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In what ways did Joseph’s life
go differently than he had
planned?
Joseph wisely administered the affairs of Egypt during the famine, saving the lives
of the people and gathering great wealth for Pharaoh.
When Joseph introduced his father to Pharaoh, Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
Pharaoh invited Joseph’s father, Jacob, and his family to dwell in Egypt in the land
of Goshen.
Genesis 47 Chapter Heading
Where’s Goshen?
Genesis 48:7–10, 13-14 • What did Jacob say about Joseph?
Genesis 48:17-20 • Why did Jacob place his right hand on Ephraim?
“Once, long ago, when I was serving as a bishop, a young
woman in my ward came for an interview. We somehow got
around to her telling me her feelings about her patriarchal
blessing. She said that it depressed her rather than helped her.
I must have looked surprised, because she explained her
feelings by telling me this: She said that her blessing warned
her about sexual immorality. And, at least by her report, it did
little else. It apparently warned her by describing a situation in
which she might find herself, and in which, if she yielded to
temptation, she would come to great harm and sorrow. She said
something about how that hurt her doubly, not only by being
about something so depressing when she needed
encouragement, but her social life then was so barren that such
a situation could never arise. …
“I remember better the interview I had with her less than a year
later. She sobbed for a while, sitting in a chair on the other side
of my desk in the bishop’s office. And then she blurted out her
tragedy and how it happened, exactly as she had told me the
patriarch so long before had described. In her little season of
doubt that a patriarch could see with inspiration, she had made
choices that led to years of sorrow” (“‘And Thus We See’: Helping a Student in a
Moment of Doubt”[evening with Elder Henry B. Eyring, Feb. 5, 1993], 1–2; si.lds.org).
1. What is a patriarchal blessing?
2. Why is lineage important?
3. Who may give a patriarchal blessing?
4. Who may receive a patriarchal blessing?
5. How old do I have to be for a blessing?
6. How is the blessing given?
7. How do I get a patriarchal blessing?
8. How do I know if I’m ready?
9. How can I prepare?
10.What should I wear?
11.When will the promises in my blessing be
fulfilled?
12.Will all the promises in my blessing be
fulfilled?
13.Should I let others read my blessing?
We are literally of the seed of Abraham. We are not
adopted nor anything else. I don't know how there
could be language more express than these
revelations, 'natural heirs according to the flesh,'
'lawful heirs,' 'the literal seed of the body.'
The Lord goes out of His way to make it literal. The literal seed
of your body has the right to the priesthood and the gospel.
Now, granted that somebody can be adopted in but they are so
few and far between up to now, that we can just about forget
about them.
Bruce R. McConkie, BYU Summer Session, Aug. 8, 1967
Quoted in Robert J. Matthews, “Our Heritage from Joseph of Israel,” in Thy People Shall Be My
People and Thy God My God: The 22d Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium, Deseret Book, 1994.
“Your patriarchal blessing … may be brief or lengthy,
simple or profound. … It is the Spirit that conveys
the true meaning. Your blessing is not to be folded
neatly and tucked away. It is not to be framed or
published. Rather, it is to be read. It is to be loved. It
is to be followed. Your patriarchal blessing will see
you through the darkest night. It will guide you
through life’s dangers” (“Your Patriarchal Blessing: A Liahona of
Light,” Ensign,Nov. 1986, 66).
“A patriarchal blessing literally contains chapters
from your book of eternal possibilities. I say eternal,
for just as life is eternal, so is a patriarchal blessing.
What may not come to fulfillment in this life may
occur in the next. We do not govern God’s timetable”
(“Your Patriarchal Blessing: A Liahona of Light,” Ensign, Nov. 1986, 66).