Many members of the church seem to have a contradiction in their beliefs and attitudes when it comes to patriarchal blessings and the foreknowledge of God.

Patriarchal blessings are usually a once in a lifetime priesthood blessing given by a stake patriarch to a member of the church. This can be done at any time, but is typically done during the teenage years. These blessings declare the lineage of the individual as a member of the House of Isreal, and often give certain guidance and blessings regarding the future of the recipient. These blessings are often very important to members of the church, and they consider them to be a form of personal revelation for their life.

Most members of the church will acknowledge that this blessing is no guarantee. We need to do our part in living the gospel, and making good choices in life for these blessing to really happen. Thus the blessing may be a type of ‘best case’ scenario for our lives that is contingent on our behavior.

I think this is a proper and healthy attitude to take regarding these blessings. But, it does seem to contradict what many members believe regarding the foreknowledge of God. There are many members who feel that God knows the future perfectly, and that he knows this future because the past, present and future are before him in a type of eternal ‘now’. I sort of felt this way a few years ago myself, so I can’t blame my fellow church members for feeling this way. Especially when a few scriptures, and statements by people like Neal Maxwell suggest that very thing.

My guess is that many church members do not think about this apparent contradiction in the least, and thus it remains.