Growing up as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which I will refer to it as the church from here on. As I was growing up into my teenage years, I remember the feeling of anticipation, because this is a critical and crucial informative time in the life of a member of the church. This is the time of life when members of the church can receive what is known as a Patriarchal blessing. The Patriarchal blessing that the members of the church receive is supposed to be a guidepost, a revelatory blessing directly from YHWH / the Lord through the Patriarch as his conduit, and also to be a comfort in the life of the individual who receives it. It is taught to the individuals who receive this blessing that it is to be kept sacred. When others have shared portions of their patriarchal blessings with me, I have found it to be inspirational and comforting. So with great anticipation I prepared to receive my Patriarchal Blessing. On the 12th of November 2000, my parents, my older sister, and I got in the car and made the two hour drive from Spartanburg, SC, where we were residing at the time, to Seneca, SC to the home of the Stake Patriarch to receive my Patriarchal blessing.

The church has a specific calling at the local stake level called the Patriarch. The Patriarch has two main responsibilities. The first main responsibility of the Patriarch is to live his life in a way that he can receive an overabundance of the spirit of YHWH / the Lord to guide him so he can be a conduit of YHWH and be able to give guidance and revelation to those who come to him for a Patriarchal blessing. The second main responsibility is to give these revelatory blessings directly from YHWH to the individual.

I believe that my Patriarch did his best and had no malicious intent and I do believe that he was partly inspired by YHWH and partly inspired by the basic template for patriarchal blessings that the church provides for him to follow as a means for him to give this revelatory blessing. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not of YHWH. Despite this, I do believe that some individuals who are trying their best to live the law of Elohim, YHWH will inspire them. My life is bound to YHWH and His law. As the Psalmist says in

Psalm 119:105-112.
105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
106 I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.
107 I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O Lord, according unto thy word.
108 Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord, and teach me thy judgments.
109 My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law.
110 The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts.
111 Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
112 I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes alway, even unto the end.

I have had my name removed from the records of the church long after I received my patriarchal blessing, at the commandment of YHWH. I now feel it right to make this post and share with you what I believe was inspired of YHWH in my Patriarchal blessing and what was according to the template made by man.

            Brother John Matthew Sickles, in the name of Jesus Christ, by the authority of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood, and as an ordained Patriarch, I lay my hands on your head to give you your Patriarchal Blessing. What a wonderful spirit you have brought into our home and into this room, as you have expressed yourself. You have a great personality. This Patriarchal Blessing is a gift to you. I am grateful that you have chosen to receive it. You are to be commended for showing yourself worthy to receive this blessing through an interview with your Bishop. I bless you to continue to be faithful as you are at the present time. This Patriarchal Blessing should be read often. It should be a guide and a benefit to you, throughout your life. I bless you that, as you are faithful, our Father in Heaven will pour out His blessings upon you.

            I bless you to be faithful in the Aaronic Priesthood. You will be called to leadership positions in this Priesthood. I bless you to use your testimony in the work of the Priesthood. You also have a gift of discernment. This ability will help you find answers to questions about who you might select as counselors or other helpers as you work in the Priesthood. Your performance in the Aaronic Priesthood will prepare you to hold the Melchizedek Priesthood. In both these Priesthoods we learn how to serve our fellow men. I bless you to make this service a part of your life, to desire to serve your brothers and sisters, not only in your family, but your brothers and sisters in the Church.

            Brother Sickles, you are of the lineage of Ephraim. Ephraim is a special tribe. Your lineage is traced through Joseph to Jacob, who later became known as Israel, to Isaac and to Abraham. Abraham received a wonderful promise that, through his lineage, all nations and families of the earth would be blessed. This is a choice lineage.

            I bless you to achieve in your life, the righteous desires of your heart. I counsel you to continue to live righteously. You should be a good example to your peers and not be swayed by wrong actions that may be done by groups with which you may come in contact. You will be a leader and you will be able to express thoughts that will be respected.

            I bless you to hold the Melchizedek Priesthood with honor and to magnify callings within the Priesthood. You can do this by faithfully serving our Father in Heaven. I bless you to be faithful in the duties that you are given. You will be strengthened physically and spiritually by these responsibilities.

