I received an email from my former TBM brother who is on his way out. A little background, our parents are leaving on a mission in a couple weeks. Here is a sample:

"I called Mom about an hour ago to remind her and Dad to bring something when they come down next week. At the end of the call Mom said, "just want to give you a heads up...Dad and I would like you to give us a blessing when we're down there". In the moment I obviously caved and said "sure, no problem". But now I'm wondering if I should just shoot straight with them. I'm honestly trying to figure out if God even 'talks' to me let alone me talking for God on behalf of other people. I know I could fake it but the thought of that feels worse than the thought of just being honest. I suppose I could just be vague and say that I'm going through 'some stuff' and am not in a good position to do such a thing."

My advice was that he just take my Dad to the side privately and tell him you don't feel comfortable doing that at this time and that they respect that decision without any detailed discussion unless they are prepared to here those details.

I explained my biggest regret in my exit process was I tried to hide it from our parents instead of standing up for what I learned and it made me look like I was doing something wrong and gave them all the power.

Good advice? Am I leaving anything out?

I've seen this before. It can be a strained moment. Volunteer to do the anointing, and have someone else that may be present do the fortune telling.

Why does it have to be a mormon style blessing? Giving someone your prayers or blessings isn't just a mormon thing and can be a comfort to many.