Those who are not literal descendants are adopted into the family of Abraham when they receive baptism and confirmation (see Law of Adoption). Those who follow the counsel in their patriarchal blessing will be less likely to go astray or be misled. Ive come to believe the tribe has some reflection that the individual must seek out in their own explorations of scripture and prayer to seek the significance the Lord would have them understand. May 30, 2012 | AAAA AskGramps Website, Bible, Blessings, Family Roots | 3 comments. British Israelism. Find out why they're not the same! 2:11). While a patriarchal blessing contains inspired counsel and promises, it should not be expected to answer all of the recipients questions or to detail all that will happen in his or her life. blessing from a very spiritual stake patriarch. [1] The words, inspired by the Holy Ghost, are spoken by the patriarch performing the ordinance. In other words, does it matter exclusively that I have my ordinances done and am part of the big old family of God connected (sealed) in a great chain from Adam to Zed, or is there great eternal importance to _my_ particular familythat Im sealed to my spouse, my parents, my children, etc.? And a reader recently asked us if we could do a post on what patriarchal blessing lineage assignments are supposed to mean. To some it is referring to literal genealogical ancestry; to others, adoptive ancestry; to others, it is a metaphor or symbol of inclusion within the House of Israel, while still others see the different tribes as representing different responsibilities in building the Kingdom of God in the last days. But what about the over 600 hundred laws? First, the patriarch will be inspired to declare your lineagethe tribe of Israel to which you belong. It is in essence a prophetic utterance. Historical evidence proves Lehi & Nephi didn't exist! "We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent" (A of F 10; cf. The purpose of a patriarchal blessing is (1) to identify the tribe of Israel to which the individual belongs, whether literal or "adopted", along with the responsibilities and blessings associated; (2) to bless the member with knowledge and the spiritual gifts that may be obtained by obedience to gospel principles; (3) to give advice or help to Where else in the modern world can you have a shamanic experience? Knowing these two facts gave me an added sense that I was literally serving my brothers. Many people today belong to the tribe of Ephraim, and they have a responsibility to spread the gospel and to be leaders and teachers in the Church. God knows our spirits; He knows our strengths and weaknesses. And if he did not have descendants that survived to today, well, then obviously no one alive today is a descendant of Ephraim. But a passage in 2 Esdras 13 of the Apocrypha portrays them as maintaining coherence as a group: 40 Those are the ten tribes, which were carried away prisoners out of their own land in the time of Osea the king, whom Salmanasar the king of Assyria led away captive, and he carried them over the waters, and so came they into another land. Find out why their monthly messages aren't biblical! News from around the globe about Christianity & the ministries God works through. Just my take. Our patriarchs give total devotion to their callings and do all they can to live in faith and worthiness so that each blessing is inspired. I would HATE that calling . We and our blessings are in the hands of the Lord, but there is a general testimony that when the gospel law has been obeyed, the promised blessings have been realized.1. My brother who was adopted from China was given the lineage Naphtali, not Ephraim like the rest of our family. 2. That number (using an internet exponent calculator) works out to something like 5708990770823839524233143877797980545530986496. I dont know how they do it. They got hung up on the real world bottlenecks you describe (What about an isolated tribe from Iceland?) and so rejected the whole argument. If one is worthy, all promises will be fulfilled in the Lords due time. Mormon lives are busier than most. If you're a Christian & feel you're speaking a different language, learn about the differences here. Salvation and exaltation are often used synonymously, but salvation (being resurrected) will be granted to all through Gods grace while exaltation (ones final degree of glory) hinges on our choices. Mormon vocabulary is vastly different from the norm. 20-21). One child may be of Ephraim, another in the same family of Manasseh, Judah, or one of the other tribes. Should we trust someone who's involved with these things? We all, hopefully, believe the gospel and try to live it as best as we can. He mentioned (if I remember correctly) that assigning tribes outside of Ephraim was discouraged as modern members could be adopted into Ephraim and should be used with high discretion. Perhaps there is a reason that specific other tribe names are occasionally declared, maybe assigned to a specific role in the kingdom in this life, but I think being declared of Joseph Ephraim and Manasseh is a way of generically representing the 10 tribes, and perhaps separating Manasseh out is also significant as the BofM has many prophesies related to the descendants of the Nephites/Lamanites (which similarly to most of the world becoming the seed of Abraham, it seems as if generally almost all those converted with primary ancestry native to the Americas belong to this group). Am I Less Worthy Not Being From the Tribe of Ephraim? It has been suggested that because of the . He was told in his blessing that he would be blessed with many beautiful daughters. He and my mother became the parents of five sons. I never really put much stock in my lineage. Not even the patriarch or bishop or branch president should interpret it. 3:6). This happened to me 30+ years ago and my leaders came to me and made the offer for me to receive a new blessing. Ephraim and Judah, specifically, are to be joined and Zion and Jerusalem are to be capitals of the world when the Savior comes to rule and reign. Our patriarchal blessings indicate what the Lord expects of us and what our potential can be. Anyone or anything that disagrees with the LDS Church is considered anti-Mormon. Good work, Kev. He lived recently enough in the past that that kind of genealogical distinction makes sense. Sorry, hit wrong button and comment sent before conclusion. The LDS Church