needs to be pronounced to give the person the confidence and reassurance to continue. (Recall that the Savior would often touch people to heal them. The touch was not necessary for the healing to occur, but offered the reassurance to the person being healed and thereby increased their faith to the level required for the miracle to occur) As a result, there are a few things I keep locked in memory that I resort to on those occasions when I don't feel any inspiration regarding what I should say.

Now I'll wrap up. Your patriarch, I'm sure, is an inspired man, and a righteous man. But he is a man, and a man that has given hundreds (if not thousands) of Blessings. The Law of Large Numbers dictates that there have to be similarities between some of these blessings. Over time he has likely developed a repertoire of phrases and sayings that he feels are appropriate for instances when the Lord wants to reassure his children, but provide them with the space they seek to make their own decisions. I hope I haven't come across as too cynical or negative, and I hope you'll be able to feel how deeply the Lord cares for you.

If you are still unsure, I do have a recommendation for you. The Church states that people may record blessings of comfort and counsel for their own interests. So if you would like, you can get a tape recorder and ask someone close to you for a blessing. Record the blessing and reflect on the counsel you receive therein. In fact, you could do this the rest of your life if you wanted to. Over time, you'll see how true it is that Priesthood holders do receive inspiration on what to tell you.

(end of novel)

[Hemidakota]

I do keep all of my children's PB, to include there husbands. I have yet to read one that is a exact duplicate of each other. What worries me is the one with ressurrection statement that is not morning of the first [brother in-law].

[rameumptom]

I do keep all of my children's PB, to include there husbands. I have yet to read one that is a exact duplicate of each other. What worries me is the one with ressurrection statement that is not morning of the first [brother in-law].

I wouldn't worry about it, unless it states specifically that he would be resurrected in the afternoon of the second resurrection!

Patriarchal Blessings are inspired guidelines, not exact road maps. They do not necessarily include everything. My patriarchal blessing discusses the premortal existence. My wife's does not. Just because hers doesn't mention the premortal existence, does not entail that she did not exist in premortality.

[Hemidakota]

Exactly what I am referring too...Afternoon of the Second to be more precise.

[Lost_one]

I received my patriarchal blessing this past summer. I thought it would be a good experience and I suppose it was. There were a few things in the blessing that gave me the sense of "the church is right, im worth something, maybe the lord kinda understands me"

Then i also sorta got the sense that the blessing was somewhat generic. That it could be applied to anyone. But i convinced myself that a few things in there really were meant specifically for me.

Eventually i came to kinda think my blessing was special and something sacred to me.

Until today. HA! now i dont know what to think

I got the genius idea to read my brothers patriarchal blessing today. Given by the same patriarch but several years earlier. Turns out, our blessings are extremely similar. So similar to the point that there are literally paragraphs verbatim or very close to it.

THere are specifics in my blessing, spit out literally verbatim in my brothers blessing as well. things i thought were very specific, literally freaking exactly the same as my brothers.

Entire paragraphs. Id forget whos blessing i was reading. my brothers or mine. It twisted my mind.

what is going on? WHY are they almost exactly the same?

Is this just a test of my faith? the faith that im never sure i even had? is it satans way of trying to push me away from the church...because i admit thats the first thing thats coming to my mind. To push away. I feel like this is disproving the church. DIsproving any beliefs that i thought i had. Or is it really ...just that. That patriarchal blessings are bullcrap?...and i ought to just take it as it is...silly me...having been brainwashed my whole childhood that the chruch is true...just cant grasp the fact that its not true...

of course i know what you members of the church will say....

but i guess im really just open to suggestions.

im not a praying/fasting person. and i know thats also advice ill get. i dunno. give me advice. ill see what i do with it. but at the moment, im about ready to burn the patriarchal blessing and then go harrass the patriarch next time i see him.

I read your post and the first thing that popped into my head was, she wanted to find something wrong with it. It almost felt like you were questioning the church and wanted to prove yourself right. I agree with some here who say that, maybe you should question the Patriarch, before you question the church. Ive met many people in the church in high places. In particular. I was in a ward once, where the Bishop had been serving for many more years than was normal. He was worn out and just wasnt able to do his calling properly. It wasnt the churches fault or even his, it was just that the situation was the way it was. Lucky for him, some new blood came into the ward and they were able to call a new Bishop and the ward began to pick up. They even gave me a calling. Yikes.

[HiJolly]

Exactly what I am referring too...Afternoon of the Second to be more precise.

Whoa... His PB actually says that? ...knock me over w/ a feather...

HiJolly

[funkyfool]

yeah. Its been a couple months now since i first posted this forum. I suppose a lot of what you're all saying does make sense. Men are men..and human.

i just gotta give it time and have more faith. Which is something im prepared to do.

PS: how do you figure im a dependent person Margin?

[mommamarty]

shortly after joining the church I had my PB and at that time I must say that I was not sure how true it all was. While receiving my blessings, things were told to me that only applied to me and my health that nobody knew about. I was in shock and couldn't wait to get my copy so I could read these wonderful words about me and my future again and again. I have a strong testimony of the truthfulness of by blessing and the Patriach that blessed me.

Marty

[bjshideler]

You have to look at the purpose of the blessing, and the parts of the blessing that are required for it to be complete.

In a Melchizedek Priesthood blessing for health where a person has been annointed with oil, the person is called by name, the authority is stated, the annointing is sealed, blessing as the spirit directs, and close in the name of Jesus Christ.

