Of all the helps available to us in the Church, none is so personal, so eternal in nature, as our patriarchal blessing.

The direction a patriarchal blessing provides, in addition to declaring lineage, is a guidepost to living righteously and helping us to keep an eternal perspective on our existence here on earth.\Patriarchal blessings are bestowed by spiritual men of God, who record for the individual and the Church the blessings, desires and warnings our Father in Heaven has in store for us.

Patriarchs are specially called and ordained to the work. Their authority is derived from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, from whom the power of giving such blessings on earth is received. (See D&C 107:39.)

"Those who seek patriarchal blessings should ask for them with faith in the reality of the power of the priesthood. They should seek them with an earnest, prayerful desire to become, through the blessings, more completely happy in their lives, and more perfectly serviceable in the work of the Lord." (Evidences and Reconciliations, p. 321.)\ The blessings are on file in the Historical Department. Direct-line family members can obtain copies of deceased ancestors' blessings as well as their own. They are sacred, meant to be read often but never in public nor shared over the pulpit, and only privately with our family members. These blessing are our personal counsel from the Lord to assist us in charting our life's course.\ How old members should be when they receive patriarchal blessings depends on their maturity in the gospel. Young people are counseled to receive their patriarchal blessing before entering the mission field, but others who feel they are ready should seek out their bishop and discuss it with him.

Speaking of ordained patriarchs and the purposes of patriarchal blessings, President Joseph F. Smith said: "It is their business and right to . . . make promises . . . in the name of the Lord . . . by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to comfort them in the hours of sorrow and trouble, to strengthen their faith by the promises that shall be made to them through the Spirit of God and to be fathers indeed of the people leading them into all truth." (Gospel Doctrine, p. 181).

Patriarchal blessings can help us in shaping our characters for as President David O. McKay advised:

"What a man (or woman) is today will largely determine what he or she will be tomorrow. What then should be man's greatest purpose as he marks one by one the passing years? It should be to cherish those attributes which, like his soul, will endure and brighten throughout all eternity. He should strive to drive from his life those things which will be transitory and which in the soul's eternal progress must somewhere be discarded and rejected. More important than riches, more enduring than fame, more precious than happiness is the possession of a noble character. Truly has it been said that the grand aim of man's creation is the development of a grand character." (Secrets of a Happy Life, p. 91.)

President Spencer W. Kimball said: ". . . It is our great hope that every person, including the older youth will be given the opportunity of having a patriarchal blessing. Of course it is the right of every father and his duty as patriarch of his own family to give a father's blessing to his children, and it is our hope that every father will give a sacred blessing to each of his children. (Conference Report, October 1977, p. 4.)

Father's blessings and patriarchal blessings are similar, but are not the same. Father's blessings can be obtained by family members at any time. Patriarchal blessings are bestowed only once, by an authorized patriarch in a person's home stake.

The bishop attests to a person's worthiness to receive a patriarchal blessing. The patriarch gives the blessing in private, though sometimes attended by a small number of family members. As it is a sacred record, what is said, the manner in which it is pronounced, the counsel given and the promises bestowed are for that individual only. The blessing is to be read again and again and savored along with the scriptures. Indeed, a patriarchal blessing is one's own personal scripture - a revelation to the individual on some of his or her eternal possibilities.