doesn't ascribe to the orthodox belief in original sin; why is that? Which I guess we do, symbolically, whatever that might mean. Kinderhook Plates and The Greek Psalter Incident serve as further proof Smith was a false prophet. Was the restriction of unclean foods in the Bible a commandment. S. Michael Wilcox covered this topic in detail in the January 1998 Ensign in his article The Abrahamic Covenant. I believe I know what it means for me but I couldnt tell someone else what theirs means. I apologize, had to get that off my chest, pet peeve rant over. Eldred G. Smith said this Many of us are a mixture of several tribes of Israel, and so it is the right of the patriarch to declare that line through which the blessings of Israel shall come., many of us are a mixture of several tribes. First off there officially is not a tribe of Joseph - but rather the tribe of Joseph was devided between Ephrain and Manasseh - the greater role given to Ephrain. It is important that we study this promise and its attendant responsibilities so that we can know what is and will be required of us. Those who have received a patriarchal blessing should read it humbly, prayerfully, and frequently. 8:9). We know Jesus died for our sins, but what did Joseph die for? I never understood Patriarchal Blessingswhat is the purpose, who started it, does it really do any good, etc. 1:12, Would a true apostle say this? That one is important but Im not convinced there is any deeper meaning. In the Latter Day Saint movement, a patriarchal blessing is an ordinance administered by the laying on of hands, with accompanying words of promise, counsel, and lifelong guidance intended solely for the recipient. Listen, Im the first one to honor and praise our pioneer ancestors, but we have to realize that being a bodyguard to Joseph Smith, is not all that unique. I read my deceased parents blessings, from a different Patriarch, and what a difference. I am from ephraim (no surprise). That man that has none of the blood of Abraham (naturally) must have a new creation by the Holy Ghost.3. 29:3; Morm. Does God speak to prophets with glowing stones in a hat? So I talked to some other members my age who I knew, told them what I discovered, and asked if they would take my blessing and compare it to theirs, as they had same Patriarch. How is this to be done? Ill try to explain the problem with that view. While the primary responsibilities of Ephraim are to spread the gospel, the primary responsibilities of Judah are to maintain and keep the records. Grab the info you need on several topics all in one easy access point! Patriarchal blessings include a declaration of a persons lineage in the house of Israel and contain personal counsel from the Lord. These privileged blessings are a powerful witness of the mission of the Lord Jesus Christ in bringing exaltation to each of us. Heber C. Kimball; "I think no more of taking another wife than I do of buying a cow. What I can say is that Im certain the lineage does not come by rote thinking on the part of the Patriarch if they are in tune with the Spirit which they should be but Ill accept that there could be exceptions. But what I can do is frame the question somewhat and then let our readers flesh things out in the comments. This doctrine of adoption was understood by ancient prophets and apostles (e.g., Rom. Multiple non-Ephraim blessings would be flagged. After a person has faith in Christ, repents of his sins, and is baptized for the remission of his sins and receives the Holy Ghost, (by the laying on of hands), which is the first Comforter, then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and living by every word of God, and the Lord will soon say unto him, Son, thou shalt be exalted. 3:5). It makes no sense in the modern church, except to the extent that we choose to give it meaning. I have a dozen or so ancestors who have the exact same claim to fame (almost typed clame). They are then entitled to all the rights and privileges of heirs (TPJS, pp. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. In such a case, there may be more of a powerful effect upon the body, and visible to the eye, than upon an Israelite, while the Israelite at first might be far before the Gentile in pure intelligence. An elder in our mission who had a black father, and white mother was quite disturbed by his patriarchal blessing because he was declared to not have a lineage of any tribe. The kingdom of Israel was divided about 975 B.C. Circling back to the topic, I think grammar and precise word choice matters in the gospel. Opinions on this subject differ widely. In a similar vein, Ive always found D&C 15 and 16 a fascinating phenomenon. Still, I dont mind getting (literally) extra blessings. I think he also mentioned reviewers (SP and SLC). This first Comforter or Holy Ghost has no other effect than pure intelligence. Charles, in turn, has four descendents but one heir, William. He was old when I saw him, even older when my husband saw him. "for I know whom I have believed" 2 Tim. 11: 1 ). Everyone baptized into the gospel belongs to one of these 12 tribes, but what does it mean if you don't belong to the same tribe as your family? No blessings have been alike that weve come across in the stake. Evidently, the Church thinks enough of this tradition that they continue to insist that declaration of lineage is the most essential part of the blessing. About a year ago our Stake Patriarch spoke on this, and since Ive heard a Stake Patriarch opine on it decades ago, I could see a change in trend (or else just two different people with two different opinions). Only one of those descendents was willing and desirous to carry on what hed begun removing the muggleborns from the school. chanson I think youre forgetting that heir and descendent are not synonyms. Jesus said; "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." King Benjamin refers to the faithful as the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters thus being able to be spiritually begotten through faith (Mosiah 5:7), and thus coming into the family of Christ through a spiritual birth. All our blessings were *exactly* the same word for word. If he had no descendants, section 68 is meaningless. Your patriarchal blessing includes a declaration of your lineage, stating that you are of the house of Israela descendant of Abraham, belonging to a specific tribe of Jacob.
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