            You will travel to many parts of the world. I admonish you that as you travel you should practice habits of personal safety. You should avoid evil influences. You will be warned of dangers and you will be able to avoid them, as you are faithful in keeping the commandments of our Father in Heaven.

            I counsel you to be faithful in your prayers. You should remember your personal prayers and do your part to see that family prayer is held in the home in which you reside.

            I bless you to remain faithful in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Your testimony will grow and you will be a valiant servant of our Father in Heaven.

            As you grow in the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods, you will desire to serve a mission for our Father in Heaven. I bless you to be faithful in serving an honorable, full-time mission. I bless you to learn from your companions. Your companions will also learn from you. On your mission you will experience many joys. There will be discouraging times. I bless you to use these times as experiences for growth and development. I bless you to learn how to manage your personal life, your home situation. You will learn how to care for personal belongings such as clothes, food and other necessities. I bless you to learn to properly manage your finances. You will learn principles that will be valuable to you throughout your life. You will learn to avoid the consequences of unwise debts that you cannot pay.

            I bless you to meet and become friends with a choice daughter of our Father in Heaven, at a later time in your life. You will desire that she accompany you to the Holy Temple to have your marriage sealed for Time and Eternity. I bless you to be serious about the covenants that you make with your companion and with our Father in Heaven. I bless you to be a father. You will enjoy seeing your children grow and training them in righteousness. I bless you to have a happy home, as you are faithful in keeping the commandments.

            I bless you to continue to love your parents, your brothers and sister. I bless you, at some point in your life, to become interested in family history. You will learn of your ancestors. Among them you will find some who have not had the ordinances of the Temple. I bless you to prepare their names for Temple work. I bless you to officiate for some of your ancestors in the Temple. As you return to the Temple, you will remember the covenants you have made and your life will be blessed thereby.

            I bless you to have good friends. You will develop socially, emotionally and spiritually. You will enjoy others and be able to influence them for good. I bless you to use your desire to assist people to experience the emotions of life. You will use this desire for good. Should you desire to be an actor or public speaker, I bless you to be able to achieve these desires.

            I bless you to be wise in your choice of a profession. You will prepare yourself in a profession so you can support your family and serve your fellow men and women.

            I bless you to develop a testimony of the leadership of the Church. You will appreciate the teachings of the Prophet, members of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, other General Authorities and General Officers of the Church.

            I bless you to be faithful in attending meetings of the Church. You will be lifted as you hear the teachings of the Gospel in Sacrament Meetings, particularly. I bless you also to be faithful in attending Priesthood meetings and special conferences of the Church.

            I bless you as you operate cars and transportation vehicles that you will realize the importance of safe operation. As you practice the rules of safety, I bless you that you will not experience serious tragedy or affliction.

            I bless you with health. I admonish you to live the laws of health, particularly the Word of Wisdom. You should refrain from the use of coffee, tea, alcohol and tobacco. Our Church leaders have also counseled us to avoid harmful drugs. I bless you to have no desire to partake of these materials.

            I bless you to resist the temptations of the devil. As you do so, you will be able to overcome his temptations.

            I bless you with a happy and successful life. I bless you as you grow to manhood, that you will develop self confidence and you will not suffer periods of depression and discouragement that you cannot overcome.

            I bless you to live a long, healthy, happy and useful life. After you have lived your life, I bless you to come forth in the morning of the first resurrection, clothed with glory, immortality and eternal life, in the kingdom of our Father in Heaven, with your precious family. I seal this blessing upon you in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

At the beginning of the blessing, the Patriarch states by what authority that he claims to have received it by. Growing up in the church, the importance of stating proper authority was stressed very heavily. This was to give the person who was receiving the blessing the comfort it was under divine authorization and thus to accept every word as if it were the word of YHWH.

