Talk given in Junction City Ward June 8, 2003

I have a file where I put pieces of paper with spiritual thoughts, handouts from Sunday School, and notes from talks I listen to. When it's my turn to prepare a talk, I open this file and look through the contents for something appropriate. I found this one piece of paper titled "You are Special". After reading it, I realized that it would be the perfect opening to a talk on Patriarchal Blessings. The author is unknown, but the truths are simple and profound.

In the entire world and throughout all the creations of God, there is nobody like you. Since the beginning of time, there has never been another person like you. You are special. No one sees things they way you do. In all of time there has never been anyone who laughs like you, no one who cries like you. And the things that bring laughter to you or sadness to you will never provoke identical laughter and tears from anyone else, ever. You are the only one in God's creation with your set of natural abilities. There will always be somebody who is better at one of the things you are good at, but no one in the universe can reach the quality or your combination of talents, ideas, natural abilities, and spiritual abilities.

Through all of eternity, no one will ever look, walk, talk, think, or do exactly like you. You are special. You are rare. And, as in all rarity, there is great value.

Realize that it is not an accident that you are special. Heavenly Father created you special for a purpose. He called you out and ordained you to a calling that no one else can do as well as you. You were created to succeed and fulfill His divine plan, even the plan of salvation.

Receiving a Patriarchal Blessing can help you to realize how special you are to Heavenly Father and in what ways you will be called to fulfill His plan for you and achieve exaltation or eternal life with the fullness of His presence. Members of Jesus Christ's Church are provided with the opportunity to receive a prophetic utterance from a Patriarch who has been ordained, set apart, and given keys of this special revelation from God in behalf of those who seek to receive it.

President James E. Faust said "A patriarchal blessing is a very unique and remarkable privilege that can come to the faithful members of the Church having sufficient maturity to understand the nature and the importance of such blessings." He continued, "These privileged blessings are a powerful witness of the mission of the Lord Jesus Christ in bringing exaltation to each of us."

Our Heavenly Father knows each of us better than we know ourselves. I'm going to say that again: The Father of our spirits knows us better than we know ourselves. That is not difficult to accept since He, unlike each of us, knows what we were like when we lived with Him before coming to earth. It should come as no surprise then when our patriarchal blessings seem to fit exactly with what we know we can accomplish. We should not be surprised by personal advice, admonition, and warnings in our blessings that penetrate the very core of our being causing us to acknowledge in all humility that our Father knows who we are.

The advice in our blessings should be followed precisely as it is set forth. The admonition should be carefully heeded. The warnings should be strictly followed.

Knowing what Heavenly Father expects of us is empowering towards accomplishing it. After all, we believe that the Lord will not give us a commandment unless He has prepared a way for us to accomplish it. Preparations from God include providing His word to hear His voice through the scriptures, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost to follow promptings and impressions, and receiving a Patriarchal Blessing to serve as a Liahona or guiding compass through the major events of our lives.

Just like the Liahona described in the book of Mormon, which guided Lehi's family through the wilderness and across the ocean to the Promised Land, promises, opportunities, and blessings set forth in patriarchal blessings are conditional upon the faithfulness of the recipient. 1 Nephi 16: 28 Faith, diligence, and heed are the operative words we should apply to the direction given us in our Patriarchal blessings. From the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord explains that blessings are received by obedience to the conditions set forth for those blessings. Doctrine and Covenants 130: 20-21. Patriarchal Blessings will often reveal the specific conditions the Lord has set forth for certain blessings or opportunities that will come if those conditions are met.

Our feebleness and misunderstanding often discounts the power of the Lord and the power of the Atonement when we allow ourselves to believe that we have everlastingly missed an opportunity or blessing because our shortcomings disqualify us and the time is past to meet conditions set forth. If you are struggling with thoughts like this, it is not coming from the Lord and one of two things is happening:

1) you have not truly or fully repented of your short comings OR
2) you have repented and the Lord has forgiven you, but you haven't forgiven yourself.

