Blessings of Reading the Book of Mormon Lds
Richard Dilworth Rust, "The Book of Mormon and Patriarchal Blessings: Reflections by an Ordained Patriarch,"Religious Educator 19, no. 3 (2018): 137–51.
Richard Dilworth Rust (rdrustch@aol.com) was a professor emeritus of English language at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when this was written.
When a patriarchal blessing is given, the recipient first hears the approval and can feel at the fourth dimension a confirmation by the Holy Ghost. Subsequently, he or she can read and reread the approving equally a personal scripture.
In my service as a stake patriarch before going on several missions with my wife and subsequently in giving patriarchal blessings to several of my grandchildren, I have learned how the Volume of Mormon every bit a whole and in its parts tin exist likened in many ways to a patriarchal blessing. Likewise, a patriarchal approving given by an ordained patriarch tin can be likened to the Book of Mormon. An increased agreement of the one can help united states of america meliorate sympathize and value the other. In looking at the Book of Mormon and patriarchal blessings together, one can meet even more than conspicuously God's system of revelation and prophecy and its personal application.
The Principle of "Likening Unto"
Likening one matter unto another does not mean in that location is equivalence between the two. Rather, it is a method of highlighting certain aspects of ane matter establish in the other. In a revelation given to Joseph Smith, the Lord asked, "Unto what shall I liken these kingdoms, that ye may understand?" Then he answered, "Behold, I will liken these kingdoms unto a man having a field, and he sent forth his servants into the field to dig in the field" (D&C 88:46, 51). Jesus used "likening unto" effectively when he illustrated characteristics of the kingdom of sky by comparing information technology to "a homo which sowed good seed in his field," "a grain of mustard seed," "leaven," "treasure hid in a field," and "a net, that was bandage into the sea, and gathered of every kind" (Matthew 13:24, 31, 33, 44, 47). Again, "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom" (Matthew 25:1). Zenos recorded the Lord as saying, "I will liken thee, O house of Israel, similar unto a tame olive tree" (Jacob five:3). The auditor or reader is then left to work out the implications of the analogy.[i]
President Thomas S. Monson used "likening unto" when he called a patriarchal blessing "a Liahona of light to guide yous unerringly to your heavenly home."[2] While a patriarchal blessing is non the same as the Liahona described in the Volume of Mormon, there are a number of likenesses between a patriarchal blessing as well as the Book of Mormon to a Liahona. Both contain "the give-and-take of Christ, which will point . . . a straight course to eternal bliss" (Alma 37:44). Similar the compass, managing director, or "round ball of curious workmanship" found by Lehi (1 Nephi xvi:10), a approving and the Volume of Mormon are and were prepared "by the paw of the Lord" (2 Nephi 5:12). Considering both a patriarchal blessing and the Book of Mormon to be like the Liahona, a reader is instructed figuratively to "look upon the ball, and behold the things which are written" (1 Nephi sixteen:26). The writing is "plain to be read" (1 Nephi 16:29). And simply as successful employ of the Liahona required faithful paying "heed and diligence" to the compass (Mosiah 1:xvi), "faith and diligence and mind" aid give one "understanding concerning the ways of the Lord" (i Nephi sixteen:28–29) every bit evidenced in the Book of Mormon and in patriarchal blessings.
Individual Application of "Likening Unto"
If one takes the Book of Mormon but as God's words to humankind, there can be an inclination to read it shallowly and to skip over parts. However, if one takes it personally by likening it to oneself equally though information technology were a patriarchal approval, then every office of the book has more meaning. We learn from Nephi how focused awarding can take place. Regarding the words of Isaiah, Nephi said, "Ye may liken them unto you and unto all men" (two Nephi eleven:8). While the "you" here refers to Nephi's people, it could also be taken to refer to specific persons or to an individual reader. For example, in his not-and so-veiled application of Isaiah to his brothers Laman and Lemuel, Nephi said, "That I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our turn a profit and learning" (i Nephi xix:23). Information technology appears that Nephi used the part that follows (comparable to Isaiah 48) to liken Isaiah'southward reproofs to Laman and Lemuel who "do not stay themselves upon the God of Israel" (one Nephi 20:2). Lehi had earlier pleaded to Laman: "O that thou mightest be like unto this river, continually running in the fountain of all righteousness!" (1 Nephi 2:9). Nephi'due south later citing of Isaiah's quotation of the Lord resonates with Lehi's pleading: "O that k hadst hearkened to my commandments—then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea" (1 Nephi twenty:18). This section of Isaiah ends with an admonition that Nephi likely implied had specific application to Laman and Lemuel: "There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked" (i Nephi xx:22). In the hardness of their hearts, withal, the brothers did not empathize and were left to enquire Nephi, "What meaneth these things which ye take read?" (1 Nephi 22:1).
