Patriarchs and Patriarchal Blessings

Patriarchs and Patriarchal Blessings By HYRUM G. SMITH Presiding Patriarch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints THE period of time from Adam to Moses, spoken of in the Bible, is quite gen- erally known as the "Patriarchal Age," and includes a brief story of the lives and works of twenty- two leaders, the first ten of whom were the most notable and to whom more attention is given in the record. The names of these men as listed by Usher and Hales are as follows: Adam, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Shem, Arphaxed, Salah, Eper, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah, Abram, Isaac and Jacob, covering a period of over two thousand years. "Three years previous to the death of Adam, he called Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, and Methu- selah, who were all High Priests, with the residue of his posterity who were righteous, into the valley of Adam-ondi- Ahman, and there bestowed upon them his last blessing. "And the Lord appeared unto them, and they rose up and blessed Adam, and called him Michael, the Prince, the Archangel. "And the Lord administered comfort unto Adam, and said unto him, I have set thee to be at the head — a multitude of nations shall come of thee, and thou art a prince over them forever. 'And Adam stood up in the midst of the congregation, and notwithstanding he was bowed down with age, being full of the Holy Ghost, predicted whatsoever should befall his posterity unto the latest generation." (Doctrine and Covenants 107:53-56 inclusive). TN Genesis, twenty-seventh chap- ter, is recorded the story of how Jacob received the blessing that he had purchased from his elder brother Esau for a mess of pottage. In Genesis, forty-ninth chapter, we have a brief account of where Jacob called his twelve sons around him and blessed them. He gave each son a special blessing that was particularly suitable to him. For example, when he came to Joseph he said, "Joseph is a fruit- ful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall * * * the blessings of thy father pre- vailed above the blessing of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; they shall be upon the head of Joseph and on the crown of him that was separate from his brethren." AND in the forty-eighth chap- **" ter of Genesis is the account of Joseph and his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were given their blessings by their grandfather, Jacob. Manasseh was blessed to be a leader of nations, and Ephraim was blessed to be the greater, a leader of many na- tions. After Jacob, there is nothing recorded that we know of pertain- ing to patriarchs and their bless- ings, until we come to our present dispensation, when we find a true descendant of Joseph in the per- son of Joseph Smith, senior, fa- ther of the Prophet Joseph. "And thus prophesied Joseph saying, [Joseph who was sold into Egypt] Be- hold, that seer will the Lord bless; and they that seek to destroy him, shall be con- founded; for this promise, which I have obtained of the Lord, of the fruit of my loins, shall be fulfilled. Behold. I am The Author sure of the fulfilling of this promise. "And his name shall be called after me: and it shall be after the name of his father. And he shall be like unto me; for the thing which the Lord shall bring forth by his hand, by the power of the Lord shall bring my people unto salva- tion." (Book of Mormon, Nephi, 14, 15). 'T'HE first patriarch of this dis- pensation was baptized the day the Church of Jesus Christ of Lat- ter-day Saints was organized, April 6, 1830. He was the first to hear and receive the message of his son Joseph, the Prophet of the Living God. He was ordained Patriarch on December 18, 1833. The following is part of a bless- ing he gave to his eldest son, Hy- rum, on December 9, 1843, at Kirtland, Ohio. "I now ask my Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ, to bless thee with the same blessing with which Jacob blessed his son Joseph, for thou art his true descendant, and thy posterity shall be numbered with the house of Ephraim, and with them thou shalt stand up to crown the tribes of Israel, when they come shouting to Zion. * * * The Lord will multiply his choice blessings upon thee and thy seed after thee, and thou with them shalt have an inheritance in Zion, and they shall possess it from generation to generation, and thy name shall never be blotted out from among the just, for the righteous shall rise 'up, and also thy children after thee, and say thy memory is just, that thou wert a just man and perfect in thy day." 'T'HE patriarchal order of today belongs to the oldest son through preparation and faithful- ness, and has been handed down in the following manner: from Joseph Smith, senior, to his eldest son Hyrum. When Hyrum was martyred his oldest son, John, was only eleven years old. Therefore, his brother William was called to succeed him. William was fol- lowed by two uncles, Asahel and John, respectively. Then came Hyrum's oldest son John, the line- al heir, to the office at the age of twenty-three, who served for fifty-

