In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints every person is a descendant of Abraham through one of the twelve tribes of Israel, either by blood or through adoption, and a member's lineage is declared in their patriarchal blessing.
A huge percentage of members are from Ephraim and Manasseh (the tribes chosen to preach the gospel to the world) but there are members around the world who are from the other tribes.
If you are a member of the Church and have received a patriarchal blessing, what tribe are you from? Since the poll could only hold ten answers I've split it into two. The first has the names of the three tribes through Israel's wife, Rachel; Benjamin and Joseph (which was split into Ephraim and Manasseh). The tribes in the second poll are given in the order of birth. (See the Lineage of Abraham and Israel.)
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A huge percentage of members are from Ephraim and Manasseh (the tribes chosen to preach the gospel to the world) but there are members around the world who are from the other tribes.
If you are a member of the Church and have received a patriarchal blessing, what tribe are you from? Since the poll could only hold ten answers I've split it into two. The first has the names of the three tribes through Israel's wife, Rachel; Benjamin and Joseph (which was split into Ephraim and Manasseh). The tribes in the second poll are given in the order of birth. (See the Lineage of Abraham and Israel.)
Next Poll: Did You Achieve Any of Your 2009 Goals?
Previous Poll: Have You Met a Prophet of God?
A boyfriend told me that he was from the tribe of Joseph.
The bishop that married my husband and I, later went on a mission to Russia with his wife (Elder & Sister C.). They wrote to us in the latter part of their mission about when one of the traveling patriarch’s came to Russia. People sold everything to be able to travel to where he would be giving blessings…At one point Sister C. was ask to act as scribe for many of the blessing given in their area.
The wonderful thing about this time for her was the fact that in the end she looked back at the records and EVERY ONE of the 12 tribes had been represented there. What an amazing thing for these sweet people to have been witness to.
I was lucky enough to be called to replace my mother 3 1/2 years ago as the scribe to the patriarch who happens to also be my dad. The knowledge Father has of His children, the things that are said to them through the patriarch are holy words and I consider it a blessing and privilege to listen in on these blessings. I just wanted to clarify a point on your pole that it isn’t what tribe you are from but actually which tribe you will receive your blessings through. The tribal designation has nothing to do with genealogy (for instant twin girls could be from two different tribes). At the present time there has been no direction from President Monson as to what the Lord would like us to do with our designation but since we do believe in the literal gathering of Israel it may have something to do with that and we will be enlightened as to what it all means when the time is ready for it. Currently the Church is holds and can exercise the keys of the gathering and this is being/will be exercised through the Tribe of Ephraim which may be why so many of church members are designated that Tribe. The Tribe of Mannessah, also largely church member designees is closely tied to the Tribe of Ephraim in bringing souls to Christ. The sheer numbers of both may be because they were given tribal status together in the stead of their dad, Joseph. Since having a patriachal blessing is not a saving ordinance (you do not have to have one to reach celestial glory) and your lineage isn’t prounced elsewhere, the tribal status really doesn’t mean anything to us at this time. When the time is right and when it becomes important or is called into action or whatever is actually going to happen with it, we will all be told by the prophet with clarity and truth what we need to do with the information. Until then, remember that your blessing is personal and private and shared only in special circustances and with individuals that you want to share it with; bits and pieces that are relavant to the situation you are in, tribal designation probably falls into that catagory. Also, it really isn’t a helpful document unless you read and ponder it often so that you can stay close the Heavenly Father and utilize your blessing as a way to communicate with Him about the stewardships in your life.
Thank you everyone for voting- we now have at least one vote for every tribe!
Llacey: thank you for sharing that cool story with us.
Cathy: thanks for your thoughts and clarification. I agree that a patriarchal blessing is sacred and should be used often. I have a previous blog entry with some tips on how to use your patriarchal blessing.
I work as historian with family and church at the Salt Lake area family history area, ( library – JSMB) and am very interested in the Unity of tribes , as foundation for peace, to principles and precedence, as that which reaches across nations and to all people… as those who may not have actual literal heritage, may by baptism, be adopted in.. and each tribe has a certain mission, the tribe of Ephraim specifically to assist in the gathering of Israel.. and that is the mission of the church to come unto Christ and to unite families by ordinances, and knowledge of who we are and from whence we come… I have a database that includes lineages of early pioneers and prophets that is merged to show links ” as far as translated correctly ” to Adam.. and some information for those interested in finding their relationship to early pioneers, prophets , presidents and nobility of Europe, etc.. if interested.. see
S. Heritage International Consulting, Inc.
http://sheritageinternationalconsultinginc.weebly.com
if it doesn’t work , try again..
there is a data base from Byu that offers relatinship links as well that I can refer you to.Mine can show the links as translated correctly..
” roots.cs.byu.edu/digroots/
Thank you.. I am working on a project, and would like to find people from every tribe in my area..
What if you don’t have a designated tribe? I have a child and a husband without a specific tribe mentioned in their blessings.
Molly, I’m not sure, I’ve never heard of that. Have you spoken to your stake patriarch about it?
It is clear to me that Patriarchal blessings to identify or assign a tribe of Israel to faithful church members during the times of the Gentiles (1830 to ?) is in preparation for the prophesied latter-day SHIFT from Gentile to Israel. Read 3 Nephi 16:7-13 and 1 Nephi 13:42. How could a “literal gathering of Israel” (AoF 10) take place if those in the tribes of Israel are not identified?
Having difficulty finding the passage that describes the occupations from each tribe; remember reading it.
How do I find out which tribe I am from?
Velma: A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints comes to know which tribe of Israel they are from when they receive a Patriarchal Blessing. See this FAQ on Patriarchal Blessings to learn what one is and how to get one.
Can you expand this to ask what ethnic background people claim and compare that to what tribe they are from?