Elder Dallin H. Oaks expressed this truth: "The scriptures can also aid united states of america obtain answers to highly specific personal questions."[iii] Regarding talks given at general conference, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, "If we teach by the Spirit and you mind past the Spirit, some one of us volition impact on your circumstance, sending a personal prophetic epistle simply to yous."[4] Speaking from personal experience, Julie M. Smith said, "Thoughtful scripture study leads to personal revelation."[v] Elder Devin G. Durrant has wisely counseled us to both ponder on and memorize (to "ponderize") chosen verses of scripture on a weekly and then yearly basis every bit they apply to oneself. "As you make this effort," Elder Durrant promised, "yous will feel an increase in spirituality. You lot volition also exist able to teach and lift those yous beloved in more meaningful means."[half-dozen]
Joseph Smith'due south responding to James ane:5 is an example of individual awarding. As Elder Holland said, "Information technology was a divinely ordained meet with the fifth verse of the get-go chapter of the book of James that led Joseph Smith to his vision of the Begetter and the Son, which gave birth to the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our time."[vii] Another example is Elder Jay E. Jensen's reading the tertiary section of the Doctrine and Covenants and being "deeply touched by the first 5 verses as they practical to my concerns." Elder Jensen went on to say:
When I read a verse, I often insert my name in it. I did so with poesy v and found the assistance I needed to remove my gloomy feelings: "Behold, you, Jay Jensen, have been entrusted with these things, simply how strict were your commandments; and remember also the promises which were fabricated to you, Jay Jensen. . . ."
The words "remember as well the promises" struck me with unusual power. I identified with the Prophet Joseph Smith when he read James 1:five. The words "remember also the promises" seemed to "enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on [them] again and again" (JS—H 1:12).[8]
The Volume of Mormon Like a Patriarchal Blessing
In a manner like to Elder Jensen's account, prayerfully reading the Volume of Mormon as though it were like a patriarchal approving directed to one individually invokes "the spirit of revelation and of prophecy" (Alma 23:half-dozen).[9] Repeated pondering and praying about the Book of Mormon equally well as 1's patriarchal approval "in the spirit" (Enos 1:10) leads to receiving personal revelation. (A difference, of course, is that unlike a patriarchal blessing, the Book of Mormon is relevant to the personal lives of many individuals.)
Read for its individual application and in the spirit of its existence likened to a patriarchal blessing, the Book of Mormon tin can help ane "to know the mysteries [revealed truths] of God . . . co-ordinate to the heed and diligence which [one gives] unto him" (Alma 12:9). It requires personal pondering and request. As the Lord said: "If one thousand shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that grand mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal" (D&C 42:61).
Identification with Book of Mormon Persons
Thinking of a patriarchal approval as i'due south personal scripture, ane tin also make the Book of Mormon a personal scripture past identifying himself or herself with persons in the Volume of Mormon. With assistance from the Spirit, one can change instances of "I, Nephi," "I, Mormon," or "I, Moroni" to "I, [my name]." One can identify with a stripling Lamanite warrior nether Helaman's leadership ("Nosotros are as the regular army of Helaman")[10] or with Nephi as he goes to go the brass plates ("I will go; I will practise the affair the Lord commands. / I know the Lord provides a way; he wants me to obey.")[eleven] In a Christmas message, Elder David A. Bednar suggested that one "try to imagine that y'all are x years old and a fellow member of the multitude listening to a prophet of God foretell future events" and then that you are xv and subsequently 50 years quondam to see the prophecies of Samuel the Lamanite fulfilled.[12] Learning that Jesus took the piffling Nephite "children, one by 1, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them" (3 Nephi 17:21), readers can believe that Jesus knows them "i by one" and can imaginatively put themselves in the position of those little children. In the terminal lines of his verse form, "One past 1," Elder David A. Bednar likened united states of america to the children whom Jesus blessed:
One by i, one by i.
