In a recent Church News and Updates email, I noticed a blurb about patriarchal blessings. Two things caught my attention. By logging into your account on lds.org you can do both of the following:
1. Request a digital copy of your own patriarchal blessing which can then be available for reading on your mobile device.
2. Request a copy of a deceased direct-line ancestor's blessing.
When I received my own patriarchal blessing, my father who was actually the patriarch, gave me the original and told me to put it in a safe place. But before putting it safely away, he had me make a copy. He told me to use the copy for marking and notations just as I would my scriptures. He also told me that he would send a copy to the archives in Salt Lake, so that if I ever lost my blessing I could request a new copy. I am sure if my father were alive today, he would be amazed at the advances in technology that provide digital copies. Having acted as his secretary in his calling as patriarch, I know the countless hours spent typing, proofing and retyping blessings before they would be sent to the recipients. He kept a copy for the Church archives of each blessing in a binder. When the binder was full, he then shipped it to Salt Lake for archiving. Each patriarch across the world has followed the same procedures to ensure that copies of the blessings were archived. Those archives are what make this digital copy request possible.
My mother loved family history. She collected not only the stories from her ancestors, but she actually also had patriarchal blessings and missionary blessings for many of her grandfathers. I sometimes wondered why having copies of those blessings mattered to her. But I have come to see the value in being able to read her patriarchal blessing and my father's patriarchal blessing. Those blessings are a witness. I know my parents lives and the trials and blessings they experienced. When I read their patriarchal blessings I see clearly the hand of the Lord in their lives. Being able to access those archived blessings can bring strength and hope to the younger generations of a family. On a personal family level, we can see that the Lord keeps His promises as we live faithful to our covenants.
If you are interested in requesting digital copies simply log into lds.org and in the "my account and ward" tab select "patriarchal blessing" then click on "get started" and follow the instructions from there.
- Lorie Pierce