Brother John Matthew Sickles, in the name of Jesus Christ, by the authority of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood, and as an ordained Patriarch, I lay my hands on your head to give you your Patriarchal Blessing. What a wonderful spirit you have brought into our home and into this room, as you have expressed yourself. You have a great personality. This Patriarchal Blessing is a gift to you. I am grateful that you have chosen to receive it. You are to be commended for showing yourself worthy to receive this blessing through an interview with your Bishop [Bishops are JUDGEs of Israel]. I bless you to continue to be faithful as you are at the present time. This Patriarchal Blessing should be read often. It should be a guide and a benefit to you, throughout your life. I bless you that, as you are faithful, our Father in Heaven will pour out His blessings upon you.

It is important to note that during the pre-interview with the stake Patriarch, I had helped him rearrange the furniture in his house so that way I could be looking at the photograph of Yeshua as I received the Patriarchal blessing. He was quite impressed that I had him do that and I do believe inspired the next sentence.

What a wonderful spirit you have brought into our home and into this room, as you have expressed yourself. You have a great personality.

This next part of the first paragraph is a complimentary masterpiece full of fluff and filler. This is absolutely necessary for the comfort that the blessing is supposed to provide.

This Patriarchal Blessing is a gift to you. I am grateful that you have chosen to receive it. You are to be commended for showing yourself worthy to receive this blessing through an interview with your Bishop. I bless you to continue to be faithful as you are at the present time. This Patriarchal Blessing should be read often. It should be a guide and a benefit to you, throughout your life. I bless you that, as you are faithful, our Father in Heaven will pour out His blessings upon you.

Every active male member of the church is encouraged to receive and hold the Aaronic priesthood. There is a leadership structure within the Aaronic priesthood (Church Government). This part of the blessing I find to be true and accurate for my life. Both for the past and the future.

            I bless you to be faithful in the Aaronic Priesthood. You will be called to leadership positions in this Priesthood. I bless you to use your testimony in the work of the Priesthood.

I do believe that I do have the gift of discernment as the blessing states.

You also have a gift of discernment.

The gift of discernment has everything to do with your knowledge of the law and being able to know what is right and wrong. In this way, discernment informs us how everyone is to behave, and as such discernment helps us to make informed decisions as to who we work with based on witnessed actions in regards to this behavior. The gift of discernment has nothing to do with random feelings about people. This is intuition, mental reasoning. Intuition is not discernment! I have knowledge of the law and know with confidence what is right and what is wrong because of my discernment. I also do my best to avoid doing what is wrong.

You also have a gift of discernment. This ability will help you find answers to questions about who you might select as counselors or other helpers as you work in the Priesthood.

I love this coupling of ideas stated next. It has proven true. Later in my life I did become interested in my family history and I found out that the next paragraph that I will provide from the blessing found in the lineage portion of the blessing is wrong because I did get interested in family history.

            I bless you to continue to love your parents, your brothers and sister. I bless you, at some point in your life, to become interested in family history. You will learn of your ancestors.

During my research into my family history, I found that I am actually not of the tribe of Ephraim as claimed in the Patriarchal blessing, but I am, in fact, a descendant of David who was a descendant of Judah. I do agree with the blessing, stating that the lineage of Ephraim is a choice lineage, but that is irrelevant to me. My actual lineage is a choice lineage as well. For in the line of Judah is found the sceptre of power and rulership until Messiah come. Messiah is the most important promise of the covenants made to Abraham. This is one many reasons why this is a choice lineage. We find this information about the sceptre of power being with Judah in Genesis 49:8-12

            Brother Sickles, you are of the lineage of Ephraim. Ephraim is a special tribe. Your lineage is traced through Joseph to Jacob, who later became known as Israel, to Isaac and to Abraham. Abraham received a wonderful promise that, through his lineage, all nations and families of the earth would be blessed. This is a choice lineage.

Genesis 49:8-12
8 ¶ Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.
9 Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

The specific verse that we find the information about the sceptre is in verse 10.

These next two sentences within the context of the church is to remain true and faithful to the church and its mortal leaders, and do what they say is right and good and true.

I bless you to achieve in your life, the righteous desires of your heart. I counsel you to continue to live righteously.