He intercedes for each daughter and son.
I by one, one by one.
Forcefulness from His grace gives us pw'r to become,
One by one.[13]
The Book of Mormon as a Blazon of the Savior
Since "all things which have been given of God from the kickoff of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him [Christ]" (2 Nephi 11:4), and since the Volume of Mormon was "given of God," the Christ-centered Book of Mormon tin exist considered a type of the Savior—another testament of and by Christ. Taking it a stride further and listening to the words of Christ institute throughout the book,[14] 1 can hear the Savior speaking specifically to him or her. For case, ane can imagine being at the Bountiful temple and hearing the Savior say: "Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world. And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I take drunk out of that biting loving cup which the Father hath given me, and accept glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the globe, in the which I take suffered the volition of the Male parent in all things from the beginning" (3 Nephi 11:10–11). In other words, read in a revelatory spirit, the book and its parts tin can become a personal revelation from the Savior.
A Patriarchal Blessing Likened unto the Volume of Mormon
Just as the Book of Mormon can be likened unto a patriarchal blessing, and then a patriarchal blessing can be likened unto the Book of Mormon. Every bit with prophets, patriarchs speak the words "which have been delivered unto them past the Spirit and power of God" (1 Nephi 3:20). They "write the words which I [the Lord] speak unto them" (2 Nephi 29:11). Yet while each patriarch speaks the words of Christ as one of God'south instruments, he uses his own linguistic communication and adapts to the level of the recipient'southward understanding. Nephi taught, "The Lord God giveth calorie-free unto the agreement; for he speaketh unto men according to their linguistic communication, unto their understanding" (2 Nephi 31:3; cf. D&C i:24). George A. Smith taught, "When the Lord reveals anything to men, he reveals information technology in a language that corresponds with their own."[15]
Although adapted to their readers or hearers, both the Book of Mormon and a patriarchal approving are like each other in being God-given and perfect in the sense of being complete. The give-and-take perfect in Matthew v:48, according to President Russell M. Nelson, "was translated from the Greek teleios, which means 'complete.' . . . The give-and-take does not imply 'freedom from fault'; information technology implies 'achieving a distant objective.'"[16] Reaching this "distant objective" is true of the Volume of Mormon and is—or should be—likewise true of patriarchal blessings. Equally an ordained patriarch, I have experienced a heaven-sent flow of ideas that follow naturally and so have an cease when there is no more than to be said. My experiences remind me of what John W. Welch wrote about the translation of the Book of Mormon: "Almost all of the Volume of Mormon as we now accept it was translated between seven April and 30 June 1829. . . . Considering the complexity, consistency, clarity, artistry, accuracy, density, and profundity of the Book of Mormon, the Prophet Joseph's translation is a phenomenal feat. As Oliver Cowdery a few years afterwards testified, 'These were days never to exist forgotten—to sit down under the sound of a vocalization dictated by the inspiration of heaven.'"[17]
As a pale patriarch, I experienced something like this. A Latter-day Saint friend said that the patriarchal approving I gave his son was the best thing I had ever written. His married woman also thanked me for "this beautifully and personally phrased approval for my beloved son." Yet in that location is an irony in this. My usual process in writing is to brand a lot of notes and then to develop from them a tentative outline. I subsequently would work through several drafts as well as irresolute the structure of the work. Even well-nigh the stop, I would repeatedly go through my limerick making corrections and changes. Not then, however, with a patriarchal blessing. I tape the blessing and then later transcribe it. While I may interruption a long sentence into ii sentences or eliminate some repeated words such as "that," the printed blessing is essentially the way I give it from commencement to final. My desire in giving blessings has always been that expressed by Alma: "I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I practise not glory of myself, just I glory in that which the Lord hath allowable me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the easily of God" (Alma 29:9).
Prayerfully reading the Book of Mormon as though it were a patriarchal approval directed to one individually invokes "the spirit of revelation and of prophecy "(Alma 23:6).
Prophets and Patriarchs as Instruments in the Easily of God
Ancient and modern patriarchs are amongst those through whom as instruments come "the words of Christ." They are like the sons of Mosiah who "fasted much and prayed much that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them, and bide with them, that they might be an instrument in the easily of God" (Alma 17:9). In our ain times an ordained patriarch typically fasts prayerfully prior to giving blessings; preparation on the part of the recipient of a approving can likewise include fasting and prayer.
