Col. Thomas L. Kane, having desired a
Patriarchal blessing, Elder W. Woodruff accompanied him to Father John Smith’s
tent, who administered to him the following:--
Blessing by John Smith, Patriarch,
upon the head of Thomas L. Kane, son of
John K. and Jane, born Jan. 27, 1822, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“Brother Thomas, by virtue of the priesthood
vested in me I lay my hands upon thy head in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, and
seal upon thee all the blessings of the new and everlasting covenant,
even all that a father would desire his own child to enjoy; inasmuch as thou
hast had it in thy heart to promote the interest of the children of men the
Lord, thy God, is well pleased with thine exertions, he hath given his angel’s
charge over thee to guard thee in times of danger, to deliver thee out of all
thy troubles and defend thee from all thine enemies, not a hair of thy head
shall ever fall by the hand of an enemy, for thou art called to do a great work
on the earth and thou shalt be blest in all thine undertakings, thy name shall
be had in honorable remembrance among the saints to all generations.
“Thou shalt have a
companion to comfort thy heart to sustain thee in all thy trials, thou
shalt raise up sons and daughters that shall be esteemed the excellent of the
earth, they shall be very mighty in the house of Israel and shall have power to
accomplish every purpose of their hearts, no power on earth shall stay thine
hand, and thou shalt be clothed with all the power of the priesthood in its
fullness, thou shalt be able to unfold all the hidden mysteries of the Redeemer’s
kingdom to understand the laws by which the most High governs his vast
dominions in due time through obedience in keeping the commandments of the
Lord, thou shalt have power to rule and govern the work of thine hands as the
most High governs His, for I seal upon thee all the blessing of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob, thou shalt stand at the head of a numerous people, like Jacob, for
thou art of the house of Joseph and of the blood of Ephraim, and I seal upon
thee and thy posterity the same blessings that Jacob sealed upon the sons of
Joseph, which is thy right through the lineage of thy fathers, which has been
handed down to thee from generation to generation from the days of Ephraim, thy
father, and shall continue in thy posterity until time shall be no more.
“This is thy blessing, brother Thomas,
and inasmuch as thou shalt continue seeking the good of the Lord’s people, keeping
His commandments, not a word of this blessing shall fail for I seal it upon
thee in the name of thy Redeemer, even so, Amen.” (Brigham Young, September 6,
1846, in Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 1846-1847, comp. Elden J.
Watson [Salt Lake City: Elden J. Watson, 1971], 369-70, emphasis added)
Elden
Watson, commenting on this blessing, noted that
This is an interesting precedent of a
non-member of the Church receiving a Patriarchal Blessing. There is no record
of Thomas L. Kane’s ever joining the Church, and at this time he was a
Presbyterian . . . (Ibid., 596 n. 41)