Can You Live Without A Patriarchal Blessing?

[Duncan]

I realize that church membership is only like 15 million out of 7 billion but if you are a member of the Church would your life be any different if you didn't have your Patriarchal blessing? I don't get why we are assigned Tribes and if one tribe is different then any other. I know a guy who is from the Tribe of Dan and he's a great guy and stuff but he's no better nor worse then anyone else, I don't see the distinction of being Ephraim as opposed to some other tribe. Honestly me knowing what tribe I come from doesn't do anything for me, I don't have visions and extra blessings that others don't seem to have.What is the added advantage of all this?

Edited May 4, 2014 by Duncan

[Bikeemikey]

Pretty sure you can live with out one.

You can also live with one.

It's a great religious ceremony and rite of passage.

[bluebell]

I believe each tribe has different responsibilities, which are explained in the Bible.

[mfbukowski]

Heck for that matter who needs the church at all?

 

Billions and billions don't think they do.  You make of life what you want.  If you are in a place where  P blessing makes no difference in your life, you have company.

 

But for me, it has been very illuminating.

[Duncan]

I believe each tribe has different responsibilities, which are explained in the Bible.

 

 

oh man! have to read that too  !

Edited May 4, 2014 by Duncan

[CV75]

I realize that church membership is only like 15 million out of 7 billion but if you are a member of the Church would your life be any different if you didn't have your Patriarchal blessing? I don't get why we are assigned Tribes and if one tribe is different then any other. I know a guy who is from the Tribe of Dan and he's a great guy and stuff but he's no better nor worse then anyone else, I don't see the distinction of being Ephraim as opposed to some other tribe. Honestly me knowing what tribe I come from doesn't do anything for me, I don't have visions and extra blessings that others don't seem to have.What is the added advantage of all this?

Of course you can “live” without one. But God wants to you “live” with one. I think we live differently with revelation than we do without it, and differently with more revelation than with less. A Patriarchal Blessing is a form of revelation that is also a springboard to another, personal form of revelation. As with scripture (yet another form of revelation), if we ponder and pray about its meaning, the Lord will guide us into its layers of correct interpretation, including the purpose and meaning of our tribal assignment.

[Duncan]

Of course you can “live” without one. But God wants to you “live” with one. I think we live differently with revelation than we do without it, and differently with more revelation than with less. A Patriarchal Blessing is a form of revelation that is also a springboard to another, personal form of revelation. As with scripture (yet another form of revelation), if we ponder and pray about its meaning, the Lord will guide us into its layers of correct interpretation, including the purpose and meaning of our tribal assignment.

 

 

I get that but like would we have done things anyways? we are told in the Church to read our scriptures but why do we need to hear that in our Blessings? mine says to read them but we get told ten thousand times a year to do that so what's different? Some are so precise it seems and some they appear to be by their recipients to have been given to the wrong person, and are boilerplate stuff

[cinepro]

I just finished reading "Lost Legacy: The Mormon Office of Presiding Patriarch" which gives a history of all the Church Patriarchs, and perhaps the second most surprising thing I learned was that Patriarch Hyrum G. Smith (1912-1932) gave over 21,000 patriarchal blessings, yet he never received his own patriarchal blessing.

 

So I think this means that yes, you can "live" without a patriarchal blessing. It's not a necessary ordinance, after all. 

Edited May 4, 2014 by cinepro

[thesometimesaint]

Our tribe is a blessing line. Is it absolutely essential to have a PB? No. But I can see where some of the blessings promised have been fulfilled in mine,

[The Nehor]

Nope, if you do not get a patriarchal blessing your heart stops beating at the age of 38.

[Duncan]

Nope, if you do not get a patriarchal blessing your heart stops beating at the age of 38.

 

 

hot dog! hey, that's when Joseph Smith died, is there a connection????????!

Edited May 5, 2014 by Duncan

[CV75]

I get that but like would we have done things anyways? we are told in the Church to read our scriptures but why do we need to hear that in our Blessings? mine says to read them but we get told ten thousand times a year to do that so what's different? Some are so precise it seems and some they appear to be by their recipients to have been given to the wrong person, and are boilerplate stuff

Perhaps the more seemingly mundane pronouncements we find in our blessings will prove to be quite meaningful or helpful someday. Perhaps just the fact that they were mentioned can prevent someone from lapsing, which many do despite the constant reminders elsewhere. Maybe some could really benefit by pondering on what it really means to “read” the scriptures, why doing so is mentioned in their patriarchal blessing, and what that means in context of understanding the other passages in their blessings. Almost everything we hear, see, say, do, etc. in the Church are boilerplate and repetitively repetitive (we even have manuals!), but we are the ones that change as a result of our activity.  I think that, as with all the other kinds of blessings we receive by the priesthood through the laying on of hands, their value and efficacy is determined by the gratitude and diligence with which we receive and apply them, reflect on them, etc.