Blessings Given in Sacred Spaces
Blessings in the Volume of Mormon were oft given in a sacred space. Nephi went to the tent of his begetter, a place that also served every bit a tabernacle, where he learned of Lehi'due south dream (encounter one Nephi 3:1–2). To see the tree of life vision that his father had, Nephi was "defenseless abroad in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly loftier mountain" (1 Nephi eleven:1). King Benjamin'south people received teaching and blessings at a temple (run into Mosiah 2:ane), as did the people warned and blessed by Jacob (come across Jacob 2:2), and, most of all, as did the righteous persons at the time of the Savior's appearance (see 3 Nephi 11:1). In our time, patriarchal blessings are typically given in a sacred space such as the patriarch'south office or a set-apart room in the local meetinghouse.
Recipient Addressed by Name
When a person receives a patriarchal blessing, he or she may reflect on how Lehi's blessings illustrate the pattern of addressing the recipient by proper noun. For example, Lehi said, "And now I speak unto y'all, Joseph, my last-born. . . . And now, blest art thou, Joseph" (ii Nephi 3:1, 24). Receiving a approving directly from his Maker, Enos was addressed by name: "And at that place came a vocalisation unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed" (Enos 1:five). Addressed by name, the recipient of a patriarchal approval tin, through the Spirit, be bodacious that God knows him or her personally. Merely as the Lord said, "Blessed art thou Lehi" and "Blessed art thou, Nephi" (1 Nephi 2:1, xix), and so ane receiving a patriarchal blessing may well experience the Lord saying, "Blessed art m, [name]." One can be assured equally well that his or her blessing is unique.
Subconscious Things Revealed
As is true of the Volume of Mormon, a blessing can likewise reveal "hidden things" (Isaiah 48:6; i Nephi 20:6) pertaining to the future. The blessing Lehi gave his son Joseph shows that Joseph the patriarch knew through revelation that 1 of his descendants would exist a "choice seer" whose "name shall exist called after me; and it shall be after the proper name of his begetter" (ii Nephi 3:7, 15). "By the Spirit are all things made known unto the prophets" (1 Nephi 22:2)—which tin can be likened as well to patriarchs. President Hinckley told how the patriarch who gave him a blessing had never met him before, all the same God knew Gordon Hinckley, and in time the blessing was completely fulfilled.[eighteen]
Like Nephi, recipients of patriarchal blessings benefit from "having slap-up desires to know of the mysteries of God" (1 Nephi 2:16).[nineteen] Even if one "tin no more than than desire to believe," that desire can open one's heart and mind to gospel truths that enlarge the soul and enlighten the understanding (Alma 32:27–28). It requires a willingness to have "a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ" (Moroni 10:4). As an case of this, Nephi made known unto his brother Sam "the things which the Lord had manifested unto me past his Holy Spirit. And it came to pass that he believed in my words" (ane Nephi 2:17).
Lineage in the Book of Mormon and in Patriarchal Blessings
By reflecting on lineage in the Volume of Mormon, persons tin can better understand the pronouncement of lineage on themselves. In blessing his son Joseph, Lehi said, "Thou art the fruit of my loins; and I am a descendant of Joseph who was carried captive into Arab republic of egypt" (2 Nephi 3:4). Knowing one's lineage helps a person recognize the covenants which the Begetter "hath made to his people who are of the house of Israel" (1 Nephi fourteen:17). Information technology affirms the human relationship Heavenly Father desires to accept with his children.
Using the example of the Book of Mormon equally, among other things, an extended history of a family, a person tin aggrandize details and promises about family unit found in a patriarchal approving. The blessing can serve as a précis that could be adult in ane's life story. As details in the approving are fulfilled, one could amplify them after the pattern of the Book of Mormon. For instance, if reference is made in the blessing to ane's parents, then "I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents" (i Nephi 1:i) could become "I, [my proper name], having been born of goodly parents"—followed by a periodical record of childhood family unit experiences. Reading Alma'southward blessings on Helaman, Shiblon, and Corianton could stimulate 1 to reverberate on, and write about, his or her ain family unit relationships. A reference in a patriarchal blessing to marriage can be appreciated by examining the exemplary marriages of Nephi and his wife and King Lamoni and his queen. (Run across Nephi's wife'due south "tears and prayers" in Nephi's behalf [1 Nephi 18:19] and Lamoni'south announcement to his true-blue wife: "Blessed be the name of God, and blessed fine art g" [Alma 19:12].)
