Lesson 29-30 - Genesis 46–49

Blessings

I am Israel• Come up when I call you, my “sons”, and I will

give you a blessing.

Who got the best blessings?

• Judah– 49:8 – “thy father’s

children shall bow down before thee”

– Judah’s seed will be the seed of kings • King David• King Solomon• Shiloh (the King of Kings)

– Matthew 1:1-17

Who got the best blessings?• Joseph• Gen 49:22 – “whose branches run over a wall”

“Joseph’s peculiar blessing, which I have just read to you, was that he should enjoy possessions above Jacob’s progenitors to the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills. This would seem to indicate a very distant land from Palestine.The seed of Joseph came to the land of America at the time Lehi and his family departed from the Mediterranean world. The land of America is specifically designated by the Lord as the land reserved for “a remnant of the house of Joseph”

-Orson Pratt

Ephraim and Manasseh

• Gen 48:8-14, 17-20– Joseph brought his sons, put

older at Israel’s right hand– Israel crossed his hands,

gave Ephraim the birthright.• The sons were probably too

young to be deserving or underserving. So why the switch?

• Even Joseph was “displeased” with it at first

Priesthood Blessings

• How do we know these are priesthood blessings?– The Priesthood was part of the Abrahamic

covenant, passed to Jacob from his father, Isaac.• What is a priesthood blessing?• When is it appropriate to receive a priesthood

blessing?

Dallin H. Oaks

• http://broadcast.lds.org/visual-resources/old-testament/2011-03-018-priesthood-blessings-1000k-eng.mp4

My Experience

• 3 things happened– Personal Pronouns– Emptying out– Words I had not prepared

• It was the Lord speaking, not me

“The Vessels of the Lord”

• D&C 133:5– “Be ye clean that bear

the vessels of a Lord”• What is a vessel?– Holds a substance

• Why keep it clean– So the substance stays

pure• Does this apply to men

only?

Our challenge

1. Be worthy to give spiritual blessings2. Be worthy to receive spiritual blessings

Notebook Ideas

• Recall a time when you were given a priesthood blessing. What were the feelings you experienced from it? What was the result of it?

• What do you feel is your responsibility to carry on from your parents? What is your spiritual “inheritance”?