Brother *****, with the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood, I lay my hands upon your head to pronounce a patriarchal blessing. Know that Heavenly Father knows where you are today. He is pleased that you desire to hear words of personal counsel and encouragement from Him. I bless you to sense His nearness, to know that He is always close by, and that He has a keen interest in your activities and welfare. I bless you to know that your Heavenly Father is completely approachable. You can communicate with Him at any moment of any night or day through the medium of prayer. He will answer your prayers. I bless you with patience when the answer does not come quickly and with faith when the answer is not what you hoped for or expected.

*****, you are a person of great worth. You are a spirit child of Heavenly parents. You have been placed very deliberately in the mortal family you belong to. Know that your parents are the very best ones for you. I counsel you to watch their example closely. Listen to their teachings. As you do that, you will not be directed far wrong. I bless you with a feeling for the importance of the family unit. It is the basic unit of Church organization, both in mortality and in eternity. Value the relationships you find there. Work to build them, to make your family a cooperative and loving place. God will bless you in wonderful ways through the instrumentality of your family.

I bless you, in your quest for education, that you can find challenging and meaningful things to learn, that you can equip yourself, through schooling, to be of service to your fellow beings. I bless you with a feeling for the importance of reaching out to others, identifying their needs, and doing something to help meet those needs. Whenever you reach out in service, *****, you become more like your God. Look forward to additional responsibility which will come as you receive various Priesthood offices. Know that God is pleased with your willingness to accept the responsibility which bearing the Priesthood brings. He is happy that you are willing to serve there. His design is to give you experiences which will help you to grow and become more like He is as your life progresses.

I bless you as you continue in Church activity and in private religious practices, particularly morning and night prayer and daily scripture study, that your witness of the reality of God and of the saving role of Jesus Christ will grow and strengthen. You will know more surely that Jesus Christ can save you from the fallen condition which mortality is. I bless you to feel love for Him and gratitude for what He has done for you which you could not do for yourself. I bless you to find the happiness in learning and living God's commandments which they are designed to bring.

A patriarch's responsibility is to declare lineage in the house of Israel for the person who has come to be blessed. You are of the covenant people of God. The position you occupy here in mortality is evidence that you were a faithful and devoted disciple in the pre-earth existence. I feel prompted to say that God has a blessing for you here through the tribe of Ephraim in the house of Israel. That is a select group of people who are called to take the good news, which the gospel of Jesus Christ is, to the rest of the world. I bless you with a spirit of missionary work, with a desire to tell others of the truths you already know. I bless you, as you learn gospel doctrines and principles through study and application, that you can teach them to others in plain ways. I bless you with ability to bear witness of truth and to have the Holy Ghost to confirm that witness in others' hearts. Some of those you introduce to the Church will see your happiness and want it for themselves. They will want to covenant with God and become members of Christ's Church. I bless you with the joy which comes from helping to save other peoples' souls.

I bless you with a broad vision of the atonement of Jesus Christ. Our Heavenly Father and the Savior love all people. They are interested in every individual. Salvation is meant to be universal. Insofar as each person will learn of Them and have faith in Them, the Savior's atonement will work for them.

I bless you to recognize the favored position you occupy as a member of the restored Church of Jesus Christ, with opportunity to make covenants with God. I bless you to look forward to attendance at the temple of God. Prepare to go there, where you will be endowed with power from on high. *****, make it a goal to marry in the temple. As you go there, you will make covenants with a loved one and with God, which can bind you to your wife for eternity. The extension of those covenants will bind you to the generations before and after you, as well. I bless you to sense that the relationship with your wife will be the most important one you have, beyond the one you have with God. Love and take care of her. Treat her kindly. Ease her way. As she returns those actions and favors, your marriage can be an eternal one.

I bless you with opportunity for parenthood. I bless you to recognize that, of all the opportunities which you will have, the chance to become a husband and father are the most important things you can choose. I bless you to recognize the critical position which a husband and father has in his family. Know that as you call your family to daily prayers and scripture study, as you lead them in family home evening and Sabbath worship, you will lead in an effective way that is pleasing to God.

Know that all of God's blessings are conditioned upon our learning and living His commandments. As you are faithful, He will bless you in ways which are barely imaginable at this point. I bless you with a vision of the seeds of godhood which reside in you. Because you are the spirit child of Heavenly parents, you can become an exalted being like Them.

I bless you with understanding of the importance of the principle of agency. God loves us and He teaches us, but He will never force us to do good anymore than He would to do evil. He gives you choice. He offers you literally all He has. You are privileged to choose how much of what God offers that you are willing to accept. I bless you to want all of that, and with ability and power to have it all as you keep God's commandments and endure in faith to the end of your life.

I perceive that you will serve in significant ways in the Church of Jesus Christ. Pay attention, always, to those who have Priesthood keys (which are the authority to direct God's work here). Your Stake and Quorum Presidents and your Bishop are positioned to help you progress. I bless you with ability to teach, to administer, and particularly to minister to the needs of individual people. You can be a light to them. You can lighten their loads as you give service within the Church framework. *****, Heavenly Father has great expectations of you because He has given you great ability. You have spiritual gifts and talents which are a part of your nature. As you identify and develop them, you will become a sharp instrument in God's hands in accomplishing His work here. I bless you to sense God's love and to know that He is pleased with the direction of your life. Continue along the path of righteousness and you will continue to receive His blessings. I pronounce the blessing on you in the name of the Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.