Leadership Likenings
A reference to leadership in a patriarchal blessing might prompt one to liken it to the leadership calling of Book of a Mormon prophet such as Mormon, who said: "Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his discussion among his people, that they might have everlasting life" (3 Nephi 5:13). Too, Alma taught "co-ordinate to the holy order of God, by which he had been chosen" (Alma 8:four), and the sons of Mosiah "taught with power and authority of God" (Alma 17:3).
Likenings of Tender Mercies
If a approval refers to "tender mercies," information technology can be expanded by connection with Lehi's experience with "the multitude of his [the Lord'southward] tender mercies" (i Nephi 8:8) and Nephi's learning that "the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen" (1 Nephi ane:20). Just as Lehi's family unit was delivered from Jerusalem and led to the new world "by the hand of the Lord" (Alma 9:22 and ii Nephi i:6) and just equally the Book of Mormon records were entrusted to Mormon "past the hand of the Lord" (Mormon vi:half dozen), and then the recipient of a patriarchal blessing tin elaborate on details in that blessing to make a record of the manifestations of the hand of the Lord in his or her own life.
Conditional Likenings
A person can ameliorate understand the conditional nature of one'south patriarchal approval by likening it to conditional blessings and promises in the Book of Mormon. A prevailing hope is the ane the Lord God gave Lehi and others that if his people kept his commandments, they would "prosper upon the face of this state" (2 Nephi one:9; cf. 2 Nephi one:20; 4:iv; Alma 9:thirteen; 36:30; 37:thirteen; 38:1). "Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper" (1 Nephi two:20). "And I will besides exist your light in the wilderness; and I volition prepare the mode before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments" (1 Nephi 17:thirteen). "God . . . said: If ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land—but if ye keep not his commandments ye shall be cutting off from his presence" (Alma 37:13; emphases added).
Blessings as Prophecies
As the Book of Mormon teaches us, blessings can take the form of prophecies: "Before it came to laissez passer I showed them thee; . . . even hidden things" (1 Nephi xx:5–vi; cf. Isaiah 48:5–6). One may not know at first the purpose of a patriarchal approving. Similarly, Nephi said: "The Lord hath commanded me to make these plates for a wise purpose in him, which purpose I know non" (one Nephi ix:5). Too, some blessings may not be fulfilled until the next life.
Likenings of Service and Other Gifts
A reference in a patriarchal blessing to missionary service can exist expanded in one'due south thinking by reflecting on missionary service in the Book of Mormon, such as that by the sons of Mosiah. A reference in a blessing to the gift of discernment can exist better understood by likening it to the gifts Amulek and Alma displayed. As the "lawyers and hypocrites" began to question Amulek, "he perceived their thoughts" (Alma 10:17). To Zeezrom, Alma said that God "knows all thy thoughts, and thou seest that thy thoughts are fabricated known unto united states past his Spirit" (Alma 12:3).
Instructions and Admonitions
A patriarchal approving tin comprise instruction, admonitions, and warnings similar those constitute frequently in the Book of Mormon: "For the Lord spake thus to me with a stiff hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people" (2 Nephi eighteen:eleven; cf. Isaiah eight:11). "And they did admonish their brethren; and they were besides admonished, every ane by the word of God" (Mosiah 26:39). "And at present I, Jacob, spake many more things unto the people of Nephi, alarm them against fornication and lasciviousness, and every kind of sin, telling them the awful consequences of them" (Jacob iii:12).
Benefit of Both Hearing and Reading
The Book of Mormon shows the do good of both hearing and reading the Lord's instructions or blessings. In his first reported vision, Lehi both "saw and heard," while later he was given a book to read (1 Nephi 1:6, xi). Similarly, when a patriarchal approval is given, the recipient commencement hears the blessing and can feel at the time a confirmation past the Holy Ghost. Subsequently, he or she can read and reread the approving as a personal scripture. While there is power and testimony in the spoken discussion, the written word allows for remembrance and purity of knowledge. As Male monarch Benjamin said to his sons nearly the contumely plates, "I would that ye should remember that were it not for these plates, which contain these records and these commandments, we must accept suffered in ignorance, even at this present time, not knowing the mysteries of God" (Mosiah 1:three). In written form, both the Volume of Mormon and patriarchal blessings help persons to "remember the Lord their Redeemer" (one Nephi nineteen:18). Nonetheless, those who neglect their patriarchal blessings are in some ways like the Mulekites who lost rails of their faith and language considering of their lack of written scriptures (see Omni 1:17).