Now if the Spirit directs you to say nothing then it is still a complete blessing. With PB there is no oil, but the main purpose is that you receive your spiritual lineage. So if all you received was which tribe you belonged to, then that would be sufficient. One of my thoughts is that we are similiar to our families. If that is true, then a member of the tribe of Reuben will receive the blessings of the tribe of Reuben, and can have the same warnings given to them.

So it is not unreasonable that you have a similiar blessing to a sibling, because you will be raised similiarly, and probably from the same tribe and therefore can have similiar spiritual traits.

Now the converse arguement may be that family can be totally different. The sons of Jacob were all different and received different blessings. Nephi and his brothers were different, and they were from the same tribe. These differences are because of our agency and personalities.

If anyone has any thoughts with regards to my comments, both supportive and contrary to my reasons, I would love to hear from them, as I am constantly expanding my understanding on this topic.

Ben

[MarginOfError]

You asked why I think you're independent, so I'll give some explanation. If I'm wrong then I'm wrong, and I apologize for that. But, I'll state where my conclusion came from and hope I don't pass on any offense.

im not a praying/fasting person. and i know thats also advice ill get. i dunno. give me advice. ill see what i do with it. but at the moment, im about ready to burn the patriarchal blessing and then go harrass the patriarch next time i see him.

You like to do things on your own terms and in your own way, even if it does seem a bit reactionary to me. You certainly don't appear to like to be told what to do.

his says hes goin on a mission...which aint gonna happen. and thats really the only difference.

neither of us have potential. kinda silly that we look to a blessing from some falling apart old man to tell us god says we have potential.

teaching tool. maybe.

There's quite a bit of cynicism in that statement. As I said before, cynics are often independent thinkers. They enjoy pointing out the faults in everything. With this kind of cynicism, you actually have great potential as a consultant, by the way. You'd be great at helping organizations pinpoint their weaknesses and organizational flaws.

I want to know who i am. I want to be assured....that either it is a mistake in the patriarchal blessing. something wrong with the patriarch... or that the church just isnt true

I want to know that wow...its just some sort of weird coincidence...or something that the blessings are so similar,

I want to know that regardless that my brothers is so similar to mine, that my blessing is FOR me...specifically for me

i want to know the truth.

kinda askin too much though. im never gonna find out cause im not willing to find the answers for myself. im not even really sure how to find out the answers for myself.

You're showing a strong desire to have your blessing be individualized, something that could only be applied to you. It's almost like you're interpreting the similarities as an affront to your uniqueness. Random story: I went to buy a suit once as a graduation present. I walked in the store and the guy took one look at me and said, "40 Regular" and sure enough, that was my exact jacket size. I was furious because the guy had categorized me, standardized me, and fit me perfectly into a box. Sounds stupid, I know, but that was still my initial reaction.

i really think i need to find out the answer within myself. and with this supposed god that inspired the blessing to begin with.

More cynicism. Please note that I don't necessarily consider cynicism a bad thing. I very much encourage people to question their beliefs down to the core principles. It's one of the best ways to fully internalize those beliefs.

now that i think of it more, it was actually a great idea that i got my patriarchal blessing when i did. I received it at the exact right time. I actually held it close to me and let it guide me for a short period following receiving it.

it wasnt until just now, that i question that the strength i received from it....that the "strength" really was all just in my head. just a mind game. it wasnt the blessing, it was just me.

Here, you're reassigning the strength you received from your Patriarchal Blessing to placebo effect. That also means that the strength was in you the whole time. If it's true that it was in you, then you've reaffirmed to yourself how independent you really are.

yeah my brother dont know i read his blessing. and he's never read my blessing. i dont want to be close to my brother. hes a loser. we spent enough time close as kids. time to break apart.

For starters, you're doing something that you probably shouldn't have without his permission (asserting your freedom from being dominated), second, by having denied him the privilege of reading yours, you've shown a way in which you and him are different. More affirmation of your uniqueness from him.

Im in no way humble enough. In no way experienced enough to question the Lord. The similarities between the blessings of my brothers and mine, perhaps some of you are right in what you're saying. Perhaps i just need to get over myself. And whoever it was that said i need to feel like an "individual" or whatever you said...maybe thats all this is.

I need to just suck up all of the questions i have in my heart and start having more faith. I dont understand things at all right now, but maybe one day it will all be more clear to me.

And yes, as i said before, i plan on asking the patriarch about it. Though i still feel it wont give me any answers, its still worth talking to him.

Maybe one day ill get over my own pride and decide to kneel down and pray for myself. IM not going to ask for a blessing of comfort. Thats stupid. IM not spiritually prepared for that. I dont want one.

Elgama, dont tell me i have low self confidence.

I especially like the, "I still feel it won't give me my any answers..." and "I'll get over my own pride and decide to kneel down and pray for myself." Again, you want to do things on your own terms.

My absolute favorite in this though is "I'm not spiritually prepared for that. I don't want one." This could have people debating for years over what it means. Great quote!

Oh, and I have to disagree with Elgama. I think you have quite the abundance of self confidence.

no, i havnt had the chance to speak with him yet. im kinda givin up. i dont care that much anymore.

i guess if i happen to run into the patriarch at some stake event, ill talk to him. But im not going out of my way.

Again, doing things on your own terms. But anyway, I can't really point to any one thing that shows why I reached the interpretation of your personality that I did. When I look at the whole collection, that's just the feeling I get. I suppose it's possible that some of your comments remind me of things I said and did in my younger years, and so I'm assigning you characteristics that I see in myself. But I guess you're really the only one who can say if I'm even in the ball park.

[Hemidakota]

Whoa... His PB actually says that? ...knock me over w/ a feather...

HiJolly

Most members in the church do not really understand the true implication of this phrase.