When I was 14 years old I received my Patriarchal Blessing. This is a very special blessing for Mormons which is given by a man holding the priesthood office called “Patriarch”. We believe the words spoken by the patriarch come directly from God, exclusively to us. So, it becomes our own personal scripture. The Patriarchal Blessing is considered sacred and personal, so we do not discuss it at length with others.
But sometimes, it is appropriate to share a small piece in order to help teach a lesson or uplift another. So, today I am sharing 7 words from my blessing that became an assignment from God:
“Make your home a heaven on earth.”
Over the years I have interpreted this command to mean;
I would do [at the very least] the following:
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Keep my home clean [while singing hymns]
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Make homemade bread utilizing my 2 year supply of Food Storage
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Gather my family each night around the table to dine together on bread, jam, casseroles, and pie [all homemade of course]
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Create a continually contention-free, angelic environment
~~~~~~~~~~~
What I ACTUALLY do:
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When visiting or home teachers are 10 minutes away from arrival: Run a vacuum through the living room, and stack all the dishes in the sink.
If guests will be staying longer-than-30-minutes: Do a quick scrub of the bathroom toilet & hide all piles of unfolded laundry in my closet.
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Buy bread in bulk at Costco. Store extra loaves in the freezer until needed.
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Gathering to eat together 1-2 nights a week is deemed a major accomplishment. A “Homemade” meal is interpreted as baking a take-home pizza or grilling up some burgers. [Also, anything that can be microwaved counts as long as it is not too high in sodium, or expired]
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Does yelling without using any swear words qualify for “angelic”?
OK…I admit, I am officially a Heavenly Home Fail.
I bow to every woman who can accomplish any one of the “required” feats for a Celestial abode.
I have felt a lot of sadness and shame over the past 25 years of marriage & family for so woefully missing the mark on my assignment from God. 😥
Until today.
A ray of hope!
The celebrated Spanish writer Paulo Coelho described a very different recipe for success in “making a heaven on earth”.
Hey, my family may have half-scrubbed toilets, endless piles of laundry, frequently express anger or frustration, and will never ever eat a slice of homemade bread unless neighbors take pity and leave some on our porch…
…BUT, perhaps my family and I have actually succeeded, after all, because we are definitely, totally, MUTUALLY IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER.
Happy Dance! *cue angel chorus* 😀 – MoSop
Latter-day Soprano 
You know, I’m actually pretty good at most of the things on your little list- but that really doesn’t make my home heavenly. I think in my home we are lacking much of that love that you mentioned at the end. I’m good at doing things I can put on a check list and check off. But love? It can be so hard to know how to love sometimes. I’m pretty sure that sometimes when I make bread I’m not doing it with love for my family- just because it’s on the checklist. I might even get upset with my family for making it difficult for me to get to the bread making. Ugh.
So, forget the “list”. ( : Mutual love with family members is truly the thing to achieve. Thanks for sharing that!
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Holly, Great thoughts.
I still bow to you! (and you could always leave some of your bread on my porch)
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For years I did most of the things on your list, with the exception of the homemade bread. They were chores which were expected of me. Sometimes I did them gladly, and other times, not so much. But in the end, the marriage still fell apart, because the main ingredient, Love, was missing from the formula. If you have Love you can weather any storm. We lost that love, and the ship sank. Because of your love for each other, your ship is still afloat, and I doubt that it will ever sink.
Lynne
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I’m sorry Lynne. 😦
No one’s love, however strong, is unsinkable. Every marriage and family has weak spots that have to be diligently guarded. But, no matter how strong your vessel, if an iceberg hits, there’s simply no way to save the ship.
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Well, the ship may have gone down, but, Praise God, I’m still standing, or should I say afloat if we continue the boat metaphor. As long as you have God in your life, no matter how many storms may batter you, you can make it through. He is the constant in my life and always will be til the day I see Him face to face. What a glorious day that will be.
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Amen!
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Maybe Patriarchal blessings are God’s humor. My blessing says I’ll have special calls to serve in the church throughout my lifetime. I currently don’t have a calling:/ but I have served in scouts twice, oh wait, not part of the church; written the ward newsletter? not a calling again; Maybe it is because “special” people now hold my last two callings of relief society chorister and nursery leader? Did I mention that I’m now 45? So much for that blessing.
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Debbie,
Never forget that a Patriarchal blessing is eternal, and the promises last not only for this life, but beyond. Elder John A. Widtsoe said:
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