June 09, 2026

Preparing for a Patriarchal Blessing | An Interview with Orlando Kelm

48 minutes

Orlando R. Kelm is a retired professor from the University of Texas at Austin. He served in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and the McCombs School of Business for over 37 years, teaching courses in Portuguese and Spanish language and linguistics. His research and publications focused on the cultural aspects of cross-cultural communication and the creative use of technology in language learning.

Orlando was born in Calgary, Alberta, raised in Taylorsville, Utah, and educated at Brigham Young University and the University of California at Berkeley. He served in the São Paulo Norte Brazil mission, and his three favorite hobbies are studying foreign languages, acoustic guitar, and astrophotography and nature photography. Orlando recently published the book It’s a Patriarchal Blessing!.

Links

It’s a Patriarchal Blessing

Email Before a Patriarchal Blessing (Microsoft Word format)

Email Before a Patriarchal Blessing (PDF format)

Transcript available with the video in the Zion Lab community

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Highlights

Orlando discusses his experiences as a patriarch and the significance of patriarchal blessings. He emphasizes the importance of viewing these blessings as affirmations of identity and divine potential rather than as mere checklists or warnings.

00:02:28 – Orlando’s Calling as a Patriarch

00:03:52 – Challenges of Starting as a Patriarch

00:04:48 – Training and Preparation for Patriarchs

00:05:41 – The Pressure of Giving a Blessing

00:06:29 – Communicating First-Time Blessings

00:07:06 – Orlando’s Role as the Only Patriarch

00:07:55 – Impact on Gospel Study and Preparation

00:08:34 – Revelation and Inspiration in Preparation

00:09:40 – The Importance of Compassion

00:10:37 – Note-Taking for Blessings

00:12:00 – Reviewing and Editing Blessings

00:13:27 – The Nature of Patriarchal Blessings

00:14:35 – Preparing Candidates for Blessings

00:17:30 – Helping Candidates Feel Comfortable

00:19:06 – The Role of Patriarchs in the Church

00:20:10 – The Blessing Aspect of Patriarchal Blessings

00:21:09 – Avoiding a Checklist Mentality

00:22:32 – The Role of Personal Agency

00:23:36 – Orlando’s List of Recommended Talks

00:24:45 – Reducing Anxiety for Candidates

00:26:07 – The Experience of Giving Blessings

00:27:30 – The Importance of Seeing Potential

00:28:59 – Understanding Lineage in Blessings

00:30:33 – The Significance of Covenant and Gathering

00:31:47 – Contributions of Different Tribes

00:33:44 – The Role of Personal Revelation

00:35:58 – Flexibility in Interpreting Blessings

00:37:09 – The Lifelong Relevance of Blessings

Key Insights

The Nature of Patriarchal Blessings: These blessings should be viewed fundamentally as a positive source of love and divine identity. Orlando emphasizes that they are not patriarchal warnings, admonitions, or “chewing outs,” but rather tools to help individuals understand their divine worth.

Preparation as a Patriarch: The process involves intense, ongoing spiritual preparation. Orlando explains that he often feels like a “faucet that cannot be turned off” in the days leading up to a blessing, as he studies scriptures and topics prompted by the Holy Ghost to prepare his mind to receive impressions.

Mortal Delivery of Revelation: Patriarchs receive inspiration, but they must articulate it using their own mortal capacity, vocabulary, and understanding. Consequently, a patriarchal blessing is a collaboration between the Spirit and the patriarch’s mortal expression.

The Fallacy of the “Checklist”: Recipients should avoid viewing their blessings as a list of required events (e.g., marriage, missions, children) to be checked off. Instead, they should see the blessing as a resource to be applied to all of life’s decisions, challenges, and experiences.

Understanding Lineage: The declaration of lineage is not a DNA test but an invitation to participate in the Abrahamic covenant and the gathering of Israel. Each tribe’s unique description provides a different “skill set” for how an individual can contribute to the Lord’s work.

Leadership Applications

Alleviate Anxiety: Leaders can help reduce the nervousness people feel about visiting a patriarch by fostering opportunities for the patriarch to interact with ward members (e.g., firesides, sacrament meetings, or activities) beforehand, making him a familiar figure rather than a stranger.

Foster a Broad Interpretation: Bishops and leaders should encourage members to interpret their patriarchal blessings with flexibility. When members feel confused by their blessing, leaders can help them understand that the meanings may evolve and deepen as they face different stages and challenges in life.

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