In Matthew 3:13-15 we find that Yeshua is working on fulfilling all righteousness which is defined by Torah. After Yeshua’s baptism, He commanded the apostles to go to the non-believers and to preach and baptize them. If fulfill meant to do away with, why is Yeshua commanding his apostles to get others to do what he just fulfilled, spoiler it does not mean to abolish or destroy. Baptism is a part of Torah. And therefore baptism is still needed. Following the Matthew 3:13-15, I include a snippet from Biblehub showing the definitions of the Greek word H4137. pléroó that “fulfill” is being translated from, showing it means to do it and teach it.

Matthew 3:15
13 ¶ Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

H4137. pléroó
pléroó: To fill, to make full, to complete, to fulfill
Original Word: πληρόω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: pléroó
Pronunciation: play-ro’-o
Phonetic Spelling: (play-ro’-o)
KJV: accomplish, X after, (be) complete, fill (up), fulfil, (be, make) full (come), fully preach, perfect, supply
NASB: fulfill, fulfilled, filled, made full, completed, fill, made complete
Word Origin: [from G4134 (πλήρης – full)]
1. to fully, completely fill
2. (literally) to cram (a net), level up (a hollow)
3. (figuratively) to fully supply, satisfy, execute (an office), finish (a period or task), verify (or coincide with a prediction), etc.

Sometimes I have given into the temptation of peer pressure, but thanks to Yeshua’s atonement, I am cleansed of my sins because I have come under Yeshua’s covering and have repented of my sins. I have also been a leader in various capacities and have been able to express thoughts that have been respected by both my peers and even my leaders as expressed in the following paragraph.

You should be a good example to your peers and not be swayed by wrong actions that may be done by groups with which you may come in contact. You will be a leader and you will be able to express thoughts that will be respected.

In the next paragraph, the last sentence reiterates a truth from scriptures that as we are faithful in the fulfillment of our stewardships and duties within the offices and callings of the priesthood we hold, YHWH has promised to strengthen us both physically and spiritually. It is also important to note that I believe that no one in the church holds the Melchizedek priesthood, not in the general population or any of the leadership of the church. For further consideration on the idea that no one in the church has received the Melchizedek Priesthood please see priesthood resource page. I have not received the Melchizedek Priesthood myself as of yet. But I have received a promise that if I am true and faithful to YHWH in keeping His Torah then I will receive this power. But I must be obedient in all things. All things is a Hebrew idiom for Torah.

I bless you to hold the Melchizedek Priesthood with honor and to magnify callings within the Priesthood. You can do this by faithfully serving our Father in Heaven. I bless you to be faithful in the duties that you are given. You will be strengthened physically and spiritually by these responsibilities.

For the next paragraph I will say, that I have travelled this big beautiful earth that YHWH has seen fit to place me on and I can say this, that an Elohim of power did truly create it. He has also done His best to warn me from dangerous situations as I have been faithful in keeping the commandments. I have always placed a heavy importance on the ten commandments of YHWH and keeping them as I understood them. And as I kept the commandments, I have received warnings from YHWH. I have also always been conscious of safety throughout my life as well.

You will travel to many parts of the world. I admonish you that as you travel you should practice habits of personal safety. You should avoid evil influences. You will be warned of dangers and you will be able to avoid them, as you are faithful in keeping the commandments of our Father in Heaven.

As I have travelled to various parts of the world I have tried to make sure that prayer was an important part of my life. In scripture, we are commanded to pray three times daily and have a prayer in our hearts to YHWH all the day long. One example of this can be found in Alma 34:17-27. Later, when I completely understood the importance of prayer I sought to keep it and help others to do the same.

Alma 34:17-27
17 Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;
18 Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save.
19 Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him.
20 Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks.
21 Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening.
22 Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies.
23 Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness.
24 Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them.
25 Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase.
26 But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness.
27 Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you.

I counsel you to be faithful in your prayers. You should remember your personal prayers and do your part to see that family prayer is held in the home in which you reside.

This next paragraph is a control statement and nothing more. It is complete and utter nonsense.

I bless you to remain faithful in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Your testimony will grow and you will be a valiant servant of our Father in Heaven.

