If you expect your patriarchal blessing to make wild or unusual promises and predictions, you may be misunderstanding what a patriarchal blessing is. Your patriarchal blessing isn’t a fortune cookie, and the patriarch isn’t a fortuneteller.[1] The patriarch is a prophet, called to convey God’s words and will to you. He is only authorized to pronounce the promises he is prompted by the Holy Ghost to give. Patriarchs are counseled by their leaders to avoid making sensational or extravagant promises in the blessings they pronounce, even if the Spirit shows them rather remarkable things about the blessing’s recipient. President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1972), tenth President of the Church, explained, “I know of one or two cases … where a brother has been blessed by the patriarch and told that he would become a member of the Council of the Twelve [Apostles]. Usually [the patriarchs] don’t say that … even if the patriarch felt that the chances are [very good] that a man will be called to the leading councils of the Church.” President Smith added, “Patriarchs should be very careful in giving their blessings not to make extravagant expressions and to be conservative in what they say.”[2] Thus, you should not expect extravagant things to be mentioned in your blessing. Patriarchs generally avoid, for example, talking about things like the timing of the Second Coming when they give a blessing. While the young man or young woman being blessed may live to see the second coming of Christ, most patriarchs simply wouldn’t mention that in the blessing. President Smith further explained:

This lesson is about the Lord’s promise to give us help while we are in mortality. That help can come in times of peace and in times of need. It can come through prayer, not just the noun, the thing called prayer, but the verb, the thing we do on our knees and in our heart. Help is also found in the scriptures and through meditation or pondering.

Editor’s Note: Tammy Uzelac Hall is the host of LDS Living’s newest podcast, “Sunday on Monday,” a weekly podcast focused on Come, Follow Me that dives into the hidden treasures of the gospel. Here are four questions readers might have in their studies of the Book of Mormon this week, accompanied by Hall's insights that add new meaning to the beloved verses.

This summer, the Sunday on Monday podcast has decided to prove the scripture and see how we can truly “count it all joy.”

“I’m kind of nervous—it’s a beautiful song,” he shared with the audience before performing the Primary song.

To avoid confusion, we must learn to see patriarchal blessings not as a destination, but as a doorway to more revelation.

Hundreds of Bountiful High graduates lined up to receive their diplomas at the Regional Center in Woods Cross on Friday, many of whom have already received their LDS mission assignments since the minimum age went from 19 to 18 for young men. As is the custom, graduating seniors wrote their names on a card to be read aloud as they crossed the stage. Apparently, dozens of young men added what appeared to be the place of their Mormon mission as a "middle name" – as in John "Russia" Doe and James "New York" Smith.

When Brigham Young first entered the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, he did so in the back of a fine, white carriage donated to the Mormon pioneer leader by a faithful follower, James Madison Flake. Young was ill and couldn't drive the rig himself, so Green Flake drove the carriage and was among those who actually heard Young say, "This is the right place."

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir will add another memorable collaboration to its resume when it sings with James Taylor during the 30th O.C. Tanner Gift of Music Concert this weekend. For more than 150 years, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has been entertaining audiences with hymnal arrangements and patriotic music. During that time, the choir has received dozens of accolades, including Grammy awards and an Emmy.

Despite Houston heat and humidity, 150 adults and children, dressed in their Sunday best, gathered on a recent Saturday morning in a wooded area in Northeast Houston for groundbreaking ceremonies of the new Summerwood Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.