Alonzo L. Gaskill > Quotes

“20 Such is also the case with the individual soul. Those who seek to straddle the fence—who seek to have one foot in Zion (for safety) and one foot in Babylon (for fun)—find themselves constantly overwhelmed with temptations and guilt. They constantly question the apostle Paul's prophetic promise that God never allows us to be tempted beyond our ability to withstand (see 1 Corinthians 10:13), forgetting that Paul's promise is conditioned upon our sincere efforts to avoid temptation and stay connected with God's Holy Spirit. Sanctification, cleansing, and change come to those who seek to keep the Holy Spirit as their guide and companion. But if we think we can have both Zion and Babylon as our home, we fool ourselves,”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, Odds Are, You're Going To Be Exalted

“The stake patriarch’s responsibility is simply to reveal to you bits and pieces of the Father’s blessing you received before you left your heavenly parents to come here to mortality.”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“God “wants to inspire, not script, your life.”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“Your blessing is going to ask you to do some things that might not be what you would prefer. Do them anyway—and do them with all of your heart.”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“One stake patriarch suggested, your blessing will be “a catalyst, a lightning rod for new revelation. When you ponder on your patriarchal blessing, you show respect and interest in knowing God’s will. This will tune you into God and open the channel to receive more revelations concerning your life, important decisions, and your future.”[4”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“If you know your blessing well (through thoughtfully studying it), the Spirit will bring lines from your patriarchal blessing to your mind in those dark hours in which Satan is trying to discourage you by sending you false messages.”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“Finally, President Harold B. Lee (1899–1973), who was the eleventh President of the Church, explained, “What we have received here in this earth [life] was given to each of us according to the merits of our conduct before we came here.”[8] In other words, many of the promises made to you in your patriarchal blessing have been made because you earned the right to those promises because of your faithfulness when you dwelt in your Father in Heaven’s presence.”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“Heavenly Father knows you better than you know yourself. He knows your strengths, but He also knows your weaknesses—and He knows that Satan knows your weaknesses too.”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“The priesthood holder acts in Christ’s stead, doing the things the Lord would do if he were here.”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“Rather, your informal conversation with the patriarch prior to receiving your blessing is intended to accomplish a couple of things. It gives the patriarch a chance to get a feel for you and your spirit. It also provides him with an opportunity to instruct you regarding patriarchal blessings and to let you know what is about to happen. It can also serve to help you to get comfortable with him prior to receiving your blessing.”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“Thus, the patriarch is simply a surrogate—a stand-in—for God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. His hands upon you are God’s hands, and his words spoken to you are God’s words.”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“As a “personal revelation” from your Heavenly Father,[3] your patriarchal blessing is “your own ‘personal scripture.’ ”[4] It “is like having your very own section of the Doctrine and Covenants—a revelation especially for you.”[5]”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“Your blessing can serve as a shield and a protection for you against the powers of Satan.”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“The fact that you are told in your patriarchal blessing that you will have certain gifts of the Spirit manifest in your life here in mortality is a direct result of your spirituality prior to your birth.”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“One patriarch suggested that the things mentioned in most blessings are not the mundane or typical life occurrences but, instead, “the outstanding things which might happen.”[1]”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“For us, the scriptures are not the ultimate source of knowledge, but what precedes the ultimate source. The ultimate knowledge comes by revelation. . . .”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, Miracles of the Book of Mormon: A Guide to the Symbolic Messages

“President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994), thirteenth President of the Church, taught, “Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can.”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“In the name of Jesus Christ” (suggesting that the words to be spoken are not his own but, rather, are Christ’s words and Christ’s will).”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“Your patriarchal blessing will point out to you those strategies and where you have weaknesses so that—if you follow the counsel of your blessing—Satan will not be able to destroy you.”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“President James E. Faust (1920–2007) suggested, “Our blessings can encourage us when we are discouraged, strengthen us when we are fearful, comfort us when we sorrow, give us courage when we are filled with anxiety, and lift us up when we are weak in spirit. Our testimonies can be strengthened every time we read our patriarchal blessings.”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“Your patriarchal blessing will give you hints of things to come, warnings about things to avoid, promises of blessings available, and gifts to equip you to fulfill your life’s mission. Nevertheless, many of your life’s events will go unmentioned in your blessing.”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“Our patriarchal blessing should be part of our battle plan to defeat the “enemy of all righteousness” (Acts 13:10).”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“Jairus came to Jesus with faith. But when he heard of his daughter’s death, how grieved and hopeless he must have felt. Yet Jesus, honoring that first bit of faith, told him not to worry. “Hold onto your faith,” was His message in this father’s darkest hour.”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, Miracles of New Testament: A Guide to the Symbolic Messages

“And all men with their infinitely varied talents and personalities pick up the course of progression where they left it off when they left the heavenly realms.[6]”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“God is more interested in making you holy than popular. He is more interested in developing your character than making your life easy.”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“President Thomas S. Monson (1927–2018), sixteenth President of the Church, explained that your blessing “literally contains chapters from your book of eternal possibilities.”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“Your patriarchal blessing will tell you exactly what you need to know in order to be exalted.”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“Your [patriarchal] blessing is a prophetic synopsis with excerpts of the blessing you received at Heavenly Father’s hand as you prepared to come to earth.”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“If regularly read and contemplated, your blessing will be one of the greatest helps you could ever have in overcoming temptation, figuring out your life’s profession, finding your eternal companion, enduring your trials, and returning home to your Father and Mother in Heaven.”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings

“Occasionally, patriarchal blessings will warn of certain weaknesses we have that might threaten our salvation. Thus, one reason to regularly read your blessing is so that you can avoid these dangers or pitfalls.”
― Alonzo L. Gaskill, 65 Questions and Answers About Patriarchal Blessings