I never wanted to get my PB, but 3 days before I was to enter the MTC, my Bishop called me in a panic. He had just realized that I had not had my PB and had been informed that I had to have it before I left for my mission. So, late that night, I met with him in order to get "approval" to see the Patriarch. He asked me all the usual questions about morality and whether or not I was worthy to get the PB. It was a joke. Hello, I am leaving on a mission in 3 days. If I am worthy to do that, then I suppose I might be worthy to get the blessing.

Anyway, I went to the Patriarch's house that night, spoke with him for quite awhile, and then finally went into his den for the blessing. Here's how it went: (Remember, I was leaving for the MTC in 48 hours)

Most every paragraph starts out with a variation of this:
"As you leave for Ohio, I bless you with the wisdom and courage to teach these discussions"

or

"As a servant missionary of God, I bless you with health and strength over the next 2 years"

or

"The Lord has been preparing the people of Ohio for you to teach them about the gospel"

Blah blah blah! The whole thing was about my service as a missionary and was not anything like what I had been taught a PB was supposed to be about. I honestly thought it was nothing more than a Father's blessing and certainly had very little to do with my entire life. This was a big reason that I started questioning the church, the priesthood, and revelation in general. I couldn't help but think how different my PB would have been if I had not been leaving in just a couple of days.


Anyway, I was very disappointed in my PB for many years and even asked a couple of times to get a new one - my request was declined each time. The disappointment was not easy for me to take, but I am now grateful that I learned what a total joke the PB ritual is as my experience played a part in helping me escape.

The Patriarchal Blessing was the beginning of the end for me, too. Mine talked about my "gentle" and "kind" parents. Not the sort of thing one generally calls parents who beat their child unconscious for doing what they told him to do, or for getting straight A's in school. If the PB was "God's" personal message for me, then that god was either insane or evil.

Mine told me I would be perfect.....I am not...It lied. Cult

My PB does not give my lineage. At first I figuered I was unworthy for the blessing so he didn't get the inspiration required. On my mission I discussed it with a church patriarch (goes around to mission areas that do not have stakes). He told me that when I returned from my mission I should request a new PB sole for the lineage. He stated it would not be recorded in SLC. I asked several bishops and SPs, but they all said they never heard of doing that.

I started telling people I am from Manasseh, partly to be different, but I also have family members that were given that line in their blessing. I thought it might be because of our native american blood.

I'm Manasseh too. Never met anyone else. ALL the Mos I know have Ephraim.

They can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. My good friend in high school was overweight but not obese. Her PB had nothing in it about marriage, posterity being a mother, etc. The stupid prick of a patriarch judged her appearance. Well, she shut down emotionally after that and guess what? She never married. Stupid cult.

My PB&J started to set up warning flags for me, but I quickly suppressed them. Right before my blessing, I sat down with the patriarch for an interview so that "he could get more in-tuned with the spirit." It seriously felt like a palm reading or other sort of medium experience. He needed it peaceful in the room and he was doodling on a piece of paper as he said it made him more in touch with the spirit by distracting his worldly mind (something to that effect.)

He then asked me about my school activities, and I had mentioned that I was on the student body council for community affairs and education. Well, he instantly seized upon that and was ready to begin the blessing. And sure enough, the blessing revolved around giving to the community and preparing myself to be a leader in the community, and education and yaddah yaddah yaddah. Here's the kicker...I was on the student body council for this position PURELY because it was the only position that was NOT being contested at that time. I didn't have to run against anybody. It wasn't as if I was destined for being a community activist...it was merely convenient.

Sadly, I KNEW the second I mentioned it that he would pounce on it. I don't know why. Maybe it was his line of questioning. I just knew that I didn't want to talk about it because I didn't want to feel stuck in that position...as if whatever the blessing told me, that is exactly what I needed to do with my life.

Anyways, I started feeling like the blessing was a sham since the main part of my blessing wasn't based on "revelation" from the unseen world. Rather it was based on questions from the patriarch who seized upon the one topic that was unique to me, at least at that time. But I quickly put those fears and issues aside as not faith promoting.

I consciously know that I have made a number of life choices based upon that blessing. A few of which I wish I could take back. Regardless, my blessing should have been an eye opener, if only I wasn't so convinced that "I" needed to humble myself and my thoughts and to not question anything ever.

Sounds exactly like cold reading.

…when I was seeking direction. I was looking forward to the blessing to provide this.

Before beginning the blessing, my patriarch asked me a number of questions related to my interests (like BenBen’s experience above.) It was pretty clear that I was interested in X, Y, and Z. So what you suppose my patriarchal blessing said about the talents I have to share with others? X, Y, and Z!

I learned *nothing* new, nothing helpful at all.

I was very, very disappointed.

My dad made me get mine when I was 12. 12!! It was 2 VERY short paragraphs that said nothing. I'd get married and have kids. The end. Stupid.

Mine probably didn't take because I had actually not been 100% honest about abusing my little factory. I did repent in haste just before the blessing. The patriarch lectured me and another young man at length about the evils of the practice and I just knew he was going to "see" my sin and announce it in front of the other guy and his wife, who was acting as recorder, during my blessing. Actually it just contined the usual... Ephiam... mission... wife... kids that would call me blessed... They have blessed me out a couple of times, but that doesn't count.