[JLHPROF]

hot dog! hey, that's when Joseph Smith died, is there a connection????????!

 

Nope.  Joseph had his patriarchal blessing.

[JLHPROF]

I realize that church membership is only like 15 million out of 7 billion but if you are a member of the Church would your life be any different if you didn't have your Patriarchal blessing? I don't get why we are assigned Tribes and if one tribe is different then any other. I know a guy who is from the Tribe of Dan and he's a great guy and stuff but he's no better nor worse then anyone else, I don't see the distinction of being Ephraim as opposed to some other tribe. Honestly me knowing what tribe I come from doesn't do anything for me, I don't have visions and extra blessings that others don't seem to have.What is the added advantage of all this?

 

The advantage of Ephraim is the birthright - the blessing only given to the lineage of the firstborn son and not to the younger siblings.  It is clearly of value since when Esau sold his to Jacob for a mess of pottage he lost out on some seriously great blessings coming through his descendants.  When Jacob gave the birthright to Joseph instead of his firstborn again major blessings transferred lineage.

Being from the tribe of Dan doesn't make someone worse, but if true (and I do sometimes doubt the accuracy in assigning) then there would be birthright blessings they would not be entitled to.  But they aren't an issue of salvation, just of calling and privilege.

Edited May 5, 2014 by JLHPROF

[Garden Girl]

 

Heck for that matter who needs the church at all?

 

Billions and billions don't think they do.  You make of life what you want.  If you are in a place where  P blessing makes no difference in your life, you have company.

 

But for me, it has been very illuminating.

 

Mine too, mfb... I had my PB when I was 14.  It was surprising because it very specifically addressed my purpose in life, and gave me specific warnings... and was very adult in some ways...  Well, I didn't follow it's admonition that each fast Sunday before I broke my fast I was to plead for Heavenly Father to protect and guide me... I didn't give it much thought actually.  Sure enough, when I was about 20 I fell into every pitfall I had been warned about... marrying a non-LDS man, etc... and proceeded to slip into inactivity which lasted 30+ years.

When I finally did reactivate, I prayed that my blessing would be restored to me as much as possible... I had already passed the point of no return on some things.  Over the next months following my reactivation, I saw my blessing come into my life, and now as I look back can see how it works every day... and it gives me encouragement and comfort.

 

GG  

Edited May 6, 2014 by Garden Girl

[Stargazer]

oh man! have to read that too  !

 

Yes, you do!  Get on it!

 

When you consider that the Book of Revelation says that 144,000 will be sent out, 12,000 from each of 10 tribes, well, they have to be identified some way.  Are there 12,000 members from Dan or Reuben in the Church at this time?  I don't know, but maybe.  Usually people are declared of Ephraim.  Maybe ask you stake patriarch if he's declared any other tribe.

[EllenMaksoud]

I realize that church membership is only like 15 million out of 7 billion but if you are a member of the Church would your life be any different if you didn't have your Patriarchal blessing? I don't get why we are assigned Tribes and if one tribe is different then any other. I know a guy who is from the Tribe of Dan and he's a great guy and stuff but he's no better nor worse then anyone else, I don't see the distinction of being Ephraim as opposed to some other tribe. Honestly me knowing what tribe I come from doesn't do anything for me, I don't have visions and extra blessings that others don't seem to have.What is the added advantage of all this?

 

 

Deleted.  Ellen:  Stop making yourself the subject of threads, please. 

[Senator]

Sure, I can live without one of those.

 

You know what Brother Allen wanted me to do to get one? He wants me to have my breasts surgically removed. Cut my hair, buy a suit and attend the Elders Quarum.  That dispite the fact that I am XXY. Does the church start to sound like a farce? I dunno.

 

My dear Ellen,

 

I'm afraid your situation is more than anyone on this forum can address.

 

I do pray that you will some how, some where, eventually, find resolution and peace in your life.

 

I sincerely mean that!

[Senator]

Yes, these loving words just as you do me the kindness of banning me. They sweep the things that they can not handle under the carpet. Has anyone thought of doing the right thing?

