Patriarchal Blessings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The current status of the project to digitize all the old patriarchal blessings was recently posted on the LDSTech Web Site: Patriarchal Blessings Meet the Digital Age.

Instructions for obtaining copies of patriarchal blessings for oneself, deceased ancestors or descendants.

Background
A patriarchal blessing is a blessing given to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by an ordained patriarch and usually provides genealogical information. The top of the printed copy of the blessing often gives the person’s complete name, birth date, birthplace, and parents’ names. When looking for a patriarchal blessing, always check for women under their maiden and married names. Some early Saints had more than one blessing.

Index
The Family History Library has the following indexes to patriarchal blessings:


 * Index to Patriarchal Blessings: 1833–1963. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1963. (FHL films 392631–96.) This alphabetical card index includes the genealogical information listed at the top of each blessing.
 * Index to Patriarchal Blessings, 1833–1993. Salt Lake City: n.p., 1993? (FHL fiche 6334933 [set of 68.) This alphabetical list gives the birth date, patriarchal blessing date, and the volume and page number where the blessing is recorded. This index includes the blessings turned into Church headquarters as of 15 June 1993.

Copies
You may request copies of patriarchal blessings for:


 * Yourself
 * Your spouse
 * A direct line descendant
 * A deceased direct line ancestor

The instructions for obtaining copies of patriarchal blessings can be found on the Church History Web site at http://www.lds.org/churchhistory/archives/pbinfo


 * 1) Go to www.lds.org
 * 2) Select About the Church.
 * 3) Select Church History.
 * 4) Click Church History and Library Archives.
 * 5) Click Services and Rules.
 * 6) Click Copies of Patriarchal Blessings may be requested for mailing.
 * 7) Follow the instructions on the screen.

Effective March 1, 2007, we will no longer charge a fee for copies of patriarchal blessings. This applies to both individual and ancestral blessings. In order for our staff to efficiently process requests in a timely manner, it will be necessary to limit requests to four (4) blessings for each request, with a maximum of four (4) per year.

We are currently in the process of digitizing our collection of 3.5 million patriarchal blessings. Once this project is completed, it will be much easier for members around the world to receive copies of blessings. At that time, we hope it will be possible for you to get more than four (4) at one time.

If you have any questions, please call the Church History Library customer service desk at 801-240-2745.