Fiona Claire Joyce received her baby blessing from her father, Dustin Tyler Joyce, during the sacrament meeting of the Washington DC 3rd Ward on Sunday, 19 September 2010.

Our Father in Heaven, by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood, we take this child into our arms to give her a name and a blessing. The name we give her is Fiona Claire Joyce. Fiona, you’ve been born into a very loving home, and we bless you that as you mature and grow physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually that you will follow the pattern set by our Savior, Jesus Christ, as he grew “in wisdom and [in] stature, and in favour with God and man” (Luke 2:52).

We bless you physically, that you will grow normally, without any major illnesses or medical conditions. And we bless you that at those times that you are sick that you will be able to recover quickly and get back to having a fun and enjoyable time with your family and friends. We bless you that you will take joy in being physically active and in running and playing, and that you will have an understanding and a desire to obey the Word of Wisdom and the other counsel that we’ve received about how we should treat our bodies in the scriptures and from latter-day prophets and Apostles. And we bless you that you may know that your body is a temple, and that you will treat it as such and that you will always have the expectation for other people to treat it that way.

We bless you mentally and emotionally, that you will be curious about the world around you, that you will do well in school, and that you will learn everything you need to know to achieve the dreams and hopes and goals that you will have in your life. We bless you with a compassion for other people around you and that you will have the ability to know the things that you can do serve our Father in Heaven by serving others. We bless you, too, that you will take joy in the beauty of the world around you and that you will always be cognizant of the impact of the things you do and your lifestyle on the world around you and on the people around you.

Above all, we bless you spiritually, that you will grow with faith, with knowledge of the existence of your Father in Heaven and of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in your life. We bless you that you will gain a testimony of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and of the prophet and the Apostles who lead it, and of the Book of Mormon and the other scriptures that we hold to be so dear. We bless you that you will, in due time, be able to receive all of the necessary ordinances to be able to return to live with your Father in Heaven, including baptism, confirmation, and the ordinances of the temple.

Above all, we bless you with a knowledge of the reality of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and of his perfect example to us, that as things go well in your life you will always remember where your blessings come from, and that you will always have a desire to walk in our Savior’s footsteps; and that at times when things are not so good, or that you feel that you have made a mistake, that you will always retain the knowledge that no sin or mistake or human emotion is beyond the reach of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and that you will turn to him in all your hours of need.

Last of all, we bless your parents, your grandparents, your other family members, and the teachers, both in school and in church, and all the others who will work with you throughout your life, especially in your young years, to raise you and to teach you. We bless them that they will always remember that this responsibility is a stewardship given to them by our Father in Heaven, and that, above all else, you are his daughter.

We love you very much, Fiona, and we bless you with these things and everything else that you will need in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

This article appeared on page 6 of Issue 1 | January 2011.