Line upon Line

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I love to consider how the privileges and duties associated with each of the priesthood offices also apply to women. One of those offices is that of patriarch. Ancient patriarchs blessed their children and prophesied on their behalf (see Genesis 48:15–19). The power to envision something of the destiny of our children, glimpse their pre-mortal assignments, and offer them an expanded vision of their place in the family of God is also extended to women.

Envisioning the Destiny of our Children

The privilege of prophesying for and counseling with our children is exemplified in a story from the life of President Henry B. Eyring:

“The revelation of a parent has its lasting effect in the personal revelation that continues in the child.

“My mother must have understood that principle of revelation. As a young man, I would close the back door very quietly when I came home late in the evening. I had to pass my mother’s bedroom on the way to mine. However quietly I tiptoed, just as I got to her half-opened door, I would hear my name, ever so quietly, ‘Hal, come in for a moment.’

“I would go in and sit on the edge of her bed. The room would be dark. If you had listened, you would have thought it was only friendly talk about life. But to this day, what she said comes back to my mind with the same power I feel when I read the transcript of my patriarchal blessing.

“I don’t know what she was asking for in prayer as she waited for me those nights. I suppose it would have been in part for my safety. But I am sure that she prayed as a patriarch does before he gives a blessing. He prays that his words will come to the recipient as the words of God, not his. My mother’s prayers for that blessing were answered on my head. She is in the spirit world and has been for more than 40 years. I am sure she has been exceedingly glad that I was blessed, as she asked, to hear in her counsel the commands of God. And I have tried to go and do as she hoped I would.”^[i]

Two women, Elisabeth and Mary, were the first witnesses of the imminent birth and redemptive role of Jesus Christ (just as women were the first witnesses of His Resurrection). President J. Reuben Clark notes the gift of revelation, vision, and prophecy in the words of Mary about her unborn son, Jesus Christ (see Luke 1:46–55): “The spirit of prophecy entered her soul, and, recalling the past, and being enlightened as to the future, she forecast the work and service, the love and character of him whom she was to bring forth—the Christ, the Redeemer of the World. “So measurably may every mother who has lived and is living righteously, envision something of the destiny of her offspring, if it be God’s will.”^[ii]

Glimpsing Pre-mortal Missions

A common element in many patriarchal blessings is a peek into the pre-mortal world where we were foreordained to our personal mission in mortality. Perhaps you know women who have been given glimpses of their children or grandchildren before they were born. I have seen such glimpses quite unexpectedly with one of my three children and two of my nine grandchildren, but not with all of them. In one case, when I prayed with some concern for information about a grandchild to be born, I was specifically told by the Lord that her future was not mine to know but that I could be reassured that whatever happened was in His hands and proceeding according to plan.

I am eternally indebted to the patriarch whose revelatory blessing has helped shape my understanding of my pre-mortal assignment and mission. In many ways, my mother, grandmothers, aunts, sister, children, grandchildren, and friends have had as powerful a role as a patriarch in helping me grasp those pre-mortal realities, helping to shape my understanding of my earthly mission and potential.

My wonderful Aunt Jan was married to my mother’s brother, so we were not blood relatives. I was not in touch with her at all during one period of great struggle and adversity in my life, but later she told me of a vision she had had as she was vacuuming her living room rug one day—a vision that included information about her husband, his mother, his sister, and even me.

In her vision, she saw something of my premortal identity, the process by which I was sent to my particular family, and the choosing of my mortal name. The fact that she had this experience while I was going through a period of great personal trial she knew nothing about helped me trust that the Lord could bring a good purpose out of great difficulty. It especially helped me to know that my earthly experience was not just a random collection of events but that God approved my coming to earth at this time to this family and this set of circumstances. My aunt was blessed with visionary gifts that greatly blessed my life and the lives of many others.

Our mortal mission will probably include things we premortally wanted to learn and things we wanted to contribute, both as part of a family and individually. We discover them through tackling a variety of learning experiences, seeking the influence of the Holy Ghost, studying our patriarchal blessing, and cooperating with others whose missions and keys intersect with ours. Our missions may include particular family relationships and roles, influence in the lives of specific people or groups, fields of work or study, Church callings or Church service, individual talents and interests, world problems to address, and the development of our character. Both what we choose and what is thrust upon us can help us fulfill our mission, as can both our strengths and our weaknesses, our successes and our failures. When our individual mission includes priesthood purposes, we are entitled to priesthood power to fulfill it.

Patriarch, Another Word for Parent

We often refer to ancient prophets as patriarchs, but in the broadest sense, patriarchs are simply parents who passed on their land, records, power, and priesthood rights to their posterity.^[iii] In the ancient world, if your own father didn’t have these things, or if you were not the oldest or favored son, your birthright was limited by these artifacts. But today, all of God’s worthy and desiring children can be heirs to the promises made to the patriarchs of old, promises disseminated (interesting word) across the world and across time.

We can live up to our privilege of participating in the work of organizing the family of God through family history work and completing temple ordinances. We can all help raise the next generation of the youth of the Church aspire to be vested in the temple and priesthood blessings they are entitled to. We can order our own lives and families after the example of our spiritual Father, Jesus Christ. And we can fulfill vital roles in our families of governance and of love.

Priesthood operates in the Church at large to ensure doctrinal purity and good governance, but fathers and mothers still preside over and govern within their families. The Aaronic Priesthood in ancient days was held by only Aaron and his unblemished sons properly vested with that authority, but Jewish fathers and mothers even today bless their children at home using words and forms that would otherwise be reserved for priests (see Numbers 6:22–27).

President Oaks reminds us: “The authority that presides in the family—whether father or single-parent mother—functions in family matters without the need to get authorization from anyone holding priesthood keys. This family authority includes directing the activities of the family, family meetings like family home evenings, family prayer, teaching the gospel, and counseling and disciplining family members.”^[iv]

Growing into the Gifts of Prophecy and Revelation

The grandfather of a dear friend of mine was asked by his granddaughter, my friend’s sister, to give her his very first blessing after becoming an ordained patriarch. He was deeply concerned about interjecting his own thoughts or desires for her into the blessing, but when he read the blessing as transcribed, he felt that he had “overcorrected,” leaving out some inspired impressions he had received from the Lord. He asked his leaders what to do and was counseled to write an official addendum to the blessing to include the additional inspiration he had received but not originally voiced.

Each of us can grow in the gifts of vision, prophecy, and revelation through both mistakes and successes. As we pray, fast, and prepare for these gifts, we grow in our capacity to bless the rising generations in our families, wards, and the world at large.

[i] . Henry B. Eyring, “Continuing Revelation,” Ensign, November 2014.

[ii] . J. Reuben Clark, “Our Wives and Our Mothers in the Eternal Plan,” Relief Society Magazine, December 1946.

[iii] . See, for example, Abraham 1:2–4, 18–19, 31; 2:19; Genesis 22:17.

[iv] .  Dallin H. Oaks, “Priesthood Authority in the Family and the Church,” Ensign, November 2005.