A Special Blessing

I received my patriarchal blessing when I was 15. It took me a year to get the courage to ask for it. Really it took a change in the Bishop. I was afraid of the Bishop then it changed to a man that didn't scare me as much. So I got the courage and asked for it.

To my surprise my mother was very supportive of the whole thing. I don't remember where my dad was. I do remember he wasn't involved with it at all. I don't know if he even knew I got it.

Well when I got it the Patriarch forgot I was even coming. Which was a little heart breaking but at that time in my life I was use to be forgotten about. They recorded the blessing and typed it out latter. They had 2 tape recorders going just in case. When he started and had to stop because neither was working. He had to start all over again. One thing that he said when they weren't working didn't make it to my actual typed out blessing I received in the mail later. I actually forgot about it. Not until a little while ago when my mother reminded me.

What was said was very special and comforting to me. I was going through some very difficult times in my life. Things I don't wish on anyone ever. Things that take people life times to deal with. Anyways, I was told that many angels were watching over me. I have felt and known their presence and hands in my life many times.

Lately I have felt spiritually stuck. I have been praying and reading the scriptures at least twice a day. I asked for help and then realized I felt lonely. While I was trying to figure out why I felt stuck, I reflected on my patriarchal blessing. One of thing is says that I should be a gospel scholar. I wasn't really sure what that meant. I study and read the scriptures all the time but what is the difference between someone who just reads and a scholar?

So I went to dictionary.com and found out the following:

schol⋅ar
skɒl ərShow Spelled [skol-er]
–noun
1. a learned or erudite person, esp. one who has profound knowledge of a particular subject.
2. a student; pupil.
3. a student who has been awarded a scholarship.
Origin: bef. 1000; < LL scholāris, equiv. to L schol(a) SCHOOL 1 + -āris -ar 1 ; r. ME scoler(e), OE scolere < LL, as above

—Related forms
schol⋅ar⋅less, adjective

—Synonyms
1. savant. 2. See pupil 1

schol•ar (skŏl'ər) n.

1.
a. A learned person.
b. A specialist in a given branch of knowledge: a classical scholar.
2. One who attends school or studies with a teacher; a student.
3. A student who holds or has held a particular scholarship.

[Middle English scoler, from Old French escoler and from Old English scolere, both from Medieval Latin scholāris, from Late Latin, of a school, from Latin scola, schola, school; see school1.]

Scholar
Schol"ar\, n. [OE. scoler, AS. sc[=o]lere, fr. L. scholaris belonging to a school, fr. schola a school. See School.]
1. One who attends a school; one who learns of a teacher; one under the tuition of a preceptor; a pupil; a disciple; a learner; a student.
I am no breeching scholar in the schools. --Shak.
2. One engaged in the pursuits of learning; a learned person; one versed in any branch, or in many branches, of knowledge; a person of high literary or scientific attainments; a savant. --Shak. Locke.
3. A man of books. --Bacon.
4. In English universities, an undergraduate who belongs to the foundation of a college, and receives support in part from its revenues.
Syn: Pupil; learner; disciple.
Usage: Scholar, Pupil. Scholar refers to the instruction, and pupil to the care and government, of a teacher. A scholar is one who is under instruction; a pupil is one who is under the immediate and personal care of an instructor; hence we speak of a bright scholar, and an obedient pupil.

Then at the very bottom of the page was a link to something else that was related to this subject. This is what it said:

Becoming a scholar means becoming a person who is continually learning. You should start now to form the habit of regularly reading research journals. In addition, while you are here, you should be learning how to conduct research and how to evaluate research.

It was the answer to the question I have had for some time now. I want everyone to know. When you are searching and praying for good things, good things happen to you. I was very lucky in finding this. Now I just have to figure out how to do it. The gospel is such a broad subject. There are so many different parts to it. Well, I will keep praying about it and keep moving forward. One of the reasons I started this blog was because of that sentence in my blessing: Become a gospel scholar.

I hope I can help others as I figure out things and help myself.