The next paragraph has a lot to unpack. I was an ardent member of the church. My statement of belief was the book was blue so the church was true. Because the church was true, I needed to share that truth, with people and help save them, which then developed into a desire to go on a full-time mission. I did learn from my companions and they did learn from me. Like in every day life, the experiences I had while on my mission, helped me to learn, grow, and develop. Apparently, in the last sentence, I do not know if the Patriarch meant to put it this way, but I will be able to avoid the consequences of unwise debts that I cannot pay. I can cheat creditors. Wow! What a gift!

As you grow in the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods, you will desire to serve a mission for our Father in Heaven. I bless you to be faithful in serving an honorable, full-time mission. I bless you to learn from your companions. Your companions will also learn from you. On your mission you will experience many joys. There will be discouraging times. I bless you to use these times as experiences for growth and development. I bless you to learn how to manage your personal life, your home situation. You will learn how to care for personal belongings such as clothes, food and other necessities. I bless you to learn to properly manage your finances. You will learn principles that will be valuable to you throughout your life. You will learn to avoid the consequences of unwise debts that you cannot pay.

The next part of this blessing begins with the church’s typical blessing of getting marriage. For the longest time, I did want a temple marriage with a woman who was a stalwart member of the church. After all, the book is blue, the church is true! I have made the most important covenant worth making and that is my covenant to Yeshua to keep Torah. I have assurances from YHWH himself, as long as I am faithful in keeping His commandments, that I will get married, and see my children grow up in righteousness, which is defined by Torah, along with have a happy home.

I bless you to meet and become friends with a choice daughter of our Father in Heaven, at a later time in your life. You will desire that she accompany you to the Holy Temple to have your marriage sealed for Time and Eternity. I bless you to be serious about the covenants that you make with your companion and with our Father in Heaven. I bless you to be a father. You will enjoy seeing your children grow and training them in righteousness. I bless you to have a happy home, as you are faithful in keeping the commandments.

I can say that I have good friends. It wasn’t easy to get there. Having a true friend is one of the greatest gifts that YHWH can give to us in our lives. It takes love, dedication, hard work including hard discussions, and discipline. When you show dedication to your friends and then morn with them when they are morning, it helps them deal with the troubles that are in their lives. At the end of this paragraph, the patriarch is listing what he would refer to as hobbies not occupations and that is why two paragraphs are quoted. And the second paragraph deals with occupation.

I bless you to have good friends. You will develop socially, emotionally and spiritually. You will enjoy others and be able to influence them for good. I bless you to use your desire to assist people to experience the emotions of life. You will use this desire for good. Should you desire to be an actor or public speaker, I bless you to be able to achieve these desires.

I bless you to be wise in your choice of a profession. You will prepare yourself in a profession so you can support your family and serve your fellow men and women.

The next paragraph, is all nonsense, because a testimony of any man is not necessary for salvation. However, being an ardent and truly believing member of the church this was initially hard for me to let go. YHWH in His mercy saw fit to help me get over this disappointment quickly.

I bless you to develop a testimony of the leadership of the Church. You will appreciate the teachings of the Prophet, members of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, other General Authorities and General Officers of the Church.

The next paragraph is an excellent example of the church pushing me to trust in the church more than Yeshua. Recently, I have found a fellowship that has brought me closer to Yeshua and His ways. On lunar sabbaths and new moon days, we partake of the sacrament together. After the sacrament we follow the admonition of Moroni 6:9, which tells us to do what is needed for a lesson or for praise, or to help uplift one another in our daily walk with Yeshua and in Torah. For we are commanded to meet often, as we read in 3 Nephi 18: 22, and Moroni 6:5-6. While I was an ardent member, the sacrament meeting was particularly good for an emotional lift. Towards the end of my membership in the church, the emotional lift from the sacrament disappeared and it left a hole in my soul. Through discussions with my brother Benjamin, I came to discover that the church was not what it claimed to be and that I needed to understand the word of YHWH more.

3 Nephi 18:22
22 And behold, ye shall meet together oft; and ye shall not forbid any man from coming unto you when ye shall meet together, but suffer them that they may come unto you and forbid them not;

Moroni 6:5-6,9
5 And the church did meet together oft, to fast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls.
6 And they did meet together oft to partake of bread and wine, in remembrance of the Lord Jesus.
9 And their meetings were conducted by the church after the manner of the workings of the Spirit, and by the power of the Holy Ghost; for as the power of the Holy Ghost led them whether to preach, or to exhort, or to pray, or to supplicate, or to sing, even so it was done.