Blessings Applicable to Posterity
A blessing can utilize to one's posterity. For instance, Lemuel'due south descendants eventually received the approving Lehi intended for his second-oldest son: "O that thou mightest be similar unto this valley, firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord!" (1 Nephi two:10). Nigh 6 hundred years afterwards, "A few of the Lamanites who were converted unto the truthful faith . . . were house, and steadfast, and immovable, willing with all diligence to go on the commandments of the Lord" (three Nephi 6:14). In his patriarchal blessings to Laman and Lemuel, Lehi promised that their descendants "shalt non utterly be destroyed; just in the end thy seed shall be blest" (2 Nephi 4:nine). In like style, our patriarchal blessings today tin can likewise have application for our descendants, and our ancestors' blessings can employ to united states of america.[20] Indeed, since patriarchal blessings are kept in the archives of the Church, they assistance fulfill the Lord'south intention that "there shall be a record kept among you" (D&C 21:ane), that "the more sacred things may be kept for the knowledge of [our posterity]" (1 Nephi nineteen:v).
Interpretation of Blessings
When Moroni called his plates "The Book of Mormon: An Account Written past the Mitt of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi," he avowed that the estimation thereof was by "the gift of God" (title page). In saying so, Moroni foresaw Joseph Smith'south role as translator; he may well also have envisioned latter-day readers interpreting the volume "by the power of the Holy Ghost" (Moroni 10:5)—with that ability manifest through gifts of the Spirit such as Moroni enumerated in his final testimony. Likewise, recipients of patriarchal blessings are expected to translate their ain blessings with heavenly help.[21] In other words, given by revelation, both the Volume of Mormon and patriarchal blessings are understood by revelation. As the Lord said through Nephi, "If ye . . . ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be fabricated known unto you lot" (1 Nephi xv:11).
Testimony of Christ
Just equally a testimony of Christ and his gospel is central to the Volume of Mormon, so it is to one's patriarchal approval. The approval tin can exist thought of as the Savior's promises and counsel personally directed. As a personal scripture, it bears frequent rereading and even memorization. Farther, this process can be enhanced by connecting words and phrases in the blessing to their appearance in the scriptures.
"Small and Uncomplicated Things"
Both the Book of Mormon and a patriarchal blessing can be considered "small and unproblematic things," all the same "past small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth derange the wise. And the Lord God doth work past ways to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very pocket-size ways the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the conservancy of many souls" (Alma 37:6–7).
Size of Scriptures and Blessings
In terms of size, a typical patriarchal blessing today is larger than the General Epistle of Jude and nearly equally long equally the rich and circuitous twelfth chapter of 3 Nephi. And just as those scriptures expand greatly on repeated prayerful pondering, and so a patriarchal approval can continue to expand. Indeed, the Holy Ghost gives a person who engages in faithful pondering "the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in total" (Alma 12:10). Again, "That which is of God is lite; and he that receiveth lite, and continueth in God, receiveth more lite; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day" (D&C 50:24).
Ultimate Purpose of Prophets and Patriarchs
Finally, given by God through imperfect people who serve equally his instruments, the Book of Mormon and patriarchal blessings are alike in beingness God'due south "discussion . . . gathered in one" (two Nephi 29:14). Those homo instruments can say with Joseph Smith, "I never told you I was perfect—but in that location is no mistake in the revelations which I have taught."[22] Their purpose as prophets and patriarchs is ultimately the aforementioned as that of patriarchs anciently: to help bring the children of Israel into the presence of God—into his rest, "which remainder is the fulness of his celebrity" (D&C 84:24).[23]
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Notes
[1] An exception is the explanation past Jesus of the parable of the sower in response to the request by his disciples, "Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field" (Matthew 13:36).
[2] Thomas S. Monson, "Your Patriarchal Blessing: A Liahona of Light," Ensign, November 1986, 67.