Each case is equally classified as spiritual bondage and can bring bitter anguish and unrest to your heart. The peace you require will come through the Lord Jesus Christ as His atonement is made effective in your life and your blessings and opportunities are renewed. This is not a talk about repentance, but if you are convinced that you have forever missed important opportunities set forth in your Patriarchal Blessing, it is the most important part of my talk for you today and you should make an appointment with the Bishop (and he will confirm that you really blew it. :) (Wink). In all solemnity and reverence, I promise you that if you are struggling and you do not have peace in your soul concerning the Lord's will for you, you can find it through the ministration of the Savior's Atonement which comes in full measure beginning through a visit with a priesthood leader or the Bishop as the case may be.

We should not expect that specific conditions for all blessings would be spelled out for us in great detail. Quite often the conditions upon which we will receive certain opportunities or blessings are for us to discover on our own as we live the gospel. Furthermore, we can be inspired to faithfully obey all the principles of obedience because then we are covering all the bases and the Lord is bound to grant the blessing. We should also not expect that every major event in our lives will be included in our patriarchal blessings. This also pertains to spiritual gifts.

Patriarchal blessings often reveal what special spiritual gifts you have been openly given. It may be a few, it may be one, it may be a gift that you must develop. These spiritual gifts include…and I promise you that collectively there people among us today with many of these spiritual gifts...
" The gift of tongues, which is often given to missionaries and leaders called to serve in foreign lands,
" The gift of healing,
" The gift to be healed,
" The gift of faith,
" The gift of revelation,
" The gift of commanding the elements of the earth,
" The gift of knowledge,
" The gift of wisdom,
" The gift of leadership,
" The gift of preaching the gospel,
" The gift of love, or compassion, or charity,
" There are others…

If you have been given a spiritual gift, the parable of the talents applies. If you have buried your talent, then you should not leave it buried because the day will come when you will be given the opportunity to present it back to the Lord having magnified it into ten more talents.

Now, there is one more important element of our Patriarchal Blessings that I have not discussed yet. That is our earthly lineage through a Tribe of Israel. Discovering earthly lineage on our own can be a daunting task. Think of the hard work many genealogists do. Our spiritual lineage on the other hand is easy. Any primary child here today will tell you that you are a direct spiritual descendant of Heavenly Parents. Your spiritual family tree does not have a fork! As earthly lineage is more complicated, but important the Lord reveals it to you through your Patriarch.

Each of us by blood or by adoption has earthly lineage through one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Why is this important? It ties in with the covenant the Lord made with Abraham. That is another talk altogether, but in summary; the Lord's kingdom on earth consists of the souls that are given to Him from the Father. These are His chosen people. There is order in the Lord's kingdom and each tribe of Israel has a special responsibility for the events of the Second Coming of the Savior. The tribe of Ephriam for example has the responsibility to gather Israel. Many of us here are of the tribe of Ephriam because as members of the Church we have the greatest opportunity to efficiently gather Israel back to the Lord through missionary work.

Just like each of you is special, your blessing is special and even sacred. It is the will of the Lord for you and you only. We therefore do not go about advertising the contents of our blessings. Nor do we seek to read or know the blessings of others. Of course, our close family members are the exception, but even then if one wishes to keep his or her blessing private, then that should be respected.

Our patriarchal blessings help us to know how special we are to Heavenly Father. It would seem then, that the path of your life inasmuch as you control it by your choices, is to become on earth like the person Heavenly Father sees when inspiring your blessings through your Patriarch.

It is my hope and prayer that you feel Father's great love for you because you are special and you were created to succeed and become an heir to all that He has. Your Patriarchal Blessing is a tool to help you follow the Savior's Gospel and return to God having accomplished those things He has sent you forth to do, develop those gifts and talents He has freely given to you to bless the lives of others, and to fulfill your role as a chosen person in Israel and a disciple of Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.