***** in the name of Jesus Christ and by the authority of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood, as an ordained patriarch, I place my hands upon your head and as directed by our loving Heavenly Father, pronounce a patriarchal blessing. You have prepared for this singular blessing by reading and studying the scriptures, and by fasting, and by sincere and inquiring prayer. You are prepared to receive blessings from the Lord through the righteous and pure quality of life that you continually strive to live.

Our Eternal Father knows you well. He knows you by name for His love for you is real and personal. He knows of your concerns and of your weaknesses, and He knows of your many strengths. He knows of your faith and of your righteous desires, for you lived with Him even in premortality. He knows of the great love which your parents have for you. Be assured that you were appointed to be nurtured and raised by chosen parents who love and revere the Savior. Your father has prayerfully invited the Spirit of the Lord to be with us during the voicing of this blessing, and both your mother and your father have spoken appreciatively of your empathy and concern for others. They are grateful for the many righteous qualities of your character and they recognize you as a patient peacemaker. Indeed, you have been richly blessed; therefore, there is much for you to do throughout your life in the service of the Lord.

In our first estate you were valiant and courageously faithful. You studied and pondered when the Plan of Salvation and Happiness was presented. With an eager and grateful heart you accepted Jesus the Christ as your redeeming Savior, and your personal Advocate with the Father; for you knew and you loved Him then, and you know and you love Him still. You understood the challenges and great blessings associated with the Gift of Agency. Through your obedient faith, you were prepared and appointed to enter probationary mortality during these 'latter days,' which are often referred to as the 'dispensation of the fullness of times.' You have been raised in a land of freedom at a time when the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth with all of its rights, and priesthood powers, and sealing blessings. These are your times and now is your season.

To provide insight and direction to your life, and to fortify you in your journey of probationary mortality, the Lord has enriched you with divine attributes and God-given talents, which you developed and nurtured in premortality. You have been endowed with the 'Blessings of Abraham,' for you are of the lineage of Ephraim, who received his royal blessings under the hands of yours. Throughout your life, prayerfully study the scriptures, and continually strive to learn more pertaining to the many responsibilities and obligations which are yours through this royal lineage, and your heart will be filled with thanksgiving and eternal joy. As you ponder and contemplate upon your many blessings, you will often feel the comforting warmth and peace of the Holy Ghost filling your mind with inspired wisdom. The Lord has declared: 'I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy.' Listen and learn to feel the silent whisperings of revelatory guidance and the direction of the Holy Ghost and you will walk in the light of the Lord.

Read the scriptures. In very deed 'feast upon the words of Christ.' Seek for and heed the words and many messages of the prophets and righteous priesthood leaders of your days for they will lead you and yours in the ways of Eternal Life. Prayerfully and with an inquiring heart, study your patriarchal blessing and it will often serve as a spiritual compass to fill your mind with hope, faith, and heavenly direction. As you read and ponder, you will often receive divine and personal confirmations that you are an elect and appointed son of God.

To further fortify you through the challenges of life, you have been granted the Gift of Discernment; whereby you are readily prepared to discern that which is wrong and in error from that which is right, pure, and true before the Lord. From premortality you have been endowed with the Gift of Testimony; for you know that Jesus is the Christ, and with ever increasing faith, you know that His gospel has been restored to the earth in these latter days. At times, as you are prayerful in thought, and as you reflect upon your first estate, the veil of forgetfulness will seem to be thin, and you will remember gladness and treasure the eternal magnitude of the wonders of the Plan of Salvation and Happiness.

You have been favored with a quick and ready mind. Therefore, continually 'seek learning, even by study and also by faith.' Obtain all of the education that is available to you for it will better prepare you for the joys and challenges associated with agency and mortality. As you study, ponder, and pray, the vision of your understanding and many purposes of life will become clear. You will then seek and discover a vocation that will be for your benefit; wherein you will be able to provide for the temporal needs of your family, and with obedient faith you will be blessed with sufficient time and means to serve, and to enrich, and to brighten the lives of others. Great will be your joy; for through your caring faithfulness, you will be favored to enrich the lives of others, even in your career opportunities. Therefore, invite the Spirit of the Lord into your life and listen to feel the silent, inspired impressions.

