Come Follow Me: Doctrine and Covenants 106-108
Priesthood is defined as the power and authority that God gives to man to act in all things necessary for the salvation of God’s children. When looking at the September 20-26 Come Follow Me, I got thinking about how the Priesthood gives us so many blessings. Some specific Priesthood blessings include blessings for the sick/healing blessings, father’s blessing, and blessing of comfort, just to name a few. But the one Priesthood blessing I want to focus on is the Patriarchal blessing.
My dad shared a story with me about how his Patriarchal blessing helped him in his life. To give some background on the story, my dad was very worried going into his Patriarchal blessing about who he was going to marry. In his blessing, he was told that “Through the power of the Holy Spirit, after much fasting and prayer, there shall enter into your life a daughter of Zion, whom you will spiritually recognize as the one you should take to the temple for eternal marriage. The Holy Spirit will give you witness of her identity.” Shortly after getting his blessing, my dad went on his mission. While he was there he had a dream about meeting his wife and her family on a ski trip. It was an extremely vivid dream, however, he could not see his wife’s face. Waking up the next morning, he told his companion about the weird dream he had had. My dad kind of shook it off and didn’t really think about it again. When he got home he was invited by a girl to go on a ski trip with her family. He accepted and went on the trip. When he got there he realized he was having some sort of deja vu. As he turned to look at the face of his mystery bride he saw the beautiful face of my mom. This was an important event in my father’s life as it took another 4 years for him to convince my mom to marry him.
This story is an example of how Priesthood blessings can bless our lives. When we might be going through a rough patch in our lives we can lean on the blessings of the Priesthood. Patriarchal blessings can help you “[receive] the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, [and] to have the heavens opened…” as stated in Doctrine and Covenants 107:18-19. This is because the patriarch holds the priesthood, and because he has this special privilege he was able to give my dad the words that Heavenly Father knew he would need to prevail, even through 4 long years.
I am so grateful that the Priesthood is restored on the Earth today because without the blessings it provides, my dad might not have married my mom and I might not be here today. To know that Heavenly Father knows each of our individual needs and provides resources through the Priesthood that can help us is so comforting, and I can’t wait to receive my Patriarchal blessing through the power of the Priesthood.