I bless you to be faithful in attending meetings of the Church. You will be lifted as you hear the teachings of the Gospel in Sacrament Meetings, particularly. I bless you also to be faithful in attending Priesthood meetings and special conferences of the Church.

The next two paragraphs are a general urging to observe good health and safety practices. I have been blessed in not having serious complications while operating heavy machinery and driving my vehicles. I lived the Word of Wisdom as the church teaches and constrains contrary to what is stated in Doctrine & Covenants 89. I am now living what is actually written in Doctrine & Covenants 89. What the church teaches and what YHWH states in the revelation are completely different. What the church used to teach contradicts what they teach now and thus teach a YHWH who changes. The scriptures state that YHWH does not change EVER! I have found that if D &C 89 is heeded as a Word of Wisdom and not a word of commandment, things tend to work out for the better, especially when it states that it is not by way of commandment or constraint, see verse 2. The church uses D&C 89 as a way to control its membership because they constrain their members to observe their incorrect interpretation as a requirement to enter their “holy” temple. This is a commandment of the church, which actually contradicts YHWH’s word. The word of wisdom is just that, a word of wisdom and caution. Follow it, and good things will happen as it pertains to health on all levels.

Doctrine & Covenants 89:2,18-21
2 To be sent greeting; not by commandment or constraint, but by revelation and the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days—
18 And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones;
19 And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;
20 And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.
21 And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen.

I bless you as you operate cars and transportation vehicles that you will realize the importance of safe operation. As you practice the rules of safety, I bless you that you will not experience serious tragedy or affliction.

I bless you with health. I admonish you to live the laws of health, particularly the Word of Wisdom. You should refrain from the use of coffee, tea, alcohol and tobacco. Our Church leaders have also counseled us to avoid harmful drugs. I bless you to have no desire to partake of these materials.

The next paragraph, has a wonderful promise that is afforded to all men, women and children, no matter if it was given in a Patriarchal blessing or not. We all have the ability to resist the temptations of the adversary. As you resist temptation your ability to overcome the temptation grows until you are able to overcome those temptations completely. We read about this in James 4:7 in the which we find this stated in the scriptures. Part of the purpose of the book of James is about keeping Torah and trusting in YHWH’s promises, which is the sign that you have faith.

James 4:7
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

I bless you to resist the temptations of the devil. As you do so, you will be able to overcome his temptations.

The next paragraph I find the statement of not suffering periods of depression and discouragement that I cannot overcome, true. And even more so now that I am living Torah under Yeshua’s covering. Before being born again, I would often suffer from periods of intense debilitating depression. Now that I have been born again and keeping the commandments of YHWH I do have discouragement from time to time, but it is not depression. I am grateful to YHWH for showing me His ways.

I bless you with a happy and successful life. I bless you as you grow to manhood, that you will develop self confidence and you will not suffer periods of depression and discouragement that you cannot overcome.

The last paragraph is an excellent example of man taking on way more authority than he actually has. All stake Patriarchs in the church have nothing but the Aaronic Priesthood. With all of them being old men have life experience to share in the blessings they give. The last paragraph is a great example of the form of a technique used by the church known as elevation of emotion, a.k.a., heart sell. This technique used by many prominent world institutions is to mimic a feeling of conviction and purpose. The Patriarch has no power to seal, or pronounce judgment of being raised in the first resurrection, or clothed with glory, or eternal life. These judgments are YHWH’s final decision. This decision is based on first, if we accepted Yeshua as the promised Messiah and second how we lived our lives according to His Torah, which includes helping others do the same. The patriarch, unintentionally, takes the name of YHWH in vain by pronouncing these judgments.

            I bless you to live a long, healthy, happy and useful life. After you have lived your life, I bless you to come forth in the morning of the first resurrection, clothed with glory, immortality and eternal life, in the kingdom of our Father in Heaven, with your precious family. I seal this blessing upon you in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.