20 July 1994. Tonight I went through a box of dad's things, organizing them. In the box was a plastic sack that contained a bunch of wooden brackets dad had made to hold the shelves in the bar - the brackets of course were in the shape of guns. After I have filed all of the papers I wondered where to put the sack and just by chance I looked in it and at the bottom was a piece of paper - curious, I looked at it. It was a patriarchal blessing for John. Kathryn has all of John's papers, so I called her and asked if she knew about it. She said that John had never had a patriarchal blessing. I told her he had. She was amazed. This is a transcript: - Lynn R. Carson

26 June 1980, Patriarchal blessing number 48 given to John Raymond Carson, Birth date 1 Jan 1936, Lehi Utah Co. Utah. Father's name Raymond Crabtree Carson, Mother's maiden name Katherine Blair Gilchrist. Patriarch Myrthus W. Evans, Salt Lake Emigration Stake.

Brother John Raymond Carson, by the authority of the Holy Priesthood and in the name of Jesus Christ, I place my hands upon your head and give you your Patriarchal Blessing.

I commend you Brother Carson, that you have shown the interest and made the necessary effort to come and receive your blessing. Our Father in Heaven has a blessing for you, one which you will enjoy and realize fully if you but keep His Commandments. Your name is recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life it will remain there so long as you keep the Commandments of our Father.

You have within your veins the blood of Israel coming through the loins of Ephraim. This is a choice blessing, one which you should cherish and honor all the days of your mortal life. Our Father in heaven has a work for you to do. There are many responsibilities within the church organization which need to be carried by faithful men and women. You have in recent years demonstrated your love of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and have accepted positions of responsibility and you will yet be called upon to fill even more important responsibilities as the years go by.

I bless you Brother Carson that there will come into your heart and soul a consciousness of the importance of this great Latter Day work. I bless you that your understanding and testimony of the Gospel of Christ will increase as the years go by. The time will come when you will recognize that there is nothing in this life of more value than your membership in this our Father's Church.

I bless you as you associate with your friends, particularly those who may not be members of the church. that your influence, your example will be a motivating influence in helping them to see and to eventually accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You will have the responsibility of doing missionary work in this sense and you will see, as a result of your efforts, a number of our Father's children taken into the waters of baptism to receive membership in this His church. Your very heart and soul will thrill as you see the fruits of your labors in this area.

I bless you Brother Carson that the time will come when you will be given added responsibilities in the Priesthood Organizations. You will be ordained to other offices in the Melchizedek Priesthood and with those ordinations will come added responsibilities and duties. Your influence will be felt by many and the time will come when others with whom you will have associated and have touched for good will express their love and appreciation to you for the help you will have given them.

I bless you Brother Carson, that you will become increasingly more aware of your duties, opportunities and responsibilities with regard to temple work. There is no greater responsibility any member of this church has than to be actively engaged in temple and research work. If you will continue in this area fulfill your duties consciously there will come additional testimonies to you regarding the truthfulness of this great work. And as you labor for the dead in the House of the Lord you will feel the presence and the influence of those for whom you will do the work. The time will come, when this life is over, when they will surround you, they will express their love and gratitude to you for that which you will have done in their behalf.

The time will come Brother Carson, when you will have the opportunity of having one of our Father's choice daughters sealed to you for time and eternity. I will not say when this opportunity and great blessing will come, but it will come to you and it will bring a fulfillment in your life. It will be the source of great satisfaction to you. Remember our Father in Heaven has stated through His Prophets, that in order to have membership in the highest degree within the Celestial Kingdom, eternal marriage is one of those major responsibilities and this will come to you Brother Carson whether it be in this life or the life to come. I admonish you to study the scriptures to become intimately acquainted with this great plan of life and salvation. If you will follow the instruction which you will receive through the scripture and live a virtuous life, and give unselfish service to your fellowmen and to your God, you will have a place in the Celestial Kingdom of our Father in Heaven.

I bless you that you will have the ability to provide, in a material way, for your personal needs and the needs of others who may be dependent upon you. If you place your confidence in our Father in Heaven and go before Him daily in your individual prayers, he will be mindful of your needs and will bless you according to your willingness to keep His Commandments.

If you will keep His Commandments it will be your privilege to come forth in the morning of the first resurrection with those of your family who may be worthy of this special blessing and you will have a place among those blessed by our Father in Heaven. Remember that the fulfillment of the promises made in this blessing is predicated upon your willingness to keep the Commandments of our Father. If you will do so you will have His full blessings.

I pronounce upon you, every gift and blessing that is within my power and right to bestow upon you and I do it humbly and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
Amen

Myrthus W. Evans, Patriarch