The adversary is mindful of your righteous desires, and of your commitment to be found worthy to return into the presence of the Lord. He will strive to thwart your eternal progress. Through the Gift of discernment, you are prepared to recognize and discern his cunning temptations and his subtle, negative impressions of doubt, impatience, concern, and discouragement. Through faith, coupled with the power of the priesthood, dismiss him from your presence and he will have no power over you for you are an elect son of God.

From premortality, you have been favored with an empathetic and perceptive heart. You are sensitive like unto Mormon of old of whom it was said: 'I perceive that thou art a sober child, and art quick to observe.' You are perceptive to the needs, and the wants, and the cares, and the loneliness, and of the often unspoken concerns of others. Through the saving principles of the gospel message and as you magnify the priesthood, it will be your choice blessing to lay your hands upon the heads of those who seek the Lord with a repentant heart and administer to their needs, and they will be favored to feel the warmth of the Savior's atoning love. Great will be your joy as you go forward to serve, and to teach, and to lead with ever increasing faith.

From premortality you have been aware that in the journey of agency and mortal probation you would experience some trials, and challenges, and some cloudy days. You accepted all of these conditions with a willing and eager heart. As you are prayerful and obedient, the vicissitudes of mortality will become as stepping stones leading to ever increasing faith and celestial wisdom. Therefore, be prayerful and stringently obedient in all that you do and strive to be in tune with the Spirit; wherein, you can receive the inspired guidance and communication that you seek.

The Lord will bless you as a missionary of the gospel message as you teach of the atoning blessings of the Savior's redeeming love. You will find and feel great joy as you serve with all of your heart, might, mind, and strength on your initial mission. Through your exemplary works and your inspired words, many who have lost their way and have strayed from the Lord's fold will listen to your message and be filled with the light of the Savior's love and then return unto the fold. Be attentive to the promptings of the Spirit.

Assertively seek out and associate with those who share your love for the atoning blessings of the Savior and for the wonders of the restoration. Among these chosen friends, it will be your joy to meet and to learn to love a righteous woman who is prepared to take your hand and enter the temple of the Lord to be sealed for time and eternity. When you feel you have found her, be prayerful, and listen to feel for the affirmation of the Spirit, and you will know.

It will be your privilege and blessing to serve in various callings within the church, but no callings or assignments will exceed your desire to serve your family and to brighten the spiritual light of others.

Love and pray with your wife. Discuss the challenges of your home, and appreciate the wonders of the Savior's love with your wife, and she will become your best and treasured friend. In accordance with the Lord's time, you will become a father of chosen children. In concert with your wife, teach your children in the ways of truth and eternal happiness. As you mature in age and experiences, it will be your great blessing to contemplate upon the journey that you have traveled with a grateful and satisfied heart, as you feel of the sustaining love and friendship of your children as they express their gratitude for you as a revered father. Great and eternal will be your joy for the righteous blessings of a loving family.

Be forgiving and be patient and strive to remember that the reckoning of the Lord's time is different than time as you now understand it. Throughout your life, enjoy learning more pertaining to your premortal relationship, and the purposes of life and agency. In very deed, enjoy magnifying your many abilities and talents. Enjoy the quest of righteous self-discovery as you magnify your many attributes. Be grateful for and use your talent of music to brighten the lives of others and to heal the wounded heart. Many will be enriched and encouraged as they listen to your music and feel the warmth of the Savior's love as you lighten their burdens.

Keep the commandments. Follow the straight and narrow road with a cheerful heart and it will be your great blessing to come forward in the morning of the first resurrection, clothed in the beauty and majesty of a resurrected body and as you behold the face of the Savior to feel His welcoming words: 'Well done my good and faithful son; now enter into my Kingdom.'

Always be worthy to hold, and to treasure, and to use a temple recommend. Live your life in such purity and harmony that you are consistently receptive to the guiding promptings of the Holy Ghost, and you will enjoy eternal happiness. Your Heavenly Father knows you. He loves you. He is aware of your concerns and your many strengths. Be prayerful, and magnify your many callings and great and eternal will be your joy.

In the name of Jesus Christ.

AMEN