[3] Dallin H. Oaks, in Scripture Study—the Ability of the Give-and-take Instructor Manual, rev. ed. (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-24-hour interval Saints, 2001), 45.
[4] Jeffrey R. Holland, "An Ensign to the Nations," Ensign, May 2011, 113.
[5] Julie M. Smith, Search, Ponder, and Pray: A Guide to the Gospels (Salt Lake Urban center: Greg Kofford Books, 2014), [xi].
[vi] Devin Yard. Durrant, "My Middle Pondereth Them Continually," Ensign, Nov 2015, 112.
[7] Jeffrey R. Holland, "'My Words . . . Never Cease,'" Ensign, May 2008, 92.
[8] Jay Eastward. Jensen, "Retrieve Too the Promises," Ensign, November 1992, fourscore.
[9] While the phrase "the spirit of prophecy" is found one time in the Bible (Revelation 19:x), it or its expanded form to include revelation is constitute throughout the Book of Mormon. In addition to those already cited, some notable instances are found in the title page; two Nephi 25:4; Jacob i:6; iv:six; Alma 3:27; 4:13, 20; five:47; 6:8; 8:24; x:12; 12:7; thirteen:26; 16:five; 17:three; 25:xvi; 37:15; 43:ii; and three Nephi three:xix.
[10] Janice Kapp Perry, "We'll Bring the World His Truth," Children'southward Songbook (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1989), 172.
[xi] Wilford North. Hansen Jr. and Lisa Tensmeyer Hansen, "Nephi's Backbone," Children'south Songbook, 120.
[12] David A. Bednar, "The Low-cal and the Life of the World" (Christmas devotional, 6 December 2015), https://
[13] David A. Bednar (words) and Paul Cardall (music), "1 by One," New Era, July 2016, 39–40.
[14] A chart of the words of Christ in the Volume of Mormon is found in the appendix to Richard Dilworth Rust, "Taste and Feast: Images of Eating and Drinking in the Book of Mormon," BYU Studies 33, no. iv (1993): 751–52.
[15] George A. Smith, in Journal of Discourses (London: Latter-twenty-four hour period Saints' Book Depot, 1869), 12:335 (15 November 1863).
[16] Russell M. Nelson, "Perfection Pending," Ensign, November 1995, 86.
[17] John W. Welch, "How long did it take Joseph Smith to translate the Book of Mormon?," Ensign, January 1988, quoting Cowdery, Alphabetic character 1. (Meet Joseph Smith—History ane:71n), https://
[xviii] Gordon B. Hinckley, "Seek Ye the Kingdom of God," Ensign, May 2006, 82. "When I was a young man, a mere boy of eleven, I received a patriarchal approval from a homo I had never seen before and never saw thereafter. It is a remarkable document, a prophetic certificate. It is personal, and I will not read extensively from information technology. However, it contains this statement: 'The nations of the globe shall hear thy vocalism and exist brought to a cognition of the truth past the wonderful testimony which m shalt carry.' When I was released from my mission in England, I took a curt trip on the continent. I had borne my testimony in London; I did so in Berlin and again in Paris and later in Washington, D.C. I said to myself that I had borne my testimony in these nifty capitals of the globe and had fulfilled that part of my blessing. That proved to be a mere scratching of the surface. Since then I take lifted my voice on every continent, in cities large and small, all up and down from north to south and east to west beyond this broad globe—from Cape Boondocks to Stockholm, from Moscow to Tokyo to Montreal, in every keen capital of the globe. It is all a miracle."
[19] Nephi'due south want "to know the things that my father had seen, and assertive that the Lord was able to make them known unto me" was fulfilled by his remarkable vision of the tree of life and its meaning (1 Nephi 11:ane; see i Nephi 11–14).
[twenty] Blessings of directly ancestors are accessible through "My Account and Ward" at lds.org.
[21] Stake patriarchs, on the other paw, are not supposed to interpret the patriarchal blessings they requite.
[22] Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon West. Melt, eds., The Words of Joseph Smith (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Eye, 1980), 369.
[23] Ehat and Melt, in The Words of Joseph Smith, 9, quote Joseph Smith as saying: "This is why Abraham blessed his posterity: He wanted to bring them into the presence of God."
Source: https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-19-no-3-2018/book-mormon-patriarchal-blessings-reflections-ordained-patriarch
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