Step by Step

Frequently Asked Questions—Patriarchal Blessing System

General Questions

Go to ChurchofJesusChrist.org, and at the top of the page, click the My Account and Ward link. On the new menu that appears, select Patriarchal Blessing. Enter your Church Account username and password, and your landing page will appear. Select the Patriarch and Leader icon.

Please make sure you have completed all required fields in each step and watch for on-screen messages. Required fields are indicated by an asterisk (*).

Patriarchs should still give members a signed copy of the blessing. If a member misplaces the original blessing, he or she may request a copy of his or her blessing. The member should go to ChurchofJesusChrist.org, click the My Account and Ward menu, and select Patriarchal Blessing. Once the member arrives at the Patriarchal Blessings landing page, he or she should select My Blessings.

All units should be using the Patriarchal Blessings System. Please contact us for assistance.

Ward Leaders

While logged in to the Patriarchal Blessings System, click Settings, and then click Refresh Ward List. This may take several minutes, but it will bring the Patriarchal Blessings System and LCR into sync. Then you should be able to find the member.

Contact the patriarch’s bishop. He should check LCR. If the missing information is in fact missing from LCR, have the ward clerk update the information. If it is in LCR but not in the Patriarchal Blessings System, the bishop should update the ward information in the Patriarchal Blessings System under Settings and click Refresh. The patriarch’s home phone number should be filled in with his preferred contact number.

Follow the instructions here.

Follow the instructions here.

Open the recommend and click Cancel. If the member has already scheduled the appointment, the patriarch will need to cancel the appointment before the recommend can be canceled.

Patriarchs

Your authorized login validates the electronic copy. It is still policy that you sign the blessing you give to the recipient.

You will not be able to change the margins.

No. You cannot change the spacing between paragraphs.

The Patriarchal Blessings System does not accept voice files directly at this time. The voice-recognition system may be used with Microsoft Word, and the text it generates in Word can be copied and pasted into the transcription portion of the Patriarchal Blessings System.

Blessings should be printed on acid-free bond paper. This can be purchased at a local office supply store.

You may make corrections to a blessing for up to 60 days following the submission of a blessing. To modify a blessing, in the Blessings Submitted list, click the member’s name, and the blessing will appear. Click Reopen Blessing. If you find that a change needs to be made after the 60 days have passed, contact the Church History Library. Changes of any type are not permitted after one year.

If the recommend you received is not from your stake, then your stake president can enter an electronic recommend and assign the recommend to you for transcription. If the recommend is from a bishop in your stake, have him enter the recommend in the system, and then you can begin transcription.

Your grandchild’s bishop adds a recommend and chooses a patriarch outside of the stake. The bishop searches for your name in the Patriarchal Blessings System. The recommend is then sent to your grandchild’s stake president for approval and then to your own stake president. If approved, the recommend will appear in your list of Recommends Submitted.

On step 1 (Verify Member Information), click Edit, and fill in the correct information.

Open the recommend and click the three dots in the upper right corner, then click Cancel Appointment.

Stake Leaders

His or her bishop should follow the instructions found here.

In the menu area of the left panel, click Archive. You may review a blessing after it is submitted.

Click Patriarchs and then click the patriarch’s name. From here you will be able to proxy into the patriarch’s account and finish processing any blessings he had in progress.