Episodes 164 & 165: What About Patriarchal Blessings? | (Bonus) Still Talking About Patriarchal Blessings
Episode 164
Episode 165
When it comes to Patriarchal Blessings, there are as many experiences as there are members who give and receive them. In Episode 164, Cynthia and Susan are joined by Blakelee Ellis for a discussion about some of the many ways these highly anticipated blessings can be complicated for Latter-day Saint women. From the experience itself to the advice given or promises made, there can be plenty to unpack at the time the words are spoken, but also as we continue to revisit the transcript throughout our lives.
Notes & Quotes:
How Do I Reconcile my Patriarchal Blessing?, Dr. Richard Bushman, Questions from the Closet, Ep. 11, 6/02/2020
Erosion, by Terry Tempest Williams
A History of Patriarchs and Patriarchal Blessings
“I think the powerful thing for me was when I got to the point of looking at Christianity and the Bible as more of a painting than as a photograph…that there were people who had this powerful experience with something bigger than themselves, and that this was their painting of it; this was how they articulated and painted that experience.” —Tim DeChristopher, from an interview with Terry Tempest Williams, Erosion
Heres my two cents. 😂 my dad was a patriarch. While he was a patriarch he was molesting my 2 sisters. Ive thought a lot about blessings. I took a class once on energy healing since my kids and i have benefitted from this and i wanted to know how it worked, she said that its not magic or vodo-human beings supress this intuitive muscle that we all have. The older we get, the more we learn not to use it. Its like a muscle, you have to excercise it and use it for it to gro stronger. It made sense to me that that is what patriarchs are doing, they are learning to use this intuitive muscle that we all have. Some are better than others. My first two girls had beautiful blessings my last daughter got her last year and it was the most generic thing I had ever heard. Not one thing in it was about her. So some are still learning to tap into that. My husband has never liked giving blessings, he actually hates it I think because using his intuition is really really hard for him. I have often been itching to give blessings to my daughters, but being intuitive come for me.
Just listened to this yesterday. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, so I was glad to see that you were discussing it! I very much loved hearing your thoughts. So, I found this. Hope it’s helpful.
https://mormonleaks.io/wiki/documents/6/66/Information_and_Suggestions_for_Patriarchs-2016.pdf