I wish not to ban you at all.  I'm merely expressing, hoping that you'll see, that from this type of forum, not knowing you in person, and being physically separated from you, how can we possibly do the right thing for you? Can you understand that?  You ask that which we cannot give.

[Rain]

 would your life be any different if you didn't have your Patriarchal blessing?

Mine would be very different as one of the major things I did, I only had interest in because my blessing said I should do it

 

I believe each tribe has different responsibilities, which are explained in the Bible.

Kind of.  I looked them up once.  Perhaps I didn't visit all the places where it should have been, but it seemed that for some of the tribes there was more of a curse than blessings and responsibilities. 

[EllenMaksoud]

I wish not to ban you at all.  I'm merely expressing, hoping that you'll see, that from this type of forum, not knowing you in person, and being physically separated from you, how can we possibly do the right thing for you? Can you understand that?  You ask that which we cannot give.

You are of course correct. I apologize. I should not have allowed the title of the thread inflame my passions.

[CV75]

Too late I realize that I should not have told anyone about the past. Of course, I did get much reassurance from the genetic testing. I was stupid to reveal this issue. In case you do not know it, XY females look like females and are often much more feminine in appearance than XX females, but most have no Uterous or Ovaries.  Would you suggest that they go to Elder's quorum also? They are genetically more male than I. Hmmm. One day Science will force the issue. Until then those of us who have to will bear the injustice. I do not agree to suffer silently.

I see a difference on some level, but I’m not sure it is what the Lord is looking at. He looks at the “heart” or the spirit of the person and can help them and their parents and leaders do the same. But if you were to ask me…

Someone with Swyer syndrome is a male with a female appearance due to a gene mutation on the Y chromosome (and raised as female and possessing a female gender identity) and someone with Klienfelter syndrome being a male with extra X chromosome material (and raised as male and possessing a male gender identity). On this basis, my opinion is that a person with Swyer syndrome is female regardless of the Y chromosome because the sex gene has mutated to express the female sex, and a person with Klienfelter syndrome is male because he only has some extra X material that interferes with male expression. As long as the person with Swyer syndrome self-identifies as or at least is comfortable being female, and the person with Klienfelter syndrome self-identifies as or at least is comfortable being male, then I think they would go to RS or EQ respectively without any issue. But then I suppose either person could also be transsexual.

Some 35 years ago, after I came home from my mission, the good brother (an uncle figure) who baptized me in college and who was a kind mentor and generous friend confided that he was a woman in a man’s body. He explained that he functioned as a man in the world and in the Church but that he would occasionally dress as a woman in private and when out of town to treat himself to a few moments of authenticity. It was clear that he was suffering over this issue. But that is how he dealt with it; if there was any science he used to help him understand how to deal with his situation, he didn’t share it with me, and he was a clinical scientist.

So I think the best approach is to prayerfully agree within one’s own self (and with priesthood leaders as necessary), how to approach service in the kingdom in this life.

[EllenMaksoud]

I wasn’t part of the earlier discussions but I agree; if someone is XXY with a mutated SRY gene, to me she would be female because the Y gene in this case functions as a female gene.

But even without the science as the basis for this conclusion, it seems to me that if a child is born of indeterminate sex, is surgically made to present as male, in good faith decides later that was the incorrect choice and changes her presentation to female and even uses surgery to restore her presentation to female, I think everyone should accept her as female. In my mind, this is a surgical correction or restoration and does not fall under the Church policy for elective sex reassignment surgery as I understand it (but I don’t have a Handbook). It certainly appears to be a different situation than intersex or transgender persons.

Thank you. Had a long discussion with another woman this afternoon and have decided that the important thing is to hang onto Heavenly Father and his will for me. The rest, though painful does not compare with the cross. The most important issue is: can I do what Heavenly Father wants me to do? The answer is yes.

 

Ellen you have been asked repeatedly to stop hijacking threads.  I have hidden multiple personal off-topic posts. If this continues, our only recourse will be to ban you.

[Gero]

Long, very long, long, lomg time ago, I received my patriarchal blessing. In it stood, that I would become a "mother of Israel", that I received many children with my husband (at that time, I wasn't married, even didn't have a boy-friend (remember, I was transsexual, born female). Nothing had happened, and I stood very truthful to the church. After depressions and two suicide attempts, I did know, that it was time to leave the LDS church. At that time, I wasn't married, did have had even a boy-friend.

For me, this "blessing" is a curse. It should force the members, to stay in the church.

[VideoGameJunkie]

Gero, I don't believe your story. Are you trolling?