466 The Improvement Era for May, 1930 six years, the record for time of service of any officer in the Church. He was succeeded by his grand- son, the present incumbent. IN addition to Presiding Patri- archs, all of whom have been Smiths, — true descendants of Jos- eph, through the lineage of Ephraim — there have been a stand- ing number of about two hun- dred ordained, active men, chosen from among the most faithful High Priests of the Church, even as Abraham of old was chosen, because of his great faithfulness. These men are called to labor in the stakes of Zion to bless and comfort the Saints and their fam- ilies at home. In olden times prophecy "came not by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." (II Peter 1:21).' DATRIARCHAL blessings are given in much the same man- ner, with this difference, perhaps, that a blessing is an ordinance in the Holy Priesthood, and is ad- ministered by the laying on of the hands of an authorized ser- vant of God. It appears from the meager rec- ord we have, that in olden times very little attention was given to formality. No dates or formal genealogy were given, but in later generations came the time for more formal and detailed genealogies, including the time and place of the blessing. These formal records of today, contain most valuable information in at least four lines of genealogy for the person to whom the blessing is given, and form a splendid heading to a sa- cred document known as a patri- archal blessing. Following the heading comes the body of the blessing, which con- tains sacred promises, for comfort, or for counsel, or warning; point- ing to certain possibilities of bless- ings, always predicated upon obe- dience to natural laws and faithful- ness. It also should contain the dec- laration of lineage; that is, the tribe in Israel in which, or through which, the promises of inheritance shall come, even as assignments of the inheritances to ancient Israel. HTHE closing is the sacred sealing 1 of the Holy Priesthood — the blessings pronounced with all it contains as a comfort and a guide through life according to faithful- ness, and is sealed forever, upon conditions of faithfulness to the laws of God. Patriarchal blessings have been and are a source of great comfort and solace to those who have faith in them. Thousands of Church members have been kept alive in their devotion to the Church through inspired promises and en- couraging counsel and advice given in a patriarchal blessing. It is the right and privilege of every member of the Church to obtain a patriarchal blessing. Many members have received more than one blessing, but I am a convert of the "one faith, one Lord, and one baptism" idea. These blessings are eternal in their nature and character. Tke Centennial Conference COLEMN thoughts overwhelmed all who sat in the Salt Lake Tabernacle Sunday morning, April 6. One's mind reverted to the outwardly insignificant gathering exactly one hundred years before when the Church was organized, an object of ridicule and contempt. As one looked into the earnest faces of stalwart men, high priests, seventies and elders, or into the expectant faces of clean-looking boys, priests, teachers and deacons, one was impressed with the thought that John the Baptist and subsequently Peter, James and John did not visit the earth and restore the Priesthood in vain, and that Joseph and Hyrum Smith's precious lives were a small price to pay for such results. JOSEPH Smith's eyes were ac- customed to glorious sights. They had beheld the majesty of the Father and the Son, and many other marvelous manifestations; but even he would have been thrilled had he seen in vision this gathering and the conditions under which the people met. Evidences of prosperity were on every hand. The Saints are living in luxury as compared with the standards of his day; they met in a building that has attracted world-wide atten- tion; newspaper agencies were broadcasting the sermons over the civilized world; in addition to the crowds on the Temple Block, many thousands were gathered in chapels throughout the land and drew from the air the words and even the faintest whispers that came from the Tabernacle; hun- dreds of others sat comfortably in their own homes and likewise heard all that occurred. These marvels must have made even the eyes of a prophet open wide with astonishment. Messages of congratulations were received from prominent men of high standing in the states and nation. From European pro- fessors, from men outside the fold as well as from those within. For example, Dr. Max Haenle of the University of Erlangen, Germany, who came to Utah in 1928 and made an exhaustive study of the effect of "Mormonism" upon the lives of its members and who later went to the South Sea Islands for the same purpose, cabled his con- gratulations and good wishes. TTHE comprehensive message of ■"■ the First Presidency was lis- tened to with deep attention. It appears in full elsewhere in this number. President Heber J. Grant, explained the impressive "Hosanna Shout," and led the vast congrega- tion in repeating it: "Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna, to God and the Lamb, Amen, Amen, and Amen." It was an acclamation of praise and thanksgiving to the Father and the Son, for mercies and blessings extended to this people. These words were repeated three times and were accompanied by the waving of white handkerchiefs in rhythmic unison to the shout. TN voting for the general authori- ■*■ ties of the Church, the quorums were called upon separately to ex- press their willingness to sustain these officers, after which the entire congregation stood and with up- lifted hands signified their will- ingness to sustain those whose names had been read. A most im- pressive feature was that members of the Aaronic Priesthood, boys in their teens, arose and with up- raised hands voted for those in (Continued on page 528)