Mrs Truthseeker's grandfather is a patriarch in SLC and has given over 1,000 blessing in the past 40 years. He sends us a weekly letter and always mentions the people to whom he gives a blessing. He is always "amazed" at the inspiration he receives.

The funny thing is that many of the folks he gives blessings to, he also gave blessing to their parents/other family members and knows a lot about their circumstances. I suppose this experience helps with the inspiration. He also always mentions his annual interview with the SP when they review some of his blessings to make sure they are "appropriate".

my pb was long and very personal. the patr who gave it to me knew me and my fam for 15+ yrs. duh.....

it was beautiful and kept me brainwashed til i was in my late 40's. mentioned the blessings of the temple and a lot of other cult bs. now that the fog has lifted i clearly see what a powerful tool the pb is to impressionable young minds who have never heard of 'critical thinking skills'.

said i would have great success in this exposure (earth life) and show others through my example how to obtain the reward of the CK. hahahaha.

never did the temple endowment ceremony and went once with DW to perform baptisms for the dead. It was the creepiest 90 min experience I have ever experienced. told DW walking back to car that I would NEVER return to that sick shit again. She said very little all the way home.

1 yr later after extensive research we both resigned. yeaaa.

They do it rather badly.


Now let me get this straight ....

You give all of your personal information to this so called "patriarch" and then he merely regurgitates it back to you and you think it is a message from a god ?

Did I leave out anything ?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2011 03:29PM by Dave the Atheist.

because she felt it was so appropriate.

I figure with the brief interview with the Patriarch, combined with a brief discussion he had with the bishop, it didn't take a genius to come up with something applicable.

Of course, the mantra is that PB's are sacred, and not to be shared with others. Actually, like not discussing the temple, we would all eventually decide the emperor has no clothes. Either we'd find out they are meaningless, and/or find out we all get the same similar drivel.

lily Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> http://www.patriarchalblessing.net/index.php/bless
> ing/read


DAMN accidentally clicked the wrong gender - now instead of going on a mission I'll be cooking for the missionaries

=(

Are there any Patriarch's known to have ditched the Church?

that I would be privileged to be alive at the second coming of Christ.

It probably took a couple of days before I realized that there was no way in hell that I could possibly do that.

So, as long as I'm alive, the second coming won't happen.

Just thought you should know...

Don't know of any patriarchs who ditched the church, but the church has ditched a couple of patriarhs to the church for being gay. What out for that Smith family.

Mine said..your posterity would be great in numbers....do you think that had anything to do with me now having 14 kids?????What shit. Cult

Just like everything about the only true church, my PB was also a big dissapointment. I was supposed to be Paul reincarnated, no thank you, and yet the funny thing is that as I tried to prepare myself to fulfill Paul's position, the more I found out about the history, the so-called prophecies and temple ceremonies, the more I was convinced that the whole thing was nothing but a waste of time.

LOL, get her done. You keep making me literally LOL.

My blessing kept going on and on about avoiding dangers and pitfalls. Of course if my TBM friends read it now, they'd cry, thinking that I hadn't avoided those dangers and pitfalls.

I was really mad that it was short. I thought that meant that my life would be short.

I was also mad that it mentioned getting married, but nothing about kids. I didn't have kids, but I never married either.

Don't you know--you will have a spouse in the next life? (Just spouting what they told me.)

I only wanted to get mine to find out if I'd get married. I was about 16 I believe. I really believed that marriage and motherhood would make me happy--they didn't.

BUT all we single women in the singles' ward were always told that we'd have a spouse in the next life--except that SP who came and told us if we'd shower and paint our fingernails and toenails, curl our hair, we'd be able to catch a man. Our bishop was livid when he heard about it.

When I decided it was all bunk, I just put it in the trash.

The old man that gave me mine asked me a bunch of questions about my life and then gave me the 'blessing'. All he did was repeat back what i had told him.

It seemed rather worthless at the time. So when I decided to leave, I tossed the document.

I had mine as a convert of a few years, non-member husband, so the relief society president drove me to the Stake centre. Took my two children a toddler and a six month old baby (this is relevant).

The PB was like everybody elses, patriarch interviewed me at some length, then regurgitated a lot of the conversation in the blessing. I fell for it though.

The shocker was, that when I talked to my little girl afterwards she told me that the RS Pres had breast-fed my baby while I was being interviewed! No, she didn't have my permission, no it wasn't necessary, she was just a weirdo, as later events would go on to prove.

I was not a happy bunny. I'd forgotten all about this.

Oh my HELL!

Just wanted you to know someone read your post! That just blows my mind.

Hope she wasn't also doing your husband!

That is so out-of-bounds--but then, don't we always talk about the cult not having appropriate respect/boundaries?

Made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

Ew.

Anagrammy

Mine said, "You will be the mother of many missionaries."

pffffttt



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/2011 05:00AM by nalicea.

I bawled all through mine. Looking back, I don't know why. There's nothing in that really stood out to me except that my parents "requested" the privilege of raising me. I admit I was a sucker for the pre existence doctrine. I loved it. Now I can't believe I loved it.

I don't ever remember feeling like my PB was all that inspired. There was nothing special in it. It said the basic stuff: I had the spirit of discernment, tribe of Ephraim, I would get married, live to my old age, have lots of kids, etc. I'm curious, has anyone's blessing ever said they WOULDN'T live to an old age? My BIL's said he would and he died at the ripe old age of 35.

ha! I'll have to pull mine out and look at it.